THINK ABOUTIT UFO|UAP SIGHTING REPORT

1975: Landing in Wisconsin

On the night of March 13, 1975, fifteen-year-old Jane Baker went outside to put the family cats in the garage at the Baker farm near Mellen, Wisconsin and heard strange high-toned noises coming from the hill to the north. She looked up and saw the entire hillside lit up — a silvery disc-shaped object with a domed top glowing yellowish-white, ringed with flashing red and green lights, was sitting on the road into town. She went back inside to get her father, the family came out to watch, and the object remained on or near the ground for at least ten minutes before departing with a loud boom. The next morning, Jane found a circular area on the road where the snow had been “fluffed up” — an effect that obliterated portions of existing bicycle tracks and represented a physical trace phenomenon APRO investigators had not previously encountered in landing cases.

The case was reported in APRO Bulletin Vol. 23 No. 6 (April 1975) and occurred on a night when multiple bright aerial objects were reported in the vicinity of Ashland, Wisconsin, approximately twenty miles to the north on Lake Superior. Police officers in the Ashland area confirmed airborne objects they could not identify. The Baker family sighting — with its ground-level observation, physical traces, animal reaction the following morning, and multiple family witnesses — represented the most substantive report from that night’s flap.

Date: March 13, 1975

Sighting Time: Approximately 1:00 A.M. (family is certain of the time because the television program “Harry-O” had just started, which aired at 11:00 P.M. — however, the APRO report header says “1 am”; the discrepancy may reflect time zone confusion or a two-hour observation window)

Day/Night: Night

Location: Near Mellen, Ashland County, Wisconsin, United States (approximately 20 miles south of Ashland on Lake Superior)

Urban or Rural: Rural — farmland south of Mellen

No. of Entity(‘s): None observed

Entity Type: Not Applicable

Entity Description: Not Applicable (although a metal-on-metal banging sound was heard, suggesting possible occupant activity; no entity was directly observed)

Hynek Classification: CE-II (Close Encounter II) Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness, where physical traces (impression, burn, medical effect, etc.) are left or (electrical effect, heat) are felt

Duration: At least 10 minutes on the ground (family estimate); next-morning secondary observation of the same or similar object was briefer

No. of Object(s): 1

Description of the Object(s): Silvery disc-shaped object with a domed top emitting a yellowish-white glow; red and green lights flashing on and off around the midsection; a square lighted area (appearing to be an opening) in the middle with the same yellow-white glow as the dome top; metal-on-metal banging sound heard during the observation period

Shape of Object(s): Disc with domed top

Size of Object(s): Approximately 12 feet in diameter

Color of Object(s): Silver body; yellowish-white glow from dome top and square opening; red and green flashing lights at midsection

Distance to Object(s): Observed from the Baker family property — object was on the road into Mellen on the hill to the north; distance not precisely estimated but within clear visual range

Height & Speed: Object was on or very near the ground during the primary observation; departed with a loud boom; next-morning secondary observation showed the same or similar object hovering over evergreen trees near a swamp adjacent to the family property

Number of Witnesses: 6 — Jane Baker (15), her father (Philip N. Baker / “Mr. Phillips”), her mother (“Mrs. Phillips”), Jeff (11), John (12), and Montgomery (16)

Special Features/Characteristics: Physical trace — circular area on the road where snow was “fluffed up,” obliterating portions of existing bicycle tracks; metal-on-metal banging sound heard during observation; loud boom on departure; next-morning secondary observation of the same or similar object hovering over nearby evergreen trees; dog behavioral reaction — yelped, whined, pawed at ears, then became completely still when Jane approached the secondary object location; widespread aerial-object reports in the Ashland area the same night, confirmed by local police

Case Status: Unexplained

Source: APRO Bulletin, Vol. 23 No. 6 (April 1975); Lance Johnson (composite drawing)

Summary/Description: The Baker family near Mellen observed a silvery disc with a glowing dome and flashing midsection lights sitting on a road on the hill to the north for at least ten minutes before it departed with a loud boom. The next morning, a circular area of “fluffed up” snow was found at the landing site. Jane Baker also observed the same or similar object hovering over nearby evergreens the following morning; the family dog reacted with distress and became motionless near the object’s position. The sighting occurred during a broader night of aerial-object reports in the Ashland area.

Full Report

On the night of March 13, 1975, numerous sightings of bright aerial objects were reported in the vicinity of Ashland, Wisconsin, a community on Lake Superior in the northwestern part of the state. Several police officers in the Ashland area observed airborne objects they could not identify, though most of these reports described objects of the “flying light” variety — luminous sources at distance without structural detail.

The most substantive report from that night came from the Baker family of Mellen, Wisconsin, approximately twenty miles south of Ashland. At approximately 1:00 A.M. — the family was certain of the time because the television program “Harry-O” had just started — fifteen-year-old Jane Baker went outside to take the family cats to the garage where they were housed for the night. She was just at the garage door when she heard strange high-toned noises. She turned and looked up at the hill to the north, in the direction of the road into Mellen, and saw the entire hillside illuminated. A silvery disc-shaped object with a domed top was apparently sitting on the road. The dome gave off a yellowish-white glow, and around the midsection of the craft, red and green lights were flashing on and off.

Jane put the cats in the garage and went back into the house to get her father, who was sitting on the couch with his shoes off, watching television. She told him “there was a thing on the hill up the road.” Her father put on his shoes and both went outside to observe. By this point, the dome glow was subsiding and the flashing midsection lights had turned off. The high-toned noise had also stopped. However, a square lighted area was now visible in the middle of the object — appearing to be an opening — with the same yellowish-white glow that the dome had emitted earlier when Jane had viewed it alone.

Father and daughter walked to a closer vantage point and at this time heard a metal-on-metal banging sound coming from the direction of the object. They returned to the house, where the father placed a telephone call to the Undersheriff to report what they were observing. During the phone call, they heard a loud boom. When Jane looked out the window, the object was gone.

During the observation period, the object was also pointed out to the mother, who viewed it from a window inside the house, and three other members of the family — eleven-year-old Jeff, twelve-year-old John, and sixteen-year-old Montgomery — also observed the object. All six family members agreed that the object had been on or near the ground for a total of no less than ten minutes.

The following morning, Jane went outside to check the site. Looking toward the swamp near the family property, she saw the same or a similar object again — this time without flashing lights or glow, but with the same shape and silver color. It was hovering over some evergreen trees. Jane went back inside to put on heavier clothing, then went out again, taking the family dog with her. She was walking toward the evergreens when the dog gave a loud yelp, began to whine, and pawed at its ears. The dog then became completely still. Jane said she did not hear anything herself but carried the dog into the house. When she came back out, the object was gone.

Later that morning, Jane, Monty, and John walked to the spot on the road where the object had been observed the previous night. They found a round area where the snow had been “fluffed up” — an unusual disturbance unlike a typical compression or melt. Tire tracks from a car that had passed after the object departed were visible over the area, and bicycle tracks — made by one of the boys the morning before — led up to the fluffed area, disappeared within it, and resumed on the other side. The fluffed snow had apparently obliterated portions of the pre-existing bicycle tracks.

The APRO Bulletin noted that the snow condition was a new phenomenon in UFO landing cases. The article hypothesized that it may have resulted from the craft’s propulsion system or may have been a deliberate attempt to cover any ground evidence left by whatever was producing the metal-on-metal banging sound. The investigation was described as ongoing, with additional witnesses in the area yet to be interviewed.

Researcher’s Notes

The Fluffed Snow and the Banging Sound — Mellen 1975 and the Physical Trace Landing

Physical Trace Assessment — The “Fluffed Snow” Phenomenon: The circular area of disturbed snow described by the Baker family — where existing bicycle tracks were obliterated within the affected zone but resumed undisturbed on the other side — represents a physical trace consistent with CE-II classification. Unlike the more common compression rings, burn marks, or dehydrated soil found at other landing sites, the “fluffed up” snow condition was identified by APRO as a previously undocumented landing trace. The term suggests an upward disturbance of the snow layer rather than a downward compression — possibly consistent with a lifting force, thermal convection from a heat source at ground level, or electromagnetic disruption of the snow’s crystalline structure. The obliteration of the bicycle tracks within the affected area and their survival outside it provides a clear boundary for the effect zone, which could have been measured had investigators arrived before additional vehicle traffic crossed the site.
Multi-Witness Corroboration: Six members of the Baker family observed the object, and while the primary witness (Jane) had the most detailed observation, the father, mother, and three siblings all confirmed the object’s presence and agreed on the minimum duration of at least ten minutes. The sighting also occurred during a broader night of aerial-object activity in the Ashland area, with local police officers independently confirming unidentified airborne objects — though those observations were of the distant “flying light” variety rather than the close ground-level encounter reported by the Bakers. The convergence of a close family observation with a broader regional flap strengthens the case’s contextual credibility.
Animal Reaction — The Dog Behavioral Event: The family dog’s reaction the following morning — yelping, whining, pawing at its ears, then becoming completely motionless — occurred as Jane approached the area where the same or a similar object was hovering over evergreen trees. Jane reported hearing nothing herself, which raises the possibility that the object was emitting a high-frequency sound above the human audible range but within the dog’s hearing range (which extends to approximately 65,000 Hz compared to the human maximum of approximately 20,000 Hz). The ear-pawing behavior specifically is consistent with acoustic distress in canines. The dog’s subsequent motionlessness — complete stillness rather than flight — could indicate intense discomfort, confusion, or a response to a stimulus outside the animal’s experiential framework.
Name Inconsistency and Source Chain: The APRO Bulletin article — the sole primary source for this case — contains an unresolved name inconsistency. The family is identified in the header as “the Philip N. Baker family of Mellen” and the primary witness is called “Jane Baker,” but the father is subsequently referred to as “Mr. Phillips” and the mother as “Mrs. Phillips” throughout the body text. This may reflect a transcription error, an inconsistently applied pseudonym intended to protect the family’s identity, or a confusion between the father’s given name (Philip) and the family surname. Without access to the original APRO field investigation notes or the family themselves, the discrepancy cannot be resolved. Both names are preserved here as they appear in the source, with “Baker” used as the primary identifier based on the header and the daughter’s surname reference.

The Mellen landing case persists in the archive because it left a mark in the snow that was there the next morning — a circle of fluffed, disturbed snow where bicycle tracks vanished and resumed on the other side. The object sat on that road for at least ten minutes, long enough for six family members to observe it, long enough for a phone call to the Undersheriff, long enough for someone inside it to make a metal-on-metal banging sound. When it left, it left with a boom. When it returned the next morning, the family dog could hear something Jane could not, and the sound hurt. Whatever landed on the road above the Baker farm on March 13, 1975, it was physical enough to leave traces, audible enough to distress an animal, and visible enough for an entire family to confirm — and then it was gone.