The Shag Harbour UFO Incident

On the night of October 4, 1967, multiple witnesses in the small fishing village of Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia observed a low-flying object with lights crash into the waters of the Gulf of Maine. The subsequent search by Canadian military and coast guard vessels became Canada’s best-documented UFO case.

The Sighting

At approximately 11:20 PM, multiple witnesses observed an object with four orange lights descending at a 45-degree angle toward the water. The object made no sound. Witnesses initially believed they were seeing an aircraft in distress. Constable Ron Pound of the RCMP witnessed the object and called for assistance. Local residents saw the object floating on the water for several minutes, its lights still visible, before it sank.

The Search

Coast Guard vessels reached the crash site within 30 minutes. They found only a wide patch of dense, yellow foam on the water’s surface. The foam had an unusual consistency and a smell some described as sulfurous. A comprehensive naval search over the following days found no wreckage, no survivors, and no explanation for the foam.

Official Status

The Canadian government’s official files classify the Shag Harbour incident as a UFO—not “unidentified” pending further investigation, but genuinely unknown. No aircraft was reported missing, no satisfactory conventional explanation was found.

Legacy

Shag Harbour remains unique as a government-documented crash of an unidentified object. The town now hosts UFO festivals and maintains a museum dedicated to the incident.