Canada reported unidentified aerial event — 1972-07-31 — St.Clement, MB

Two youths reported an unusual light from a farmyard west of Selkirk, Manitoba, at approximately 00:10 on 31 July 1972. The RCMP file locates the farm at River Lot 49, Parish of St. Clements, within the rural municipality of St. Andrews. They had been sleeping in a bunkhouse when a low, throbbing sound drew them outside. Looking upward, they said they saw a very distant, multicoloured light resembling a bright star. It moved south in a sharply zigzagging path, stopped for roughly four or five seconds, then appeared to turn ninety degrees and proceed west until lost from view. They could not estimate altitude or discern a solid vehicle. The initial message describes a clear sky; the subsequent report notes distant thunderclouds while the sky directly above the farm remained clear. A call reached police at about 00:15 and a patrol interviewed the youths. The later written report questioned their reliability and proposed a low-flying aircraft, while recording their disagreement with that explanation. Enquiries produced no additional local witnesses. The file preserves their account and the investigator’s assessment, without establishing either an extraordinary vehicle or a definitive identification. Names partly visible in imported OCR are redacted in the recovered copy. The plate shows two representative youths and a distant light only; its exact colour arrangement and farm layout are illustrative.