North Dakota Man’s Account Of UFO Sighting On I-94 Remains Unexplained
Witness Doug Griffin’s credible UFO encounter near Bismarck, North Dakota, leaves even skeptics wondering about the truth behind his extraordinary claims.
Bismarck, North Dakota – “People can make fun of me,” Doug Griffin said confidently. “I’m sure of what I saw on my way to Fargo this weekend. It was a UFO – an unidentified flying object.”
Griffin gave this statement to a newspaper reporter, way back in 1987. His story remains just as compelling – and unexplained – to this day. Join us as we explore a real-life Midwest X-Files case of the paranormal.
Griffin, 27, was driving in North Dakota on Interstate 94, about five miles west of the Menoken exit #38 en route to Fargo on December 8, 1987. It was 6:40 PM, which he described as “a crystal clear night with a full moon and stars visible.”
The Encounter
What Griffin saw sounds pretty remarkable. The craft was hovering 200 yards from the ground. It was off-white in color and looked as if “two square plates were put together, roughly similar to a fast-food styrofoam burger box”. Rapidly flashing lights – red, green, white – were working in sequence from right to left.
Griffin explained his encounter to a local reporter. “I saw this light and thought it was awfully low for a jet. I saw it move, then stop and thought, ‘son of a gun’. I checked my speed; I thought it was one of those bears in the skies. I pulled over to watch it. I thought maybe it was a helicopter, but there wasn’t any noise and it was too low. I was with the National Guard and I know what helicopters sound like. I got out and took out my binoculars and watched it.”
The UFO soon darted away, but reappeared a minute later – this time, hovering over the skies of Bismarck. Eventually Griffin got back in his car and continued to Fargo, his mind reeling from what he had just seen.
A Credible Witness
The exciting thing about Doug Griffin’s encounter is what a credible witness he is. At the time, Griffin was working for the Missouri River Hazard Control offices. He immediately reported his incident with the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the North Dakota Army National Guard.
Colonel Ray Thompson of the National Guard’s aviation support facility took Griffin’s report. He did confirm that the Guard had helicopters out that night, but doubted that was what Griffin had seen because “the UFO was flying too low to be a helicopter, and the guard copters were not near the Menoken exit.”
When reporters reached out to the Bismarck Airport, tower personnel were unable to confirm that Griffin could have seen a plane.
A Scientific Approach
Doug Griffin knows he didn’t see a plane or a helicopter. He knows what he saw: a UFO. “I wasn’t afraid. I was very interested in it,” he explained. “I have a biology degree and I approach things from a scientific background.”
Don Johnson, an investigator from MUFON (Mutual Unidentified Flying Object Network) confirmed with reporters that he believed Griffin’s “incident to be a legitimate UFO sighting.”
Conclusion
Doug finally made it to the event he was attending in Fargo, but he was late. After telling his friends that he had encountered a UFO, they kidded the young man saying he must have had a “champagne flight to Fargo”. Griffin assured them he didn’t drink…and certainly wasn’t while driving that night.
“They can kid me if they want. But I know what I saw. It was a UFO.”
🗣 What do you think of Doug’s report? Have you had an out-of-this-world encounter or paranormal experience of your own? We’d LOVE to hear from you in the comments section below. ⬇️
