By Tim Binnall
Upon hearing that the Royal Canadian Mint has released a new coin celebrating a 1970 UFO sighting in British Columbia, a man who lived in the area at the time has come forward with what he claims is the true story surrounding the 'otherworldly' event. The classic case, known as the 'Duncan Incident,' occurred on New Year's Day 1970 when a nurse working at the Cowichan District Hospital spotted a glowing flying saucer hovering outside a patient's window. The astounded witness reported seeing a pair of figures looking at her from the silent object that eventually slowly floated away from the scene.
Given the fantastic nature of the sighting, it's not altogether surprising that Royal Canadian Mint chose to feature it in the latest installment of their 'Unexplained Phenomena' series, which has previously recognized such iconic cases as Shag Harbour and the Falcon Lake Incident. However, when word of the newly released piece reached Duncan resident Dan Hughes last week, he reportedly felt compelled to finally set the story straight after all these years and has revealed that the UFO at the center of the event was, in fact, a "party trick" orchestrated by his friends, Les and Renee Palmer, during their New Year's festivities.
The proverbial whistleblower explained that the 'flying saucer' was crafted out of a wooden cross with candles on each end and a dry-cleaning bag draped over it. The Palmers, he said, filled the contraption with hot air using a hair dryer and then sent it aloft into the night sky, where "it just sailed higher and higher" until ultimately vanishing from view. Lending credence to the revelatory account, the couple just so happened to live next door to the Cowichan District Hospital at the time, which would explain how it wound up being seen by the astounded nurse as it drifted past the building. As for the 'beings' seen by the witness, he theorized that the 'alien visitors' were likely just artwork on the dry-cleaning bag.
Hughes insists that "there was no malice whatsoever" behind the incident, rather "it was a playful party trick that got out of hand and created a kind of hysteria." He went on to indicate that the couple as well as the nurse and an additional witness to the 'UFO' have all since passed away, which left him feeling responsible to tell the tale when he learned that the event was being commemorated by way of the new coin. As for the piece which now seemingly celebrates his friends' party trick that took on a life of its own, Hughes says that he has already ordered one for himself, since "they might stop making them when they hear the story now."