The 1974 UFO account of William Bosak is as intriguing as it is bizarre. Sandwiched in between the UFO and occupant sightings wave of the previous year, and the much more malicious alien abduction accounts that would begin to dominate the UFO research community by the end of the decade, the encounter of Bosak will very likely remain unsolved.

That said, however, it is a case that still deserves to remain in the spotlight of historic UFO encounters. Not least due to the description of the apparent occupant witnessed by Bosak in the strange dome-shaped craft he would come across one winter’s evening while returning home from a farmer’s meeting.

Was this humanoid but animal-like occupant an entity from another world? Or is the incident yet another UFO account featuring a Bigfoot creature? And if so, what might this seemingly strange connection be?

Something Reflecting In The Headlights!

At a little after 10:30 pm on the 2nd December 1974, 68-year-old, William Bosak, experienced an incident unlike any other through all of his 40 years working as a dairy farmer in Polk County, Wisconsin.

On this particular evening, he was returning back to his farm and property following a farmer’s meeting of the Fanner co-operative in the nearby town of Frederic. He was around a mile away from his farm when he first spotted the strange, glowing object at the side of the road.

The thick fog patches rolling in from the open fields had caused him to drive slower than usual. And as he continued to negotiate his way along the road, he could see that the object was not glowing but reflecting his headlights as they cut through the air in front of him. With the object now a lot closer he began to slow up even further.

He began to take in details of the object as best he could through the patches of fog and overall darkness of the hour. He would later state to the media:

It had a curved front of glass and inside I could see a figure with its arms raised above its head!

He could see the occupant, who aside from differences (which we will come back to shortly) was decidedly humanoid, through a “transparent sector” in the exterior of the craft which was, for all intents and purposes seemingly a window. He would estimate the craft was around ten feet in height and was a tall disc or dome shape.

Then, Bosak returned his attention to the window and the humanoid occupant inside.

A “Different Kind Of Creature” Than You Might See On Earth!

He would later describe to the Aerial Phenomena Research Organization (APRO) Field Investigator, Everett Lightner. He would claim that the creature was most definitely a “different kind” than anyone might see on Earth. Bosak would state that despite looking “a good deal” like a person, it had more of a “cow-looking face”.

He would further state that:

…(It) had a square face with hair sticking straight out from the sides. The ears stuck out from the head about three inches and the eyes were large and protruding…!

He would further state, however, how the creature’s face was “hairless” with a “beardless chin”. While it appeared to be dressed in a tight-fitting garment, the attire had the appearance of a “brown fur”. No other distinguishing features were visible such as zips, buttons, or a collar.

He would let his eyes drift downward in an attempt to take in further features. However, the fog, which continued to roll over the road in thick patches, covered the lower part of both the humanoid and the craft.

Still sat in his vehicle, which had now come to a complete stop, he and the strange creature inside the craft locked eyes. The visual standoff lasted around ten seconds. However, it felt much longer. And while there were no signs of threatening action on either side, Bosak was beginning to feel a surge of fear rise up within him. Indeed, he would state that the creature appeared:

…just as scared as I was!

Unable to maintain his composure any longer, Bosak would slam his foot on the accelerator and sped away from the scene as fast as he could.

A Mad Scramble For Home!

As he was rushing away from the craft, the fog still rushing towards him out of the darkness, he suddenly noticed his surroundings grow decidedly darker. As if something was over the top of him blocking what little light there was.

Then, the car engine itself began to struggle, eventually cutting out altogether. As he looked around alarmed and made efforts to restart the car, he heard a “soft whooshing sound” seemingly coming from overhead. Almost immediately following this came the sound of scratching, like “branches scratching the roof” of the vehicle.

It was at this point when he pressed the gas pedal down as hard as it would go, no longer concerned with the patches of fog coming from random areas the dark night environment.

Eventually, and much to his great relief the sight of his home reached his eyes. He rushed into the house and after calming himself made his way to a window overlooking the location of the encounter.

He stared intently through the mist, seemingly even thicker from the higher vantage point of his property’s window. Try as he might, however, he couldn’t see anything in the area that would suggest anything strange had taken place.

Regrets At Non-Attempt To Communicate

The following morning, perhaps comforted a little with the onset of daylight, Bosak would return to the location of the bizarre encounter. He looked desperately for some kind of marking or impression on the ground as proof of the incident taking place. However, despite his efforts, no such evidence remained.

For the following month or so, the dairy farmer would remain silent regarding the incident. However, following persistent prods from his wife and son who had noticed a distinct change in his demeanor, he would finally reveal the encounter to them for the first time during Christmas 1974.

He would state to them that he wished he had another witness with him on the night in question. Not only to be able to corroborate the sighting, but to stop him from fleeing the location. He expressed regret to his wife and son that he had not attempted to communicate. And “show it I was friendly”. He would continue:

I wish I could meet up with it again!

It isn’t clear how the account leaked out from the Bosak household into the wider Polk County community and, in turn, to the St. Paul Pioneer Press. Whatever the answer is, it was from this appearance in the local press that led to the APRO investigators contacting him.

The investigators would interview Bosak at length. They would also speak to his wife and son, as well as to his neighbors. They would find that he enjoyed a great reputation in the community. And despite the admittedly bizarre nature of his claims, people believed him to be an honest person. Certainly not prone to falsehood.

Another Bigfoot-UFO Connection?

William Bosak was very much aware of the fact that many people, despite the knowledge of his honesty, struggled to believe his account. And, while he understood their reasons, he would stand by his version of events. He would even offer to take a lie detector test in order to prove his account was true.

Just what did he witness that evening on the lonely roads of Wisconsin? It is perhaps one of the fewest UFO incidents on record to feature a humanoid with the appearance of a cow.

In the years since the incident, many UFO researchers have questioned whether the creature witnessed was, in fact, more of a “Bigfoot” creature than one with a cow-like face? After all, we have examined before the connection between Bigfoot sightings and UFO incidents. It is certainly a reasonable question to raise.

Bosak himself would maintain his opinion that the creature he saw was not from Earth. And very much from another world. And what’s more, he would stick to this version of events for the rest of his life.

In an interesting but rather dark twist to the incident, Bosak was discovered dead in his home at the age of 90-years-old. On the 22nd anniversary of the sighting.

Another UFO Landing In Wisconsin, March 1975

Although it is separated by a little over 100 miles, a UFO landing in Ashland Wisconsin, also in the north-west of the state, occurred only several months later on the evening of 13th March 1975. At around 1 am, 15-year-old Jane Baker went outside to put the family’s cats in the garage where they spent the night.

She made her way to the outbuilding, a regular journey made each night. As she did she suddenly became aware of a “strange high-toned” noise. When she turned around to look in the direction of the sound, she witnessed a brightly lit object. Like a “silvery disc with a domed top” hovering above. Red and green lights flashed around the edge of it.

She quickly placed the cats in the garage and then rushed back to the house to tell her father, Philip Baker, of the strange craft. She would state to him that there was something “on the hill up the road”.

Bemused but intrigued, he put on his shoes and followed his daughter outside. Although the flashing lights had now disappeared, as had the strange noise, the craft itself was still very visible. And what’s more, it appeared to be descending.

Suddenly, a sound like “metal-on-metal” rang out making each of them jump somewhat. They each watched the strange object for several moments longer before rushing back inside to contact authorities.

As Philip spoke to the Undersheriff on the phone about what he and his daughter had witnessed, another large bang rang out almost making the house rumble. When Jane rushed to the window, she stated that the object had seemingly disappeared.

A Second Sighting The Following Day!

Before the disappearance of the craft, while Philip was dialing the authorities, his wife, and his three sons also rushed to the windows, witnessing the craft through the glass for several minutes. Although police would take the Baker’s report, there was no sign of the craft following the second large bang.

The next morning, however, Jane would witness the object again while looking out over a swamp near the family home. The lights were no longer flashing. But the shape and size of the object were almost identical to the previous evening.

She would go and put on a thicker coat to combat the early morning winter weather. She would then head out towards the location of the object. With her, she had one the family’s pet dog. She could clearly see it as she approached, hovering just above the treetops.

Suddenly, though, the dog would stop in its tracks, whining and refusing to move forward any further. Despite attempting to pull it gently along with her, it would refuse to move. She would take it back in the house and then returned outside. However, by the time she got to the spot where the dog had stopped, the object was no longer there.

A Connection To The Legends Of Forest-Dwelling Beasts Of Wisconsin?

Jane would return to the location of the sighting later that afternoon. Along with two of her brothers, John, and Monty. They noticed that a slightly round impression was visible that “fluffed-up” the snow.

There was also a tire track from a car that appeared to pass over the circle. This indicated, if the circle was due to the craft, that the car had passed over it at some point in the last few hours. Other than that, however, there was no other sign that anything out of the ordinary had taken place.

And what about the loud bangs that rang out on two occasions during the Baker’s sighting? If they are connected to the UFO incident (which they likely are) it is most likely that these sounds are a consequence of some kind of technologically advanced propulsion system.

Might there be a connection between the two sightings? The Baker family were not close enough – certainly not as close as William Bosak – to witness any occupants. The locations of the sightings and the (relative) short amount of time between them is interesting. And warrants them to be included alongside each other.

And might the animal-like creature witnessed by Bosak the same as the various hairy beast legends of the many Native American tribes that have resided in and around Wisconsin for hundreds of years?

Check out the video below. It looks at the Bosak incident.