UFO researcher and author Ray Szymanski brought Dexter’s most famous mystery back into focus during a two-day presentation at the Dexter District Library marking the 60th anniversary of the 1966 sightings.
During that third week in March 1966, a wave of reports across Washtenaw County built toward the now-famous March 20 incident in Dexter Township, where residents and police reported glowing, maneuvering objects in the sky and woods for hours. The sightings drew national attention, a congressional inquiry led by then-Rep. Gerald Ford, and the Air Force’s widely criticized “swamp gas” explanation. The incident cemented Dexter’s place in UFO lore.
Szymanski’s talk centered less on retelling the history and more on amplifying witness accounts and challenging that long-standing explanation of “swamp gas” purported by Air Force investigator Dr. J. Allen Hynek.
“Dr. Hynek conducted a fraudulent investigation, which created a fraudulent report,” Szymanski told a full house. “How did he do that? Well, he favored witnesses who reported lights in the sky and on the ground, because that supported a swamp gas explanation. He ignored witnesses who saw objects that did not support a swamp gas explanation. Those who could not be ignored, like Frank Manor or the Hillsdale co-eds, were later characterized in the Hynek report as being unreliable.”
Drawing from his research and interviews, Szymanski highlighted both historic and newly collected testimony, including that of Frank Mannor, who maintained, “We saw what we saw,” despite ontense public ridicule. Szymanski argued that credible witnesses, from civilians to trained military pilots, were too often dismissed. One of his key examples was a 1966 intercept mission by Air Force pilots, including then-Capt. Gary Carroll, who described pursuing an unidentified object that made “a seemingly impossible right-angle turn” and outpaced their jets. Szymanski framed such accounts as part of a broader pattern, telling attendees, “The more I looked, the more evidence I found that flying saucers were true.”
The presentation leaned heavily on local voices, people who, in many cases, stayed silent for decades. Several described silent, low-flying craft, bright lights, and close encounters. One witness recalled seeing an object rise from Portage Lake, asking simply, “And how do you explain that?” Another, reflecting on years of skepticism, said, “I know what I saw.”
For Szymanski, the point wasn’t to prove every detail, but to revisit Dexter’s role in a still-unresolved phenomenon, and to suggest the story is far from settled.
The popular ufologist’s books are available on Amazon.
Ray Szymanski is also scheduled to speak at the Michigan MUFON “Swamp Gas” UFO Conference on May 2, 2026, in Troy, MI, marking the 60th anniversary of the 1966 sightings. Visit mimufon.org/mimufon for tickets and more information.
Featured photo: The presentations were Szymanski’s third visit to Dexter to speak on one of the area’s most enduring mysteries. Photo by Priscilla Creswell
8123 Main St Suite 200 Dexter, MI 48130
