DES MOINES, Wash. — Jets aren't the only things in the skies above Des Moines, a suburb of Seattle just outside of SEA airport. Keep an eye out for UFOs as well.
"I don't think people know that Des Moines has such a history with UFOs and UFO sightings,” said Jeff Powell with Explore Seattle Southside.
In 1947 - Harold Dahl reported that while he was boating in the waters of Des Moines marina, 6 flying saucers rained hot metal down on him. The encounter was called ‘The Maury Island Incident’ and is immortalized in art at 6th Avenue South and South 223rd Street in Des Moines.
“There's a whole story around the mystery of the Maury Island Incident. And this mural celebrates that, and the aliens that visited that day,” Powell said.
The UFO sighting spawned yet another mystery.
"Before they were called the Men in Black, a mysterious man showed up one day and talked to Harold Dahl about what he saw and said 'You shouldn't repeat that to anyone’” Powell said.
But someone talked, and the legend lives on. That mural, a brand-new plaque explaining 'the incident' and a monument to the incident's only casualty - Dahl's dog Sparky - keep the strange story alive.
Powell and his colleagues at Seattle Southside are trying to lure the aliens back with some creativity.”
"This is our bait cow,” he said, gesturing to a fiberglass cow they’ve affectionately dubbed "Cowleen." She’s wearing a jacket with a QR code on it that prompts a video message welcoming space aliens. The message states in part, “We know you love abducting this land species, so we figured this was the best way to reach you!”
Of course, it’s a big assumption that aliens know how to scan a QR code. After all, many humans don’t.
“I think if they can fly across the galaxy, they’ll probably figure out. They'll probably be like, 'Oh, feeble Earth technology' so yeah, I think they'll be good,” Powell said.
The cow has yet to attract visitors from the cosmos, but all are welcome to come to Des Moines and take a free self-guided tour of the Pacific Northwest’s spaciest neighborhood.
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