It was an incident worthy of the X-Files and has become one of Canada’s — and the world’s — most famous unsolved encounters with aliens from outer space.For more than 53 years, the so-called ‘Duncan Incident’ has become a common piece of UFO lore, studied by enthusiasts around the globe.So much so, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued a special silver coin depicting the event. But now, a Cowchican senior says it was all a hoax and an elaborate prank among rowdy friends.According to the legend, on January 1 1970, a young nurse named Doreen Kendall was finishing up an all-nighter at the Cowchican District hospital on Vancouver Island when she noticed what appeared to be an unearthly site outside the psychiatric ward.Floating about 20 metres from the window was an "object so big and bright I could see everything clearly,” she recalled.Inside the craft were two human-like figures, one behind the other who appeared to look right at her before the craft started to move away. But not before Freida Wilson, a registered nurse who was also on duty that morning, also saw the object..The so-called ‘scientific’ phenomena website UFOevidence.org classifies it as a CE3 encounter featuring ”interaction/reaction” with “humanoid“ occupants of a “Dyad Scout Craft.”.“There was no malice whatsoever … it was a playful party trick that got out of hand and created a kind of hysteria”Duncan senior Dan Hughes.Cowchican resident Dan Hughes, who is now 82 years old, described the extraterrestrial encounter as a “party trick” concocted by a group of friends who created the spaceship from scrap wood, candles and a dry-cleaning bag following a bout of New Year's revelry.They apparently used a hair dryer to fill it full of hot air and set it aloft. The plastic bag itself had translucent images of a well dressed couple that could have been misinterpreted as silhouettes from a distance.The couple who concocted the stunt — who have since passed away — were artsy musicians who lived next to the hospital. As have the nurses who supposedly waved to the aliens.“There was no malice whatsoever … it was a playful party trick that got out of hand and created a kind of hysteria,” Hughes told the Victoria Times Colonist. He said he was inspired to share the tale after ordering his own copy of the coin, available from the mint’s website for $139.95 plus tax and delivery.The Duncan coin follows 2022’s The Yukon Encounter and 2021’s The Montreal Incident depicting close encounters of the extraterrestrial kind. All feature one ounce of pure 99.9% silver cast in a rectangle shape with a face value of $20.Even if it does prove to be a hoax, the mint expects the limited 6,500 unit run to disappear as fast as a proverbial flying saucer. “Collectors love a good UFO story, and all previous coins in the series sold out quickly,” it says.
It was an incident worthy of the X-Files and has become one of Canada’s — and the world’s — most famous unsolved encounters with aliens from outer space.For more than 53 years, the so-called ‘Duncan Incident’ has become a common piece of UFO lore, studied by enthusiasts around the globe.So much so, the Royal Canadian Mint has issued a special silver coin depicting the event. But now, a Cowchican senior says it was all a hoax and an elaborate prank among rowdy friends.According to the legend, on January 1 1970, a young nurse named Doreen Kendall was finishing up an all-nighter at the Cowchican District hospital on Vancouver Island when she noticed what appeared to be an unearthly site outside the psychiatric ward.Floating about 20 metres from the window was an "object so big and bright I could see everything clearly,” she recalled.Inside the craft were two human-like figures, one behind the other who appeared to look right at her before the craft started to move away. But not before Freida Wilson, a registered nurse who was also on duty that morning, also saw the object..The so-called ‘scientific’ phenomena website UFOevidence.org classifies it as a CE3 encounter featuring ”interaction/reaction” with “humanoid“ occupants of a “Dyad Scout Craft.”.“There was no malice whatsoever … it was a playful party trick that got out of hand and created a kind of hysteria”Duncan senior Dan Hughes.Cowchican resident Dan Hughes, who is now 82 years old, described the extraterrestrial encounter as a “party trick” concocted by a group of friends who created the spaceship from scrap wood, candles and a dry-cleaning bag following a bout of New Year's revelry.They apparently used a hair dryer to fill it full of hot air and set it aloft. The plastic bag itself had translucent images of a well dressed couple that could have been misinterpreted as silhouettes from a distance.The couple who concocted the stunt — who have since passed away — were artsy musicians who lived next to the hospital. As have the nurses who supposedly waved to the aliens.“There was no malice whatsoever … it was a playful party trick that got out of hand and created a kind of hysteria,” Hughes told the Victoria Times Colonist. He said he was inspired to share the tale after ordering his own copy of the coin, available from the mint’s website for $139.95 plus tax and delivery.The Duncan coin follows 2022’s The Yukon Encounter and 2021’s The Montreal Incident depicting close encounters of the extraterrestrial kind. All feature one ounce of pure 99.9% silver cast in a rectangle shape with a face value of $20.Even if it does prove to be a hoax, the mint expects the limited 6,500 unit run to disappear as fast as a proverbial flying saucer. “Collectors love a good UFO story, and all previous coins in the series sold out quickly,” it says.
