Udo Wartena Encounter

On a morning in early May 1940, Udo Wartena was working at his placer mining claim near the base of Boulder Mountain in Confederate Gulch, Broadwater County, Montana. [img:big-belts] The 37-year-old Dutch-born miner was employed part-time by the Northwest Mining Syndicate and had been clearing an old miners’ ditch to divert stream water to a glacial deposit he had found the previous month that showed indications of gold-bearing ore. [img:diamond-city]

Shortly after 10:00 AM, Wartena became aware of a humming, drone-like sound. Thinking it was aircraft, he moved to higher ground to investigate. He observed a large metallic disc-shaped craft descending toward the meadow near his makeshift dam. As it hovered, a number of portholes opened along its surface. Though he could not see anyone inside, he felt certain he was being observed.

A circular stairway with a solid bottom lowered from the underside of the craft. A man descended and walked toward Wartena. More curious than afraid, Wartena went to meet him. They stopped about ten or twelve feet apart.

The man asked if the craft could take some water from the stream. Wartena agreed, reasoning that he did not own the water. A hose or pipe was lowered from the ship into the stream. The being explained they preferred the running stream water over the nearby body of water because it was free from algae and more convenient.

The man then invited Wartena to come aboard. He accepted. They ascended the circular stairway and entered a room approximately twelve by sixteen feet, with a close-fitting sliding door on the far end, indirect lighting near the ceiling, and upholstered benches around the sides. [img:sagebrush]

Inside, Wartena met a second, older man. Both beings appeared fully human. The younger had white hair; the older had snow-white hair. Both had clear, almost translucent skin. The younger man wore light grey overalls, a tam-style cap of the same material, and soft slippers or moccasins. He spoke English slowly, as if selecting his words with the precision of a linguist.

The beings described the craft’s propulsion system: two counter-rotating flywheels in the outer rim, approximately three feet wide and several inches thick, spinning in opposite directions. These generated an electromagnetic force that overcame gravitational pull, allowing the craft to maintain its own gravitational field — it remained perfectly level despite the sloped terrain below. They explained they could harness energy from distant stars and travel interstellar distances by what they described as skipping upon light waves. Hydrogen extracted from water served as fuel.

When Wartena asked their ages, the younger being said he was approximately 600 years old; the older was over 900. They claimed knowledge of over 500 languages. When asked about their purpose on Earth, they explained that because they looked sufficiently human, they could move among people, gather information, and give help where needed. They said they monitored human progression and retrogression. [ref:1]

Wartena asked about religion. They declined to discuss it, saying they could not interfere.

The beings offered to examine Wartena using a device he compared to an X-ray machine, checking for what they called impurities in his system. He consented but later recalled few details about the procedure.

A light signal indicated the water collection was complete. The beings then invited Wartena to leave with them permanently. He declined. He later recalled his own response with some puzzlement — he had said it would be interesting but felt it would inconvenience too many people, and afterward wondered why he had said that.

The beings told him he should not speak of the experience, as no one would believe him, but said that in years to come he could tell about it.

Wartena was returned to the ground. The craft rose straight up until it cleared the treeline, circled slightly, then ascended practically straight up and was out of sight in a very short time. Based on the position of the sun, Wartena estimated the entire encounter had lasted approximately two hours.

After the craft departed, Wartena experienced a severe loss of physical strength. Some type of energy had permeated the area, and he was unable to walk for several hours. When he finally returned to where the craft had hovered, he found only crushed grass where the stairway had rested.

Wartena kept the encounter secret for nearly fifty years. In 1980, he wrote a letter describing his experience to U.S. Senator John Glenn. [ref:5] Near the end of his life, he confided in two close friends and produced two handwritten accounts and one typewritten account of the event. He died on December 15, 1989, in Oregon City, Oregon, at the age of 86. [ref:2]

The case first appeared in print in 1993, when James Thompson included a brief summary in his book on UFO encounters, though Australian researcher Warren Aston later noted this version contained numerous factual errors. [ref:3] Aston subsequently obtained Wartena’s original written accounts and conducted interviews with the friends and family members Wartena had confided in. He presented his findings at the 1997 MUFON International Symposium [ref:2] and published the definitive account in UFO Magazine in early 1998. [ref:1] The Townsend Star ran a local article around the same time, independently confirming Wartena’s employment with the mining company and his biographical details. [ref:4]