Growing up, I devoured every UFO book I could get my hands on. Most cases followed the same pattern: mysterious lights in the sky, blurry photographs, and witnesses whose stories changed with each telling. But one case always stood out. The Delphos Ring incident had something most UFO stories lacked, physical evidence that lasted for years.
On November 2, 1971, sixteen-year-old Ronnie Johnson was doing evening chores on his family’s farm near Delphos, Kansas. What happened next would turn this quiet farming family into reluctant celebrities and create one of the most documented UFO cases in American history. (Perfect shirt material, honestly, but we’ll get to that later.)
The Night That Changed Everything
Ronnie was hurrying to complete his evening chores around 7 pm that that Tuesday. It was cold and he knew that his mother would be calling him for dinner at any moment. His last task was tending to the sheep behind the family’s hog house when he heard a noise he later compared to “mom’s washing machine when it’s out of balance.” When he looked toward a nearby grove of trees, he spotted something that would haunt him for decades.
What Ronnie saw wasn’t your typical flying saucer. Instead, he described a “flying mushroom”, a dome-shaped metallic object with a glowing “stem” that pulsed with colors “like an electric welder.” If you’ve ever seen welding, you know those just aren’t any colors. They’re brilliant blues and purples, intense white light, with flashes of green and yellow around the edges. The craft hovered maybe thirty feet away, so bright it temporarily blinded. Just like welder’s flash.
But here’s where the story gets weird. Ronnie wasn’t the only one affected. His dog Snowball and the nearby sheep all seemed paralyzed by the object’s presence. For what felt like forever but was probably only a few seconds, both Ronnie and the animals stood frozen as the craft hovered just above the ground.
Then, as suddenly as it appeared, the object shot into the sky with tremendous speed, heading south. Only when it reached about twenty feet in altitude could Ronnie finally move. He ran to the house, calling for his parents.
What They Found
Durel and Erma Johnson rushed outside and could still see the object as a distant light in the southern sky. But when they investigated the area where their son claimed to have seen the craft, they discovered something phenomenal. An eight-foot diameter ring of earth glowed with an eerie fluorescent light.
The images above are from UFO Commentary Vol. 3 No. 1 Fall 1972, you can download the entire document and read Ted Phillips’ full report here.
The physical evidence was completely unexpected and shocking. While the surrounding farmyard was muddy from recent rains, the ring was completely dry and light in color. When the curious parents bent down to touch the glowing soil, they got more than they bargained for. Their hands went completely numb.
“You could have cut my fingers off for a couple of days afterwards and I wouldn’t have known it,” Durel later told reporters. Erma, who worked at a local rest home, couldn’t take patients’ pulses for days because she had no feeling in her fingertips. Mrs. Johnson had the presence of mind to photograph the glowing ring that first night, capturing one of the few images of the phenomenon at its peak.
The Cops Get Involved
Word spread through the small farming community fast. First, reporter Thaddia Smith from the Delphos Republican caught wind of the story. She called the Concordia Weather Bureau to see if they’d spotted anything on radar, but no luck, their equipment hadn’t been running that night. Both the weather bureau and KSAL radio in Salina told her the same thing: call the sheriff. On November 3, Sheriff Ralph Enlow, Undersheriff Harlan Enlow, and Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Kenneth Yager made the trip to the Johnson farm. They arrived around 2 p.m., ready to deal with what was probably just another tall tale from the countryside.
Their minds quickly changed once they got a good look at the strange site. The ring was still there, clear as day. Bone dry while surrounded by muddy ground from recent rains. The investigators took soil samples and photographs, using a Civil Defense Radiological Monitor to rule out radioactivity. (Thankfully there was no radioactivity) But the soil samples revealed something bizarre. An unusual white substance was concentrated throughout the ring soil, covering 30 to 60% of the surface and 10 to 30% of the sample soil. They found no trace of this white matter in the “normal” surrounding soil.
Beyond the ring
The damage to nearby trees was obvious too. Limbs were broken, and there was “slight discoloration” on the trees closest to the ring. A dead tree that had been standing before the incident was now knocked flat on the ground. Undersheriff Harlan Enlow wrote up his official report that day: “The soil sample taken was almost white in color and very dry. We used a Civil Defense Radiological Monitor to determine that the soil was not radioactive. The soil sample and photographs are stored in the vault in the Sheriff’s Office pending further investigation by the proper authorities.”
These weren’t small-town cops looking to make headlines. Sheriff Enlow later wrote: “The Johnsons are lifetime residents of Ottawa County and the Delphos community. They are well known and respected by officers from this department. Any information given by them would be accurate to the best of their knowledge.”
The Scientists Show Up
The case caught the attention of Ted Phillips, a researcher working with Dr. J. Allen Hynek of Northwestern University. Ted was one of the most respected UFO investigators of the era. He made his first visit to the farm on December 4, 1971, more than a month after the incident.
What he discovered was remarkable. Thirty-two days later, the ring remained clearly visible, with unmelted snow perfectly outlining its circumference. When Phillips and Durel Johnson poured water onto the ring soil, it simply stayed on the surface rather than soaking in, despite several inches of rain and snow that had fallen since November 2.
The anomalies extended beyond the ring itself. Several trees showed damage consistent with something large passing through. A dead tree had been knocked to the ground. Living trees displayed broken limbs and unusual discoloration. Most bizarre of all, branches that appeared green and healthy would snap at the slightest pressure, as if they’d been somehow altered.
Phillips had investigated 370 cases of alleged physical UFO evidence. He was impressed. In his official report, he wrote: “I believe that, based on the information at hand, we have here an excellent example of the unusual phenomena which has been reported by so many for so long.”
The Ring That Wouldn’t Die
The effects persisted for years. The ring remained barren with even the most stubborn of weeds refusing to grow in the affected soil. When the Johnsons planted seeds around the ring the following summer, they wouldn’t germinate. Then things got weirder. Unusual dark brown toadstools, “hard as a rock,” sprouted along the ring’s circumference in 1972. The Johnsons would later say they were the first toadstools the family had ever seen on their property.
The ring continued to glow faintly when it rained, casting an eerie luminescence across the pasture that locals could see from miles away on overcast nights. The phenomenon persisted for months, defying any scientific explanation the authorities could offer. Trees damaged during the incident retained a whitish residue where they had previously glowed brightly. The substance was described as a chalky, mineral-like coating that wouldn’t wash off despite the rain. Agricultural specialists who examined bark samples found the substance contained no known compounds, leading to wild speculation about extraterrestrial materials or unknown chemical reactions. The affected trees continued to show stunted growth patterns years later, their branches twisted into unnatural configurations.
The Livestock Effects
What truly disturbed the family was what happened to their six-month-old lambs the following spring. These young sheep gave birth despite being far too immature. Sheep typically don’t reproduce until they’re at least a year old. Even more puzzling, the lambs hadn’t been bred. When veterinarians examined the situation, they found the young mothers to be healthy, but tragically, none of the offspring survived. All of the lambs born to the young sheep were either stillborn or died shortly after birth. The event suggested that whatever had happened in that field didn’t just leave physical evidence. Somehow it had altered the biological development of animals in the area, but with bizarre consequences. One investigator noted to the Johnsons that ‘these phenomena consistently occur near sheep on farms.’1The Salina Journal | 5/20/73
The livestock anomalies didn’t stop there. In the hog pen were about a dozen prize sows. Only four had litters after 1971, despite Johnson trying three different boars. Eventually, he sold the others. The family’s dog Snowball developed its own disturbing symptoms several months later. The family found Snowball bleeding from the nose. A veterinarian in Glasco performed exploratory surgery and found a weed-like 3.5-inch growth in its nostril with a barb-like head pointed up the nasal passage. “It’s not like any weed we have around here,” the family noted.2The Salina Journal | 10/13/74
Fame and Threats
The Johnson family’s ordeal extended far beyond that November night. As news spread, they faced both recognition and ridicule. “People said we were drunk. They acted like they thought we should be in the Topeka State hospital,” Durel Johnson later recalled.
They received hundreds of letters, including some containing threats. One message from Texas warned: “Your blood will run like water if you don’t withdraw your claim.” Ummm….okay? But the case also received serious scientific attention. In 1973, the National Enquirer awarded the Johnsons $5,000 for reporting “the UFO story that supplied the most scientifically valuable evidence in 1972.” The family used the money to pay off farm bills.
By 1973, souvenir hunters had begun taking samples from the site, forcing the Johnsons to fence off the area. And in later years the family would cover the ring altogether in order to deter curious people who would wander onto their property.
Lasting Health Effects
The physical effects on the Johnson family extended far beyond that initial numbness. All three family members ended up on medication for nervousness. Erma took what she called “arthritic” nerve pills, Durel couldn’t sleep without his medication, and Ronnie developed an “inflamed nerve in his stomach.” The numbness in Erma’s leg persisted for years, she could feel no pain in that area long after the incident.
When Erma was hospitalized for a general checkup and doctors scanned her brain, she reported smelling a strange odor. She realized that the last time she had smelled it was when scientists were investigating the ring and disturbing the soil. Erma was never able to liken the scent to anything earthly. She also said the strange odor caused both she and Durel severe headaches during the original investigation.
Electronic devices behaved strangely around the family. Durel found he couldn’t wear a watch for more than two days without it stopping, forcing him to alternate between two timepieces. A Salina jeweler couldn’t find anything wrong with the discarded watches. Battery-operated radios would fade to inaudible levels in certain spots within the ring, with the sound fluctuating as Ronnie moved the transistor around the area without adjusting any controls.
Round Two?
The story didn’t end there. On April 27, 1974, Ronnie rushed into the house during dinner and told his parents, “I told you it was coming back again.” When Durel and Erma ran outside, they witnessed what Erma described as “the same one or one just like it.” The object circled the original spot, then circled the house before taking off to the east. “It moved fast. They’re faster than anything else,” she later said.
After this second sighting, the household electrical system couldn’t handle normal loads. The power cooperative had to replace everything on the yard system—even the wooden pole and nuts and bolts. When the crewmen climbed the ladder to change the transformer, one looked at Durel and asked if this was the farmstead where the UFO had been sighted. “I said yes, why? And they just looked at each other and shook their heads.”
Ronnie began experiencing what he called “psychic powers”—premonitions he couldn’t explain. He knew the UFO would return a third time but couldn’t say how he knew. These premonitions proved disturbingly accurate. He successfully warned family members about car accidents, though one sister-in-law ignored his warning and was involved in a crash (thankfully not seriously injured). The wife of the Johnson’s eldest son had been killed in a bizarre auto crash in Salina shortly after the first UFO visit.
Ronnie also suffered from nightmares, shouting “They aren’t getting away this time” in his sleep. The psychological toll became so severe that he dropped out of school due to relentless teasing from classmates. Scientists who visited wanted to hypnotize him, believing he had been examined by whoever was on the craft, but his parents refused.
What Really Happened?
More than fifty years later, we still don’t have answers. Skeptics have proposed everything from fungal rings to chemical spills, but none fully explain the immediate effects on witnesses, the precise circular pattern, the dehydration of soil in wet conditions, the electronic anomalies, the lasting health effects, or the biological impossibilities with the livestock. What could explain a ring of soil that stayed dry in the rain, left people’s hands numb for days, accelerated sheep reproduction, and created lasting electromagnetic effects?
Unlike most UFO cases that rely solely on eyewitness testimony, Delphos had multiple credible witnesses, immediate physical evidence, extensive law enforcement documentation, scientific investigation by respected researchers, and physical effects that lasted for years. The Johnson family never sought fame. They were simple farmers who reported what they saw and endured years of scrutiny as a result. Their consistency and the thorough investigation that followed make Delphos one of the most credible UFO cases on record.
In Their Own Words
As Durel Johnson put it: “I never believed in those things before, but I’ll never forget that night, not after the way that ground looked and what it did to my hands.” Erma’s words were perhaps even more haunting: “I hope it never comes back, but if it does I want to be on it. I have a right to know why this has happened to us.”3The Salina Journal | 10/13/74
Ted Phillips concluded his investigation by noting that even if you dismissed the witness accounts entirely, “the ring remains. And this unusual ground mark is indeed a mystery.” Whatever happened on that Kansas farm in 1971, it left behind evidence that still can’t be explained. Sometimes, the most compelling mysteries are the ones with the most documentation.
Speaking of Delphos mysteries, if you’re as fascinated by this case as I am, check out Sleepover Clothing’s Hometown Haunts collection. Their Delphos Ring UFO tee is perfect for anyone who appreciates a good unexplained phenomenon. Because sometimes the best stories are the ones that leave us with more questions than answers.
