A faint beam of white light that seemed to come from a star or star-like object.

My 17 year old son and I were driving through a very deserted rural area about 3 a.m. of 1986. I noticed a faint beam of light coming down upon a fielded area several miles away, it seemed. I looked to see where it was coming from as I drove my car.  My son and I both saw that it came from what appeared to be a star.  It seemed   unimaginable that a beam of white light could be coming from that far of a distance or that it was really happening.  There wasn't a car to be seen, or house light, and I admit that it was very chilling and I decided not to stop. We thought for sure that it would be all over the news. We don't have any idea how long it had been there, or how long it lasted.The beam was about 1/4th of an inch wide [looking at the sky], and was about 1/2 of an inch as it came to the ground.  We have no idea where it actually touched or what it was doing.
Date is approximate.  PD