2003 Sightings

August 12, 2003 - Pearl, IL

At 10 p.m. a woman and her grandchildren were startled to hear a loud thunderous roar over their home. The noise was described as sounding like a jet fighter in afterburner. Although loud, the noise did not vibrate the house or fixtures. However, her dogs were frightened by the episode that lasted for several minutes.

Nothing was visible when she initially looked out the window. The woman and her grandchildren then dove into the bathroom for safety due to the noise steadily increasing in intensity. There they remained until the sound subsided.

She did not venture out of the house until the next day. When she did, she noticed several roughly circular depressed areas in her bean field that is situated immediately behind her home. These were not present the prior day. Investigators were notified of this case approximately 2 months after the occurrence. The plants did not exhibit any physical characteristics associated with genuine crop circles. Some plants were bent and broken. Geiger counter, tri-field meter, and magnetic particle sampling revealed nothing unusual as was expected due to the time period involved between event and investigation.

A check was made with Scott AFB regarding military activity in the area at the time of the event. Records revealed no military operations at that location and time. A neighbor and her daughter who live approximately a quarter mile away also heard the strange noise but saw nothing. This case remains without an adequate explanation at this time.

July 5, 2003 - Rend Lake State Park, IL

This UFO sighting occurred between 6pm and 7pm. The sighting involved 3 adult witnesses and one child. The principal adult witness offered testimony to MUFON investigators regarding the incident. According to the witness, he and his wife and daughter along with their friend were attending July 4th festivities at Rend Lake State Park. All of the witnesses were looking up into the sky in the direction of the lake dam to the South. The witnesses along with an estimated 200+ other people were anticipating the final skydive jump for the day, which was to soon take place.

As their attention was focused on the approaching plane used by the skydivers, the witnesses noticed two luminous white objects in the same general portion of the sky. The two objects seemed to be traveling together. They were described as being round to elliptical in shape. The apparent size was estimated to be similar to a golf ball at arm's length. Actual size was estimated to be 11-30 feet. The objects reportedly moved in a straight line from the South/Southwest to the North/Northwest (and directly overhead) at a constant rate of speed that was estimated to be 500mph. The altitude of the objects was estimated to be 10,000 feet. However, the witnesses were not sure of this fact. No sound was heard and the objects left no trails. The witnesses all agreed that the objects were radiating a bright white light rather than simply reflecting sunlight. The color was described as "intense white."

They watched the objects until they disappeared behind the trees on the Northern horizon. Sighting duration was estimated to be 2-3 minutes. Despite all the other people that were present, the witnesses stated that no one else seemed to notice these objects. Weather conditions included clear sunny skies and wind speed averaging 9.5 mph out of the Southwest. This roughly corresponds with the direction of the mystery objects.