1998-01-01 - Elizabethtown, IL - Triangle

Triangular object traveling south crossed the highway in front of us hovered then turned east and left with no sound.

The object crossed the highway in front of us coming from the north. It was approx. 50 feet off the ground and traveling slowly. We stopped and I got out to see it better. It was cold and clear out with no moon. I could see the details by the street lights. It stopped by the water tower just yards east of it, ocillated, turned toward the east, then sped off. The only sound was as it left, it sounded like a "tubine" winding down during shut off. The object was triangular shaped with the front being the base of the triangle. There were 3 red lights. One one each corner. The surface appeared to have a lot of conduit type fixtures on it. When it left, it passed right over a trailer home of the Mayor of the town. When I got home, I call the mayor and asked him if he had heard anything approx. 15 min earlier. He stated that he and his wife didn't hear any thing but they had experienced an earthquake about that time. He said the walls started shakeing with items falling from shelves. I contacted Fort Campbell Ky and asked if they had any helocopters in our area. They would not confirm. They finally put the flight commander on the phone and the conversation went something like this: Me: "Sir, I know that you people have been having problems with the night vision equipment lately but I need to know if you or Scott AFB have any birds in the area over southern Illinois." Commander: " Sir, I can't give that information out." Me: "I understand that. The reason I am asking is I just saw something very unusual." Commander: "What did you see?" Me: "I saw something cross Hwy 146 in Harding county Illinois at Elizabethtown coming from the north going south. It was about 50 feet off of the ground and almost hit the water tower. With the problems that you have been having with Night Vison, they shouldn't be that low in a residential area." Commander: "Maybe it was a civilian aircraft." Me: "I don't want you to think I'm crazy but I've never seen an aircraft like that. Your birds are always flying! over ou r area and I know what helocopters look like but this was different. I got a good look at it. It was low. It stopped not more than a hundred feet from me and my wife and hovered. It made no sound at all untill it left, then it sounded like a turbine winding down. It had 3 red lights that did not blink. I could not see a cockpit or windows." Commander: " Which direction was traveling when you last saw it?" Me: East. I got out of my vehicle and watched it leave at a high rate of speed." I then told him about the mayor's statement to me. The Commander said "Sir I can't tell you where our birds are due to security, but I can tell you that neither us nor Scott AFB have had any aircraft in your area all day. Do you wish to make an official report?" Me: " No. I work for the Illinois Department of Corrections. I may sound crazy but I'm not. I don't need the problems."