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Mass UFO sighting in southern Illinois

Several witnesses observed an unidentified aerial object in the skies over southwestern Illinois on the night of Tuesday, October 23.

According to the Monroe County Independent, residents of Hecker, IL saw the bright UFO in the sky at approximately 7:00 pm. KPLR News 11 reports that the strange object was seen in both Monroe County and St. Clair County. According to witnesses, the stationary object hovered in the sky and “twinkled” with red, green, blue, and orange light. Some have even said the object was rotating. And according to the local Fox affiliate, KTVI, witnesses also describe the UFO as being larger than a planet, “but it definitely was not the Moon.” Freeburg, IL resident Judy Rachell told KTVI that she and her husband observed this same UFO back in early October. To her, the object looked like “the sun had shrunken down to . . . the size of a soccer ball.”

UFO photographed from Paderborn, IL. (Credit: Monroe County Independent)

Monroe and St. Clair County deputies reportedly responded to calls about the UFO. They patrolled the area and established a viewing post in rural Paderborn, IL from which they observed the mysterious object. The UFO appeared to gradually ascend after 8:00 pm, followed by the appearance of a second, similar object. The deputies resumed their normal patrols after determining the UFOs posed no danger.

The Monroe County Independent reports that nearby Scott Air Force Base was contacted about the UFOs, and the base claims it had no aircraft in that area. And although the appearance of a meteor shower and/or solar flare activity was possible that day, the descriptions provided by witnesses don’t match that of meteorites or solar flares.

What do you think these unidentified aerial objects were? Share your thoughts with us by leaving a comment below, or by commenting on the Open Minds Facebook page.

About Jason McClellan

Jason McClellan is a UFO journalist and the producer/co-host of the web series Spacing Out! He is also the web content manager and staff writer for OpenMinds.tv, and a co-organizer and technical producer of the International UFO Congress. As a founding member of Open Minds, Jason served as a writer and editor for the now defunct Open Minds magazine. He has appeared on Syfy, NatGeo, and, most recently, he co-starred on H2's Hangar 1: The UFO Files. ------ Follow Jason on Twitter @acecentric and subscribe to Jason's updates on Facebook.

3 comments

  1. I viewed something similar but can’t remember if it was Monday the 22 or Tuesday the 23. About 10:45 PM looking up and to the south I saw 2 dimly lit squares going incredibly fast and to the straight south. I have viewed many UFOs and have never seen anything like the 2 squares. very cool!
    Peter

  2. Thanks for the article. I find mass sightings like these very intriguing. Just curious to why the post got removed from my home page on Twitter. I see all your other posts.

  3. I saw it, or something resembling this, last night (May 24, 2013) just outside of Lawrenceville, Illinois. I was on break at work, and noticed an object in the sky, brightly lit, that was larger than a planet. Then I noticed it was descending, VERY slowly. I called a co-worker over to look at it as well. I was near the Mid America Air Center (approx. 10 miles away) but it was very apparent that what we saw was not an airplane.

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