New witness surfaces in Illinois UFO case from January 2000

The story behind a well known Illinois UFO case from early January 2000 involving witnesses from multiple police departments may be rewritten as one new witness came forward July 16, 2012, to offer additional testimony from a vantage point in southern Missouri, according to testimony from the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) witness reporting database.

The witness was an assistant fire chief at the time who watched the case being played out on a network television reenactment and called the UFO Examiner to disclose case details that had never before been revealed publicly. After speaking with the witness, both Missouri and Illinois MUFON were immediately contacted to begin an investigation. The witness officially filed a MUFON report with Assistant Missouri State Director Margie Kay today.

Kay provided details in MUFON Case 40861.

"He stated that he was returning from a house fire in St. Clair, MO, at approximately 3 a.m. and was on I-44 Highway approaching Union, MO, when he heard law enforcement on the county police band radio discussing an unidentified object.The dispatcher said, 'Oh it's this Roswell stuff again' and that police were chasing the object."

As detailed by Illinois witnesses at the time, the object was very low to the ground.

"As the witness approached 50 Highway and 47 Highway he saw a large, triangular craft with lights pointing down over the Wal-Mart that was traveling at approximately 25-30 mph. The witness said that the very bright lights on the object pointed downward, but did not light up the ground, seeming to stop approximately 100 feet up.The craft was approximately 500 above the ground."

The witness then met up with two police officers.

"The witness joined up with an officer from Union, MO, and an officer from the county, and the three of them followed the object in their separate cars for approximately one hour as the object headed towards Washington, MO, north of the original position.The object was always in front of them or above them."

They were unable to photogrph the object and their radios would not provide communications while the object was near them.

"At one point, the county officer attempted to tilt his dash cam up in order to get pictures, but it would not move into the needed position. None of the men had a camera with them. The object stopped and hovered several times and moved very slowly.They were unable to use the radio for communication while the craft was above them."

All three witnesses eventually gave up the chase.

"After an hour, the officers needed to turn back to get back to other calls, so this witness left as well. By this time, the object had moved into an area southeast of Washington, MO, over farmland where there were no roads, and it was impossible to follow."

The original Illinois case from January 4 -5, 2000, involved multiple police departments chasing a triangle-shaped object that was flying low through the area. The story has been told on network television shows, including the Bill Birnes' History Channel series, "UFO Hunters". Episode 202 aired on November 5, 2008, and used CGI animation to show how the low flying craft looked as officers chased it from town to town.

The first part of this show segment begins at 6:57 on this video. The second piece of this segment can be seen on this video.

The witness said he heard about the Illinois sightings at that time and assumed that what he saw was the same object. He and the officers did not report their sighting at the time.

Illinois State Director Sam Maranto said he will also be conducting an interview with the witness to see how the events tied into the Illinois events.

No images or videos were included with the MUFON report, which was filed on July 16, 2012. The events occurred on January 4, 2000. The above quotes were edited for clarity.

Missouri is a current UFO ALERT 4 rating, with a higher than average number of UFO sightings nationally. Missouri had 21 reports in June 2012 - the 11th highest reporting state while California had 84 reports - the highest reporting state in the nation.

You can read more details about other recently reported cases at the UFO Examiner home page.

The following is the unedited and as yet uninvestigated report filed with MUFON. Please keep in mind that most UFO reports can be explained as something natural or manmade. If Missouri MUFON State Director Debbie Ziegelmeyer investigates and reports back on this case, I will release an update. Please report UFO activity to MUFON.com.

MO, January 4, 2000 - Triagular Craft January 2000 may be part of mass sightings in Illinois. MUFON Case 40861.

FILED BY ASD for the witness, who wishes to remain anonymous:

The witness, who was an Assistant Fire Chief at the time, was prompted to contact MUFON after seeing a TV program on the Illinois sightings in theyhear 2000. He stated that he was returning from a house fire in St. Clair, Missouri at approximately 3:00 AM and was on I-44 Highway approaching Union, Missouri when he heard law enforcement on the county police band radio discussing an unidentified object. The dispatcher said “Oh its this Roswell stuff again.” and that police were chasing the object.

As the witness approached 50 hwy and 47 hwy he saw a large triangular craft with lights pointing down over the Wal-Mart that was traveling at approximately 25-30 MPH. The witness said that the very bright lights on the object pointed downward, but did not light up the ground, seeming to stop approximately 100 feet up. The craft was approximately 500 above the ground.

The witness joined up with an officer from Union, Missouri and an officer from the County, and the three of them followed the object in their separate cars for approximately one hour as the object headed towards Washington, Missouri, north of the original position. The object was always in front of them or above them. At one point, the county officer attempted to tilt his dash cam up in order to get pictures, but it would not move into the needed position.

None of the men had a camera with them. The object stopped and hovered several times and moved very slowly. They were unable to use the radio for communication while the craft was above them. After an hour, the officers needed to turn back to get back to other calls, so this witness left as well. By this time, the object had moved into an area SE of Washington, MO over farmland where there were no roads, and it was impossible to follow.
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The witness surmises that the object from Illinois continued into Missouri and officers picked up its trail after it crossed the state line.