Unknown over Decatur, IL
A witness account on file, unevaluated. Most of the archive rests here, and honestly so.
The report, as filed
During a raging snowstorm, I saw a dark object flying at about 5 MPH in the middle of the road between the trees, using a bright search
Held as-reported from National UFO Reporting Center. Witness text is preserved verbatim, including its spelling; nothing is edited beyond formatting.
Ask for the records
What would the paper say?
For a dated, located U.S. sighting, FAA radar data and ATC communications are the records most likely to exist. Through Aletheca, the house instrument, anyone can commission the request — filed, chased, and published in the open, refusals included. The draft goes over already written: the records sought, and the date window they would live in.
Routed to: Federal Aviation Administration · records window 1980-12-17 → 1981-01-03
From the same sky
Related entries
October 12, 2023 · 7:33 PM · CIRCLE
Decatur, IL
Saw a blinking light as I was driving, the light was not moving in any direction, just stationary in one spot in the sky . I then zoomed 30x in with my phone camera and saw two white circles blinking steadily, blinks about 1 second apart. To the naked eye, it looked like one single blinking light. This was not a plane, not a radio tower, and too far away and high in the sky to be a drone. I drove by again 20 minutes later, and the lights were gone.
July 4, 2021 · 10:00 PM · CIRCLE
Decatur, IL
Sighting Description: round, orange glow, floating or gliding, object appeared to have a halo of light around it. It moved fairly slow at first and had absolutely no sound at all to it. We watched for approximately 60 seconds maybe a little more. At first the object seemed to move as if it was getting closer and then it seemed move a little further away. Suddenly it appeared to shift up and vanished into thin air no trace at all. I attempt to take a video of it but had a difficult time keeping it in the view of my camera. Object appeared to have light all the way around it. It didn’t seem very high at first and continued to climb. we were on a bike trail in the woods it was very dark. I understand it was the 4th of July but this without a doubt NOT a firework. Weather conditions: Dark, good clear weather, stars visible, no clouds, dry and humid.
May 7, 2021 · 9:45 PM · DISK
Decatur, IL
Saw disc with lights rotating like:::::: "·· ·· ·· ··" then in "··· ··· ··· ···" back down to 2, then 1, and gone. Just vanished. You could tell it was spinning like the starship ride you see at the state fairs.
September 25, 2014 · 7:47 AM · SPHERE
Decatur, IL
As I walked outside around 7:47 (PM), I saw my neighbors pointing at the sky above my house. There were four lights in the sky. They didn’t have form or a craft shape. It certainly was not flares or lanterns. The lights bounced back and forth meeting each other in the center than bounced back away from each other at times they moved in a semi circle went back away and bounced to the center almost meeting each other. They stayed the same distance in the sky the duration, about the height of a landing airplane. I am so happy there were other witness’s! I don’t have a video camera I tried FaceTime to my daughter to see if she could also verify seeing them but she couldn’t see it through my I Phone camera. I kept wondering if it was some sort of spotlight or human device but I could not trace anything from the ground that appeared to be shining light towards the sky or any light source. I continued to go outside to see if it stopped, the event happened for over an hour stopping around 8:56 PM. At times, the lights would slightly separate and turn into two lights each but there was no pattern or count to it. Because only two would separate at a time and turn into two lights then back to one and bounce again towards the center- at times slightly traveling in a circle turning back and then bouncing in the center but the pattern was random. I did not feel fear; more mesmerized wondering what it was. The most irritating thing about it was to have no way to record it. Moreover, my Nikon doesn’t have a night vision. I am familiar with astronomy, aircrafts, satellites, etc it was nothing I could explain. I actually worried it could be orbs that are spotted before an earthquake or something. I think many would term it ghosts, because it was not a bright light it was more cloudy (transparent) grayish looking. The circles of light were not perfect in shape were round but not exact in size in relation to one another. I continue to try to find a logical explanation for the lights, I cannot find one. I watched the sky last night September 26, 2014 to see if it happened again (they didn’t come back last night), and will continue to watch nightly to see if it comes back. I drew diagrams of how the mystery lights traveled but am sad to report I don’t have a picture or video to prove it. I DID take notes on the event in my journal. They were unidentifiable flying lights. Advertising lights?? PD
September 5, 2014 · 12:00 AM · LIGHT
Decatur, IL
Sorry! Witness provides no contact information, so we are unable to contact him for additional information. He fails to indicate a time for the event. Hoax?? PD
April 23, 2012 · 4:15 AM · CIGAR
Decatur, IL
Strange lights above decatur ill.