Date of Sighting: Mid September, 2007
Time of Sighting: About 9 PM CDT
Date Sighting Reported: October 10, 2007
Duration of Sighting: About 1 Hour
Location of Sighting: La Harpe, Illinois (West Central IL - See Map)
Latitude: 40.59 Degrees North
Longitude: 90.98 Degrees West
Number of Witnesses: Seven
Number of Witnesses Interviewed: One
Weather: Clear Skies. Good Visibility. (Per Witness Observation.)

Description (In Witness's Own Words): The primary witness sent a written report and also reported his sighting by telephone. The witness stated that the orange lights had been seen on three occasions in 2007. The dates were in mid April, late August, and mid September. The behavior and appearance of the lights was similar in each sighting. The lights would hover, disappear, and then reappear in a different area of the sky. The pattern would repeat itself several times. The lights were slightly larger than the "planet Mars" according to the witness. The witness also said that unusually high aircraft activity would occur when the lights appeared. He stated that military aircraft would circle around the lights. He did not believe that the lights were flares and was quite familiar with flare appearance. (The witness spent four years in the Navy at an aircraft installation.) The witness's family and neighbors also saw the lights. These other witnesses all thought that the lights were quite unusual. The witness reported the sighting when he read about a similar sighting that occurred at Timewell, Illinois on September 17, 2007. (Timewell is about 40 miles south of La Harpe.) Click here to read about the Timewell sighting.

Investigator's Notes: I have no explanation for the identification of these lights. Certainly the lights could be associated with military exercises, but the identity still remains a mystery.