E'ville History: Small UFO flap in area - March '98 Part Two

And the story grows.......................................

Lynn Taylor: Indiana UFO Sightings 1998
Lynn Taylor, UFO Field Investigator
Date: 98-03-30 10:57:39 EST
Indiana UFO Sightings widespread March 1998

The following article by Mr. Kenny Young in Cincinnati suggests that large scale sightings occurred over Indiana on the night of March 27, 1998 (Friday), and that officials contacted had no official response, except to deny any knowledge concerning said sightings (not surprising). All I will say is, something fitting the general description of the objects reported in the article was observed by three witnesses just three miles south of my home, at 11:02 PM on that same night. One of the witnesses has logged many hours in the field observing nocturnal flying objects, and is considered by those who know her, as a highly credible witness. (She just happens to be my 14 year old daughter, as well.) (I will provide an account of their sighting in a separate e-mail report.)
As a post script, the following evening, Saturday, March 28th, between 10:00 PM and 1:00 AM, my wife and two of my daughters visited various parts of Monroe and Morgan Counties, looking for further signs of activity. Talk about a quiet evening. We had trouble finding even a Piper Cub that night.

UFO REPORTS: Indiana, March 1998
A massive series of UFO sightings are supposedly underway as of this writing, according to information this writer has acquired within the last two hours. WTVW, Fox 7 News from Evansville, Indiana was contacted, and I spoke with reporter Kerry Dean, who said that the station had been getting strange reports "as fast as we can take them."
Dean said that reports have been coming in within the past week, but they experienced a dramatic upsurge of reported sightings Friday night, March 27. There were more reports tonight, the most recent being within the past hour.
"They're coming in about as fast as we can take them," Dean reiterated. "They tend to fall into three categories, single lights in sky twice as bright as Venus which are colored yellow, white and silver, five lights in a triangle shape with a brilliant white light on the leading edge, and two parallel lines of white dots in the sky, ranging from 3 to 5 objects."
When asked for details on the triangular object, Dean said that reports indicated it was very large. "People said that there were two lights down each side in formation, attached to large, structured triangular object which was as large as a silver dollar held at arms length."
Dean said that the Evansville, Indiana station has received somewhere around three hundred UFO reports since Monday.
"We contacted NORAD and Evansville (Indiana) FAA Flight Service. Terre Haute and Indianapolis FAA was also contacted and reported nothing," Dean added, "and Colorado is reporting no re-entry of any kind."
Dean said that the duration of the reports lasts between three seconds to four minutes.
There is a video crew out tonight attempting to acquire footage of the UFOs. "We have dispatched some cameramen to record this activity," he said.
The Indiana State Police and Vincennes City Police Departments have also reported UFOs, and have had reports called into them from the public.
The latest UFO sighting occurred tonight near Hosville, Kentucky, involving a bright light in the eastern sky moving south.
"Most of the objects are moving east-west or south, despite the fact that there are very strong southerly winds. The objects would have to be traveling against the wind, which is about 80 knots or 90 miles per hour," said Dean.
When informed of my investigations regarding the Ohio sightings last March 26, Dean said: "The flare theory has been a factor, but the wind is a complicating issue and nobody is taking credit for them."
One of the lights was alleged to have been intercepted by an F-16 over Knox County, Indiana near Vincennes, as per the comments made by a caller to the station. This person suggested that they were flares from an F-16.
The only air corridor used for MOA activities is in Terre Haute, around 100 miles north of there, and they are reporting no operations.
Jerry Washington of Kentucky MUFON reports that Mr. Jerry Sievers (IN/MUFON SD) advised him of a "big hullabaloo" on Friday night, March 27, 1998.
"A big, large ring of UFOs" was reportedly seen near the Toyota manufacturing plant in Princeton, Indiana, and a "large, grey triangle with five lights on one side" was seen around Petersburg, Indiana, and areas north of there. A "nocturnal light" was reportedly spotted in Kentucky, according to the sketchy report.
UFO researcher Francis Ridge saw a news report on the 9:00 PM Fox news that same evening. "I've seen this happen before and nothing ever seems to come of it," Ridge states. "The N-S path is unusual because there are no flight corridors running like that. I guess it's too early to tell."
Ridge added that the Fox report described sightings from Olney, Illinois to Vincennes, Petersburg, Princeton and Evansville, Indiana and south into Owensboro, KY.
"The last time this happened the military said they were doing helicopter maneuvers and dropping flares," Ridge added. However, he cautions that the wind was strong at the time, and there were severe storm alerts in progress. "You don't drop flares under those circumstances," said Ridge.
To acquire an e-mail or fax copy of this news article, I contacted The Indianapolis, Indiana offices of The Associated Press. Mr. Jerry Ross checked a computer and said that there were no recent stories about UFOs reported by The Associated Press. Furthermore, he said, there was nothing that he had heard of regarding UFOs either.
To find out more about this 'Big Hullabaloo,' I contacted the Princeton, Indiana police department. The gentleman who answered the phone wasn't aware of any such UFO sightings. He added that the Toyota plant is outside of their jurisdiction. He said 'the county' may provide more help, and my call was transferred to the Gibson County Sheriff's office.
The female dispatcher there didn't know about UFO reports and didn't have anything off-hand, such as reports or news releases before her. In addition, she reviewed the logs from as far back as 3:00 p.m. on Friday, March 27, and there was no incoming phone calls to their office regarding UFOs. She was a very courteous and helpful person.
The Princeton, Indiana Toyota Plant was contacted at and the security guard I spoke with was present on the previous evening (March 27), and said there were no UFO sightings made to his knowledge. He said he was on-duty until midnight, and that it was a stormy evening with a cloudy sky. He is a dispatcher for the security, and also transferred my call to his supervisor. The supervisor also had no knowledge of such activity. If there was something that happened, he said that he would have known about it.
In an effort to gather more information about an alleged UFO sighted near Petersburg, Indiana on March 27, 1998, The Pike County Sheriff's Office was contacted and the dispatcher who responded to the call seemed surprised at my request for information, stating not to have heard any such news beforehand. She transferred me to another person, Officer Hill.
Hill said there were no reports logged through the department, and there was a 'citizen' who is possibly a crank, that sometimes calls in UFO sightings. However, no calls were received recently. He said that he had talked with the officers from the previous evening, and that it was quiet all night.
On the side, he also added that an Otwell, Indiana resident had seen an unusual object recently, and residents from a nearby Mini-mart store also came out and also saw it. He had heard of this account through a family member.
Around 5:30 p.m., I spoke with someone from a COUNTY Sheriff's office (the precise department will not be specified) who doesn't wish to be quoted. He was very kind and helpful, and I will respect his wishes for privacy. He conveys the following:
Information was transmitted 'over the computer' from The State Police (originating from Evansville, Indiana) regarding some UFO sightings, and a fax copy was received about 1-week ago. The informant does not think the fax copy from the state police was presently at the department, as it may have since been discarded. At the time, the fax from the State Police was perceived to be 'some sort of joke.'
This fax was regarding a Crop Circle which appeared in Duboise County, and an officer was dispatched to the scene, and since instructed to 'be on the lookout.' In response to questions, this informant added that the state police received the news from an associated press newspaper article regarding Crop Circles near Huntingburg, Indiana which were found near a field recently. This person felt that the photo in this newspaper article was fishy, indicating it was of a recent nature, and yet the trees in the photo had 'leaves on them.'
Central dispatch for the area was contacted, and the dispatcher who answered the phone said that he was not authorized to release any information. He then transferred my call to the Duboise County Sheriff's Office. The dispatcher, without missing a beat, immediately told me to contact The Huntingburg Press who had reported the story about UFO sightings and a crop circle.
I called and received no answer (being Saturday evening). This writer will again try to contact this number Monday morning and will provide updates as early as possible.
It was during this same time of year in 1997 that a massive wave of UFO reports flooded police stations and news agencies from the Southern Ohio region. The Springfield Air National Guard assumed responsibility for the sightings, declaring that military flare maneuvers were visible to the populace due to exceptional atmospheric clarity.
The reports from Indiana on March 27 and 28, however, are further complicated by the lack of atmospheric clarity (heavy cloud conditions) and strong winds.
This writer will continue to follow this story, and will advise of any further updates.
Note: Phone numbers for above agencies on file for future reference
Filed March 28, 1998
Kenny Young
Cincinnati, Ohio
Lynn Taylor, Association for Aerial Anomaly Research and Cataloging (AAARC)