SIGHTING: HARRISBURG, ILLINOIS (UNITED STATES)

Witness Testimony

"It was 2:00am and my wife and I were turning off the lights to go to bed when she noticed from our dining room window bright lights coming from the east and asked me to come and look, so I did. We didn't think it looked like low flying plane or helicopter so we went outside to watch it. When we got outside it was obvious that it was something odd because it was very large and made absolutely no sound at all, totally silent. My wife ran inside and grabbed our binoculars and as soon as she looked at it through them she handed them to me and said "That's not an airplane!" We watched the aircraft for approximately 3-4 minutes until it was out of sight. I have attached an illustration defining the light arrangement. All lights were white except 2 red blinking lights. I estimate the craft's altitude was approximately 2000-3000 feet and traveling approximately 100-200 knots.We have spotted other strange aircraft in our area over the past 3 years but only a couple were extremely unusual. However, usually after we notice something strange like this within the next day or two several Blackhawk helicopters will be seen patrolling the area. Note: We are not close to any military bases or large airports but frequent sightings of unusual or unexplainable aircraft is not uncommon in our area. This is a rural area and mostly occupied by farmers and Old Order Amish and he only thing close is a coal mine. However, about 30-40 years ago much of this area was strip-mined. In August 2012 I reported my 1st encounter to Mufon and because it was such a life-changing experience for me, my wife and I continually watch the skies. I am a disabled Veteran and spend most of my time at home and even though 3 years have passed since my 1st encounter I cannot sleep more than 3-4 hours per night. I never go to bed until 1 or 2 am and get up around 4:30-5:00. I am still struggling over it and finding that 1st experience very difficult to process. There's more that I would like to talk about but I won't because nobody would believe me, (not even you !) Life is very stressful knowing what you know but fearing to disclose it to anyone. Thank you for your time.Kind regards,Joe Potts"