Probe of UFO continues in Illinois

The mystery of the "floating house" remains.

It's been more than two weeks since four Illinois police officers and a miniature-golf course owner saw an unidentified flying object in the skies over western Illinois, and still no answers have been found.

"We still have no idea who flew it. We don't know if it was a military plane or if it was something else," said Colm Kelleher, deputy administrator for the National Institute for Discovery Science. "But the investigation is ongoing."

The National Institute for Discovery Science is a Las Vegas-based research organization founded in 1995 by hotel magnate Robert Bigelow, who was interested in having UFO sightings and cow mutilations investigated by scientists.

Two members of the organization, which is made up of doctorate-level scientists and retired law enforcement professionals, spent five days in Illinois in the hopes of identifying the object.

Witnesses' statements compiled by the investigators and the flight path of the object have been posted on the organization's website (www.accessnv.com/nids).

One of the witnesses, who has not been identified by the organization, told investigators he saw an object like a "floating house" with very bright internal lights flying at a low altitude about 4 a.m. Jan. 5.

Shortly thereafter, a handful of police officers also reported seeing the object, which generated little, if any, noise. The officers all said the object hovered between 500 and 1,000 feet off the ground and eventually took off at a high rate of speed.

Kelleher said investigators are impressed with the quality of the witnesses they've interviewed and thanks to a huge amount of media interest, an additional 10 or so witnesses have come forward.

What's interesting, Kelleher said, is that some of them have reported seeing UFOs in the same area after the Jan. 5 incident. Some said they saw something as recently as Jan. 14.

"Now we have to distinguish between the people saying 'Me too!' the copy cat syndrome, and genuine sightings," Kelleher said. "It's going to take some time."

Another trip to Illinois by investigators has not been ruled out, Kelleher said.

Officials at Scott Air Force Base, which appeared to be in the flight path of the UFO, have said no one at the base saw the object, Kelleher said. They also said no rare or unusual aircraft fly out of the base.

Kelleher said as more information becomes available it will be posted on the organization's website.

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