NUFORC UFO Sighting 196709
Occurred: 2026-03-22 21:10 LocalReported: 2026-03-22 22:02 Pacific
Duration: 5 minutes
No of observers: 2
Location: Stoughton, WI, USA
Location details: Driving on highway 138
Shape: Rectangle
Color: Orange and Red
Estimated Size: Bus to small plane sized
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: North
Angle of Elevation: 65
Heading: When I took off it headed north.
Closest Distance: 300 feet.
Estimated Speed: I have no clue. In a flash it was gone.
Characteristics: Lights on object, Changed Colo
My roommate and I were driving and saw a strange light hovering and then took off
My roommate and I were driving down 138, heading to Stoughton from Oregon, Wi. At around 9pm. I noticed a light in the sky and told my roommate to look at it. He said that he thought it was a tower or something. It wasn’t moving and not really flashing. It was a bright orange, almost white. It wasn’t moving and I was watching it for about two minutes looking to see if I could see the base of the tower. An opening in the trees happened and I was looking directly to my left at it and with the glow coming from the Madison area behind it, I noticed that there was nothing holding it up. It was hovering in place and I thought maybe it’s a helicopter for a second. I pulled to the left into a driveway an turned back around to the lake road an went right down it. When we turned right I noticed about 4 red lights that were in a diamond shape on it all blinking in different patterns. We were about to the curve on the road when we were looking up and I could see a physical body to the light. It looked black and kind of had a rectangular form to it. It looked like it had mechanical elements to it. It was hard to put an exact size on it, but given its relative height, which I would say was initially about 200 feet in the air, I would say it looked similar in size to a small plane. The object then dropped and as it lowered it turned to a bright red. It wasn’t moving and was so bright that the trees beneath were completely illuminated red, and as soon as it went down it took off almost instantly in a Northern direction. We drove around the area for about 20 more minutes and didn’t see anything else. It was truly bizarre and I am still shaking just typing this. I have no idea what I saw.
INVESTIGATION REPORT
Summary
While driving to Stoughton from Oregon, Wisconsin, the witness and his front passenger observed a cigar shaped craft hovering approximately 200 feet in the air. The craft was approximately the size of a school bus and was completely silent. The duration of the sighting was approximately 5 minutes long, and the passenger was not interviewed.
Statements
On 4-14-2026 at 10:17am PST, I interviewed the witness identified as D by phone regarding his UFO sighting on 3-22-2026 at approximately 9:10pm CST. D stated that on 3-22-2026, he and his roommate/front passenger were driving back to Stoughton, Wisconsin when D observed a very bright orange light in the sky. D added that he kept driving while also watching the orange light, and when he got to an opening in between the trees, he observed what looked like a dark rectangular craft hovering in the sky.
D stated that once he got a better look at the craft, it looked more cigar shaped with rounded ends (see drawings below). D also stated that he was able to see the craft pretty well because the night was clear, and the lights coming from Madison, Wisconsin lit up the craft pretty well. D stated that the craft appeared to be hovering silently, and somehow stayed in one place without any visible, traditional, or known methods of generating thrust. D added that when he drove past the craft, he then turned around and tried to drive closer to better see the craft.
D stated that both of them lost sight of the craft after turning around, but soon found it again in the same place as before. D stated that the craft had an orange light during their first sighting, but on the second sighting, the craft had 4 red lights that were in a diamond shape. D then stated that the 4 red lights were blinking in a pattern and were located at what appeared to be the front of the craft. D added that the red lights were very bright and were lighting up the trees directly below the craft.
D stated that he estimated that the closest the two of them were from the craft was approximately 300' away, and he estimated that the craft was the size of a standard school bus or approximately 35' to 45' in length. D added that shortly after the two of them observed the craft for the second time, it flew away "in a flash" with no noise or air disruption. I asked D about his "mechanical elements" statement, and the only thing he could think of to explain what he observed on the craft was for me to look underneath a picture of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars.
Conclusion
D stated that he lives in an area where fighter jets, commercial airlines, helicopters, and drones fly over his residence day and night. He added that he is also familiar with the sounds they all make. D stated that what he observed on 3-22-2026 wasn't anything he's observed before. D stated that he also made a report to MUFON along with doing his own investigation into this sighting. D emailed me pictures and drawings of the UFO he observed which will be added to this report. I am classifying this as an anomalous sighting.
Keith Bickford
NUFORC investigator
Posted 2026-03-25