NUFORC Sighting 118343

Occurred: 1987-08-02 22:25 Local
Reported: 2015-04-14 00:13 Pacific
Duration: 15 minutes
No of observers: 1

Location: East Troy, WI, USA

Shape: Sphere
Characteristics: Aircraft nearby

"Star-like" sphere stationary for 15 mins, zigzags and disappears in response to 2 military jets chasing.

It was Sunday evening, August 2nd, 1987. I drove from Madison, Wisconsin to see a Madonna concert at Alpine Valley Music Theater near East Troy, Wisconsin. I would often leave early to avoid drunk or otherwise impaired drivers.

It was approximately 10:25 pm and the concert was about two to three songs away from ending. I walked up the central path to the top and stood in a grassy area near the exit. I turned around to watch the concert a little longer.

I immediately felt compelled to look up and to my left about 90 degrees. I saw what looked like a big, bright star to the northeast and beyond the venue. I intuitively felt that this was not a star and that it had intelligence.

This object was stationary and prominent like when Venus appears closer and brighter. Only this was different, in that it looked a whole lot closer. It could have been as little as 1 mile away, which would place it just south of East Troy, Wisconsin.

Because of its size and the feelings I was having, I made note of its location.

I used the “fist as 10 degrees” method of measuring it in relation to the tree tops.

I estimated this object was approximately 35 to 40 degrees above the horizon and it was approximately 10 degrees above the tree tops.

If you go to the Google Earth image of the Alpine Valley venue, zoom down to where I was standing and face northeast. You will see the trees on a hill, beyond a building on the eastern edge of the amphitheater. The trees are flattened on Google Earth, as it is not the actual street view, but a zoomed to level view.

I continued to observe this solidly bright and unmoving "star" for approximately 10 minutes. Watching it for approximately 20 seconds at a time, then back to watching the end of the concert.

Suddenly, I heard the roar of jet engines overhead. The loudness of the music was mixing with the sound. Two military jets, (which I assumed to be A-10A Thunderbird Warthogs from Truax Field in Madison) approached from the west and crossed directly over the venue at approximately 500 feet. I was losing details of them in the bright lights of the music theater, but I could clearly see the central underside of them. The military jets were heading directly towards the object.

As they passed just to the east of the amphitheater, within about 10 seconds, the object that had been a stationary “star,” moved suddenly south in a horizontal line, then straight up, then horizontally south again and disappeared! It was breathtaking to witness!

I did not report it to any authority at the time, but a decade later, I reported it by phone to the National UFO Reporting Center. I followed up with an email.

Apparently, it did not make it into an official report, so I am reporting it again.

Posted 2015-04-17

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