A recreation of the 2007 sighting near Golconda, IL, showing the metallic saucer as seen by the witnesses from their backyard.
THINK ABOUTIT UFO SIGHTINGS REPORT
Date: 2007
Sighting Time: 06:00 PM
Day/Night: Daytime
Location: Shawnee National Forest, Golconda, Pope County, Illinois
Urban or Rural: It was in my backyard. You can look up the location online since it’s also the location of my parents former cabin rental business. “Willowbrook Cabin Rentals” in Golconda IL. I was in the backyard in the area between our house and what was once our car garage.
Entity Type: na
Entity Description: na
Hynek Classification: CE-I (Close Encounter I) Observation of an object in close proximity to the witness (i.e. within 500’)
Duration: 15-20 seconds
No. of Object(s): 1
Appearance / Description of the Object(s): Typical “Sci-fi” saucer. Like one you’d see in a movie or something. Looked metallic, silver in color. Shiny enough to reflect the sun on the right side. The “dome” on top had a row of what looked to be black square windows. Think of the note holes you blow into in a harmonica and that’s pretty close. The rim had red and blue lights, the blue ones were slow strobing, on and off, while the red stayed consistent. This is the part that convinced my mother I saw a plane, since planes have red strobing lights, but that sure as hell wasn’t like any plane I know of. Another part that is weird is that I remember it spinning, but I remember the lights staying in place.
Distance to Object(s): I’m never good at this, 300 feet in the air? More? Whatever the height is you see those little 2 seater Cessna planes fly at would pretty close.
Shape of Object(s): Typical “Sci-fi” saucer.
Size of Object(s): Hard to saw, it was pretty high up in the air, I’d say 2 of my fingers at age 8 would cover it. As for a foot estimate, maybe roughly the size of a semi-truck and trailer in width? So 50ft give or take.
Color of Object(s): Looked metallic, silver in color.
Number of Witnesses: 2
Special Features/Characteristics:
Source: Reported To Think AboutIt by D
Summary/Description: I was 8 years old. It was the summer of 2008 I believe. I don’t remember the specific time or date. It was in the afternoon, it had to be late enough for the moon to be partially visible during daylight hours, and I was playing in the back yard of our home and looking at birds and the like with my toy binoculars. I was using them as binoculars but that wasn’t their main function. It was like one of those old Viewmasters where you’d insert the circular disk that had images on it and you’d click the little lever to cycle through them. However, if you took the disk out, they acted as weak binoculars that I’d use to watch planes and birds and whatever else was in the woods. My older sister was relaxing in our blow-up pool not too far behind me further in the yard.
I set my sites on the moon, since it was visible, to see if I could see the craters more clearly, for what I’d say was only enough seconds for my eyes to adjust and all of a sudden my vision was blocked by something big. I lowered my binoculars and saw what I would describe as a typical UFO. Silver, reflective enough that it was reflecting the sun behind me. It was around 300 feet in the air? I’ve never been good at guessing distance. I immediately raised my binoculars again upon realizing and began studying each features. It slowly and silently drifted out of view and over the tree line where it was no longer visible. I immediately ran inside to tell my mother what I just saw, something she dismissed instantly. I remember trying to draw what I saw on a piece of printer paper to show my mom, which is probably why I still remember what it looks like. I was pretty upset that she nor my step-father believed me and it wasn’t until after a day or two my sister approached me to tell me she saw it too, and thought she must’ve been dreaming until she heard my mother retelling my story to her and laughing. For whatever reason she decided to keep the fact that she also saw it to herself. We’re both in our 20s now and she is at least a bit more open about it.
I’m not sure if this should go in the description of the object part, but something I realized that sticks out to me now as specifically odd but didn’t then was the fact that the craft was perfectly facing me sideways. What I mean is that, if you were to look at it from it’s side like it were sitting right in front of you, to the point where I couldn’t see any of the top surface, or the bottom surface. Why this is weird to me is that it was high in the air, and not too far away. You would think I would see most of the bottom and only partially from the side, but that wasn’t the case. This is the part that I know makes me sound crazy, but I get a weird feeling that it “wanted” to be seen that way? If that makes sense. Like it was presenting itself to us. I know it sounds weird, but it’s the truth. It didn’t do anything crazy like fly around at super speed or change direction. Just quietly and silently floated on by until it was out of sight. My mother chalks it up to my “imagination” but I was never the type of kid who had an over-active one. I never had an imaginary friend as a kid, nor did I ever imagine things so vividly that I saw them, I remember thinking the whole idea of “make-believe” to be pretty silly even as a little kid. Moreover, it’s not like I was looking for UFOs, I was looking at the moon and just playing in the back yard, not to mention my older sister, who was 11 at the time, saw it as well. This has kept me from second guessing myself as I’ve gotten older. If it weren’t for my sister I’d probably have chalked it up to a dream by now.
This 2007 encounter remains a defining moment for the witnesses, characterized by the striking clarity of the “sci-fi” style saucer and its silent, deliberate presence. While the sighting was met with skepticism at the time, the shared experience between siblings—confirmed years later—serves as a powerful validation of the event. The craft’s peculiar “presentation” of its profile suggests a sighting that was more than just a random passing, leaving an indelible mark on those who watched it drift silently over the Illinois tree line.
