St. Clair Triangle

Event Summary

The St. Clair Triangle UFO incident took place in southwestern Illinois, an area characterized by small towns and rural landscapes. This region, on the early morning of January 5, 2000, became the focus of a remarkable and widely reported UFO sighting involving multiple credible witnesses, including law enforcement officers from various jurisdictions.

The Initial Sighting
The event began at around 4:00 a.m. when Melvern Noll, a 66-year-old miniature golf course owner, was checking on his business to ensure the pipes hadn't frozen. During this routine check, he observed an unusual and brightly lit object in the sky. Noll described the object as resembling "a flying house with windows on the top and bottom." Struck by the sight, he promptly called the local police to report the strange phenomenon.

Law Enforcement Response
Lebanon Police Officer Ed Barton responded to Noll's call. Initially skeptical, Barton was soon taken aback by the sight of the object. He described it as a massive, triangular craft with three white lights at each corner and a single red light in the center. Barton followed the object in his patrol car as it moved towards Shiloh, Illinois, at high speed. The object's acceleration and movement patterns were unlike any conventional aircraft.

Further Police Encounters
In Shiloh, Officer David Martin also witnessed the object. He reported seeing it before it sped off in the direction of Millstadt. In Millstadt, Officer Craig Stevens saw the object and managed to take a photograph using a Polaroid camera. Despite the limitations of the camera, Stevens' picture became a crucial piece of visual evidence supporting the sighting. Additionally, a fourth officer in Dupo reported seeing something that might have been related, further corroborating the event.

Civilian Witnesses and Media Attention
Besides the police officers, other civilians also reported seeing the object. Their accounts matched those of the officers, describing a large, triangular craft with distinct lighting patterns. The incident attracted significant media attention, with local news outlets covering the story extensively. This wide coverage helped to disseminate information about the event, drawing attention from the UFO research community.

Government and Scientific Interest
The incident did not go unnoticed by the U.S. government. Multiple agencies, including the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of Justice, Department of Energy, and NASA, showed interest in the case. This level of governmental attention is relatively rare for UFO sightings, indicating the perceived significance of the event.

The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS), a UFO research organization founded by Robert Bigelow, also investigated the incident. NIDS hypothesized that the object might be related to a Department of Defense black program, suggesting that it could be advanced military technology. Despite these investigations, no conclusive explanation was provided, and the object's true nature remains unknown.

Event Details