Somewhere in the Skies - The Flash UFO Wave of 1993

Episode Date: October 1, 2023

On episode 337 of SOMEWHERE IN THE SKIES, we head to Indiana. In 1993, across the state, witnesses in all walks of life would report dozens of UFO sightings for over an hour. All reported similar shaped craft, with red lights being the primary detail that made local authorities believe that everyone was seeing the same thing. The craft seemed to be moving with purpose and destination. But where? And just exactly what was it? Some say it was Apache helicopters. Others believed it to be a craft from another world. But whatever it was, it gripped the entire state of Indiana in what became known as the "Flash UFO Wave of 1993." Read Ryan’s Articles by CLICKING HERE Opening Theme Song, "Ephemeral Reign" by Per Kiilstofte Copyright © 2023 Ryan Sprague. All rights reserved. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/somewhere-in-the-skies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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The Summer in the Sky's podcast is free to listen to every week. But if you would like to help support the show, we have a very active Patreon page, where you give what you think the show is worth. In return, you'll get early access to the main show, bonus episodes, and priority to ask our guests your listener questions. Your support truly makes the show continue and grow. So to learn more and to join, visit patreon.com. slash somewhere skies. In the summer of 1993, the state of Indiana exploded with reports of strange objects in the night skies, in what is arguably one of the most active single evenings in one location on record.

In the space of around 90 minutes, over two dozen UFO sightings were reported, with many others likely remaining unreported. All were clearly reporting the same object. In oval or cigar shape with flashing red lights, even more intriguing, timelines put together by UFO researchers and investigators would appear to suggest the object, whatever it was, was moving in a very purposeful and seemingly predetermined direction. So just what was taking place? So just what was taking place? over Indiana. Were extraterrestrials calmly making their way

to their final destination in the American Midwest? Or was there a more down-to-earth explanation? Possibly one that revolved around secret military technology. Or were the many dozens of

witnesses all genuinely mistaken in what they thought they saw that evening? Just what took place remains a mystery. A mystery that very well might have secrets yet to be revealed. This is the flash UFO wave of 1993. This is somewhere in the skies with Ryan's bread.

It was July 13, 1993, and it was a night like any other in Indiana. That was until around 9 p.m. When residents began witnessing and reporting strange lights and objects in the skies above. One of the first reports came from just outside of Albion when a mother and her son witnessed a glowing oval object that traveled with two red lights ahead of it. Only moments later, in Lee Goeneer, a 35-year-old woman was driving home from an auction with her two children and her mother with her. Suddenly, they noticed several bright red-orange lights in the sky. Although the witnesses couldn't be certain, it appeared the lights were hovering over our nearby rail line. They came closer to the tracks and brought the car to a stop as a freight train came passing through.

They noticed the lights directly over the top of it at an approximate altitude of about 25 feet. The train headed off into the distance, and the witnesses drove the car over the tracks before bringing the vehicle to a temporary home. Holt. They exited the car and turned to face the tracks, noticing immediately that the lights were still there, hovering directly overhead. Then, after several minutes, they silently and calmly moved off to the west. The witnesses returned to the car and continued on their way, arriving home around 20 minutes later. However, upon arriving, they witnessed would appear to be the same lights again, moving past their house. As the lights did so, the witnesses noted that the four dogs that were in their kennels at the time began barking furiously, something

they hardly ever did. The witnesses estimated that the lights, which were in a horizontal line, appeared to rotate as a unit, although they couldn't make out any details of a solid object connecting them. Incidentally, around the same time, another local woman driving with her child also saw would appear to be the same lights. Incidentally, around the same time, another woman driving with her son also saw would appear to be the same lights. However, she would report hearing a high-pitched wine at the same time. Five minutes later, around five miles to the south of Lickaneer, a housewife was driving home when she noticed the lights that appeared to be near her house. At first, she thought the lights were from a fire truck. By the time she pulled up

outside her house at 9-10, she could clearly see a stationary object hovering around 20 feet from the ground. Two red lights flashed on the side. She noticed that two other motorists had brought their vehicles to a halt, and were also looking up at this position. bizarre object. There appeared to be no sound from the craft, but the ground beneath it was a wash and a red glow of lights. At this point, the witness ran into her home in order to tell her husband of the strange events unfolding outside. They followed her outside the house, eventually seeing the glowing object for themselves. The lights eventually moved off into the distance. At around 9.15 p.m. just outside of Columbia City, a local resident and his neighbor witnessed

strange points of lights in the sky. They estimated that the lights were around half a mile away from them and approximately 100 feet off the ground. They reported hearing no unusual noise or sounds while the lights were in view, which they were for around two minutes. At approximately the same time, in Syracuse, a 65-year-old former pilot was at his farmhouse when a sudden humming sound caught his attention. In order to try to locate the source of the sound, he ventured outside into his backyard. There, approximately 600 feet in front of him, and around 50 to 70 feet above the ground, was a cigar-shaped object. The exterior of the craft was a dark gray color, and it had a bright red light at either end.

The witness estimated that the object was just short of 300 feet long and around 20 feet wide. He also recalled a strange humming that appeared to come from around the object as opposed to from it. As he watched the object, it rose slightly to just above the treetops and drifted away, eventually disappearing behind the trees and out of sight. It remained in view for around 70. minutes total. Also of interest, much like the case in Leakaneer, dogs on the farm howled and barked as the object passed overhead. The witness would recall that the dogs only ever acted in such a way

when a train passed by or when they heard sirens. Furthermore, several days after the sighting, the witness developed strange hives and felt decisively unwell. Whether this was a coincidence or whether it was connected to the relatively close proximity of the object is unknown. Only five minutes later, near Cromwell, the witness's mother also reported seeing the strange lights as she let one of her dogs out into the yard. As she did so, all of her dogs began to bark wildly. The woman was eventually joined by her daughter, and they watched lights as they disappeared into the distance. They noted that at one point, they appeared to rotate as if changing direction before vanishing at breakneck speed.

By 9.30 p.m., the Noble County Sheriff's Department was made aware of several UFO sightings, most of which were described as a dark object with red lights, which appeared to be moving at low altitudes. From there, though, the sightings and reports would just keep on coming in. Another sighting from just outside of Leakeneer occurred at 9.30 p.m. when two teenagers, driving along Sparta Lake Road, heard a strange humming sound and noticed several strange red lights. Fascinated, they pulled the car to the side of the road so that they could get a better look. They watched for several moments as the lights made their way over the fields and farm buildings that lined the roadside. The lights eventually disappeared from view, getting closer together as they did so, which suggested an acceleration.

By the time the witnesses arrived home, the young girl ran inside to tell her mother what she'd seen. The mother, who had also seen the lights too, several minutes earlier, would recall how her daughter looked like she'd seen a ghost. At around the same time, a man and his teenage son were watching a baseball game on television, in Whitley. County, when they saw six to eight red lights through the window. When he looked closer, the witness felt sure the lights were part of some object, telling a local newspaper that it had lights, it was quiet, it was low, and it was slow. He also noted that it was so weird because the object was so quiet. It hovered for several moments just above the tree line before heading off into the distance. In Cromwell, also at 9.30 p.m., also at 9.30 p.m.,

a woman and her son were driving home to their trailer when they witnessed an oval pattern of pulsating red lights in a straight line. By the time they pulled up to their trailer and had gotten out of the car, the lights were directly above them at an altitude of around 10 feet. While the red lights brightened and then dimmed, the witness's son claimed that he could see fainter blue lights in between them. The witnesses then describe the lights arranging themselves into two rows, and then moving into the distance in a way that suggested that they were part of the same object. Also of interest, the two witnesses claimed to have heard a high-pitched wine while the object remained in sight. Perhaps one of the most intriguing and detailed incidents of that night

occurred at around 9.30 p.m., around 5 miles west of wall. Gulf Lake, when four members of the same family witnessed the bizarre lights when returning home. According to a report, as they were traveling along the highway, they witnessed three red lights that were moving parallel to them in the same direction. They watched as the lights moved across the sky, noting how they remained completely silent. From the way they moved, the witnesses believed the lights were separate objects. They continued to watch them until they disappeared into the distance in a very definite direction. Noted in his report from Mufon, investigator Bruce Engstrom noted that the above report

fit with several other reports of red lights being northwest in Noble County, further noting that they appeared to be following Route 33 from Fort Wayne to the northwest. The family arrived home around 15 minutes. minutes later. As they were heading inside, two more lights appeared in the sky. However, they felt certain that these lights were the lights of two helicopters, perhaps not least as the typical sound of a helicopter in the distance could be heard. Whether their presence was connected to the strange lights that had been seen in the skies, only minutes earlier or not is unknown. Around the same time, in Kimmel, a local woman was driving home when two flashing red lights over the trees caught her attention.

After pulling her car into her driveway, the lights still flashing. She pressed the button on her electric car garage door. However, the door would only go a part of the way up. She got out of the car, leaving the door halfway open and ran inside to inform her husband of the strange lights overhead. They both watched them for several minutes before they, floated away. Incidentally, when the lights left, the garage door began working as it should. Five minutes later, at 9.40 p.m. in Legioneer, two police officers who were on patrol

witnessed an object with red lights, flying at a low altitude near West Noble High School. To begin with, they believed they were witnessing a small aircraft in distress. However, when they realized there was not a sound to be heard coming from the air, object, they realized they were looking at something little more out of the ordinary. One of the officers would state to the local newspaper that they witnessed a great big object, maybe like a 747. The two officers followed the object for several minutes before it disappeared behind the trees. Incidentally, the two officers refused to speak to UFO investigators about the sighting. With some investigators suggesting this very well could have been due to orders issued to

them to not talk about it. Following the sighting near West Noble High School, things appeared to quiet down a little bit. However, less than an hour later, at 10.30 p.m. just outside of Topeka, a local resident was alerted to something strange

taking place by the suddenly agitated barking of his dogs. Grabbing his rifle, the witness went to see what was unfolding. He would report seeing an object that was shaped like a half-football, a approximately 100 to 150 feet long and around 20 to 30 feet wide.

The object was around 3 to 500 feet away from him and appeared to be hovering over the Elkhart River. The witness watched the object for about 20 minutes, even firing his rifle in an attempt to get a response from it. No response came. Then the object suddenly began to move silently away from him, eventually disappearing from sight. Dozens and dozens of reports continued to come in, and then, just like that, around 90 minutes after they began, the sudden flash wave of UFO sightings over the northeast part of Indiana came to an abrupt stop. And countless witnesses were left wondering, what the hell had just happened? Hey guys, Ryan here, if you listen to the podcast on Apple, there's a very much.

very simple way for you to help out the show. Just click the Apple premium subscriber button at the top of the feed, and you'll instantly become a premium member where you get all the same rewards as our Patreon members do, early access to all main episodes and bonus episodes and content. Join our Apple Premium subscription today, and thank you for your support. Although it wasn't remembered well outside of UFO circles, as much as we might expect, given the flurry of incidents that evening, there was a certain amount of newspaper coverage at the time. Indeed, it was when many residents read the newspapers the following morning that they began to realize that many people, than just themselves,

witnessed the strange lights, and quite possibly encouraged many to make a report of their own. Perhaps one such couple were Robin and Earl Todd, who claimed that they witnessed the strange lights, as did their two daughters, but it was only that they read the paper that it kind of clicked. After reading the accounts of some of the other witnesses, Robin Todd would further state that, quote, from the way they described it, it sounds the same as what we saw.

Robin Todd would further offer the newspaper that none of them wanted to say that it was a UFO, but that it was something that didn't act natural. Incidentally, she also conceded that they were not sure whether to speak of the incident or not, because people might think they were weird. Retired Air Force Master Sergeant Clarence McDaniel stated to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette that the objects could very well have been Apache helicopters, which he described as, quote, really quiet and very swift. Another expert, Sergeant Charlene Boos, of the Indiana National National National National

National Guard described the Apache helicopters as awesomely quiet. But the question needs to be asked, could a helicopter really be that quiet so people would not realize what it was? It's possible. However, it's still unlikely as there were no known Apache helicopters based in Indiana, although that is not to say it couldn't have entered Indiana airspace from elsewhere. While some suggested the Doppler effect, even be an explanation for this, when the source of the sound waves moves and so causes people to hear sounds different to how they might expect, it would not account for a complete and total lack of sound. It should be noted that several UFO sightings did occur in Indiana prior to the flash UFO

wave. On one evening in Marion, when a local resident was walking through their neighborhood with their end, they turned a corner and headed along an apartment complex opposite, which was a radio station, and a large field. It was as they were looking towards the field, when the witness's aunt suddenly drew their attention to a strange light over the top of the field. At first, the witness believed the light was nothing more than a helicopter, until they realized it was moving in complete silence. Both of them stood completely still and studied the anomaly. closely. They could clearly see a dark object with very bright lights at both ends, moving across the field. It moved over the top of the radio station, heading closer to them as it did so, so close that they

could almost see under it. Then, without warning, it exploded into a red flash and disappeared quicker than anything they'd ever seen before. It's perhaps worth noting that another UFO case from Indiana occurred a little over a year later on August 31, 1994, in Mungo, around 40 miles from Fort Wayne, and only five miles from the border of Michigan. On the night in question at around 8.30 p.m., the witnesses, quote, J.K., a fire supervisor for the Forest Management Division, quote, D.B., a firefighter, F.B., a retiree, as well as a Michigan State Trooper and a retired postal worker, all from the neighboring state of Michigan, were sat around their campfire at the Trading Post campgrounds.

JK would later tell UFO investigators that they suddenly noticed a strange object that looked at first similar to the moon. However, when he realized that the moon wasn't visible that night, he knew that whatever the glowing object was, that was visible through the trees, it was something out of the ordinary. As they continued to watch the object, it suddenly moved out from behind the trees. It hovered for several moments in front of the shocked campers near the road. J.K. would state, quote, it was a flying saucer,

and that the white glow of it turned transparent. He would further recall that it looked like a white strobe light on top of a dome, while underneath a bright red flash of light, also like a strobe, flashed several times. The next thing the men realized, the object had vanished into the distance very quickly within seconds. The following day, two other corroborating witnesses offered to JK what they had seen the previous evening. Two hunters who had been on their way to the campsite were around half a mile outside of Mungo when they witnessed a bizarre, glowing, white object moving off to the east with great speed. What's more, later investigation.

would unearth other potential corroborating witnesses in newspaper reports. The first was a family named as the Martins, who claimed to have seen the object, and that they were certain it was nothing terrestrial, like a blimp or a helicopter. The second sighting occurred in nearby Hamilton at around 8.45 p.m., when a husband and wife, along with their two daughters, witnessed a glowing object that moved silently at an approximate altitude of 100 feet, which was the same altitude that J.K. claimed to have seen his object. All of these sightings remained unexplained.

And it's not known if there's a connection to the wave of sightings that July evening the previous year. Just over a decade after the July 13th, 1993 UFO wave, another wave of sightings hit Indiana in April of 2004. According to an article in the South Bend Tribune, multiple residents around Rochester reported a, quote, disc-shaped object at around 10 p.m. on April 8th. One of the witnesses, Bev Carpenter, and her teenage granddaughter, Sheney Carpenter,

were pulling into her driveway when Sheney suddenly exclaimed, quote, Grandma, what's that? When she turned her attention to where her granddaughter was pointing, she could clearly see the bizarre-shaped object above them. She would recall that there appeared to be lights sort of aiming downward, with some heading to the sides and there was no color and no sound, and that I simply hovered right above the tops of the trees. The lights appeared to be in two rows of three each equally separated. Carpenter would recall that the object had begun moving slowly heading eastward. It was soon

blocked from their site by the houses, both Bev and her granddaughter ran to the front of the driveway, but by the time they arrived, the object was nowhere to be seen. They weren't sure if it had disappeared quickly into the distance, or if the lights just simply went out. In total, from first noticing the craft to it disappearing from sight, the entire episode lasted likely no longer than a minute. Bev would report the sighting to the Fulton County Sheriff's Department. who received several very similar calls around the same time from other residents around the region. And there is a strange detail worth noting about Bev's reporting of the incident, eventually to Peter Davenport at the National UFO Reporting Center.

She would report the details by telephone to Davenport and agreed to email an official report. However, she would claim that when she tried to do this, her email failed with a simple message and instruction stating, quote, Difficulties, try at a later time. She further stated that as this was happening, her lights dimmed several times in her home. At the time the report went out to the South Bend Tribune, Davenport claimed he had received a dozen calls

regarding the setting in Rochester. The following morning, Beth contacted the local radio station, WROI, and agreed to speak live on air. According to the news director at the time, while Bev spoke about her encounter, this station received 10 calls from other members of the public who had seen a very similar, if not the same object on the night in question. Both of these UFO waves in 2004 and 1993 in Indiana could possibly have similarities to the much more well-known Phoenix Lights incident that occurred just short of four years later

over Arizona in March of 1997. We might recall that Bruce Eggstrom noted that the lights, or object, appeared to be taking a very definite route over the state of Indiana. Much the same can be said of the Phoenix Lights incident, which saw the seemingly triangular or boomerang-shaped craft move purposefully northwest across the state of Arizona. But whatever was in the skies over northeastern Indiana that, evening in the summer of 1993, and even in 2004, and for what purpose, is still unknown.

And while it's not beyond possibility that further sightings and details might become known over time, the objects seen over Indiana in 1993 remain a mystery somewhere in the skies. This episode was co-researched and co-written by Marcus Loth to learn more, visit UFOinsight.com. Please take a moment to rate and review somewhere in the skies on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever possible. It helps us gain visibility and find new listeners. You can support us on Patreon, Apple Premium, in our merch shop, or in many other ways.

Visit the show notes to learn more, and thank you in advance. You can follow us on Twitter, at somewhere skies, and Instagram at SomewhereSkies pod. Thank you for listening. And remember, keep your feet on the ground, but never stop searching. Somewhere in the Skies. Somewhere in the Skies is produced by Third Kind Productions,

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