Although there is no photographic or video evidence available for the July 8, 2014, sighting of a football field-sized UFO in Joplin, Missouri, the list of independent witnesses who have sighted the huge UFO in the area continues to grow. Thus far a retired policeman, retired airline pilot, health technician, and two anonymous witnesses (a State Trooper and an unidentified witness) have come forward describing a giant, acre-sized UFO that travelled across the sky and caused electrical interference with their motor vehicles and electronic devices.
The Barry Powell sighting (July 8, 2014)
The first witness was retired airline pilot Barry Powell who was walking his dog at 9:14 PM on July 8 in Joplin, Missouri when he noticed a large object with orange lights in the sky north of his location in (note: Joplin is the sight of the devastating 2011 EF-5 tornado). As the object drew closer to Powell, he could make out additional details – the UFO was very large, wingless, teardrop-shaped, with orange, blue, and yellow lights (with dark centers) underneath. Powell recalls the eerie silence, the craft made no noise, and the lone sound of dogs barking as the craft flew overhead.
“I know what different aircraft sound like and there should have been an engine sound but there was none. And what was keeping that thing in the air? There were no wings or tail, and it was flying too slow to be airborne.”
John and Traci Cruzan join the chase
As Powell was watching the object pass overhead, retired policeman John Cruzan and his wife Traci rounded the corner in their Jeep. Powell flagged the couple down and the two jumped out of their vehicle just as the UFO had descended to an estimated 300 feet overhead. The Cruzans believed the object was about an acre in size and, like Powell, noticed that it made no sound whatsoever as it passed over them. John Cruzan explained to reporters:
“He [Powell] was walking his dog who was barking wildly at the object and jumping high into the air. It had approached from the northeast. As we watched, it crossed directly overhead. It looked to be about 300 feet off of the ground. It was off-white in color, appearing to be illuminated by a yellowish light coming from within it. It was as big or bigger than a house and was completely silent. It was boxy shaped with multiple angles kind of like on a stealth airplane. It looked like it had darkened square windows in parts of it. It was flat on the bottom with round orange and red randomly flashing lights all around the bottom edge. The lights were round with a dark center – like donuts. They were the size of stop signs.”
Powell and the Cruzans continued to watch the object as it moved southwest of their location, flying perfectly level, and lowered behind a stand of trees. Thinking the object landed or crashed in the nearby cow pasture, they jumped into the Jeep and raced to the field which they estimated to be about one mile away. As they pulled to the side of the road by the field, the Jeep’s warning lights went off and the automatic transmission on the vehicle began to slip gears. They continued driving in the direction of the object but were unable to find it. As they circled back, they approached the field once more and shone a flashlight into it. Oddly, the flashlight dimmed. At the same time, the Jeep’s warning light began to sound again, and the flashlight blinked completely out. Cruzan noted that the next day, all of his radio presets had been cleared.
An anonymous witness comes forward (August 16, 2014, sighting)
About a month later, another witness came forward reporting a similar sighting that occurred on August 16, 2014, near Range Line Road (Highway 49) in Joplin. The witness was driving north along the highway when he noticed lights hovering over the trees near Redding Road. As he approached the area, he could clearly see a silently hovering oval-shaped UFO with large orange lights and smaller blue lights which “pulsated, getting brighter and dimmer”. As the prior witnesses had experienced, his vehicle began to act strangely.
“As I approached, the radio speakers made a strange static noise even though my radio was not on. My headlights went off and on again. I pulled to the side of the highway because I was afraid my engine would fail and also to get a better look at the object and take a picture, but I could not get my cell phone to come on. I probably watched it for 10 minutes total time.”
The witness got within 100 feet of the object which shifted slightly before suddenly shooting off to the east. What puzzled the witness most was the object’s total absence of sound.
State Trooper sighting (September 2, 2014)
On September 29, 2014, a Missouri State Trooper came forward reporting a “very large UFO with windows hovering close to the trees”. This witness said the event occurred on September 2, 2014.
“I work in law enforcement as a State Trooper so don’t want my real name used, but felt it was important to let someone know what I saw. I want you to know that I’ve never seen anything like this before and hope I never do again.”
The Trooper stated that he was driving along Range Line Road at 5:12 AM when a light hovering above the treeline near the road caught his eye. The Trooper drove closer to the object and noted that the UFO was teardrop-shaped with yellow/white lights emanating from what he thought were windows. He stated that it had a dull grayish/black metallic-like surface with orange lights lining the underside of the craft. As he approached within 50 feet of the object, he recalled that it made a low, humming sound. Again, electronic interference impacted his equipment.
“It then spun around like a top and reversed direction. As it did so, I heard a loud static noise come from my radio for approximately 15 seconds. I did not call this in to report it because I wasn’t sure what I was looking at and did not want to put my job in jeopardy in case it was a real UFO.”
The Trooper then noticed a military jet approaching from the east. The jet banked hard to the north and headed back east. He explained how the experience produced a profound impact on his beliefs.
“I did not believe in UFOs before this incident, but I know what I saw, and it was not something of ours – at least that is known to the public.”
Missouri MUFON investigated the events (they have been closed and classified as “unknown”) and noted anomalous electromagnetic readings on the ground at the landing sites and on Cruzan’s vehicle.