*UPDATE* Bantam Lake Object Investigation

Three weeks after a “glowing green whale-sized object” reportedly fell from the sky and into Bantam Lake in Northwestern, Connecticut, we are still receiving a steady stream of inquiries about the incident into the SGRA offices. This is a case where the object in question has drawn a lot of attention from curious members of the public – both scientific and average minded – and although it is unlikely to have been an alien craft from another world, it still has people wondering, and keeping an eye on the sky. Of course, no matter what they think it was, no one can help but ponder the larger question — has something been left behind on the bottom of the lake? Well, that question may never be answered, but here’s the first full summary of our investigation into this mysterious event.

At approximately 2:00am on Tuesday, April 10th, an unidentified witness phoned emergency dispatchers to report that he had observed a “whale-sized” glowing green object crash into Bantam Lake in Litchfield County, Connecticut. A Connecticut State Trooper near the lake in Warren, Connecticut (roughly 10 miles away), informed dispatch services that he too had seen a greenish object which he also believed may have come down in the direction of the lake. Based upon the trooper’s confirmation, a local fire department sent a rescue boat into the lake in search of any signs of the object, theorizing it could have been an aircraft in distress. The search was called off after no traces or object were located.

News of the incident became an overnight media craze, appearing in publications as far away as the United Kingdom, and going viral throughout the Internet. Much of “the day after” was
spent by our investigation team fielding phone calls from people wanting more information and gathering more facts, as well as reaching out to public and media resources asking that anyone with information share it with our group. On the morning of Friday, April 13, we had received approximately 12 reports from witnesses which seemed related to this incident. Though none of them saw the object itself, several said they felt vibrations or shaking, heard a boom or what was described as “single clap of thunder,” and/or saw a momentary flash outside their windows. Of these witnesses, the majority were located within a 5 mile radius of the lake itself.

In the two weeks following the incident we received a total of 37 additional observations, most of which were similar in nature to the initial ones. One interesting fact that presented itself during the investigation was that it appeared there was another similar sighting of a “green-glowing” object seen earlier on what would have been the evening of Monday, April 09, at approximately 10:45pm. This object was observed
in the area of Farmington, Southington, and Bristol, Connecticut (located in Hartford County) approximately 25 miles to the east of Bantam Lake. These observations indicate there were other objects on that evening, lending support to the leading theory that the Bantam Lake object was a meteor despite the fact that the closest meteor shower to this date was the Lyrid Meteor Shower which was expected to peak around April 21 or 22.It is worth noting that for several weeks prior to this event our offices have received very similar reports of green objects being sighted – though none as largely described – throughout Connecticut. And finally also interesting that on Wednesday, April 11, a green fireball was observed as it passed through the skies over Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa (this object was caught on security videotape).

On Friday, April 20, for additional data to include in this investigation we filed a request for text transcripts or audio copies of the State Trooper’s and dispatchers communications from the event so that we can hear exactly the conversation and descriptions that were given. At this time we are not expecting any further witness data to be provided, and based on the information collected believe we have enough information to effectively presume this object was a meteor. However, given as there is no further eyewitness accounting of the object, and no exact trajectory at hand, it is impossible to say for certain that anything did actually impact Bantam Lake. If an object had impacted the lake, it is highly unlikely it will be discovered and there are no known plans to attempt to locate or retrieve any such remains.

If you have anything to add to this investigation please feel free to email us at sgra@sgra.org or use our Contact Form to tell us