Flying Entity sighting reported at Calumet Park in Chicago, Illinois

I was contacted by email and then later by phone by the witness on Sunday evening regarding a sighting on Friday, May 5, 2017, at about 8 pm in the area around Calumet Park on the far southern side of the city near the Indiana border. The witness described a large bat-like creature flying at great speed over the park and toward the Fieldhouse that sits at about the center of the park. I spoke with the witness, who described himself as a law enforcement officer in regards to the incident. The witness was accompanied by his 10-year-old son and was out walking the footpaths of the park.

Calumet Park is a lakeside park located in the South Chicago/Calumet Park neighborhood that is popular with bikers, joggers and roller skaters and offers a wide variety of activities throughout the spring and summer. It is a popular spot for many people that live in the southern portion of the city and a popular beach during the summer months.

The following is the witnesses report:

 

“I was out with my son at Calumet Park at about 8pm walking the trail as we have since he was about 6 years old. We were talking about what was going on within our lives and about what our plans were for the upcoming summer. As we walked toward the field house, we were overflown by what I thought was a large goose as we have seen multiple geese flying around the city and suburbs within the last couple of months.  As we watched, it quickly became apparent that this was not a goose, but something much bigger. 

I can describe it as a large bat, but it had a distinct human figure about 6 feet in height per my estimates.  It was blackish/grayish in color and had an enormous pair of wings that must have been 8 to ten feet in width.  My son was in complete shock and asked me what that thing was, my response was an equally surprised “I don’t know” This bat flew up and over the Fieldhouse and toward where the tennis courts would be.  I heard a couple yell out in surprise as this bat flew up and over the Fieldhouse and out of view. The entire encounter lasted about 30-35 seconds from the initial sighting to it flying up and over the Fieldhouse and out of sight.

 I estimated the speed of this bat to be at least 40-50 MPH and it to be at least 15-20 feet above us as it was just over the top of the streetlights.  It was dusk, but the sun had just started to set so there was enough light to still get a good view of the object as it flew overhead.  I was only able to get a general description as it flew over us at speed and it prohibited getting any finer details of it. We went around the Fieldhouse and tried to see if we could see anything on the other side, but did not get any other views of this creature.  The rest of the evening went without incident and I only decided to report this after reading some reports of similar sightings within the city online. “

The following report was submitted to UFO Clearinghouse and will be listed in our international database. UFOCH will be investigating the sightings and any further findings will be reported on the site and posted in the database. UFOCH will be sending investigators into the area where this last reported sighting as this is the second such sighting in the general neighborhood to be reported. We urge anyone with any similar sightings to please contact us at UFOClearinghouse.com and submit their sightings; you can wish to remain anonymous