On November 7 2010 at 6pm a student at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis (IUPUI) was walking down Michigan Street on campus when he looked up and saw a fantastic object. He was too astonished to think of taking a photo, something he chastised himself for in his initial report to MUFON, but he did make the drawing reproduced above.

Since the sighting was in Indianapolis I drew the case. The witness did not want to meet with me but agreed to talk over the phone. Like many witnesses he initially believed that his report to MUFON would be the end of it and did not realize that we try to follow up and investigate every case. Our purpose is not to simply catalog cases but to investigate as deeply as we can and gather as much information as possible to solve the UFO mystery.

We do not want to disturb people's lives which in this case became an issue.

He described the object as silent and huge, the apparent size of 15 to 17 full moons. The underside had radiating spokes or vanes similar to the underside of a mushroom. There were several red lights both on the periphery and in the center and the apparent front of the craft or object was described as silver.

Since submitting his report the witness has become very reticent to be associated with a UFO sighting. He wishes to remain anonymous and adamantly refused to allow me to record my interview with him. The stated reason for this reluctance is his intention to enter a field of science as a career and he is worried about he potential discrimination. He is presently studying the sciences at IUPUI where the sighting took place.

The witness seems credible and very intelligent. There seems to be no obvious motive for perpetrating a hoax. No other witnesses could be contacted. There were no other reported sightings of the object.

Indianapolis International Airport and Indianapolis Air Traffic Control were of no help.

The witness did not exhibit any evidence that might indicate abduction. He was strikingly aware of the time during and after the sighting and is certain he can account for every second.

One unusual detail is the reaction of other people near the witness during the sighting. He refers to one person who saw the object and at least one other who should have. (I was not given information that would have allowed me to contact them.) Each either ignored or completely disregarded the object. Only the witness regarded the object as unusual. In fact highly unusual as illustrated by the description and illustration included in his report. Why then did the others consider it not worth a second look? I am personally familiar with this particular area of Indianapolis. It is near Indianapolis International Airport and it's glide paths. Jumbo jets fly overhead low and slow, almost constantly, on their landing approach. They frequently appear enormous and are considered by the people in the area as ordinary as cars on the street. Blimps are not as frequent but not unusual Indianapolis is a major sports venue and blimps can appear at any time. This might account for others in the area to simply not pay sufficient attention. People in the city also never seem to look up.

It must also be considered that if you accept the concept of alien abductions in urban areas then you must ask why the alien vessels aren’t seen far more often over cities. Is some agency at work concealing them or perhaps influencing potential observers to not see them?

In regards to this sighting I believe there are three possibilities:

1. The witness mistook a conventional aircraft for an unconventional one. I consider this to be unlikely in light of the witnesses intelligence, science background, and familiarity with the area.
2. This is a hoax. I find no credible reason to suspect this.
3. This is a real sighting of an unknown craft.