Tinley Park lights
- Date
- 21 Aug 2004
- Place
- Tinley Park and Oak Forest, south-west suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Record
- Curated case
- Assessment
- Contested
- Evidence strength
What was reported
On 21 August 2004, and again on 31 October 2004, 1 October 2005 and 31 October 2006, hundreds of people in Tinley Park and Oak Forest watched three red lights in a triangular formation hover and drift slowly and silently, and many filmed them. The videos aired on local news, Dateline NBC and the History Channel; some ufologists argued the lights kept a fixed geometry as if attached to a dark object. No official investigation reported on them; skeptics point to the Halloween-season dates and the slow drift and suspect balloons carrying red lights, the technique used in the 2009 Morristown hoax.
What officials concluded
No conclusion stated
No official explanation has been given.
Strongest ordinary reading
Probably balloons carrying red lights or flares, released as a prank
Evidence profile
- Yes: Visual
- No: Infrared
- No: Radar
- Yes: Video
- Yes: Photo
- No: Film
- No: Audio
- No: Night vision
- No: Other sensor
- Yes: Civilian
- No: Military aircrew
- No: Military ground
- No: Airline crew
- No: Sensor operator
- No: Law enforcement
- No: Scientist
- No: Astronaut
- No: Intelligence official
- No: Other
- No: Light only
- No: Orb or sphere
- No: Disc
- Yes: Triangle
- No: Cylinder
- No: Cube
- No: Other shape
- No: Physiological
- No: Physical trace
- No: Electromagnetic
- No: Sound
- Yes: Silent
Outside sources
- Wikipedia: Black triangle (Tinley Park lights)en.wikipedia.org
On the map
41.57° N, 87.78° W, plotted at the town or city
Show on the map