The following report is only one of two relating to strange events that occurred in Connecticut in April and May, 2012.
Reports began to be generated en masse on Friday the 13th, of April, 2012 about a strange event that occurred at Bantam Lake on April 10. A follow-up report from a photographer will be published in the next few days.
Bantam Lake is the state's largest natural lake, and it spans the two cities of Litchfield and Morris. The first sightings of an unidentified flying object were made in the wee hours of the morning by a State Trooper and another unidentified motorist.
Eyewitness Reports
The motorist claimed to witness an object, "the size of a whale" falling from the sky and crashing into the lake. The object gave off a green hue as it descended into the waters. He was driving in Litchfield when he saw this occur.
At almost the same time, the State Trooper in Warren called his dispatcher, telling them something fell out of the sky and landed near Bantam or Morris. This is according to an article syndicated by the Associated Press.
The story had first been reported by the Republican American of Waterbury. This report stated that witnesses saw an "unidentified flying object" which disappeared into the lake waters. Soon, other local new agencies would join the parade, reporting other witness accounts which mirrored that of the unknown motorist and State Trooper.
By the next morning, a number of searches were made by various agencies. First on the scene were firefighters from Morris, who assumed that a plane had crashed, and there could be occupants still alive in need of rescue and medical treatment.
Finding no debris in the waters, the search was soon called off. The AP report said "Authorities called off the search, leaving the mystery unsolved." Calls to local airports brought back no reports of overdue craft and it was felt that no further searches were needed at the time.
The Local Grapevine
The grapevine of conversation was only getting started as news of the event quickly spread from newspaper to newspaper, then television, and soon the Internet was full of many eyewitness reports, many of which could not be verified. The fact that the term "unidentified flying object" was used only fueled the fire of reports of a UFO.
Jumping on the bandwagon to profit from local news were several retail outlets and eateries; some of them even posted signs with "Welcome Aliens" in big letters, and other similar messages. The fact that one of the original reports had been made by a State Trooper give the reports an "official" feel to them.
After the first reports were made known, by the next day, reporters from various news agencies were camped on North Shore Road in Bantam, hoping to grab a photo of the object, or possibly get that one interview that might break the case. There were representatives from Eyewitness News, the Connecticut CBS affiliate, NBC Connecticut, and more.
Anyone nearby would do: "I think it's pretty exciting; the possibility of a UFO, but highly unlikely," said Litchfield resident Marie Doyon. Doyon was just an onlooker at the lake when asked about what she knew.
An employee of a local restaurant, Lindsey Vanyo, was quoted as saying: "I've heard people talking about it; it was a green glowing, whale size of an object."
Also Litchfield resident Tina Landau, who lives about a mile from the lake, stated: "It's kind of freaky, and at this point nobody seems to know. It's pretty wild. I have a pretty open mind about things, but I'm still curious."
Conclusion
Whatever fell into Bantam Lake may be similar to other reports of USOs. Some of the most notables are the Shag Harbor Crash, the Buff Ledge Case, and also the compelling photograph taken at Costa Rica in 1971.
The only possible explanation for what occurred at Bantam Lake was generated in a report from the National Weather Service that stated a meteor shower occurred that morning, but there was no report from any eyewitness of seeing a shower, only a "whale-sized" object.
