"Air Traffic Controller" Reports Sighting of "O'Hare Mothman" from Last July

An update on this case is available here.

Manuel Navarette of UFO Clearinghouse recently received a report from a man who said he saw a six-to-seven-foot-tall “very big bat [that] was also very human-like in appearance” last July while on break from his job as an air traffic controller at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

According to the initial report received by Navarette,

I have worked at O’Hare International Airport for the last seven years as a member of the Air Traffic Control team, and in my time have overseen the flight operations in and out of the airport hundreds of times. In my time, I have seen many strange things around the airport but none have been as spectacular as the sighting I had back in July of 2020.
I was working the late evening at TRACON and had just walked away for one of our mandatory breaks. These breaks help us rejuvenate and help break up the monotony of what can be an otherwise tedious routine [in order to] help prevent us from falling asleep. During these breaks I usually go out for a walk to help clear my head and [for] a change of scenery. I was walking toward one of the terminal buildings when I noticed some movement out of the corner of my eye. For some unknown reason, I stopped and turned in the direction of the movement and noticed a large, black shape coming to a rest on the ground near a light pole.
This thing was at least six to seven feet tall and jet black, it looked like a very big bat but was also very human-like in appearance. I noticed that it sported a very large and impressive set of black membranous wings that also looked like the wings of a bat, they were open to their full length and must have been at least 12 feet from tip to tip. The arms on this thing were very long and very skinny, and ended in long bony fingers tipped with what appeared to be long talons. The legs on the being were comparable with the arms, long and skinny, but I was unable to really look at the feet to see if they were also shaped similarly to the hands.
I stood there and saw this thing for about 30 seconds as it seemingly looked around the ground, in the time I was looking no fewer than two others had come down the walkway and also saw it. If it had looked up, it would have clearly seen us all staring in bewilderment at it. It kept its head down, looking at the ground until an approaching service vehicle seemingly startled it and it looked up. That is where I saw that its head was short and squat, but had a pair of piercing red eyes. It looked in the direction of the approaching vehicle and then began to flap its wings and took to the air. It disappeared above the building in the span of one to two seconds and was gone out of sight.
I have heard many of the stories of the supposed O’Hare Mothman from pilots and from other controllers and employees around the airport. I have heard tales of people seeing it in flight or perched somewhere, and how it had glowing red eyes and looked like a giant man-bat. Many of my fellow controllers have told of either seeing it themselves or hearing from others who have seen it, and it has been the subject of radio chatter on multiple occasions. I never gave much credence to these stories, and even though part of me believed and hoped it was real, seeing it myself only helped me become a true believer.
I personally know of three other controllers who have had sightings of this thing and just as many pilots who have reported sightings in and around the airport. You can say it’s kind of built up an almost legendary urban tale sort of status amongst those who work at O’Hare. I know that what I saw was real and want to get my story out there for others to hear, and I want them to know that this thing really is out there somewhere and that trained professionals like myself have seen it and know that it does exist. I hope you find my report useful and if you wish to contact me, I would be willing to answer questions regarding this encounter.

Navarette said he was able to conduct a phone interview with the witness regarding the sighting.

"I first began by asking questions regarding his background and the witness was more than willing to send me photos of his work credentials, helping establish his identity and that he did indeed work at O’Hare International Airport," Navarette said. "The witness has been working at O’Hare for the last seven years and has been working rotating shifts for most of that time with the bulk of his shifts starting in the evening and rotating around to overnight shifts. The witness is a trained weather observer and a graduate of the FAA training academy with multiple years of experience."

According to the investigator, "The witness recounted his story as reported, [with] no deviation in the story, and when asked questions meant to cause deviation, the witness corrected [me] and stood by the story as he reported."

The man reported that "he was at the very most 20 to 25 feet from the entity, and that he stood at the window observing it as it foraged on the ground."

When asked what it might have been searching for, the witness said he had no idea.

He described the being's wings as "membrane-like" and said they "resembled stretched out skin, similar to that of a bat."

Unlike many other witnesses to such sightings, the man said he had not felt any "dread of impending danger" either during or after his sighting.

Navarette asked about the other witnesses mentioned in the report and was told that "both were airport workers," but the man "had no idea who they are or how to contact them."

The witness went on to tell him that "there are sightings of a winged being quite frequently, [but] they are just never really disseminated to the public for a variety of reasons such as the witnesses not wishing to report them."

Although "people do talk about the sightings...many just never go forward with reporting them due to fear of ridicule, job loss, or not having an outlet to report the sightings."

Navarette concluded the interview by giving the witness his contact information and advising him that "he is free to share the information with other potential witnesses wishing to come forward."

Ultimately, he concluded that "the witness is credible and that his report appears valid and worthy of further investigation."

"The witness was asked and he agreed to have other investigators contact him for follow-up questions," he added.

So far, no other investigators have spoken to the witness. This article will be updated with any new developments should they be given the opportunity.

This report constitutes the latest news in a string of ‘Mothman’ sightings from within a few hundred mile radius surrounding Lake Michigan, including every state bordering the great lake. These sightings ostensibly began in the spring of 2017, but more historical accounts are being reported as more people become aware of the phenomenon. They generally take place in the evening or at night, often in or near a park or natural area, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large, gray, brown, or black, bat or bird-like creature—although in a small number of cases the creature was described as insect-like—sometimes with glowing or reflective red, yellow, green, or orange eyes, and humanoid features such as arms and legs are often reported. Some witnesses have reported feeling intense fear and an aura of evil emanating from the creature they encountered. Many of the sightings are also of something seen only briefly or are described only as a flying creature with few details, which leaves open the possibility that a misidentified large bird—such as a heron or crane—or some type of anomalous avian species could explain some, although certainly not all, of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings; these include reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures and mysterious humanoids, parapsychological phenomena, and bizarre events experienced by those investigating the sightings.

To report a sighting reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

You can view a timeline of the sightings so far here.

To report your own encounter with the impossible, reach out to us directly at the Singular Fortean Society through our contact page.

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