Mysterious Humanoid Reported in Same Area as Most Recent 'Lake Michigan Mothman' Sightings

Lon Strickler of Phantoms & Monsters spoke to a woman recently who said she may have seen a mysterious humanoid creature while bicycling with her friend in the Cook County Forest Preserve near Rosemont, Illinois, on the afternoon of December 8th, 2019.

"I recently talked to two women who may have had an encounter with an unknown entity in a forest preserve located near Rosemont, Illinois," Strickler said. "[One of the witnesses] later forwarded the following written report."

My friend and I were biking north on a closed Cook County Forest Preserve trail near Rosemont on December 8th, 2019 at around 2 pm CT. I believe we entered the trail on the north side off of Lawrence Avenue, into the Catherine Chevalier Woods. We walked our bikes at this point because the trail was muddy. It was along the Des Plaines River. Maybe a quarter mile later, the trail hooked up with a more official looking bike trail.
After a few minutes on that trail, I was overcome with an immediate sense of anxiety and...doom? About 30 to 50 yards away on the right side of the trail, I swear I saw something that was about 6 or 7 feet tall, with its back mostly toward us but slightly facing east. It looked like the back was covered in feathers or some scraggly looking light brown or gray coat. It looked kind of hunched over. I thought it was just my imagination and did not say anything to my friend about it at the time, and tried to focus on a conversation we were having while biking. I felt nervous biking toward it and was not looking at it as we biked in its direction, thinking it was just my imagination. But I felt worried.
Later that day, a friend texted us jokingly to say that there were a number of Mothman sightings in the area we had biked through earlier that day. That's when I felt my heart sink. We didn't know much about this being before we found your site when researching the Mothman after we got back from our bike trip. I'm attaching Google Earth images to show you the specifics of where I believe I saw this. The first screen shot is of the closed trail we got on off of Lawrence Ave. The second is the approximate location of the sighting.

The witness also provided the following photograph of the area, taken by her friend just prior to the sighting.

"The witness is a known professional in the Chicago,” Strickler said. “The location is east of O'Hare International Airport. I know the area somewhat, since it is the nature preserve behind the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and the Loews Chicago O'Hare Hotel...places I have been while visiting Chicago. The Des Plaines River is directly behind the convention center and hotel. I personally believe that this may be a key location, for whatever reason. One of our team will be investigating the area.”

The Singular Fortean Society was provided information regarding the witness to whom Strickler is referring, and were able to confirm her identity.

Manuel Navarette of UFO Clearinghouse is expected to follow up with an onsite investigation of the area, and any relevant information that results from his investigation will be added to this article.

This is the most recently reported sighting in a series of unusual sighting reports that have taken place in the vicinity of O’Hare International Airport from late 2019 into 2020. Most of the reports describe a flying humanoid, but there have been sightings of other mysterious humanoids as well, including a couple who said they saw a “large, thin man appear out of [Schiller Woods]” with what "almost looked like a praying mantis’ eyes, just jet black" on December 23rd, 2019, and a man who said he saw an “egg-shaped” object fly over O’Hare and shine a “brilliant blue light” to the ground, through which a “person” appeared to be taken aboard the craft on January 23rd, 2020.

Because of the sightings’ close geographic proximity to reports of the ‘Lake Michigan Mothman,’ some connection to that case cannot be ruled out; especially since, in this case, the witness believes there is a possibility she saw feathers present on the creature.

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, and around water. Witnesses consistently describe a large, gray 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 large bird or bird-like being could explain some—although certainly not all—of the encounters. A number of associated high strangeness incidents have also occurred alongside the creature sightings; including reports of UFOs, other anomalous flying creatures and mysterious humanoids, psychic and haunting 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, and an interactive map 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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