Bowling Green, Kentucky, on far right where residents in Plano and Alvaton suburbs
reported at 10 PM on Monday night, March 4, 2013, loud booms. Kentucky State Police
(KSP) and local media received many calls and KSP investigated, but no answers.
Elizabethville, Illinois (upper left map pointer) is 150 miles northwest of Bowling Green.

Joe Jenkins is 55-years-old and has lived in Illinois all his life, growing up in Hillsboro, central Illinois, and then at age 17, he moved to more rural Elizabethtown in Hardin County near the Shawnee National Forest in the southeastern tip of Illinois not far from the Kentucky border. Population there today is about 350. Joe worked for the Illinois Department of Corrections for 25 years. In semi-retirement since 2008, he has worked as a part time deputy for the Hardin County Sheriff's Office.

On March 4, 2013, Joe Jenkins had been at a pastor friend's church helping with some reorganization and returned to his Elizabethtown house on a hill for lunch. What happened next bothers him because he and the Sheriff's Office have no explanation for mysterious loud booms followed by Apache helicopters flying around low over the town.

Interview:

Joe Jenkins, 55, part time Deputy Sheriff, Hardin County Sheriff's Office, retired after 25 years of work for the Illinois Department of Corrections, Elizabethtown, Illinois:  “On March 4, 2013, at approximately 12:30 PM Central, I heard what I considered to be an explosion. The house itself shook. I was standing in my dining room and the sound appeared to come from the south part of my house towards Elizabethtown.

I actually walked outside because I live on a hill and I can see over towards town and almost 360 degrees around the house. I can see quite a ways and I walked out with the expectation  of seeing something burning. But we live in a small, rural community, so there are not a lot of things that could blow up like that. But I didn't see anything.

AT THAT TIME, DID YOU CALL YOUR HARDIN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO ASK THE IF THEY KNEW WHAT HAD HAPPENED?

No, not at that time. I assumed it might have been the quarry where they blast. But at my residence, I've never felt quarry blasts like that boom was at my house. [To date, no confirmation of quarry blasts on March 4.] This boom literally shook the house and was nothing like distant quarry blasting. Then I thought maybe it was a sonic boom. That's one of the reasons that I walked outside. The cloud cover was very low, but I did not see or hear a plane.

2nd Boom At 1:30 PM Central, March 4, 2013

About an hour later, I heard another loud boom. That was definitely out of the ordinary! Honestly, it was identical, the same type of blast sound. I mean, I've heard sonic booms and this sounded like an explosion.

I walked over to my parents' house -  they live next door - and asked if they had heard it. They said they thought it was an earthquake. I said, ‘No, I don't believe so.’

I'm a Sheriff's Deputy part time, retired from Corrections, so I ended up going to town and had several residents ask me if I heard it and what it was. I didn't have an answer for them, so I drove by the Sheriff's office and asked them if they had heard the booms. They stated they had not, but they had received several calls from residents saying they had heard an explosion. I thought that was kind of odd. No one could pinpoint what direction the booms were coming from and we didn't have anything damaged.

I came home and got on the internet and typed in ‘Unexplained Explosions’ and there was all kinds of stuff that popped up on there. I learned that Evansville, Indiana also had a loud boom  there (Jan. 7 - 8), which is about 70 miles away (from Elizabethtown, Illinois).

Evansville, Indiana, January 7 - 8, 2013

Geologists say not seismic. Indiana Air Corp says no sonic booms.
Astronomers say no space meteorites. Chemists say not tannerite.
See Evansville, Indiana Channel 14 (NBC) news report.

January 7, 2013
To: earthfiles@earthfiles.com
Unexplained Booms in SW Indiana

I noticed you have stories of several states reporting unexplained, loud booms/explosions. We have been experiencing this in Evansville, IN as well.

The first one occurred Monday night, Jan. 7, 2013, just before midnight. It was heard throughout at least 2 counties, some reports claiming it even rattled their windows. I live in Newburgh, Indiana, and heard it while lying in bed. It was such a disturbing sound, it froze me. It didn't rattle the windows, but it was extremely loud. My first thought was that a train had derailed from the tracks about 2 miles from my home. I think one of the most alarming things to me was that it was so loud, but it still sounded relatively far away.

I didn't realize until the next morning that hundreds of people over at least 40 square miles heard it. Nor that there were reports of similar happenings in other parts of the country. People reported hearing it at least once last night [ Tuesday, January 8, 2013] as well. I, however, did not.
People are pretty shaken up about it here... mainly because no one seems to have even the slightest explanation. And it seems to be recurring. [ See media links in Websites below.]

January 9, 2013
To: earthfiles@earthfiles.com
Update-Booms in Southern Indiana rattle entire region

Hi, Linda,

Here is a follow up to the e-mail I sent to you earlier. The last several days there have been mysterious booms reported across the region. The story has been reported in all of the major media outlets in Southern Indiana, Western Kentucky and Southern Illinois. My family, neighbors, wife's co-workers and myself have heard the booms daily and nightly.

The Evansville Police and Fire Departments have been dispatched nightly to investigate "explosions in the area" and have found nothing. Even the Regional Emergency Management Office has been receiving and investigating these calls.
The booms have continued throughout the day and into this evening as I write this email.

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Evansville, Indiana Channel 14 (NBC):  “A lot of Tri-Staters are asking the same question Wednesday night as they were Tuesday - what are those boom sounds they hear and feel late at night?

14 News sat down with USI Professor of Geology, Paul Doss. Doss has been looking at the seismometer for the past several days.

"Earthquake energy is an acoustic energy, but it would not be transmitted out of the crust and into the atmosphere. When I look over the last few days, at these times, nothing, nothing," Doss said.

If it's not underground, perhaps the sounds originate in the sky. A sonic boom from military aircrafts? The Indiana Air Corp says that's also not possible.

"We didn't have any training events. The State of Indiana and the Air Guard, they have A10s based out of Ft. Wayne and they're not capable of executing that type of activity," said Lt. Mark Weaver.

Some residents say the sounds are coming from space. Maybe meteors which would certainly be strong enough to shake homes. But Professor Jeff Braun says the lack of visible evidence quickly disproves this theory.

"Meteors can cause sonic booms when they come in, but almost always they're accompanied by a visible fireball," Braun told 14 News.

Some people say tannerite, an exploding target used at outdoor gun ranges have a loud boom sound. But local gun store owners say it doesn't pack a punch powerful enough to be heard in several different parts of the city, let alone across the nation.

"At this point, nobody seems to know. The geologists say it's not in the ground, the Air Force says it's not in the air, the astronomers say it's not from space, so we're running out of options," Braun said.

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Joe Jenkins:  “I talked to an individual at the Sheriff's office, who said that last night (March 4, 2013), people from Paducah and Metropolis, Illinois, had put on Facebook that they had heard the booms, so that's 60 miles away (southwest) from Elizabethtown, Illinois.

Elizabethtown, Illinois, is marked by the Google map pointer about 50 miles northeast
of Metropolis and Paducah, Illinois, and 150 miles northwest of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

I got to reading on the internet at Earthfiles.com, and it said that sometimes when you hear these explosions that you will see military helicopters. That happened, too.

Like 12:30 PM was the first one (loud boom)  and the second one was probably around 1:30 PM, about an hour later. Then I was outside last night about 5:30 PM, and I was cooking some hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill  and I heard a helicopter! At first, I assumed it was LifeFlight because we're in their flight pattern when they go to the hospital in this area, but it was coming from the wrong direction. I looked and it was not LifeFlight. It was a military chopper. And then I saw two choppers. They were flying over the Elizabethtown area. They were flying along the Ohio River and actually over my house.

WAH-64D Apache Attack Helicopters. Source Wikipedia.

They were fairly quick. From the time I watched them fly from one horizon over the house  and to the other horizon, took about a minute and they were out of sight until you couldn't hear them. They were clipping along at a fairly good pace and they were flying low formation under the clouds.

I saw those helicopters seeming to search for probably fifteen minutes along the Elizabethtown area and the Ohio River. Then I talked to the Sheriff and he said,‘Yeah, they actually flew over the Sheriff's Department three different times.’'

SO THAT MEANS THERE WAS SOME KIND OF MILITARY ATTACK HELICOPTER FOCUS ON ELIZABETHTOWN, ILLINOIS, FROM ABOUT 5:30 PM ON FOR 15 MINUTES THE SAME DAY THAT YOU PERSONALLY  HEARD TWO LOUD BOOMS?

Yes, four hours after the booms.

HAS ANYTHING SURFACED FURTHER ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED?   

We haven't heard anything. I worked today and I talked to one of the other deputies. They haven't heard anything, except they've had several residents wondering what it was?

After the helicopters showed up, that's when my interest really peaked up. And I started doing some looking and found your website, Earthfiles.com. One person in the Sheriff's Office told me they were Apaches when they came over. We don't often see these type (Apache) helicopters flying over. Generally, if they did fly over, they would NOT be flying a search grid like they were so low like they were looking for something.

THOSE APACHES ARE MILITARY ATTACK HELICOPTERS.

Well, that is interesting. I would like to know what they are looking for after the booms.”

Unexplained Loud Booms Persist in Flint, Michigan

March 3, 2013, MichiganLive.com.

Flint, Michigan, is 610 miles north of
Elizabethville, Illinois (lower left red circle).

People who have experienced it all describe it the same way.

"Explosions," said Juan Lara, a 67-year-old man who lives near Center Road and Davison Road.

Lara and others said it's been happening off and on for about a year. It usually happens in the afternoon, maybe once every few weeks. But, lately, it's more frequent.

"(It's) loud," Lara added. "I don't know where they're coming from."

Nobody does. Not the neighbors, not the fire department, not the power company.

Juan Lara, 67, of Flint has experienced the explosion-type noises bellowing through his house. "For a minute I thought we were being attacked," Lara said of the sounds.

More Unexplained Booms in Tucson and San Diego

Tucson News Now - Breaking News February 27, 2013.

— Email from Tucson, Arizona, Feb. 27:  I live NW of Tucson and for the past couple months we've been experiencing very strange "booms". I don't know how else to explain them. We just had another tonight. I could feel the whole house shake - it was unlike anything I've experienced. There was a low rumble along with it. It felt like 3 or 4 waves of rumbling. My husband had one happen earlier today - but it was much more violent, shorter in duration and he could feel the percussion impact like an explosion had gone off very close by. I called friends who live a couple miles away to see if they experienced it too - and they did. They have witnessed two incidents this week (I don't think they were home when the one happened earlier today). I did call 911 and they said their phone was ringing off the hook and they said they had no idea what was going on and would get back to me. Wanted you to know because this is completely freaking me out.

— Email from San Diego, California, Feb. 27: Just wanted to report that there was a loud boom heard all over San Diego, Calif. at 10:00 AM Feb. 27, 2013. Loud enough to rattle windows. Authorities have no explanation. Military state that they heard it also and that there were no training sessions going on at the time.

If any Earthfiles viewer has more firsthand information about the loud, unexplained booms, light flashes and low-flying military helicopters or new military “sound gun” technology, please email:  earthfiles@earthfiles.com. All requests for confidentiality are honored.

More Information:

For further reports about the strange, unexplained boom phenomenon since Spring 2011, please see current reports below and many in the Earthfiles Archive:

• 03/01/2013 — Mysterious Booms - A Secret Military Weapon?
• 03/01/2013 — After Mysterious Booms, Why Do Military Helicopters Fly Search Patterns Below 500 Feet Over Residential Houses?
• 02/20/2013 — Part 2: Unexplained Loud Booms and Light Flashes Persist in U. S.
• 02/16/2013 — Part 1: More Earth-Shaking Booms in Morristown, Tennessee and “Shock Wave” Booms in San Manuel, Arizona
• 02/06/2013 — Viewer Emails about Boom Mystery
• 02/01/2013 — Mysterious Booms and Light Flashes Across U. S.
• 01/25/2013 — Updated: Unexplained Loud Booms Persist in United States
• 01/11/2013 — Part 1: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 2: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/11/2013 — Part 3: Could Computer-Interfaced Communication with Other Realms Be Linked to Strange, Unexplained Booms?
• 01/05/2013 — 26 Hours Before 7.5 Quake, Unexplained Rumbling Boom in Southcentral Alaska
• 12/08/2012 — What's Causing Mysterious Lights, Loud Booms and Strange Hum in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island?
• 10/17/2012 — Loud Boom and 3-D Radar of Mysterious Aerial Object in NW Louisiana
• 08/26/2012 — Updated: More Unexplained Boom Sounds from Sweden to Calif: What's Happening Now in Sacramento? And What Happened August 21st In Oakland, California?
• 05/30/2012 — Updated: Mysterious Booms Heard May 27 and May 28 in Four West Michigan Counties
• 05/10/2012 — Mysterious Horn and Boom Sounds Still Being Heard
• 05/01/2012 — More Unexplained Booms in Boston and Beyond
• 04/26/2012 — Updated: Mysterious, Persistent Booms Throughout North America and England
• 04/22/2012 — Huge Boom Heard in Central California and Northwestern Nevada - Did Meteorite Hit?
• 04/08/2012 — Part 3: Confusion About North American Booms and Man-Made Quakes
• 03/30/2012 — Part 1: Updated 033021 with boom recordings - Mysterious Rattling Booms Expand from Clintonville to Montello, Wisconsin and Beyond.
• 03/30/2012 — Updated with boom audio Part 2: Boom Phenomenon in Several States and Canada
• 03/20/2012 — Two Nights of Mysterious Rattling Booms in Clintonville, WI
• 03/15/2012 — Updated 031512 - High Strangeness Email: Unidentified Aerial Craft, Strange Sounds and Door-Rattling Booms
• 03/01/2012 — Updated 030112: Solar CMEs Hitting Earth's Magnetic Fields - Do They Make Strange, Loud Sounds?
• 02/28/2012 — Strange Sounds in Washington State
• 02/23/2012 — Updated Feb. 23: Eerie, Strange Sounds Heard in Tennessee and Kansas
• 02/04/2012 — Video of Kiev-like Strange Sound in Amarillo, Texas: What Happened?
• 02/02/2012 — Updated: Earthfiles Email About Mysterious “Chorus of Trumpets” and Other Strange Sounds
• 11/13/2011 — Updated: More Loud Booms in Virginia and Missouri; More Quakes in Oklahoma
• 10/27/2011 — More Mysterious Hum Reports from North America to China
• 10/04/2011 — Updated: What Are Strange “Hums” That Keep People Awake?
• 10/03/2011 — Part 1: Viewer Letters About Strange, Loud Booms
• 06/07/2011 — What Are the Mysterious Booms?
• 05/13/2011 — More Viewer Letters About Mysterious Booms
• 05/11/2011 — Updated Reprints: Earthfiles Viewers Reports of Strange, Loud Booms
• 02/08/2011 — More Reports of Strange Booms and Aerial Lights
• 01/29/2011 — Earthfiles Viewers Reports of Strange, Loud Booms

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Websites:

January 5, 2013, 1:30 AM Eastern, Salem, Massachusetts Light Flash and Loud Boom VIDEO:
http://salem.patch.com/articles/mystery-explosion-caught-on-video-video

"Unexplained Strange Booming Sounds Rattle Bowling Green in Plano/Alvaton Area, Kentucky, March 4, 2013": 
http://strangesounds.org/2013/03/unexplained-strange-booming-sounds-rattle-bowling-green-in-planoalvaton-area-kentucky-march-4-2013.html

"Mysterious "Explosion" Sounds Alarm People On Flint's East Side": 
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2013/03/mysterious_explosion_sounds_al.html

"Explosion or Just Noise?," Metropolis, Illinois, near Elizabethville, Illinois: 
http://www.wpsdlocal6.com/news/local/Explosion-or-just-noise--Union-Honeywell-clash-on-danger-of-recent-incident-103018264.html?m=y

"Did You Hear the Loud Booms in Evansville, Indiana?," NBC Channel 14-TV:
http://www.14news.com/story/20537321/did-you-hear-the-booms