Strange Happenings Near Swope Park

A lot is going on around Swope Park in Kansas City and its not about the Kansas City Zoo, the golf course, or Starlight Theater.  Something very strange has been going on in this area because people keep seeing things that defy explanation. Most people don't talk about what they are seeing for fear of ridicule, but a few brave souls have come forward to file reports with Quest Investigation Group, MUFON, and others over the past few years.

QIG compiled a list of events which occurred in the area between 63rd Street and 97th, and 71 hwy and 435 hwy between 2005 and 2020. There is an odd mix of reports which include four sightings of winged humanoid creatures, a Bigfoot, 125 glowing balls of light, and at least two UFOs.  The area heavily wooded, has two lakes, and a river running north to south on the west side. This is a perfect place for cryptid creatures and UFOs to hide, and a central hub in Kansas City. In April of 2012 Kansas City had a rash of UFO sightings which included a non-human entity witnessed by an ex-police officer in Raytown, which is a suburb located east of Kansas City, and a very large craft over Lee's Summit, Missouri in the early morning hours right after the balls of light were seen near 435 Hwy. Investigators believe that the Lee's Summit craft and the balls of light incident may be related.

Balls of Light:

May 14, 2012. An insurance salesman was traveling south on I-435 Hwy when he noticed orange balls of light shooting at high speed horizontally out of the tree line to his east. The sight was so strange that he pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway to get a better look at what was going on. Another vehicle did the same and both men got out of their cars. This is not something one would normally do at this location due to the heavy traffic, but they just had to get a better look. The first witness spoke to me about the incident, and he said that the second man called a friend of his who lived on 63rd street and asked him to go out side to see if he could see the lights. The man did so, and took several photos of the objects. The three men watched as 125 balls of light shot out of the tree line, split into three lights each, then moved up into the clouds at a specific location. They also saw a large ball of light split in to five, then move up in the same spot. If these had been sky lanterns or fireworks they would not have moved as they did. They could see no further into the clouds and don't know what may have been in the cloud. None of the witnesses could see what the balls of light were coming from inside the trees.

Diamond Shaped Craft: Also in April of 2012 a husband and wife had just finished shooting a video for a corporate client and were headed home at 10:00 pm. They were traveling north on 435 highway when they noticed a diamond-shaped craft traveling on the east side of the road next to the wooded area. The craft mimicked their speed and slowed down or sped up as they did. The two witnesses were dumbfounded, as the craft they were observing made no sound and appeared to have no propulsion system, and no wings. The craft then sped up slightly, and crossed the highway in front of them as they approached I-70. The craft headed due west towards downtown Kansas City.

UFO Chased by Helicopters: In August of 2015 two men and a woman were sitting in the pavilion at Swope Park at approximately 10:30 pm when they noticed a saucer-shaped silver UFO come over a hillside approximately 1/2 mile from their position. It hovered and moved around the area very slowly for several minutes. As they stood looking at this in awe, they noticed several helicopters move into the area. The UFO moved up and back and forth, with the helicopters in pursuit, but they were no match for the speed of the UFO. The craft then took off at rapid speed, leaving the helicopters behind. After a few minutes, the helicopters left the area. The witnesses thought the incident was over, when the UFO returned and went about its previous activity, apparently scanning the ground. It finally left, and the witnesses went home. The next morning, one of the witnesses passed the area on his way to work and noticed that the hillside where the UFO had been located was on fire and there were several fire trucks on the scene putting the fire out.

August 2005: Kansas City, MO. As reported by Ken Gerhard in his book "Encounters With Flying Humanoids," Investigator Lon Strickler reported that two sisters in the Swope Park area of Kansas City heard a loud noise and looked up to see a gigantic bird with a 12' -18' wingspan hopping from tree branch to tree branch. It had leathery skin and bat-like wings, a curved beak, with dark eyes. The two women ran inside the house and one of them fainted. KC MO near Swope Park

(continued from the above report from the year 2000) The same creature returned in the evening and made a sound like a dog being choked, then cavorted among the street lights. 2011: KC MO near Swope Park. (continued from the above report) A cousin saw the same creature when he left their house one evening. It hopped behind the taillights of his car. It had gigantic wings and a fat body.

June, 2020: A man noticed a shadow on the ground as he stood outside in the backyard of a friend's house and looked up to see a humanoid shaped creature the size of a man with huge bat-like wings just above them at tree level and glide off into the distance. He saw no features, but said that the creature appeared to have legs and arms.

Bigfoot:
6-20-2020: A man saw a Bigfoot near his house on 79th St. and 71 Highway in KC MO. It threw rocks, growled, and snorted.  It was after dark but the witness could see the creature standing behind a tree, and it kept peeking around the tree. The back yard is wooded but this is in a suburban area.The witness was outside in his back yard when a rock came flying by, almost hitting him but it hit the side of the house instead. He turned to see where the rock had come from and he heard a snort coming from a wooded area behind his house. He was astonished to see an eight foot tall Bigfoot standing next to and partially behind a large tree. The creature growled and threw another rock. The witness said that the creature had large shoulders and a large conical shaped head. The witness immediately went back inside his house and did not go back outside until the next morning.

Why Swope Park? At 1,805 acres, it is the 51st-largest municipal park in the United States, and the largest park in Kansas City. It is named in honor of Colonel Thomas H. Swope, a philanthropist who donated the land to the city in 1896. (Editor's note: Oddly, the Swope family are my relatives- my great-grandmother was Minnie Swope).

It seems as though the Swope Park area is the perfect habitat for cryptids and UFOs. After investigating both for many years, I am now of the opinion that perhaps these are not two separate subjects, and that the cryptid creatures may be related to UFOs, if not aliens themselves. There are just two many instances where cryptid creatures and UFOs are seen at the same time or in the same location.

There are not many areas near this site that would be a good site to conceal anything as it is mostly suburban with houses, roads, and highways. Swope Park is unique in that it offers plenty of areas to hide.

The northern most part of the park is located at exactly 39 degrees latitude, which is the major "Paranormal Highway" in this area, along with 49/71 Hwy south. It seems that an inordinate amount of strange unexplained events occur along these two lines. The 39 degree line remains stationary, while the 49/71 paranormal highway literally follows the highway as it twists and turns all the way into Arkansas to the south. Many of the UFO and paranormal investigations we do are along these lines. What that means is anyone's guess.

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Margie Kay is the director of Quest Investigation Group and is the Assistant State Director for Missouri MUFON. Reach her at www.margiekay.com.