Cryptic message or elaborate hoax?
That's the question that's been on the minds of some Madisonville residents after a crop circle appeared in a nearby wheat field almost two weeks ago.
This weekend, crop circle researchers visited Madisonville to try to separate science fact from science fiction.
"If it is a hoax, it's a good hoax," said Mark Boring.
Boring writes for "The Monroe County Buzz" newspaper. Last week, he stumbled on a truly unusual story: a crop circle in a field just outside of Madisonville.
He took photos from an airplane and published them in the paper. Those photos caught the attention of a group called the Independent Crop Circle Researchers Association (ICCRA). They came from states like Indiana and Ohio to Monroe County to investigate the phenomenon.
"As soon as we heard about it and saw that this was a pictogram, we decided this was very worthwhile to come down here," said ICCRA researcher Roger Sugden.
Far from alien chasers, the group simply uses scientific methods to try to determine whether the circle is man-made...or made by something else.
"That's the 64 million dollar question that I don't have an answer to," said Sugden. "As far as cause, nobody knows what makes them," he said.
Young Jessica Yearwood has formed her own opinion.
"I was thinking like a big pile of motorcycle riders were circling and made big tracks," Yearwood said.
"Everybody has their own opinion and, at this point, anybody's opinion is just as good as anybody else's," said ICCRA Director Jeffrey Wilson.
So is the Monroe County crop circle real? The researchers say it would appear so.
Wilson sites specific swirl patterns and interwoven wheat as evidence that the circle was likely not man-made.
"Everybody likes a mystery, which this is," said Sugden. "Nobody in the world knows what makes it," he said.
Before you start planning a road trip to see the crop circle, listen up.
The land owner is only allowing the researchers on his property.
(Original headline: Monroe County crop circle mystery )
