Later, as it moved west, so did other police. In addition to Melvin Noll, four Metro East police officers filed reports of seeing the object in the sky as it passed Lebanon, Shiloh, Millstadt, and Dupo. At least two civilians have also reported seeing the object as they drove to work early that morning. First, its all some sort of joke or hysteria, and there was in fact nothing real floating over Melvin and his miniature golf course. This doesn't seem to me a likely explanation.
Police are high quality observers, neither delusional nor fanciful.
And the police that saw the UFO did not think it a joke. Indeed, two of the officers contacted the National UFO Reporting Center in Seattle the morning after the sighting. Second, Melvin's UFO might be some sort of novel military craft, not known to the general public. The government denies all knowledge of any such craft. Still, this is where I would bet my money.