© KWSO
Wednesday night, just after 6:00 p.m., several folks were rattled after hearing what sounded like a large explosion nearby. Twenty-four hours later, Duncan residents and officials alike are still stumped, which has caused the mystery blast to be the talk of the town.
In southwest Oklahoma, many of us are used to the rolling thunder, or even Fort Sill's artillery popping. But what Stephens County experienced Wednesday night was something different.
"I asked my husband, I was like, 'what was that?' he said I think it was thunder and I said 'no I don't think so!'," said one Duncan resident.
The boom was so loud, those who heard it weren't the only ones shaken by its power.
"I know it hit pretty hard though, because it shook the stuff in my house," said another Duncan dweller.
"I actually wanted to run out of the house because it shook the house," said one worried Duncan resident.
It was enough to grab the attention of the Duncan Police Department and the Stephens County Sheriff's Office. Sheriff Wayne McKinney says this event isn't entirely uncommon.
"Over the past year, we've had calls out in the county where people have heard explosions or what they thought was explosions," said Sheriff McKinney.
He says it's possible that explosive targets may be to blame.
"There's really no law against it in the county, as long as it's done safely. So obviously these explosive targets could be flammable and we certainly don't want to see a fire started from that," said Sheriff McKinney. "But right now, we have no other clue. We have no other leads."
So that leaves the people of Stephens County to continue to wonder what goes "boom" in the night.
"I'm kind of a the proof's in the pudding kind of girl. And that's basically all we heard," said one skeptic.
Over the past twenty-four hours, several people have said they heard a boom in Bray, Duncan, Marlow, even Cotton and Tillman counties. So law enforcement will continue to investigate the mystery blast until they find the source.
If you have any information on the blast, you can contact the Stephens County Sheriff's Office at (580) 255-3131.
KSWO News video coverage here.
If this is related to military activities on Ft Sill there would be many more reports from Lawton than Duncan, since Lawton is directly next to the base and Duncan is several miles away.