Oregon Residents Left Baffled by Deafening High Pitch Noise

Over the past few weeks, the residents of Forest Grove, Oregon have endured a mysterious noise that often wakes them up in the middle of the night. It could be best described as an unnatural shrill squeal that’s as loud as an air raid siren. To date, nobody can figure out what it is. The best guess anyone can come up with is that it sounds like a gas leak, but no leaks have been found.

And in any case, if it did stem from a gas leak, residents of the community would definitely be able to smell it. The obnoxious sound typically lasts anywhere between a few seconds and several minutes. It’s also been blamed on the sewer system, a water leak, faulty car breaks, train tracks, fire alarms, and utility relief valves, but the authorities have ruled out all of those possibilities.

One audio expert examined the sound, and said that it was one of the strangest things he’s ever heard. “It sounds like some sort of pressurized gas or air through a fitting or valve or something. It’s not steady state and you can’t predict when it’s going to happen. Those are all interesting sound features.” What’s more interesting is that the origin of the sound should be easy to find since high pitch noises don’t travel far. But for now, it remains a mystery.