Menacing Shadow, Calculating Predator, Or Playful Sasquatch?

[Guest]

This report really struck a chord with me, it is eerily similar to my own encounter. This is the first time I have ever heard someone else describe the feeling of making eye contact with something that you can't actually see. That is a very very unnerving feeling. During this "stare down", I could definitely sense the predatory nature of this thing. It was not playing around at all, it was most definitely calculating.

For those of you that cannot comprehend that level of darkness, you really need to get out more. I live in the country where there are no street lights at all. When there is no moon out and the stars are behind clouds, it is 100% pitch black darkness. Especially under tree cover, there is no light source, you can't see anything at any distance. There are times when I literally cannot see my own hand directly in front of my face.

[Whistler]

I'd have to go with D). All of the above. (menacing shadow, calculating predator, and playful Sasquatch). If we as humans have so many different moods, personalities, etc. why wouldn't it be possible, even probable for these very closely related beings to have fairly similar characteristics. (One day I'm stalking somebody walking home from school, next I'm flushing out a group of deer so my siblings can pounce on the unsuspecting singled out one, and finally I'm playing googly eyes with a 3 year old girl through her window). Ahhh.. The life of a Squatch...

[Guest]

For those of you that cannot comprehend that level of darkness, you really need to get out more. I live in the country where there are no street lights at all. When there is no moon out and the stars are behind clouds, it is 100% pitch black darkness. Especially under tree cover, there is no light source, you can't see anything at any distance. There are times when I literally cannot see my own hand directly in front of my face.

I can completely understand that level of darkness - when well out of town, but not anywhere remotely close to town. I've witnessed this in remote areas and wilderness. However, I live about 6 miles out of the nearest town, right on the edge of BLM land. The town has less than 5000 people. On a moonless night, there is still enough ambient light from the "glow" of town that I can easily see horses, cows, barn etc from a distance of at least 10-20 yards. If there is cloud cover it just makes the town glow even more apparent as the clouds reflect the light.

This guy was in Bothell, WA and even gave street names. Bothell has a population over 33,000. According to GoogleEarth, there is about a half a mile (as the crow flies) between his friend's house and his. Within a mile of this path to the SE is what appears to be a shopping center. Within a quarter mile SW of his destination is what appears to be an apartment complex. And within a half mile of his destination is a subdivision. That subdivision has over 200 homes in a 1/3 x 1/3 mile square. This (in addition to the suburban-ness of the area) really makes his story very questionable as I imagine the ambient light would be more than adequate to see something that close.

*edit to add last sentence.

Edited March 5, 2013 by Nod4Eight

[Guest MoMoMafia]

This report really struck a chord with me, it is eerily similar to my own encounter. This is the first time I have ever heard someone else describe the feeling of making eye contact with something that you can't actually see. That is a very very unnerving feeling. During this "stare down", I could definitely sense the predatory nature of this thing. It was not playing around at all, it was most definitely calculating.

For those of you that cannot comprehend that level of darkness, you really need to get out more. I live in the country where there are no street lights at all. When there is no moon out and the stars are behind clouds, it is 100% pitch black darkness. Especially under tree cover, there is no light source, you can't see anything at any distance. There are times when I literally cannot see my own hand directly in front of my face.

That's all well and good, except, he was in an urban environment with street lights.

[LeafTalker]

I'd have to go with D). All of the above. (menacing shadow, calculating predator, and playful Sasquatch). If we as humans have so many different moods, personalities, etc. why wouldn't it be possible, even probable for these very closely related beings to have fairly similar characteristics. (One day I'm stalking somebody walking home from school, next I'm flushing out a group of deer so my siblings can pounce on the unsuspecting singled out one, and finally I'm playing googly eyes with a 3 year old girl through her window). Ahhh.. The life of a Squatch...

I'd vote for "all of the above", too (like dogu4, too). I think they have different moods and personalities, too. And I really like your picture of the life of a Squatch! Not a bad life....

[Guest]

I agree that the ambient light from surrounding urban dwellings and streetlights would make complete darkness impossible. Just find the location on goggle earth and you will see. I believe there are a lot of solid reports out there but I don't think this is one.

[LeafTalker]

Investigator's statement at the end of the report: "I spoke with the witness by phone and he recalled every detail from memory without being prompted. He was very articulate and credible..... At the time of this encounter the location was semi-rural and near a greenbelt that eventually leads to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Many houses have since been built in the area and the greenbelt has been reduced. But there are still plenty of wooded areas left that would allow such a large creature to pass through without being seen."

[Guest]

This report really struck a chord with me, it is eerily similar to my own encounter. This is the first time I have ever heard someone else describe the feeling of making eye contact with something that you can't actually see. That is a very very unnerving feeling. During this "stare down", I could definitely sense the predatory nature of this thing. It was not playing around at all, it was most definitely calculating.

For those of you that cannot comprehend that level of darkness, you really need to get out more. I live in the country where there are no street lights at all. When there is no moon out and the stars are behind clouds, it is 100% pitch black darkness. Especially under tree cover, there is no light source, you can't see anything at any distance. There are times when I literally cannot see my own hand directly in front of my face.

Yes, but in an urban area like this it is never pitch black. Too much atmospheric glow from the area. Even so, by the end of this run he should have been able to see something, as his eyes would have adjusted to the dark, which is suggested by the fact that he ran in the dark, and didn't report falling on his butt.

Nice story but I don't believe it either.

Edited March 6, 2013 by PsyShroom

[Guest]

Nothing makes the darkness more impenetrable to our vision than to have lights near by. It's one of the fallacies that humans have which actually amplifies our dependency on lights; that they allow us to see in the dark, where infact when we have lights, even small flashlights, the embers of a glowing camp fire, or distant street lights, our eye's never become fully sensitized to light and instead we find that everything outside of the direct cone of illumination is even less visible. It can take some time for our eye's to reach their full ability to reach their full potential in light sensitivity.

[Guest DWA]

Territorial. He doesn't file the report if it was predatory.

[BobbyO]

Territorial. He doesn't file the report if it was predatory.

There is that of course and its something I'd tend to agree with.

But circumstances dictate everything and even predatory acts aren't successful all of the time.

[Guest DWA]

From what i have read about them...and predators...this chase doesn't go that long if dinner is the idea.

[Guest]

Investigator's statement at the end of the report: "I spoke with the witness by phone and he recalled every detail from memory without being prompted. He was very articulate and credible..... At the time of this encounter the location was semi-rural and near a greenbelt that eventually leads to the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Many houses have since been built in the area and the greenbelt has been reduced. But there are still plenty of wooded areas left that would allow such a large creature to pass through without being seen."

I still don't buy it. The report was from summer 2009. The nice thing about GoogleEarth is that you can look at historical images. That area was anything but semi-rural at the time. It is sub-urban, which is not semi-rural. Looking at images from May, 2009:

• 
  Within a mile of this path to the SE was what appears to be a shopping center - there will be atmospheric light from that.
  
• 
  Within a quarter mile SSW of his destination was what appears to be an apartment complex - there will be atmospheric light from that.
  
• 
  Within a half mile NNW of his destination was a subdivision. That subdivision had around 150 homes in a 1/3 x 1/3 mile square in May of 2009 - there will be atmospheric light from that.
  
• 
  He states in his report that 45th St had street lights.
  

There is going to be enough ambient light to be able to see. If the guy could run, jump a 10 ft ditch and land 4 ft below near the pavement without falling or stumbling - then he had enough light to see something 15 feet away. This just doesn't add up.

Nothing makes the darkness more impenetrable to our vision than to have lights near by. It's one of the fallacies that humans have which actually amplifies our dependency on lights; that they allow us to see in the dark, where infact when we have lights, even small flashlights, the embers of a glowing camp fire, or distant street lights, our eye's never become fully sensitized to light and instead we find that everything outside of the direct cone of illumination is even less visible. It can take some time for our eye's to reach their full ability to reach their full potential in light sensitivity.

Yes, you are right. Having a strong, central light available to us makes the darkness seem darker. That's because we have a light source that is close enough/strong enough to make our pupils contract. Ambient light doesn't do that to your eyes however. He had no central light source - no flashlight, no campfire etc - and in fact if he did, at 15 feet away they would have been an aid to him, not a hindrance. He had the atmospheric sources I listed above - all within a mile (most much less) and they were all there in 2009.

[BobbyO]

It's a tough one but again I just think that circumstances dictate everything, including how a Sasquatch would hunt whatever it is its hunting.

We are not talking this being at the height of winter when food is at its scarcest for starters.

I think this thing has a pretty high level of intelligence and I'd tend to agree with you that if they want to be bad, there isn't much a person is going to do about it, but in this specific situation, the circumstances that dictated the encounter were in favour of the person.

The time of year, the location, the alarm of the Dog for example.

If these kids are telling the truth, then it seems as if maybe the animal had been in that area for a while due to the possible activity for the several weeks prior as was mentioned.

I have no issue with this location as such, due east in 20 miles is a wilderness area that has had dozens of reports over the years and continues to have to this very day, the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.

It also should be noted that July is one of the most active months there where BFRO sightings are concerned.

Edit : Great post Nod, thanks.

[Guest]

Thanks BobbyO. It's not that I doubt the area so much as that I doubt the story. The guy is running and jumping like an Olympian one second without stumbling at all (according to his own story). Yet the next second he cannot see 15 feet in front of him? Let's say he is running as fast as he has been clocked before - 22mph. That is over 30 feet per second. So he is running at a rate that he can only see .5 seconds in front of him? He's lucky he didn't run into a tree, knock himself out and hallucinate the whole experience.

I can maybe buy the story that something migrated 20 miles west, into a fairly populated area - maybe. I am familiar with the area, and although there is a lot of wooded areas I would still not call this place even remotely semi-rural. I used to not buy stories of BF in what I consider unusual areas - suburbs, densely populated areas back east etc - but there may be more truth to them than I originally thought. I still think the honey holes are in very rural to wilderness (or defacto wilderness) areas from the Sierras through BC - and this report is on the fringe of that description. But I'm not buying his story.