Some Field Reports

[Branco]

The events described in this report occurred on the same property that "Greg" was on when he was chased out of the woods, while shooting behind him with a 9mm automatic.

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The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter 

 

Preface:  The witness is the father-in-law of "Greg", the person whose visual encounter was reported in the article written by Zack Glover which was published in the Alabama Game & Fish magazine January 1, 1998 and entitled "Stalked in Dallas County." 

 

The witness was contacted by this RFP Research Project field investigator while the investigator was interviewing other witnesses in Lowdnes and Dallas Counties during the week of May 14, 2007. This writer had received information that since the time of Greg's encounter that this witness, while accompanied by others, had heard on more than one occasion, sounds from a large enigmatic animal like those heard by "Brian", whose incident was also detailed in the same article.

 

The report was received in person from the witness at the Southern Sportsman Hunting Lodge near Benton, AL in Lowndes County in the presence of Dave Lyons, co-owner of the Lodge.

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: May 17, 2007.

 

Date of Encounter: During the November modern gun deer hunting season in 1996.

 

Time of Incident: Late afternoon until just before full darkness.

 

Weather Conditions: Clear and cool with a slight breeze from the south.

 

State: Alabama.

 

County: Dallas.

 

Nearest City or Town: Benton.

 

Location: About 1 mile south of U.S. Highway 80 and about 1 mile east of Dallas County Road #7 near the Dallas/Lowdnes County line.

 

Nearest highway or road: Dallas County Road #481 which runs east and west, about 1/2  mile south of the site.

 

General Land Use Description: Timber lands containing numerous wild game "green fields" and food plots, with some pasture lands in the general area.

 

General Terrain Description: Mostly lowlands with some wet lands/swamps when the area receives normal rainfall.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: The location is about 1/4 mile west of Soapstone Creek which flows north and empties into the Alabama River in the town of Benton, just below the Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam. The location is about four miles from that part of the river. There are several stock ponds in the general area.

 

Witness Profile: He is a middle-age former resident of the area who now lives in Montgomery. He manages the private deer club which leases the land on which Greg's and Brian's encounters took place. The witness is an avid hunter, and familiar with known native wildlife. He is employed by a State agency.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: He was hunting out of an elevated "box" deer stand which was approximately 15 feet above ground. The stand is located just inside the wood line on the west side of "green field". The field is a little over 100 yards long (north and south) and approximately 65 yards wide (from his stand to the opposite side).

 

While he was in the stand late that afternoon there were from 15 to 20 deer in the field - the most he had ever seen in that particular field. He was closely watching an eight point buck that was feeding in the northeast corner of the field. That buck was the largest in the field but it continual maintained a position in which the witness's view of the deer was blocked by a large oak tree that stood along the edge of the field a few yards from the stand. There was also a large six point buck feeding near the eight point. 

 

Shortly after the herd of deer arrived in the field to feed they all began acting very nervous and unusually wary. He noticed that a four point buck was frantically running back and forth from the center of the field to just inside the woods on the east side. (That side of the field was near a small tributary of Soapstone Creek which itself was only a few hundred yards away.) As the buck ran back and forth he continually "blew and snorted" as if very alarmed. The other deer were feeding, but while eating they watched the four-point and the wood line very intently.

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: As darkness drew near, the witness decided he was not going to get a clear shot of the eight point buck, and decided to take the six point. He took careful aim, fired, and the buck dropped. The rest of the deer scattered at the sound of the shot. The witness sat with the rifle in position to fire again if the deer moved. It didn't, but he decided to watch it a few minutes before he climbed down out of the stand.

 

Within a few seconds he was startled to hear a very loud sound that at first started as a human-like yell and then changed into a roaring growl. The witness could not understand what he was hearing, and began looking at the deer on the ground to see if it may have made such an unusual sound. He saw the deer had not moved. Immediately he heard the sound of something crashing through the woods directly across the field, in the same area the buck had been focusing his attention. Then the roaring scream was heard from that area again, but this time it was louder and seemed to originate closer to him than the first. At time the witness said he thought to himself. "Oh my God, that's the thing that chased Greg and Brian out of the woods!"

 

By then it was barely light enough to see to walk, and he decided to get down out of the stand and head for his truck that was parked a hundred yards or so to his right and slightly behind the stand. He tried to climb down quietly, but dropped a bottle of scent masking solution which struck the ladder and made a loud noise. The sound caused the unseen animal to roar again, and it began making very loud, somewhat muffled, popping sounds which the witness had heard Greg and Brian mention. (The witness stated the sounds were like those that would be make if someone slapped two large flat rocks together.) He too was sure it was the sound of the animal popping its teeth together. 

 

When he got on the ground, he hurried toward his truck, and could hear the animal begin to run through the brush around the edge of the field toward him. It followed him to the truck, occasionally grunting and often making the popping sounds. He made it to his truck safely, and "drove like the devil" to the camp.

 

He told the camp members what had happened and several trucks and armed hunters went back to the green field. The six point buck was still where it had fallen when he shot it. The deer was loaded and taken back to camp without anything more being heard from the animal.

 

Description of the Animal: The animal was not seen.

 

Photos or Drawings Made? No.

 

Description of Related Sounds: As described above.

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None detected.

 

Other Details: A few nights after the incident some of the camp members stationed themselves in the stands in that area and used infrared lights and night vision equipment in an attempt to see the unknown animal. Their efforts were fruitless.

 

Two weeks after the incident, the witness and others retrieved a frozen front shoulder of a deer from a freezer, and made holes through the shoulder on each side of the bone. They looped a one-quarter inch nylon rope through the holes and tied it. They then tied a section of the rope between two trees so that the rope was about eight feet off the ground. The shoulder was then securely tied to that rope, about eight feet from the nearest tree.

 

They did not check the bait for three days. When they did check, the rope had been broken by force. (It was closely examined by several men, and it was their unanimous opinion the rope had not been chewed or cut.) The portion of the rope attached directly to the shoulder was never located.

 

Investigator's Comment: When the writer was told about the one-quarter inch nylon rope being broken, he erroneously thought that it would be difficult for an animal, even one as large as that described by Greg and other area residents, to do that . I was surprised to learn today that a solid braid, one-quarter inch Nylon rope has a load limit of only 90 pounds. 

 

The next summer the witness and his wife planted garden peas in one of the fields in the area of the incidents, and applied garden sulfur to them to keep the deer from eating them before they ripened. While he and his wife were at the field late one afternoon checking on the peas, they heard the same popping sounds as he and the others had heard. They quickly left the area.

 

In the summer of 1999, the witness and Greg started bush-hogging some of the food plots late one afternoon, and their work continued until after dark. The witness was on the tailgate of his truck that night watching as Greg took his turn on the tractor. Over the sounds of the tractor and bush hog, the witness began to hear the popping sounds in the woods behind him when the equipment was at the other end of the field. When Greg and the tractor came back around the field close to the truck, the witness gave him a hand sign to shut off the tractor's engine. When the engine died, they could clearly hear the loud popping sounds drawing nearer. They left the tractor and drove out of the area.

 

Historical Notes: See other reports posted on this site from Dallas and Lowdnes Counties, Alabama.

 

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Report received and recorded by:

Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project

[chelefoot]

Thanks so much for posting these, Branco!

[Branco]

Since we are having another one of those unusual winter blast, I am going to try to post several reports that are no longer available on the web. I will also try to reduce the forum space used. If anyone has objections or suggestions let me know ASAP. 

Thanks to everyone, especially the forums owners/managers for allowing me to share these hard-earned reports.

 

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: 9:00pm CST, June 14, 2006.

 

Date of Encounter: Same date. Time of Incident: Approximately 7:00pm EST.

 

Weather Conditions: Clear and warm.

 

State: West Virginia.

 

County: Jackson.

 

Nearest City or Town: Ripley.

 

Location: West of Interstate 77.

 

Nearest highway or road: Near the junction of Highway 21 and Dog Fork Creek Road.

 

General Land Use Description: Rural residential area with small farms along the creeks.

 

General Terrain Description: Mountain foothills.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: Dog Fork Creek nearby, 20 miles east of the Ohio River.

 

Witness Profile: 28 year old married female resident of the area.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: Searching for a missing dog.

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: The family's young Beagle had left the yard during the afternoon and began chasing a rabbit on the hillside behind the home. The dog had not returned at sunset, and the witness thought the dog might be lost. About twilight she drove up the hill using a road which followed a pipe line. She stopped the vehicle at a point below a wide ledge or "bench" which was about 200 yards below the crest of a ridge.

 

She got out of the vehicle and started calling and whistling for the dog. After a few minutes she heard something crashing through the brush as it ran off the ridge toward her. As she stood there she saw a white or grey human-like form running out of the brush and onto the ledge above her. The creature stopped on the back side of the ledge so that she could only see the upper part of its body. It then moved along the ledge until it was concealed about 35 yards from her. At that time the animal emitted a deep, powerful noise that became a loud scream. The sound terrified the witness, and she turned to get in the vehicle. When she did she saw the animal run back into the brush on the hillside. She listened as the animal crashed through the brush, and she watched as it broken into the open just behind the crest of the ridge. The animal then stopped, looked at her and repeated the sounds it had just made. At that time the witness was shaking so badly she could barely get back in the vehicle, and when she did, had trouble starting and driving the vehicle off the hill.

 

When she got home she found the Beagle on the front porch. She then called her Stepmother and told her what had happened. The witness's stepmother immediately called this investigator. 

 

{The writer was in another State when he received the original report. It was a few weeks before he was able to return to WV to further investigate this and other reports he had received from that area of the State.}

 

Description of Animal: The witness only saw the animal's upper body since it was on the ledge above her when first seen, and was behind the crest of the hill the second time. All that she could tell about it was its upper body was not much larger than her own, and that it was a solid white or greyish color, moved through the brush with great speed and much noise. At all times the animal was standing and running erect on two feet. She stated the upper portion of the body she was able to see was about three and one-half feet in height.

 

Photos or Drawings Made?: None.

 

Description of Related Sounds: The witness stated that the sounds made by the animal were unlike any that she had ever heard directly, or heard on TV or movies. She could only say that the sounds started with a loud guttural noise and ended in a deep scream.

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None noted.

 

Other Details: About 8:00pm CST on June 16, 2006 the writer talked to the witness by telephone and confirmed that her account of the event was the same as that given me by her stepmother. Family members are reportedly returning to the site on Saturday, June 17, 2006 to see if that might obtain hair samples from the brush through which the animal traveled during the incident. 

 

Historical Notes: This area has generated numerous enigmatic animal reports for well over one hundred years. 

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Report received and recorded by: Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project 

Edited February 2, 2014 by Branco

[WV FOOTER]

Thanks Branco. Love those WV sighting reports.

[Branco]

Not really a sighting report, but close enough for the two Deputies. Credible report & a little insight.

*********

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: May 21, 2007

 

Date of Encounter: Late summer or early fall, 2001

 

Time of Incident: Sometime after midnight, but before 2:00 am. (The deputy was working the 6:00pm to the 2:00am shift.)

 

Weather Conditions: Clear and still. Moon phase unknown.

 

State: Alabama

 

County: Dallas 

 

Nearest City or Town: Pleasant Hill

 

Location: On Dallas County Highway #85, one and one-half miles north of the junction with County Road #12.

 

Nearest highway or road: As shown above.

 

General Land Use Description: Timber lands, pasture lands with extensive wetlands just west of the location.

 

General Terrain Description: Secondary upland alluvial plains bordering the Alabama River.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: Cedar Creek and its associated wetlands/swamps are within two and one-half miles (to the west) of the site of the encounter, and the William "Bill" Dannelly Reservoir above the Millers Ferry Lock and Dam on the Alabama River is about seven and one-quarter miles west of the location.

 

Witness Profile: At the time the witness was a Patrol Deputy for the Dallas County Sheriff. He is still employed as a Deputy Sheriff but in a different capacity. He is middle aged, and until a few years ago an avid hunter. His current position and his  previous service with another branch of government lends the utmost credibility to his statements regarding the encounter described. This writer found the witness to be obliging in every respect. He also showed the utmost respect and a totally refreshing sense of humor during our conversation regarding this incident.

 

Special Note: After receiving the encounter report from this witness, he was asked if his report could be published on the condition his name and personal data would be withheld. He stated he had no objections, but thought that he should get clearance from the Sheriff first. He then contacted the Sheriff for that approval, which the Sheriff granted.

 

The RFP Research Project sincerely appreciates the Sheriff of Dallas County for that action, and commends him highly for it. His attitude reflects a real understanding of what others should know about public service, and the public's right to know.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: He and another deputy were in separate vehicles and in route to what he remembers as a "Burglary in Progress" call to a home near the town of Minter in the southern part of the county near the Wilcox County line. Their route had been east out of Selma on U.S. Highway 80, then south on State Highway #41 until they turned due south on Dallas County Road #85.

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: The primary witness was in the lead patrol vehicle with the second deputy following close behind. They were not using emergency lights or sirens, but were driving fast and at safe speeds. 

 

About one and one-half miles north of the intersection with County Road #12 (which turns east toward Pleasant Hill) the witness was startled to see a large herd of deer burst out of the woods onto the road directly in front of his patrol car. He stopped quickly and watched as the deer remained in the road running frantically to and fro and seemed not to want to go back into the woods on either side. While he sat watching the deer, he heard through the window opening on the passenger side (the window was down) the very loud sound of a deer bleating in fear or pain and the loud sound of thrashing in the brush just off the west side of the road. He quickly shut off the engine, stepped out of the vehicle and stood listening as the sounds continued. A few seconds later the sounds stopped, and the other deputy killed his car's engine and walked up beside the witness. 

 

The second deputy asked the reporting witness if he had struck one of the deer. The witness quietly told him he had not, and told him to be quite and listen.  As they stood listening, the woods were silent for several seconds. Then the silence was shattered by a deafening, animalistic roaring coming from the woods just a few yards off the road in the same area from which the deer bleating had been heard. The two men froze, and the witness stated the hair on his arm was standing upright. The men remained still as the roaring subsided the first time. Both looked at the other, wondering what could have made such an awesome sound. Within a few seconds, they heard the crackling of brush as something moved toward the road. Then another roaring sound erupted from the woods, and the sounds seemed to have originated closer to the road and louder, and the roaring ended in a higher and angrier pitch.

 

At that time both men retreated to their vehicles. They started their engines and watched the wood line for a few seconds. They saw nothing, and decided to "get the heck out of there."

 

They continued on to answer the call, and never went back to the site to check for evidence as to what had occurred there that night.

 

Photos or Drawings Made? No.

 

Description of Related Sounds: Very loud, distinctly angry roaring sounds, "even louder than an African lion."

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: The witness stated that as soon as he stopped his vehicle he smelled an odor that "was worse than that of any hog pen he had ever been around."

 

Historical Notes: The area described in this report is about eight and one-half miles southwest of the encounter described in the 1998 issue of the Alabama Game & Fish Magazine which is posted on this site.

 

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Report received and recorded by:

Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project

[NathanFooter]

Great stuff Branco.

[WV FOOTER]

Awesome report Branco. Proof in the pudding that Squatch's have a Predatory Nature, when need be.

[Guest SquatchinNY]

Very interesting. Poor deputies must have been scared stiff!

Branco: I love your work! It is a great asset to the BF community!

PS: Do you have any reports of them trying to break in to a house, or rv? Or just terrorizing a RV? I love those kinds of reportx.

[Branco]

SquatchinNY: I don't think so, but I can't say for sure. I'm trying to sort through the AL & WV reports now. But, I did investigate one report over in Montgomery County, AR where a young couple who lived in a metal sided mobile home which was owned by his grandmother and on her property told me that a BF tried to get in the locked and dead-bolted back door one night. Reportedly, it could not open the door, and began clawing and tearing at the metal siding and the aluminum drip-rail above the door. The young man shot through the door about five times with an automatic.22 caliber rifle and he said the thing ran off screaming. 

 

I drove over there and took their oral report and checked it out. He had in fact shot through the door, but when I closely examined the "claw" marks they appeared to have been made a four-tine garden rake. Every "claw mark" did indeed tear through the aluminum, but each "finger nail" in each set of marks were were precisely the same width and the same spacing apart. The home was on VERY rural property, His grandmother was an avid gardener. (While outside "looking for tracks" I saw one such rake in a shed that still had tiny slivers of aluminum and bits of white paint on the tips of the tines. The tine's width and spacing matched the "claw marks on the house.)

 

The only reason that I went back over there was because it was on that same property that the grandmother had seen a BF on the creek behind the mobile home one afternoon and her son had called me and asked that I come over and talk to her. (I had spent many days and nights in that county because the residents have seen the things for many, many years. I wrote several reports from over there.)

 

During my first night investigation behind her house, I and four others (including the grandson) had called and got a heck of an angry response from a BF which headed right toward us through the creek bottoms. He ran to within about one hundred fifty yards of us and stopped for several minutes in a dense thicket. What we didn't know was that a pack of coyotes was following the BF. One of the coyotes started whining nervously. Then all hxxx broke loose. The BF roared, the coyotes scattered like a covey of quail and every one of them was yelping and screeching in fear. We heard the BF crashing through the timber until he caught one of the canines. He obviously killed it in some painful and agonizing way. Some of the most pitiful sounds I've ever heard from an animal.

 

The bottom line I believe is this: The grandson was spooked, a BF may have slapped the back door of his home later and may have raked its fingernails along the corrugated siding. (They have done that many times.) I think the young man probably did shoot through the door in fear. (There actually were wide scratch marks along the metal siding, but such marks were on each side. It was obvious - due to the timber along the narrow road to the property - that tree limbs scratched the siding for certain when it was brought to the home site.) The morning after the shooting, he couldn't find evidence of damage to the home to justify the shooting to the grandmother, so he made the "claw marks. Of course, I didn't share my opinion with either party.

 

I didn't write up his report because of the circumstances, but did of course keep my field notes..

 

Sorry for getting off track; it was an interesting situation anyway. 

[the parkie]

With regard to the 28 year old searching for her dog...I find this report particularly interesting as she actually saw the sasquatch vocalising. Quite often when alleged sasquatch recordings are analysed and discussed the argument often breaks down at the point where the recorder can only concede that, convinced as they are of the recording's veracity, they didn't actually see the animal produce the noise so there always remains that doubt.

Branco

Do you know of any other reports where the observer also witnessed the sasquatch vocalising? Do you know of any recordings where the recorder witnessed the sasquatch actually producing the noise in question?

Also, thank you again for continuing to post all these old reports. It seems we have the cold weather to thank for keeping you out of the woods and at the computer! Hope you can get back to what you love doing the most soon...

Edited February 4, 2014 by the parkie

[Guest SquatchinNY]

I didn't know BFs eat coyotes. Thanks Branco!

[Branco]

I didn't know BFs eat coyotes. Thanks Branco!

 

Don't know that they do eat them, and really don't think they would.  Do know that they do kill them unmercifully if they screw up a BF's stalk or hunt. The same with dogs that that interfere with their foraging around home sites. Dozens of credible reports, and some personal knowledge of both.  

 

One case that drew world wide attention is this one: http://fortheloveofthedogblog.com/news-updates/beagle-skinned-alive

 

Contrary to what the newspaper stated; neither the results from Auburn Univ nor from the SO was ever released. (They tried to place the blame on "devil worshipers" or "farm machinery operation". The dog was injured about 2 AM.) This happened in Cullman County, AL, which is just 5 miles south of the Morgan County line, and about 10 miles NE of the location of area of the "Black Thing" report. There have been a bunch of reports from both those counties.

 

LEO helicopters were in the air above the area surrounding the dog owner's property for days and nights. Folks that know about BF down there tried to clue the LEOs in, but were ignored. The residents knew the LEO knew what injured the dogs. They just would not discuss it with anyone.

Edited February 4, 2014 by Branco

[Branco]

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: May 20, 2007

 

Date of Encounter: In May or June, 2004

 

Time of Incident: About 1:30am.

 

Weather Conditions: Clear, moon phase unknown.

 

State: Alabama

 

County: Lowndes

 

Nearest City or Town: Benton

 

Location: On the Jones Bluff Road* between the Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam on the Alabama River and the town of Benton.

 

Nearest highway or road: County Road #40* runs nearly parallel (east & west) to the Jones Bluff Road* about 1/4 miles north.

 

*NOTE: Based on the Alabama Offical 2005-2006Highway Map and on the Lowndes Wildlife Management Area map published by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Google Earth's map of this area erroneously switched the identification of Lowndes County Road #40 with the county's Jones Bluff road. (Information provided for the reader who might choose to review the sighting area on Google Earth.)

 

General Land Use Description: Undeveloped wetlands intermingled with farm and pasture lands adjoining the Alabama River and its impounded R. E. Woodruff Lake.

 

General Terrain Description: River bottom lands.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: The lock and dam is about one mile west of the sighting location and Big Swamp Creek flows just south of the county road at that location.

 

Witness Profile: A 54 year old male who is an avid fisherman and hunter. He has lived in the area since birth. He is familiar with all classified native wildlife.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: He and his brother-in-law had been at a "club" until shortly after 1:00am. They were traveling west in a vehicle on Lowndes County's Jones Bluff Road toward Benton. The witness readily admitted that he and his brother-in-law had been drinking beer at the club before the encounter, but he also firmly stated that neither of them were intoxicated. The detailed description of the animal he gave the writer tends to confirm his statement.

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: The two men were in the area of the road in which Big Swamp Creek makes a sharp, "U' shaped bend to the north and passes within a few hundred yards of the Jones Bluff Road. According to the witness, the roadbed along that stretch is elevated and there are guard rails along each shoulder. (This report was received by telephone after the writer had returned from a four day stay in the area. The writer did not drive this particular stretch of road while in the area.) From an initial distance of about 100 yards, the witness noticed what they thought was a very large man coming up the north side of the road bed approaching the guard rail. As the driver began to slow the vehicle, the dark, man-like figure stepped over the guard rail onto the shoulder of the road. At that time both men could see that it was not a human but a large hair-covered man/ape like creature that neither had ever seen before, and it was walking upright like a man. At that time the vehicle was stopped about 100 or 150 feet from the creature. 

 

At that time both men could also see that the animal had either been injured or was afflicted with physical deformities. The creature's right leg was grossly abnormal, with the knee joint flexing inward (toward the left leg) at each step. The animal's left arm appeared to locked in place in a drawn position (the forearm pulled in toward the body) and the entire arm elevated at an angle of about 45 degrees.

 

Immediately after the animal stepped over the guard rail it walked slowly with a pronounced limp for a few steps without looking toward the vehicle. It then reached the dead center of the road and stopped, turning its head to look at the vehicle. After a few seconds, it began running across the road at a surprisingly fast speed, stepped over the guard rail and continued out of sight toward a pasture south of the road. 

 

Description of the Animal: The witness stated the animal was approximately 6 feet tall, and covered in long, dark colored "shaggy" hair. He stated the animal's head was large and appeared to set directly on its shoulders without a visible neck, and the face appeared to be mostly covered in the same dark colored hair as its body. From the distance viewed, they could see no facial features or any evidence of the sex of the animal. They did not see any reflection of light from the eyes of the animal. He stated the animal's shoulders were very broad and its body did not taper to the waist.

 

When asked by the writer, the witness was not at all sure about the estimated weight of the animal, but said that it probably weighed between 300 and 400 pounds.

 

Both witnesses were reportedly very much surprised to see the speed of the animals when running, considering their observations that the animal was apparently "crippled" in one leg and an arm.

 

Photos or Drawings Made? None.

 

Description of Related Sounds: No sounds heard.

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None detected.

 

Historical Notes: When discussing this incident with the witness, he stated he and his brother-in-law were not the only people who had seen such animals in that area. He said that he had heard that a woman and her child had seen such an animal while walking along the railroad that passes through that same area, very close to the road they had been traveling. He also said that another person had seen the same type animal not far from that same location. He volunteered to contact those parties and see if they would be willing to discuss their sightings with the writer. If so, their reports will be posted here later.

 

This incident occurred within a very few miles of those encounters from Dallas and Lowdnes counties posted on this site.

 

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Report received and recorded by:

Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project

[Branco]

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: About 6:30pm November 21, 2007.

 

Date of Encounter: November 20, 2007.

 

Time of Incident: 7:20pm.

 

Weather Conditions: Partly cloudy and cool.

 

State: Alabama.

 

County: Morgan.

 

Nearest City or Town: Hulaco Community. 

 

Location: The sighting area is pastureland.

 

Nearest highway or road: Hog Jaw Road.

 

General Land Use Description: Cattle and horse farms/pastures and residential. 

 

General Terrain Description: Rolling hills which are in places cut by deep ravines and hollows which expose bluffs of limestone and sandstone. There are numerous caves and sheltered overhangs in the bluffs and outcrops on the slopes bordering the hollows and ravines. The sighting location is less than one mile from the downstream opening of one of the numerous rugged and undeveloped hollows in Morgan County.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: Cotaco, a spring-fed creek is nearby. There are numerous springs in the area.

 

Witness Profile: A boy who will be 11 years old in January.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: The boy was riding in a car driven by his mother. They were on their way to the mother's home from Arab in Marshall County. They were on Hog Jaw Road and about a mile from the mother's home. (The boy lives in the Huntsville area with his father, and had been visiting his mother during the Thanksgiving holidays.)

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: The car was traveling west on Hog Jaw Road in an area bounded on both sides by fenced property which is part of a very large dairy farm. The car was traveling slowly because it had just negotiated a 90 degree turn to the right. As the  vehicle neared a point where there were two large gates, one on each side of the road, the boy saw in the car's headlights a large hair-covered creature walking in a cow pasture on the right side of the car. The creature was walking slowly in the same direction as the car was traveling, and was about twenty yards from the road. At the point the boy first saw the creature his vision was only obstructed by the pipe framed gate that opens into the pasture. As the car passed the gates, the boys view of the creature was at times partially obstructed by scattered small trees and brush growing in the fence row alongside the road.

 

The boy stared intently at the creature until the lights from the car passed it. At that time the boy shouted, "What was that?" His mother responded that she had not seen anything, but that she would stop and back up to get a look at what the boy had seen. He quickly said, No, no, don't do that, let's go!" She could see that the boy was alarmed so she told him he had probably seen one of the horses that were sometimes kept in the pasture. As she stopped and began backing up, the boy quickly locked the car door on his side and slid out of the seat onto the floor board. As the car reached the spot, the boy lifted his head and saw the animal's back as it had turned away from the road and disappeared over a small ridge in the pasture that dropped into a small, wooded branch bottom. As soon as the boy saw the animal the second time he told his mother, "There it is!" His mother was watching the road over her shoulder and was unable to see the animal before it went out of sight over the small ridge. At the time the creature dropped out of sight over the ridge, it was about 50 yards from the road. The boy readily admitted that the appearance of the creature scared him badly.

 

Description of Animal: The witness stated the animal was about seven feet tall, covered in dark brown or black hair that was about 6" long, and that at all times it was walking slowly on two feet like a human. He stated its body was bending over slightly and its arms were swinging slowly as it walked. He said the animals was noticeably "skinny" and that its long hair"bounced" at each step it made.

 

At the time the car was at the closest point, the animal turned its upper body and head toward the car and stared directly at it. At that point the boy stated its eyes reflected a "greenish" color. While the animal's face was turned toward him, the boy stated he could clearly see that the skin on the face was "brownish tan", and of a lighter color than its hair. He also stated the skin had the appearance of leather and that the skin was heavily wrinkled. He said that the overall appearance of the face and lips was similar to that of a gorilla.

 

Photos or Drawings Made? No. (Hopefully the witness will try to make a drawing of the creature sometime in the future.)

 

Description of Related Sounds: No sounds heard.

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None detected.

 

Other Details: Although the boy himself had no idea that such animals existed in Alabama, his mother had heard some reports of similar animals in Morgan County. After the boy had described what he had seen, she told him she guessed he had seen a Bigfoot. When they arrived at the mother's home they searched the Internet and found the Alabama Bigfoot web site. They immediately sent a message to the web master about the encounter, and that message was forwarded to the writer as he was scheduled to conduct interviews and investigations in the same area within the next few days. The boy's mother telephoned the writer the next evening, and with her permission, her son was interviewed at that time. 

 

The writer arrived in Morgan County on November 24 and immediately contacted the boy's mother. Her son had already returned to his father's home in the Huntsville area. The boy's mother and her husband accompanied the writer to the sighting location and she pointed out the route the creature had taken when it was seen by her son.

 

The next day the writer and two local residents returned to the site to look for evidence of the animal's passage. It was noted that the top strand of the pasture's barb wire fence alongside the road had been pushed down between one gate post and the next fence post. In the fence row between the two posts, it was seen that the tops had been broken off of a small black cherry tree and a small wild plum tree. The limbs from broken tops of the trees were on the ground or hanging in the fence. It was apparent the tops of the trees had been removed to afford unobstructed access over the fence. Examination of the broken limbs showed that they had been broken off several month earlier.

 

It was clearly seen that something had been crossing the fence beside the gate for some time as there were large, smooth surfaced tracks in the dirt and grass both inside and outside the fence.  There was no evidence the tracks had been made by someone wearing shoes. Away from the fence inside the pasture no tracks were seen except those made by the dairy cattle that are routinely kept there. 

 

Directly across the county road from the area just described there is another large gate to a field that is reportedly used for growing corn for silage. The gate to that field was open at the time. Across the field from the road there is a large area of hills and undeveloped forest land.  There is a farm machinery road from the gate through the field and into the woods line. While walking the road through the field the writer was able to see three imprints of bare, human-like tracks in grassless spots along the road. Because the road surface was packed, very little indentation was made when the tracks were laid down. The ground was damp, and the faint tracks appeared to be very fresh. Only two of the track were contiguous and they were about three feet apart. The tracks were neither measured nor photographed, although they were seen to be not much bigger than an average size man's foot. (At the time it was raining lightly, but much heavier rains crossed the area later that day.)

 

Historical Notes & Investigator's Comment: This general area of Morgan County has generated numerous reports of enigmatic primate. This particular report indicates the animal seen was one of the "Lesser" primates that are so often seen in Alabama. While in Morgan county during this investigation, the writer received two reports of the sightings of the "Greater" primates that are commonly called Bigfoot or Sasquatch. The sightings of all occurred within a radius of about two miles. Reports of those sightings will be posted here as soon as possible.

 

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Tal H. Branco, The RFP Research Project

[Branco]

The RFP Research Project (RFPRP) - Report of Encounter or Related Incident

 

Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: 01/25/05

 

Date of Encounter: In the late 1980s, month/day not known

 

Time of Incident: About 6:30am

 

Weather Conditions: Witness not sure of weather, remembers that it was not raining.

 

State: Alabama

 

County: Clarke

 

Nearest City or Town: Jackson

 

Map Location: (gps or township/section coordinates if known): Not recorded

 

Nearest highway or road: Walker Springs Road at Rabbit Creek Road

 

General Land Use Description: Pine plantations adjoining marshy bottoms along a creek. 

 

General Terrain Description: Small, rolling hills of ancient beach sand overlaying seabed limestone.

 

Nearest Lakes or Streams: Rabbit Creek and associated marshes.

 

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: Female witness was a passenger in a car driven by a female cousin. The women were going to work at an apparel factory that was at that time located in Jackson.

 

Details of Encounter / Incident: The two women were traveling toward Jackson on the Walker Springs Road. As they approached the bridge over Rabbit Creek a large, hair-covered animal walking on two feet stepped onto the road in front of the car. The driver had to quickly apply the brakes to prevent hitting the animal. It was walking at a slow and deliberate pace and did not change its pace even as the car closely approached it. The animal was watching the car as it walked by turning its upper torso toward the witnesses. The animal continued across the road and disappeared into the densely forested creek bottoms.

 

Description of Animal(s) if Seen: The animal was described as being eight feet or more in height. Its body was said to be slim, and it was covered with dirty gray hair, except for portions of its face and the palms of its hands. The skin on the palms of its hands, and on the bare portions of it face was dark gray. It walked with a fluid "sliding" (gliding) motion, and it feet and the calves of its legs were covered in mud. The witnesses were struck by the length of the arms as compared to a human's arms. The arms were long and swung in long arcs with each step. The witness particularly noted that the animal's hands and fingers seemed to be exceptionally long in proportion to its height. The head was somewhat egg shaped, and sat close to the shoulders. Its facial expression was somber as it gazed directly at the witnesses. It appeared indifferent to the close proximity of the car and the witnesses. Its eyes were dark with no visible pupil, and the eyes recessed under a noticeable brow ridge.

 

Photos or Drawings Made?: No

 

Description of Related Sounds: No sounds were heard

 

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None

 

Was Physical Evidence Obtained? No

 

Field Investigator's Comments: The writer only spoke to the witness who was the passenger in the car. The witness stated that the driver (her cousin) was very upset by the encounter because the animal's appearance badly frightened her. The incident reportedly caused her great anxiety and she did not want to accept the possibility that such animals might exist, especially in such close proximity to her residence. Although other family members had reportedly seen and heard these animals, she simply did not wish to discuss the possibility of their existence, even after nearly striking one of them with her vehicle. The reticent witness did send word to this investigator that at some later date she might want to discuss this incident.

 

Additional Note: The husband of the witness that was driving the car reportedly saw a large gray colored bipedal animal watching him from behind a tree while the man was fishing in one of the creeks in that part of Clarke County some time ago. The animal is said to have watched him for several minutes from the partially concealment, and finally walked away from him, keeping trees between it and the fisherman in an apparent attempt to keep the man from seeing the animal as it departed. The man told relatives that the animal had long flowing curly hair that waved in the breeze as it walked away. The investigator has been unable to contact the man for an interview, but continues to try to do so.