Media Article # 203
Article submitted by Ron Schaffner (Ron@bfro.net)
Article prepared and posted by Matthew Moneymaker

Thursday, May 1, 1980

By Ron Schaffner
Creature Cronicles

Witnesses: Tom and Connie Courter Henschen Road and Indiana S.R. 56 Ohio County, Indiana between Aurora and Rising Sun

Facts of Incident(s):

The Courter's had left their mother's house in their car and were headed back up Henschen Road to their trailer. Once home, Tom got out of the car first so that he could get the diaper bag out of the back seat. (The Courter's had a six-week-old baby, which was also in the back seat.)

As he turned back around, he heard a strong noise which sounded like an "UGH". As he looked up, he saw a large hairy animal about "18 inches" away.

In a later interview, he told me that the creature as being about 12 foot tall, black and hairy, with large red eyes. He further stated that the head was shaped like a human and that its arms were hanging to the ground.

Tom quickly jumped into his car and spun his tires, as the creature took a swing at him. Tom said that the creature hit his car. Both Tom and Connie were obviously very scared and they went directly back to their mother's house.

On the next night, they stayed at their mother's house until 11:45PM. This time, Tom had his 16 shot .22. They parked in front of their trailer for a while, when they saw the same animal standing next to a tree on the other side of the road.

Tom fired one shot at the creature, but missed. He fired several more shots. He said that the animal seemed to dive to the ground and then seemed to vanish.

The Courter's filed a police report, but the Ohio County Sheriff's dept were very skeptical. In fact, they told us that they believe the couple were on drugs.

The authorities stated that they could find no evidence to back up their claim. Our group did find smashed vegetation a few days later at the sight. The side of their car was smashed and we found no evidence of rust, or other metal shavings or paint.

Both Tom and Connie were still very fightened as we interviewed them a few days after their alleged encounter. At the time, we could find no hidden motive as to any possible hoax

Please remember that the size and distances mentioned by the witnesses are probably exaggerated.

BIG FOOT IN INDIANA

OHIO COUNTY COUPLE, POLICE, DIFFER OVER EXISTENCE OF CREATURE

BY BILL ROBINSON

RISING SUN - Picture a hairy, ape-like creature 12 feet tall that makes "a real funny noise like an ugh" and you have Mrs. Connie Courter's eyewitness description of Ohio County's own "Big Foot."

"If my husband stood on my shoulders he'd still have to look up at it. And it wasn't a bear," Mrs. Courter, of RFD 1, Aurora, said emphatically.

One night, while her husband, father-in-law and two police officers [??] were shooting at the strange creature, she added, "We heard it holler all the way up there" (at the home of her parents a barely safe distance away.)

Two nights last week, Mrs. Courter, 20, and her husband, Tom, 18, said they were confronted by the strange creature as they attempted to leave their car and enter their mobile home on Henschen Road just west of Indiana 56.

Both nights, they had returned from visiting Mrs. Courter's parents down the hill and around the turn on Ind. 56.

In each case, the Ohio County Sheriff, Francis "Swede" Colen, dispatched his brother and only deputy, Ora "Oop" Colen, to investigate. Both times, Oop returned saying he found no trace of any "Big Foot."

Here's Mrs. Courter's story of what happened:

"Last Tuesday night, my husband, with our little baby (six weeks old), had been at mother's. We took my sister-in-law, Debbie Tinsley, home on Henschen Road, turned around in Debbie's driveway and came back down the hill and pulled in front of our trailer."

"I had my door open. He had his door open and he reached down in the back seat to get the diaper bag when - it was only 18 inches away - he jumped back in the car and yelled. 'Close the door!'"

Mrs. Courter said Big Foot crashed against the car and dented it. But they sped away and went to the home of her mother, Mrs. Betty Tinsley, and called Sheriff Colen.

The incident occurred about 11 p.m. The next night, the Courters also visited Mrs. Tinsley's and this time waited until 11:45 p.m. to return home.

Tom Courter came prepared. He was armed with a 16-shot .22 caliber rifle.

When they parked, Mrs. Courter said she told her husband, "I'm not getting out of the car." he open the door and then said, "Did you hear that!"

"It was a real funny noise - like an ugh - and then we saw him sitting perched on the hill," she said.

"He fired one shot at it and it jumped up. It started acting like it was going to leave and he fired all 15 shots left into it. It would crawl to get away from the shots," she said.

Creature Chronicles #1; Spring 1980 rschaffn@tso.cin.ix.net

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