YEAR: 1986

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: August

DATE: 20

STATE: Wyoming

COUNTY: Lincoln County

NEAREST TOWN: Kemmerer

OBSERVED: This sighting took place in Lincoln County Wyoming in the middle of August 1985. My friend was from Kemmerer and was interested in showing me where he and his family had hunted virtually his entire life. We were both 21 years old and I can honestly say in the best shape of my life. We had breakfast at his parent's house that morning and had no alcohol of any kind before arriving at the location. We arrived at the base of a mountain in the area at approximately 11 am. It was a beautiful day, approximately 55 degrees and sunny. I had just purchased a new Ford truck and we parked in a clearing about a third of the way up the side. We climbed to the top from there arriving at the top about 1 pm. We walked for the rest of the day. We were purposely being as quiet as possible the majority of the time in order to see as much wildlife as possible. We came upon elk and moose during the afternoon. We were making a large loop down the side of the mountain and back to the truck. The loop was approximately 9 miles. About 5 pm it became clear that we were not going to be at the truck before dark as it was getting darker by the minute. About 7:30 pm we were getting close and we only had to cross a small stream that was about a half a mile from the truck. By the time we crossed the stream it was dark. The moon was rising and providing some light. What comes next I have only told to certain family members for fear of being ridiculed. If it had not happened to me, I don't know if I would believe it either. When we crossed the stream we were in thick brush and trees. As we came out of the brush and into the clearing we saw the truck about 500 yards away. It was visible in the moonlight. We talked quietly about where we had been and where he and his dad would most likely concentrate on hunting. As we got closer to truck, approximately 400 yards I saw some movement by the truck. I could not tell what it was but it was a brand new truck and I was concerned that someone may have been trying to break into it. My friend saw the movement at about the same time as me. We decided to be as quiet as possible and sneak up to the truck. I had a S&W 357 and my friend a 44 Ruger. We were not afraid at that time but we were soon to be. As we came up to about 200 yards I could tell in the moonlight that the movement was from an upright figure. I initially thought that it was a human but something was odd. I could not understand if someone was trying to get into it why they weren't being more forceful. As we came to about 75 to 100 yards I could hear the sound of the metal of the truck being bumped up against much as you would hear if you put your hand down on the hood or the side of the door or something. At this time we both knew that there was definitely someone we were going to encounter. I was a little scared coming up on someone like this. I thought if someone wanted the truck and they were also armed what would happen. Neither one of us wanted to confront someone with the prospect of shots being fired or anyone getting hurt. We continued to slowly stalk our way up to the truck without muttering a word to each other for fear of being heard. We still continued to see movement around the truck but we could tell there was more than one individual. When we were approxmiately 40 feet from the truck. I could not believe what I saw not 2 but 3 creatures. 2 large and 1 smaller. The larger ones were roughly 6.5 feet tall and the smaller about 5 feet. I could immediately tell they were not human because I could distinguish that they were covered in hair and not clothed. We were stopped dead in our tracks at this point not knowing what to do for about 3 seconds. They looked similar to one another. Their shoulders were wide and their necks seemed to be shorter than that of an average human although I have seen people on occasion with similar shaped necks. I could tell that their hands were larger than average and their arms were longer than normal. All 3 were muscular but in a compact way. Not at all like an Olympic athlete. At this time everything happened so fast. They all three saw us at about the same time and bolted away from us. It was too dark to distinguish facial features even in the moonlight but I could tell one of the larger ones was looking right at us just before they all ran. When they ran we ran towards the truck. Although they all 3 ran in the same direction, the 2 larger ones ran slightly away from direclty towards the rising moon. I estimate it was about 30 degrees above the horizon. The clearing was large and I could clearly see the smaller one that was running almost directly towards the moon. When this happened I could see the individual very clearly. I have always thought of the creatures as individuals because they did not behave in the way that normal wild animals would. They were so curious around the truck not like anything I had ever seen before or since. They meant no harm to us or even the truck. The smaller one that I saw at the closest distance was on a dead run. The gait was upright and almost leaning back. I have seen large football players almost have this same type of running position. The body was totally covered in thick hair. I could tell the color was dark brown not totally black. Before I knew it I was fumbling with my keys trying to get into the truck. At this moment I was really in disbelief and nervous but not scared. As soon as I got my door open and opened the other side I started up the truck. My friend said the first words we had spoken to each other since we were just into the clearing. He said, "we can't tell anyone about this." I didn't say anything. I had the truck coming down the side of the hill as fast as I could. He was always scared of my driving but did not say another word until we got to the bottom. We have not seen each other in about 10 years now. We tried to tell one other person we worked with about 2 years after the incident. This person was from Wyoming and did not believe us. I am an honest person and I cannot stand liars of any sort. I really did not want to even post this incident but my family persuaded me. They know my character and know that I definitely believe what I have told them.

ALSO NOTICED: I did not hear the creatures make any vocal sound themselves. The only sound they made was their feet hitting the ground and the dry grass swishing when they were running.

OTHER WITNESSES: 1 witness, my friend mentioned above

OTHER STORIES: none, my friend had been in the area yearly during hunting season his entire life.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: This incident occured at 8 pm. The sky was clear. Temp was between 45 and 50 degrees. It was dark but there was good moonlight in the direction the 3 individuals were moving.

ENVIRONMENT: In a clearing about one third up a small mountain.