YEAR: 2002

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Pend Oreille County

NEAREST TOWN: Metaline Falls

OBSERVED:

My buddy Terry and I decided to head up for a weekend at Sullivan Lake, to do some fishing, and to just get away from it all. We got to our spot on the lake, a little spot away from the campgrounds on the south end of the lake.

It was a few hours before the sun went down. We had plenty of time to set up a tent and to cook a nice dinner. After we had put out the fire, we both got in our sleeping bags and dozed off. I dont know how long we were out, but some time later in the night, Terry and I were both woken up by some large crash that sounded maybe 100 or so yards away.

When we opened up the tent and got out to investigate, we both looked at eachother and asked eachother, do you smell that? Something in the air smelled musty, almost rotten. We both had our flashlights handy, but because of the trees that surrounded us, it was hard to see anything very far away. We both called out to see if any person was in the area, which there shouldnt have been, with how far away from the campground we were.

After about 5 minutes of just scanning we figured it was nothing of importance and decided to just forget it. Almost the instant we got inside the tent we heard an even louder crash that sounded like it was only 10 to 15 yards away from our site. Terry and I both frantically searched for anything we could find to protect ourselves from whatever was outside. The best we could do was to pull out our pocket knives.

I heard something like a grunt coming from the side opposite of the door of the tent, so I shined my flashlight out of the mesh window and I saw something. Just past the clearing of our site, I could make out a tall shape and some gray fur, on something that stood maybe 7 to 9 feet tall.

Maybe the flashlight scared it, or maybe it just wanted to investigate, but as soon as i turned my flashlight on it, it ran fast through the woods. Before i could walk out the door to shine my light on it and see it better, it was already gone. Terry stood outside of the tent, and was shaking when i first saw him in the light.

We both decided to spend the rest of the night in my truck, and lock the doors. We spent the next day fishing, but didnt want to have another night like the one before, so we packed up and left.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: night, very dark night

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul Graves:

I talked to the witness at length about his encounter. The smell he mentioned was like a wet dog.

He said he could see the silhouette and described it as a massive upright figure, with tinges of gray around the edges of the fur. He saw it through the screen in his tent. When he turned on his flashlight, it ran off fast through the brush.

About BFRO Investigator Paul Graves:

Paul is a contractor and a musician,and life long outdoorsman. He attended the following expeditions: Washington (Oly Pen - 2) and Washington (Oly Pen - 3)cascades (1)and oregon(tillamok) and has been researching the sasquatch subject for over 20 years.