YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 5

STATE: Utah

COUNTY: Utah County

LOCATION DETAILS: North (I am bad at directions but I think it was north) of the trail to the falls. Same direction would go from family camp to the state park.

NEAREST TOWN: Provo

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 92

OBSERVED: My family and I took a hike to the falls behind BYU family camp located in Aspen Grove, Ut. Which is I think in Utah county. On the way back we missed a turn on the regular trail and were soon on a game trail. We had traveled about a mile down this trail when it became almost impassable. I looked down to the right and recognized that we had passed the family camp and could see the end of the State Campground. We were at the far end of the campground and about 1/2 to 3/4 miles above it. I decided to take a game trail that was very over grown down the mountian side to trek back to the camp. It was about 3:00 pm and I was concerned that we would be caught on the mountain at dark. With me were my wife 50, my son 7, and my daughter 11 at the time.

After leaving the bench we were on we pushed our way through the brush to the next bench. As we made it to the clearing my daughter and I stopped cold and she said big foot! What we saw was a footprint about 15 inches long and 6 to 8 inches wide. The imprint was at least a 1/4 inch deep in the hard dirt. My wife and son came up behind us and said the same thing. I jumped up and down to try and make an imprint (I weigh 220 pounds) and could only make a small impression. We looked around (a little because my family was frightened and I need to get them home) but we did not find any other evidence. When we got back to camp I thought I would go back and take a picture of the print. However, after looking back up the hill I wasn't sure I would find it again and my wife forbade it. We were all spooked.

ALSO NOTICED: No

OTHER WITNESSES: Four

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: About 3 pm. Clear.

ENVIRONMENT: Brush and Aspen and pine trees.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone.

He stated that the footprint measured fifteen inches long and six to eight inches wide. No other footprints were found. The family did not have a camera with them and did not want to take the time to try and find the footprint the next day..

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at illinois@bfro.net