YEAR: 1977

SEASON: Summer

STATE: Maryland

COUNTY: Howard County

LOCATION DETAILS: 9922 Windflower Ct, Ellicott City MD 21043

OBSERVED: We lived in a ranch-style house on an acre of land which backed up to several hundred acres of farm land and forest. My father and grandfather had built a picnic table out of an old electric cable spool, turned on its side. One day we noticed the spool was gone. There was a path leading from our property with a cornfield on one side and forest on the other which led to more deeply forested area. We could see on the path places where the spool had been rolled and places where it had been picked up and carried. Large, human-like footprints were also found on the path. The spool was found about a mile away from the house. It had been tossed into a steep gulley.

What impressed us at the time was that this thing had been carried over some pretty rugged terrain, so we didn't think a bunch of kids would have gone to the trouble. The spool was very heavy - it took three men to move when they originally put it in. The footprints were very large, much larger than my fathers size 10 shoe.

ALSO NOTICED: I'm submitting this for the record - I figure it should be included in the database, but not handled by me personally.

ENVIRONMENT: At the time, the area was all farm land and forest. Since then, it has been developed. The area in question is now the "Burleigh Manor" neighborhood.