YEAR: 1998

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: February

DATE: 02/01/1998

STATE: New York

COUNTY: Allegany County

NEAREST TOWN: Wellsville

NEAREST ROAD: River Road

OBSERVED: It was about 7 years ago in a town called Wellsville, New York, in Allegany county. I was around 12 years old, as was my cousin who was with me. It was in the middle of winter, I want to say late January/Early February. It was a decent day outside, and we decided to take a walk on the paths behind her house, which would take you down towards the Allegany River. We were about 1/2 the way down the trail, in a clearing that had woods on one side and a swamp on the other side. All of a sudden we both hear what we thought was an animal or something running through the woods, when (what we believe was a 'bigfoot') ran across the path we were walking on. It wasnt brown like we would have picture bigfoot being, it was more like grayish-white. It appeared to be around 6-7 feet tall. The only noise it made was a growling noise, it was different than a dogs growl. We were terrified and we ran, of course nobody believed us.

ALSO NOTICED: About 2 years ago, I was telling a friend about the incident, and we ended up taking a walk down to the area. When we got to the area, we heard something running towards us in the swamp area and then it stopped in a hurry. There was an over powering smell, and when we were walking back to our car we felt like we were getting followed and being watched.

OTHER WITNESSES: 1. We were inside eating lunch and watching tv.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was mid afternoon, and it was around the middle of winter. Sun was out, it was a mild winter day.

ENVIRONMENT: Its a wooded area, near the Allegany River. Its got some swamp areas. About 1/2 mile from the incident, there are old unusable train tracks, and parts of what appears to be an old train bridge.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Spoke to the witness on 6/23/05:

The report references the Allegany River. This is not correct. It is the Genesee River. The witness does not live in the area and thought it was the Allegany.

Witness had two encounters. The first occurred February 1, 1998 (date is approximate). It was a warm winter day with snow on the ground. Because of the character of the day the two girls decided to take a walk down an old path near the home of one of the girls (not the witness). As they walked along, the girls heard what they thought was a deer in the woods next to them. This went on for about three minutes. When they were approximately one mile into the walk an animal jumped out onto the path approximately five feet away from them and proceed to quickly walk away. They observed the animal for approximately 30 seconds.

The animal was six to seven feet tall with wide shoulders and a muscular build. Its hair was grayish-white and about three inches long. The hair was thick and shaggy and visibly matted in some places. It had long arms that swung in a long arc. It had a long stride that allowed it to move very quickly. Facial features were not observed.

The area in question is very hilly with swampy-wet areas. Deer and small animals are plentiful as well as fish from the Genesee River.

The second encounter occurred around July 17, 2003. The witness and a friend (not the same friend as the first encounter) were walking along the same path. As they were nearing the place of the first encounter they heard something following them as it moved through the swamp. They then smelled a overwhelming, powerful odor and the forest became dead silent. It was the dead silence that startled and frightened them. They quickly proceed back to their car and felt as if they were being followed.


On July 5, 2005 this investigator (Mateja) visited the area. The area is only two miles outside of the town of Wellsville. The footpath runs between two roads (Weinrick and Carter) and is at most two miles long. Some of it proceeds over private property and farm land which I was not able to access. The path runs roughly down the middle of a narrow land mass that is sandwiched between River Road and the Genesee River. This narrow strip of land ranges from 200 feet to 600 yards wide. At approximately one mile into the walk the land mass is approximately 200 yards wide and the most likely spot where the encounter occurred. Here there is sufficient cover for a large animal to remain concealed. The area on the opposite side of the river is large and wooded but I was not able to explore it because it is all private land. I do not believe a Bigfoot would reside in any permanent capacity in the small area between the river and road and I did not find any signs of a large animal recently inhabiting the area. However, the area is rural and becomes increasingly so as one moves farther out of town. In general, the area is very hilly with large tracts of unbroken forest. Certainly a Bigfoot/Sasquatch could easily move about undetected between the river and the surrounding hills.

About BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Paul is a network administrator and systems analyst/programmer for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY. In addition, Paul and his wife Teresa own and operate a small organic farm in western New York State. He has attended and organized expeditions including New Mexico (Jicarilla), New York (Adirondacks), Pennsylvania and West Virginia.