YEAR: 1986

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: 15

STATE: California

COUNTY: Monterey County

NEAREST TOWN: Carmel CA

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 1

OBSERVED: We were on a family hike in the Ventana Wilderness area, south West of the dam. We had been climbing pretty steadily and were walking along a ridgeline, next to a densely forested downhill. My sixteen year old son was leading, about 20 yds ahead. I heard him let out a scream and immediately ran to see what was wrong.

I heard a large animal crashing down the hill to my right and caught a glimpse of a dark object which quickly disappeared into the vegetation. Note at this time, my son was about 74 inches and 190 lbs. I turned to him and asked "What was it?" His reply was "I don't know." He and I stood there and discussed it for a while. As he was walking up the trail he heard a rushing sound like something running toward him. He glanced to his right and saw an animal running directly toward him. At this point he screamed. In his words it was bigger than he was and ran right past him on two legs and proceeded down the hill. As I said, I caught a fleeting glimpse of part of something dark.

His description was of a bipedal creature, covered in hair clearly over 6 ft tall and weighing more than 190 lbs.

OTHER WITNESSES: My son was the principal witness. I only caught a glimpse.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: About 10 AM, clear warm day, bright sunlight.

ENVIRONMENT: We were on a trail, which dropped off steeply to our right. The trail was in a clear grassy area, with occasional single scrub trees. The drop off was heavily wooded with considerable underbrush.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Bart Cutino:

After interviewing the secondary witness, who is the father of the primary witness and a current CIO for the United States Army, the following details emerged:

The incident took place on the eastside of the coastal mountains in the northern part of the Ventana Wilderness in Monterey County. This area is directly southwest of the Las Padres Dam located in Carmel Valley. The landscape consists of many hills layered with thick, almost impenetrable brush with sprinkled Monterey Pine and Oak trees. It’s extremely desolate with sporadic residences off of the main road.
The father was taking his family on a casual day hike when the encounter took place where the trail leveled off slightly. They had been walking a ridgeline heading west next to a forested downhill containing very dense, dry brush. The father reacting to his son’s screams, was briefly able to view what he described as a 6 to 61/2 foot tall, very dark, furry and bipedal blob disappear into thick brush downhill. The father’s recollection was that the “thing” crossed the path from north to south heading downhill. He emphasized hearing extremely loud crashing of brush as the subject and the shaken teenager swiftly distanced themselves from each other.

Details from the primary witness:

.The primary witness had gotten ahead of the rest of his family and came to a point where there was a clearing with a dry creek bed running through it. He noticed a large Oak tree across the small narrow clearing to his left about 10 to 20 feet away from him. The trail passed to the right of the tree and disappeared behind it into the forest again. As the witness rounded the tree he noticed a large dark shape immediately to the left approaching on an intersecting path from the brush behind the tree. He immediately reversed direction back towards his father who was directly 20 to 30 yards behind him. The subject passed close to where the witness had stood and continued on downhill into thick brush

About BFRO Investigator Bart Cutino:

Part owner of the "world famous" Sardine Factory (Restaurant) on historic Cannery Row, Monterey, CA & Wealth Management Consultant for the NCW Group in Monterey, CA, Bart Cutino has been an enthusiast of large "unrecognized" North American primates for over 28 years.
Is part of CA-BFRO contingent "crew" and has attended/assisted every CA state field effort since joining the organization in 2004.