YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 6

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Tazewell County

NEAREST TOWN: Pekin

NEAREST ROAD: IL Route 98

OBSERVED: I have pictures of very large footprints outside our house when my brother was camping here.

He said he heard something outside the tent and came inside. We checked the next morning and found very large footprints right outside of the tent. The night before he thought he heard deer there, but these were no deer tracks. We have deer here all the time.

My daughter and I had heard a low growl a couple of nights before this. The whistles that we heard earlier this month also sound like those that we heard on your website.

ALSO NOTICED: None

OTHER WITNESSES: Three witnesses, myself, my daughter and my brother.

OTHER STORIES: There were several incidents in the 1970's. It was recently discussed on the local radio station, that is why I decided to report this.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 12:30 a.m.

ENVIRONMENT: Area is farmland mixed with woods.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I visited the site and spoke with the three witnesses. The following details can be added to the report:

• The witnesses found footprints in the yard on two occasions. The witnesses found the first set of prints outside the tent on October 6, and a second set about 40 feet east of the tent area on October 19. They took pictures of both sets of prints.

• The footprints found on October 6 were in wet sand. Only one of the footprints was complete.

• The footprint was 14 inches long, 6 inches wide at the ball of the foot and 4 inches at the heel.

• The footprints found on October 19 were in a muddy, ash area. The detail was not as good as the previous prints but they were preserved enough that I was able to observe them when I visited the site on October 22.

• The pictures do show all five toes. However, neither photo contains enough detail to include with this report.

I spoke with the brother about what happened when he was sleeping in the tent. He stated that he had spent a lot of time in the woods and is not afraid of anything. He woke up at about 12:30 in the morning and had a very intense uneasy feeling. He said "The Lord" told him to get up immediately and go into the house. He put his shoes on, went outside, looked completely around the tent and seeing nothing, went in the house where he slept the rest of the night on the couch.

I took the following photo of the woods behind the house:

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