YEAR: 2006

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: March

DATE: 13th

STATE: South Carolina

COUNTY: Darlington County

LOCATION DETAILS: About 2 miles from BoBo Newsome Hwy. Incident occured on Hwy. 15

NEAREST TOWN: Hartsville

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy. 15 to BoBo Newsome Hwy.

OBSERVED: I was on my home from work in Bishopville, traveling on Hwy. 15 at approximately 2:10am.

I had a near miss with a large deer near Lydia that had me shaken and alert for other possible deer on the road. I made the left turn on hwy 15 to 15 north and I drove about 3 miles when I noticed a large shape on the other lane ahead of my car about 100 yards, I assumed that it was another deer so I slowed my car down to about 30 to 40 mph to allow time for the animal to cross over. as I approached nearer to this shape I noticed that it was human like because it was standing erect on 2 legs and it had arms like a man however, when I got within 40 ft of this creature I realized that it wasn't a bear or a deer and that it appeared to be very tall. I floored it... I was very afraid, I didn't know what to expect, but I knew that I was safer than a sitting duck. As I passed this creature, It seemed like it lunged towards my car and nearly took off my side mirror. I looked out of my drivers side window and noticed that its shoulders were above the top of my van and I also noticed that it was covered in hair that was light in color. I did not see the face of this creature, only its body and the outline of it as I approached.

OTHER WITNESSES: no

OTHER STORIES: Yes, while growing up in Hartsville, I have heard stories of people seeing a similar creature. My grandmother related to us that her mother had seen a creature like this back in the 1920's

TIME AND CONDITIONS: approximately 2:10 am
The weather was fair about 50 degrees and clear.

ENVIRONMENT: There was a large Harvested cotton field on either side of Highway both fields have access to forest. Hartsville and the surrounding area has lots of creeks and swampy areas. Large pine and hardwood forest.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator :Leevon Patrick:

The following information was gathered from the witness during a follow-up investigation:

The witness works as a restaurant manager and was on her way home when she noticed the animal standing erect in the opposite lane in the road. At approximately 100 yards distance she flashed her highbeams then lowbeams thinking it was at first a dear, then maybe a bear, then as she slowly approached she thought it was a very large man. She began to pick up details that this was not a man. It was covered in hair four to five inches in length. Its head was conical in shape, no visible neck. Its arms were long and massive. Its legs were very muscular.

As she passed it- she was filled with fear and accelerated. During this process, she recalls it turning and reaching out to her drivers side window with its hands as if to push the vehicle away from it. She said the only sound she heard was a reverbration like you get when you pass a truck on the highway. She said its torso filled the space of where her window was and if she were an inch closer it would have taken her drivers side mirror off. She recognized the torso hair was lighter in color than the rest of it yet consistent in length with the rest of its body. The witness gauges the height to above eight feet due to the height of her van.

The day after the sighting, she and her sister returned to the area and noticed a drainage ditch running from one side of the road to the other and into the woods. There were no noticable tracks in the area as the ground was very compact.

The area in which this sighting occured is mainly agricultural with cotton fields and cattle farms. There is an abundance of deer and other wildlife in the area as well.

About BFRO Investigator :Leevon Patrick:

Patty Lee (photo) lives in Lake County, Florida.

• B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Colorado
  
• Certified Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician (WEMT)
• Traveled and camped extensively in Canada, Alaska, and Lower 48
• Former manager of a high end climbing and wilderness outfitting retailer in Virginia
• Organized the BFRO's November 2007 expedition in South Carolina

Patty attended the following BFRO expeditions:

• 2006 Central Florida (Lake County)
• 2006 Ohio (Columbiana County)
• 2006 Wisconsin (Price County)
• 2006 New York (Washington County)
• 2006 North Carolina (Madison County)
• 2006 West Virginia (Pocahontas County)
• 2007 Florida Expedition