YEAR: 1986-87

SEASON: Spring

DATE: May, 1987

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Franklin County

LOCATION DETAILS: east of rt 315 is Antrim park i was on west side of bank near parking. It came up and swam east towards the river

NEAREST TOWN: Columbus

NEAREST ROAD: st. rd 315

OBSERVED: This happened around1986-1987. I was fishing in a quarry pond, Antrim lake in columbus ohio. It was around 6am and the water was calm. Out in the middle of the lake, bubbles started to rise, then it got more violent, almost like a giant coffee pot percolating. Up burst a huge white "thing".i was about, 10 feet away. It was out in the lake and i was sitting on the shore. It swam to the other side of the lake got out , walked up the bank and disappered into the woods on the other side. that border the Olentangy river. It seemed quite large but i didnt realize how big until about a half hour later, another person showed up and started riding their bycicle around the lake,it had a track, it was about a mile around,but i waited for the byciclist to get to the spot where the:thing" got out of the water, and it was as tall as a man on a bike. So i estimate it at about 6 ft tall. 250-300 pounds and all white. I have told my wife about this over the years but she just makes fun of me. I know what i saw, and it was big, white and came up out of the lake in the very earling morning. maybe it didnt anticipate me being there, and swam directly to the other side. i do remember doing some kind of research on bigfoots in Ohio, and read about a report in the Olentngy river around 1943 or so. thats my story ...true

ALSO NOTICED: just that it came up out of the lake. seemed like it was coming up from far down, the bubbles started slowly then almost like it was getting near the surface, almost a boil.

OTHER WITNESSES: me ..only witness

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: early morning 6am. calm warm.water very calm

ENVIRONMENT: Lake bordering a river . woods nearby

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Steven P:

After extended communication with this witness, I have concluded that this person is credible and relating the incident as it happened.

This lake is located adjacent to the Olentangy River and is part of a string of parks that stretch north from downtown Columbus. The string of parks consists of lands along the river and the steep hillsides to the east of the river. It is about three miles from the Ohio State University campus. Swimming in the lake is prohibited.

Given the developed character of the area, skepticism is certainly a natural first reaction. The combination of the credibility of the witness and other sightings that are contemporary to this one in areas to the north of the same river lead me to conclude that the incident did occur as described. Another sighting in the area noted a white colored bigfoot silhouette Report #878 in a park adjacent to the same river about 5 miles north of Antrim Lake and a few years later. I am also personally aware of three other sightings and a number of sound and track reports in the same general area that date to the latter half of the 1980's.

Some additional information that can be added from the interviews of the witness includes:

There was a typographic error on the distance estimate and a zero was left off, the subject surfaced at a distance of 100 feet.

The subject may have been facing the witness as it surfaced, but the splashing and churning of the water at that moment obscured his view of the head. The subject immediately went into a belly down position and started swimming. The witness described the swimming stroke as one where the arms did come above the water.

Based upon the communications with the witness and reviewing aerial photos, the subject swam about 100 yards before reaching the opposite bank. The witness said it exited the water with little effort. The total time estimate for the event was around three minutes, with the swimming portion of the sighting lasting perhaps two minutes. The recollection of the witness is that it seemed to be a strong and relatively fast swimmer.

Because of the lighting conditions, the subject would have been swimming toward the rising sun and been backlit; we did discuss the issue of hair color. Light or white color was an accurate description as there was time to see the subject in contrast to the color of the water and before the backlighting increased. The witness did recollect seeing the fur hanging and dripping as it walked over the bank as the sun was providing a strong backlight at that point.


There is little doubt in my mind that bigfoot is comfortable in an aquatic environment. Many Ohio sightings are closely related to waterways, but this may be the first sighting from the state that involves actual swimming as opposed to wading. Robert Alley, in his book Raincoast Sasquatch, has a chapter devoted to reports of swimming behaviors and I would recommend it to a person trying to learn more about this particular aspect of the mystery.

About BFRO Investigator Steven P:

Chief administrative officer of a unit of local government, a consultant and community faculty member.