YEAR: 2006

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: June 10

STATE: New York

COUNTY: Essex County

LOCATION DETAILS: The road that pases through Minerva NY. Go north for about 10 miles. Take a left at the "North Woods Club" Rd. It is a public road. I saw the creature about 7 miles in.

NEAREST TOWN: Minerva NY

NEAREST ROAD: North Woods Club Rd.

OBSERVED: On June 10, 2006 I was driving with my brother on a back road (unpaved) in the Adirondack Park. We were heading for a trail head that led into the Hudson River Gorge. This area is almost dead center in the park and surounded by many mile of unihabited and very rugged terrain.

It was late morning on a clear day. I was driving as fast as i could on this road because we had to get back to town by a certain time.

As we turned a bend I saw a very large, brown, furry, object lunge into the dense woods up the road at the next curve about 50 yards ahead. It was obvious that the creature was in the road and was startled by my speeding SUV.

I told by brother, "Hey, there goes a moose."

We reached that spot in about 3 seconds, and i slamed on the breaks - expecting to see the moose right there in the bushes.
At that spot, through the bushes, was a decent sized clearing and then more dark woods that went down a hill.

There was nothing there at all. Everything was still. We started off again and took our hike.

The more I thought about it, the more I thougth I just could not have been a moose.

First of all it was the wrong color - a light chestnut bown. (The color was very visible because the sun was shinning in the area. It was a striking shade against the ligth green of the brush.) Moose are never that shade - they are always a very dark brown.

Second, the size and shape were wrong. This thing was huge - at least 7 feet tall. And the shape was not like a Moose rump. The more I thght about it, the more it seemed like it was the upper back and head of something.

Finaly, if it was a moose, it would not have utterly vanished so quickly. My vehicke got to that spot in just seconds. Moose, at least the ones that I have seen, don't tear off into the wood. We should have seen it in the clearing.

It wan't a bear, either. Not even close.

I wished I had stopped to investigate further. Unfortunately, we were in a hurry

ALSO NOTICED: This location is in the middle of a large wilderness. There are practially no roads or trails, at all, in the area. Some sections of the forest here are completely impassable due to very steep overgrown terrain.

OTHER WITNESSES: No. My brother didn't see it.

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Late morning. A clear, sunny, summer day.

ENVIRONMENT: Very old Second Growth forest. Parts are very dense.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul Conroy :

After an extensive phone interview, the witness provided the following details-

The sighting lasted approximately 3 seconds. Using the trees at the location that the creature stood as a base, the witness estimated the animal at 7 and 1/2 ft. tall, and having a color described as "chestnut" or "light brown". As the creature moved away, the witness observed the shoulders and head of the animal. The witness owns a house in the area and is familiar with native wildlife. The color description and the details provided by the witness regarding how the creature moved seems to rule out a bear. While there are moose in the area, they generally do not move in the smooth and quick manner that was described. When they are disturbed by human activity, they commonly walk away slowly.

This area is in the vicinity of the Hudson River Gorge, a part of the Adirondack Mountains known for clean, fast-moving water sources, abundant wildlife, and dense forest with a lot of small cliffs and peaks.