YEAR: 1989

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 03

STATE: Utah

COUNTY: Daggett County

LOCATION DETAILS: [GPS coordinates were provided, but edited out of public version] The general zone: Spirit Lake.

NEAREST TOWN: Manila

NEAREST ROAD: Wyoming 414

OBSERVED: In 1989 I heard something out in the mountains that I had never heard before and have not heard since in the wild.

In early October I met a couple of hunting buddies at a predetermined location where we would setup camp for the Rifle Elk Hunt. My friends had arrived several days prior to the start of the hunt and scouted the area on horse back. I arrived 2 days before the hunt was to start to also scout the area. The area that we were going to hunt was on the North Slope of the Uinta Mountains. We chose a secluded high mountain meadow (park) with thick dark pines on one side and mixed aspens and pines on the other. We had setup camp at the top of the park next to a rising hillside of aspens with a stream close by to water the horses. We lashed downed aspen trees to the living trees to make a corral for the horses so that they would not have to be hobbled or tied.

The jeep trail to our camp was very long and rough. Downed timber had not been cleared for years. The trucks and horse trailer had to be bounced over numerious dead falls in order to reach our camp. Arriving at camp early in the evening 2 days prior to the start of the hunt I started cooking dinner with my 2 hunting friends. The sun had already set and it was between 8:30 - 9:00 in the evening. We were cooking steaks on a camp stove. There was some noise from the hiss of the stove and lantern, snapping of the camp fire and sizzle of the cooking food. The camp fire was situated between the table where we were cooking and the tree line where the horses were standing and watching us prepare the meal. The area aroung the horses, trucks and tent was lightly illuminated from the light of the fire and lantern. One of my friends had gone to his truck or the tent to retrieve something while my other friend and I continued cooking. We were talking about areas the we were going to scout the following day when we heard a very loud and deep resonating roar which lasted for 3 - 4 seconds. We both stopped talking and looked at the horses to see their reaction (it didn't phase them). I had a reaction - the hair stood up on the back of my neck and on my arms. I ask my friend if he had heard that and he responded that he had and asked what it was. I answered that I didn't know. With out another word between us we both went to our respective vehicles and loaded our rifles. The other friend did not hear the roar. The sound eminated on our side of the crest of the hill west northwest of our camp position at a distance of approximately 300 yards. I do not know what it was however I do know what it was not. None of the known animals native in that area make a deep resonating roar like I heard. Furthermore only a very large animal could have made such a deep sustained resonating sound that could carry for that distance. Bull Elk are very vocal at night however the rut had passed and no whistle, chuckel or grunting was present. Elk will screem when mad but it is a higher pitch than what we heard and shorter. Moose and Deer just don't make loud voulmetric calls. Bears, cyotes, foxes, and cougers are higher pitch and do not resonate. A really big bear might be able to make such a deep sound for that duration however no bawling or drop of tone was present in the roar.

I have investigated numerious sounds to see what comes close to what I heard. A year ago I found a recording of a roar from a large Gorilla on the internet and this is the sound I heard in the mountains that night. Unfornatuly I didn't save that web site. The sounds recoded on the BFRO Web site described as howls or screams are very similar, however what I heard was missing the higher pitches or howling noises. Perhaps they were present but drowned out by the camp stove and lantern.

I thought that it was odd that the horses didn't get spooked at the roar but I didn't note the direction of the wind when this happened. Usually scent has to accompany a sight or sound for the horses to spook.

ALSO NOTICED: Later that night the horses broke out of the corral that we made. I'm not sure if they got spooked or were just board and chewing through the twine lashings that were holding the poles to the trees.

There was plenty of game that week (deer, elk, and moose). We didn't think to investigate the hillside above camp the following morning for any tracks or sign of what made the noise. We were focused on Elk and that area was not on the agenda.

OTHER WITNESSES: One of my friends heard it the other did not (he was in the tent or truck).

OTHER STORIES: When I returned to work the following week I mentioned the strange sound to several people to see if anyone had ever experienced anything similar. One person said that when he was younger (mid 1970's) and on a week long horseback trip in the primitive area of the Uintas some "thing" started making loud noises late one night after they had gone to bed like the noise that I had described. He called it a "Wild Banchee" and said that they didn't get a wink of sleep that night. He said that it was circling the camp screaming, roaring, shaking trees, throwing rocks, and broken limbs. He mentioned that he and his brother sat huddled in the tent while his dad stayed focused on the direction of the circling noises with he pistol at the ready. He said the horses were tied and hobbled and they were going crazy. He said that the noises stopped a little while before sunrise. At first light they packed up and got out of there. I vaguely recall he mentioned that this happened up in the Redcastle area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 8:30pm - 9:00pm
Clear skies, no wind, temp 50's day and mid 20's at night. A large low pressure system blew in 2 days later and dumped 2-1/2 feet of snow. At the time of the incedent there was no snow on the ground.

ENVIRONMENT: Thick pine forests and mixed pine and quaken aspens. Wheetgrass meadows, swampy shallow ponds, larger lakes and streams teaming with trout.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator TF Zamiski:

I spoke with the witness on 3/7/07 about his sound incident and the other stories mentioned. I have only a couple comments to add to this report.

He is an avid hunter and outdoorsman familiar with native animal sounds who has spent considerable time in this area and in the wilderness in general. Having heard just this one sound so many years ago and with his return visits with nothing to report doesn't diminish the impact this one incident had on him. He felt it was a perhaps a lucky occurrence to have heard it. He sought to identify the sound which lead him to the alleged bigfoot recordings on this website.

About BFRO Investigator TF Zamiski:

Tim is semi retired. He attended the 2006 Arizona Expedition and the 2006 Wisconsin Expedition. Tim helped organize the 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015 Arizona Expeditions and the 2011 New Mexico expedition. Active Investigator since 2005.