YEAR: 1997

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 04/15/1997

STATE: New York

COUNTY: Orleans County

LOCATION DETAILS: FARMING AREA, FIELDS, WOODS AND A SMALL STREAM OR CREEK RUNS THROUGH UP THE ROAD FURTHER FROM THE SIGHTING.

DIRECTIONS FROM BUFFALO...TAKE I-90 EAST TO PEMBROKE EXIT...GO NORTH ON RTE 77...GOES INTO RTE. 63 NORTH(ALABAMA)...TAKE 63 ALL THE WAY TO MEDINA,(ABOUT 30 MILES)TURN RIGHT ONTO RTE. 31A...ABOUT 5 MILES, HAMLET OF MILLVILLE, TURN LEFT ONTO DRESSER ROAD...WHICH RUNS BETWEEN THE TWO 31S'. TRACKS ARE ALMOST TO THE INTERSECTION FOR THE OTHER 31 (ABOUT 1 MILE).

NEAREST TOWN: MEDINA

NEAREST ROAD: DRESSER RD./RTE.31

OBSERVED: I WAS CROSSING THE RAILROAD TRACKS HEADING SOUTH, AND WHEN I LOOKED TO THE WEST OF THE TRACKS WHILE CROSSING, THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT LOOKED LIKE A BIGFOOT CROSSING THE TRACKS HEADING NORTH.

IT WAS TALL, HAD DARK HAIR (LOOKED KIND OF LONG OR SHAGGY)...ONE ARM SWAYING BACK AND FORTH AS IT WALKED.

I LIKE FLEW HOME AND LOCKED MY DOOR...I WAS REALLY SCARED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!! TOLD MY HUSBAND ABOUT IT LATER THAT DAY, HE THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY.

ALSO NOTICED: NONE THAT I AM AWARE OF...

OTHER WITNESSES: NO WITNESS...I WAS ON MY WAY HOME FROM WORK, AND ALL ALONE!

OTHER STORIES: MY SON HAD CLAIMED, ABOUT 10 YEARS BEFORE MY INCIDENT, ABOUT 5 MILES FURTHER FROM THERE IN THE HAMLET OF KNOWLESVILLE, WHEN HE WAS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD, HE HAD GOTTEN UP EARLY ONE MORNING TO GO FISHING DOWN AT AN AREA THEY CALL WIDEWATERS, HAD HEADED DOWN THERE ON HIS BIKE, AND HAD SEEN A BIGFOOT AND HI-TAILED IT BACK HOME...AND OF COURSE I DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM, AND HE STILL TELLS HIS STORY TODAY.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: ABOUT 6:30 AM...WAS DAYLIGHT..AND CLEAR

ENVIRONMENT: BRUSH ALONG THE TRACKS...FIELD BEFORE BRUSH, AND WOODS BEHIND FIELD.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

The witness does not recall the exact date the sighting occurred. She estimates the time of the sighing to be between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. because she was heading home from work.

The witness had stopped her vehicle at the rail crossing before crossing the tracks. As she looked to the west she saw a large, dark figure approximately 100 yards away. She at first thought it to be a bear but quickly realized that it could not because it was walking on two legs and, to her knowledge, there have never been bear sightings in the area.

The witness only viewed the animal for a couple of seconds. It had already crossed the tracks and was heading into a brush line that ran parallel with the railroad tracks. She described it as tall, entirely covered with long hair and one arm swung as it walked. She does not believed it looked at her nor could she discern other features given the distance and her state of fright and anxiety.

Later she realized that if the animal continued to walk in its direction of travel it would emerged from the brush line into an open field and then cross Rt 31 (aprox. 400 yards from the bush line, due North). Therefore, other people should have seen it from the highway. However, it is possible that the animal did not cross the field but walked along the brush line.

The Witness lives in the area, not far from the sighting. As recently as this past summer and fall she has heard strange vocalizations at night (11:00 p.m. and later) that she can not identify.

About BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Paul is a network administrator and systems analyst/programmer for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY. In addition, Paul and his wife Teresa own and operate a small organic farm in western New York State. He has attended and organized expeditions including New Mexico (Jicarilla), New York (Adirondacks), Pennsylvania and West Virginia.