YEAR: 2007

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: March

DATE: 23

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Clay County

LOCATION DETAILS: Nearest paved road is in Middleburg.

NEAREST TOWN: Middleburg.

NEAREST ROAD: Blanding Blvd.

OBSERVED: Hiking through the woods this morning with my younger brother after visiting a creek, we were halted on the trail by a series of loud whacks at approximately 11:30 am. It didn't sound metallic; it was very much like wood-on-wood, with a duration of three or four seconds between each whack, which I counted at three. Instantly, I was reminded of wood knocks. What we heard next, perhaps a minute and a half to two minutes following the last knock, made me jump. It was a cry. A loud, long, drawn out type cry that I cannot associate with any other animal. It wasn't a cow. It wasn't a bear. It wasn't a bird of any kind that I know of. And it most definitely was NOT canine.

It lasted about six to eight seconds It had to have been within a mile of where we were standing. We were yards away from the creek.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just one witness, my younger brother. He's sixteen and was standing beside me when the knocking started. After it quit, before the cry, he had taken a few strides in front of me and kind of shuffled in the foliage when the cry originally started. When he caught it, he stopped and listened.

OTHER STORIES: Report #18065.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 11:30 - 11:35 AM.

It was bright. The sun was shining, the skies were clear of any type of cloud, and it was hot. Humid. Typical spring time weather in Florida.

ENVIRONMENT: Thick pine forest, thinning out into oaks and cedars the closer you get to the [fork] of [the nearby creek].

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Wright:

This witness is an 18 year old female. I recently investigated another sighting in the same area by the same witness.

She has been returning to the area after her initial experiences made her more interested in the subject. She claims to have found possible stick formations. One particular formation was seen in person by a few BFRO members, and photographed, and the photos shared with various other group members.

Everyone who examined the formation, or the photos of it, agreed that it was carefully put together by something with hands, but that's all that could be determined conclusively.

The location was well off the beaten path.

I returned to the location of the incident, accompanied by the primary witness and her 16 year old brother. She pointed out the direction from which the sound originated. It was within a stone's throw from a branch of [a major creek], and the direction of the sound was from along the creek to the South, or on the other side of it.

The 16 year old brother estimated the sounds were originating from at least 200 yards away. The primary witness said the source of the sounds had to be less than a mile.

Both witnesses attested to hearing 3-5 knocks in succession, about 3-5 seconds apart. They stopped and discussed the possible origin of the sounds, then started walking again. Both witnesses said the sound quality was most like wood hitting against wood -- as opposed to rock hitting wood, or rock hitting rock, or gun shots, etc.

Within about 90 seconds of the knocks, the howl began, and they both froze and listened. The howl lasted from 5 to 8 seconds, they estimate. The first witness thought immediately that it might be a bigfoot. He was frightened. They waited a short time to hear another sound, and then they both felt it best to vacate the area.

The brother is very credible. Since this incident occurred, the witness played a number of recordings available on BFRO.net for her brother. He immediately responded in the affirmative at the 1978 Whoop-Howl from Snohomish County, Washington, which can be found on the website. This is similar to the recording of the Florida Howl, also on BFRO.net.

I visited this site with the witness and her brother only hours after it happened. We had audio recording running as we walked, and both heard a very unusual sound, close after a barred owl call.

This area is deep enough into the woods (0.8) miles that the knocks were likely not from a human. Both witnesses were certain that the vocalization was not from a coyote or dog.

About BFRO Investigator David Wright:

• Certified Florida Master Naturalist (U. of Florida)
  
• Visual Tracker, Level 1
• Teaches Biology, A.P. Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science at a rural high school SE of Jacksonville
• See local TV interview with D. Wright
• Participated in the 2007 Private Florida Expedition [Click the video link on that page.], the 2007 South Carolina Expedition, the 2008 South Florida Expedition and assisted with the organization of the 2008 North Florida Expedition. Assisted with the organization of the 2009 Central Florida Expedition.