YEAR: 2007

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 13th

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Pendleton County

LOCATION DETAILS: Read above

NEAREST TOWN: Read above

NEAREST ROAD: Read above

OBSERVED: I always said I did not believe in bigfoot. I would say, I would have to see it to believe it. I love the woods and hunting. I spend as much time in these woods as possible and always have. I have never seen ANYTHING until now. I still have a hard time calling it a bigfoot. I have tried to rationalize it every way possible in my own mind. I can only come up with one conclusion; I saw and heard a "Bigfoot" It took me a long time to tell anyone other than my parents and wife. I know I have to report the sighting, so here goes.

It was Saturday night at 11:30 pm, on January the 13th. It was raining, at times hard. I was driving south on route 55, coming up on Seneca Rocks, towing a U-Haul trailer driving about 45 mph. I had passed the gas station on the right, then the school on the left. Next on the left there is a brick house the government owns but never seems to use. This is just before the entrance to the park and the intersection to head to Harman, the direction I was headed. Passing the house is where I saw it. At first I thought it was a man in a special forces outfit, some type of sniper gear. My first thought was what is he doing out there on a night like tonight dressed like that.

It was not really running more like a swaggering lope. It had long hair, what at first looked liked shredded material with clumps in it, hanging all off of its body. As I passed it I quickly noticed that it had this "covering" right up over its head. It seemed to have no neck, just a large head. I also realized it was very tall, and had very wide shoulders and its arms hung very low almost to its knees, if not below.

It was walking or sort of trotting on hind legs like a man, but with a movement like an ape. It was only 20 feet or so from me. I realized it wasn't a man or anything else I had ever seen. I got a very good look at it. The whole thing still seems to have been in slow motion, It still plays in my head that way. In any case it hit me, what the Hell was that? I turned my truck trailer and all around within 50 yards right in the middle of the road. I pulled into the driveway and shined my headlights behind the house into the woods. I saw nothing. I pulled back onto the road and into the grass where I saw it. I stopped and shined my mag lite into the woods.

It really got spooky. I heard it going through the brush. It made the noise you would expect a large creature to make. Then it seemed to be trying to scare me or get a reaction out of me, the way a deer will stomp its feet at you when it can't wind you. It made a type of laughing/squealing noise and a grunting noise. It pounded wood together, not a small piece hitting another piece. It was more of a large piece of wood being pounded on another large piece. This went on for 3 to 5 minutes then nothing. I was amazed.

The next day I went back and combed the area. All I found was what appears to be footprints I took and still have pictures of them.

What amazed me was, when I did go on the Internet on a friends advice, some other reported sightings were the similar including the sounds I heard. All this from people I do not know and from other areas of the country.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just myself

OTHER STORIES: Yes. From this web sight

ENVIRONMENT: Rugged hills large rock outcroppings on both sides of the valley. Northern hardwood forest.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

He lives less than 10 miles from the sighting location. He is self-employed in the construction business and hunts every year with friends and family.

The creature was very tall, with black hair mixed with gray covering its entire body. The hair had a matted look, described as a “dreadlocks.” There was no opportunity to view the face or front of the creature as they were traveling in the same direction.

The wood knocking and vocalizations it made gave him the impression of a display to encourage his departure. He felt uneasy about staying once the noises stopped. Immediately after the creature became silent, he departed and continued home.

He waited several months to tell anyone other than immediate family of his sighting. His first revelation was to a state park employee, who told him “You've seen a bigfoot. Go on line and report it! Following his urging, he went to the BFRO sight and discovered his sighting was similar to others from around the country.

About BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

Grew up in central West Virginia. Retired from the US Army in 2003. Small manufacturing business owner. Lived for almost 7 years in Germany and 1.5 years in the Mideast.