YEAR: 1987

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

STATE: Colorado

COUNTY: Mesa County

LOCATION DETAILS: At Carson Lake. The lake sits on the edge of what is called Lands End on the Grand Mesa.

NEAREST TOWN: Grand Junction

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 50

OBSERVED: A friend and I were hunting on the Grand Mesa on the Lands End side. We had hiked down Kanna Creek Trail to look for game. We had spent most of the day on stand and hiking.

We made our way back to my truck. We decided to stay the night so we could hunt in the AM and then go home.

We were getting things set up for camp. Building a fire getting food out to cook. I had a Pop-up camper and I had just got it up and situated when my friend said "What the heck is that sound!?". He had never spent much time in the woods as I had so he was freeked out instantly.

I came out of the camper to see what the problem was. Then I heard it. It is the hardest thing to explain how it sounds but, here it goes. It sounded like a scream. Deep in sound, very loud and it lasted for long periods of time with the sound going up and down in volume. It also sounded angry for some reason.

At first I didn't give it much thought. I had heard a Mountain Lion screem and that will make hair stand up on the back of your neck. I have also head bears. But bears do not do that sort of thing. They are quiet most of the time. As this sound is going on and on and on pausing for short moments as if to catch its breath, my friend is realy freeked out by now. I said to him it is just a Lion or two lions or a lion and a bear fighting across the lake. This did not calm him down much.

I had my sidearm on me still. So I pulled it out and shot off a round in the air during the screeming. Silence. See I told him, we scared it away. I started to go about getting food out so we could eat. Now it is a little darker and you can't quite see details across the lake but you can still see. not even a minute later after firing a round off in the air, the sreeming started again. This time closer but still across the lake, louder and it seemed more pissed off! As if it was very mad we were here.

Now we could here like bush being raked or shook but we could not see it. Just hear it. Now, I am getting freeked out because of what just happened. It came closer! Now, you would think a gun shot would scare game away not bring them closer. My friend is now really freeked out and wants to leave. NOW! I tell him "We have highpowered rifles and we will be safe".

The whole time we are talking about leaving, the screeming is going on. I gave in to him wanting to leave and started to pack up camp. This took some time for us to do. Maybe 5 minutes or so. During this time the screeming was going on the whole time.

Got everything loaded in a hurry buttoned up the camper and we got in and started it up and left. It is now dark and headlights the only lights besides the stars. The drive up and out of the lake has a few switch backs. I stopped at one to see if the screeming was still going on. It was not. We then drove out of there and down the mountain not saying a word. We had stopped to get a bite to eat and we just felt unsure of what we had experienced. Both of us decided not to say anything to anyone. I know I didn't say anything to anyone about it for a long time. I am unsure if my friend has said anything to any one.

I have watched shows on TV about BIGFOOT since. Some of the shows had taped sound of what they said was BIGFOOT. To me it sounded like what I had heard.

ALSO NOTICED: No other people in area. Light enough to see across the lake and make out bushes,trees and rocks. No other sounds heard at the time.

OTHER WITNESSES: Two, both of us setting up camp for the night

OTHER STORIES: Yes. I know of two other people that have had experiances. One was at on lands End road going down at night and saw something tall and large cross the road. Also he saw some large tracks before that during the day.

Another person had told me a story about a sound he had heard during the day hunting that sounded alot like screeming (alot like I heard). He had told the rest of the hunting party about it and they thought he was kidding around until that night they all heard it this time in the middle of the night. It was loud enough it woke them up. This also happened on the Grand Mesa but more South East of Lands End by Hotchkiss Co.

I heard both of these stories before either one of the men telling the story knew about my own experience. Both men were shocked when I told them. I am now convinced there is something on the Grand Mesa

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dusk, clear skys no wind very still.

ENVIRONMENT: Lake, dense forest on the far side of the lake, dam, marshy and willows on the near side

Follow-up investigation report:

The Grand Mesa, the largest flat-topped mountain in the world, is a lush oasis which rises to an elevation of 10,000 to 11,000 feet above the high desert of western Colorado. It is a rich landscape of dense forests of aspen, spruce and fir, large open meadows, over 300 lakes, abundant fish and game, comprises an area of approximately 500 square miles and reaches 40 miles east of Grand Junction. Far from the recreational pressures of the Front Range population, it provides a seemingly ideal possible habitat area.

The witness stated that the source of the sounds was across the lake and to the east at an estimated distance of 3-400 yards. He noted that the source had to have a tremendous set of lungs to produce sounds of such volume and duration and estimated each vocalization as lasting for about twenty seconds.

After firing a shot, the bellowing stopped briefly, but then it sounded as if it moved closer and seemed to get more belligerent and aggravated with even more commotion as it thrashed the brush and started "yelling" or "screaming" again. Although the witness did not admit this to his friend, he grew increasingly unnerved himself and did then consider the possibility that this might be a sasquatch because "as long as it was going on, the more I deduced it couldn't be anything else" and felt the message being communicated was "like I wasn't supposed to be there."

Although initially hesitant to do so upon first submitting this report, the witness, Richard Staats, gave permission to use his name and stands by his reported observations. As a lifelong hunter and fisherman, he has been "out in the woods all my life" but had never heard anything like this at any other time, before or since. As a result of this incident, he has a lasting interest in this subject and continues his own study.

David Petti