YEAR: 2006

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

STATE: Iowa

COUNTY: Fayette County

LOCATION DETAILS: The area lies just east of State Highway 150 and about five miles south of U.S. Highway 18. The Volga River Recreation Area is in Fayette County. Cedar Rapids is 70 miles south, Dubuque is 90 miles southeast, and Waterloo is 55 miles southwest of the area. (Iowa DNR)

NEAREST TOWN: Fayette

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 150

OBSERVED: It was in the fall of 2006, we were camping.In the Volga River Rec. Area in Fayette, IA. It was myself and 5 other friends. We were sitting around the campfire, I'm going to have to say it was about 11:30 P.M. There was a campsite farther down from us with a husband and a wife. They also were sitting by the fire. My friends and i decided to take a walk about the campsite. There is a open field along the road of the campsite Josh and I decided to sit there to see if we could call in some coyotes that night because the moon was full that night making it easy to see. The rest of the guys went back to the campsite. Josh and I went and sat along the side of the field. We were sitting there, making the sound of a dying rabbit. The field is border with large trees, and bushes. After about 10-15 minutes, we see a large "person" step out onto a little hill at the edge of the trees off to our left. We had a tall friend with us so started saying to the person, " haha Mike very funny!" gestures of that sort and the person didnt move or speak. All we could see was its upper torso and its eyes color, I can't recall the exact color. So we ran back to the campsite to make sure it wasnt just our friends spooking us, and sure enough they were all there. Josh and I grabed a shotgun that I had brung for safety, and when we got back to the spot the "person" was gone. We were both very frightened by this we ran back to the campsite told everyone what we heard no one believed us. Later that night I saw it again, this time it was in the woods across from our campsite, just on the edge of the woods. The moonlight was bright. This time I called everyone over to look, this time Mike, Josh and me all saw a very large black shadow across the road moving towards the first spot we had seen it. After the incident I really had no idea what this was. It was very large man like probably about 6- 6.5 ft tall all i could tell is it had a black color to it. I also saw eyes that is all I can recall from the incident, hearts were definetly racing at the time. If i would have known about your site I would have put this on a lot sooner.

ALSO NOTICED: heard dying rabbit but this was a time we came before this incident really doesnt have anything to do with it.

OTHER WITNESSES: The first incident their was only 2, we were both sitting on the edge of the field. The second incident we were sitting around the campsire.

OTHER STORIES: NONE

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Moon was full, chill in the air we were wearing jackets. occured at the time of between 11:30 P.M. and 1:00 A.M.

ENVIRONMENT: we were sitting in a harvested bean field, that was sounded by thick woods, can't name the tree type

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

In a phone interview witness added that the figure exhibited yellow eye glow and that the sound of twigs snapping as though being walked on alerted he and his friend to the presence of the figure. They had made the noise of a dying rabbit, trying to call in a coyote and this may have attracted a Sasquatch. About an hour later witness and five friends were sitting around a campfire and observed the shadow of a very large figure moving down the dirt road adjacent the campground, heading in the direction of the earlier sighting. There were trees beyond the road and so in the dark all they could see was the shadow from the moonlight on the road. They could see from the shadow that it was of a really large figure. Witness stated that no one got much sleep that night because they were pretty shook up by the sightings. After speaking with witness about this incident I concluded that he’s a credible observer.

Located in the "Little Switzerland" of northeast Iowa, the Volga Recreation Area encompasses 5,500 acres of rugged terrain with steep tree-covered slopes and limestone bluffs lining the Volga River valley, and an unusual mix of timber, including Canadian yew, aspen and white pine. The Volga River and a tributary creek meander through the park and there is a large man-made lake. The park provides excellent habitat for fish and game, with deer being particularly plentiful.

About BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

A native of southeast Iowa, Steve has long been a cave explorer and outdoor adventurer. He became involved in bigfoot research in 2008. Steve organized BFRO IOWA Public Expeditions in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and is currently organizing a 2017 IOWA expedition. Steve is an artist, photographer, farmer, anthropologist and professional researcher. His primary research areas are the river basins of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and all of eastern Iowa.