YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: March

DATE: 18th

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Raleigh County

NEAREST TOWN: Shady Spring

NEAREST ROAD: RT. 19

OBSERVED: I was shooting a 22 rifle on a abandoned strip mine when I heard what sounded like very loud wood knocking approx. 100 yards below me. I can't even begin to describe how loud and forceful these sounds were. I listened to the sounds for a couple of minutes before leaving the area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Approx 5:30 PM Cloudy 50 degrees

ENVIRONMENT: Abandoned strip mine. Area below my location has been logged within the last two to three years. Area above my location is hardwood forest.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

The witness was target shooting on an abandoned strip mine. He had just finished emptying a 15 shot magazine when he heard an extremely loud wood knock. His description was, "It sounded like someone was breaking fence posts against a tree."

He estimated the distance to the source was around 200-300 feet down hill. The extreme volume produced by the knocking made him hesitant to search for the source. Leaving the area seemed the best course of action for a lone individual. This incident took place within 5-miles of another Shady Springs area sighting.

He recently became interested in bigfoot after helping his son with a school project. They used the BFRO website content as the primary reference.

He also reflected upon a hunting story from last November. A hunter shot a deer and something stole it. The hunter saw the deer fall, removed his tree stand, found the blood spot where the deer died, but no trail leading away from the kill site. Whatever took the deer had to have enough strength to lift it clear of the ground and move through logging slash to exit the area.

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.