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Geographical Index > United States > Indiana > Monroe County > Report # 24815
 
 Report # 24815  (Class A)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, September 28, 2008.
Man recalls his observation of a creature crossing a road while hunting in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest

YEAR: 1988

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: November

STATE: Indiana

COUNTY: Monroe County

LOCATION DETAILS: Hindustan is the nearest village (only a few homes and small church) perhaps 3-4 miles away on Old 37. The town of Martinsville is about 5 miles to the north and the town of Bloomington is about 15 miles to the south. This incident took place in the Morgan-Monroe State Forest on the Main Forest Road about 1 or 1.5 miles east of the forest entrance that is off of the State Road Old 37.

NEAREST TOWN: Hindustan

NEAREST ROAD: Main Forest Road

OBSERVED: This took place while on the last day of firearm deer season in Novemeber, 1988. It was after sunset but not yet dark. The temperature was in the mid 30's but the ground wasn't frozen and there were still patches of snow on the ground in places. I came out of the woods, put my shotgun, heavy winter coat, and daypack in the trunk of my car and got inside my car to start it up when a movement to my left caught my eye. I will tell you what I saw and what I thought as I was seeing this happen. This man/bigfoot came out of thick brush between the trees to my left on the opposite side of the road from where I was parked, maybe thirty five or forty yards down the road at an angle but it had to know that I was there or at least that my car was there. When I first saw this thing coming out of the thick brush the first thing I thought was, where in the heck did he come from.... Then, I thought, stupid guy, no hunter orange and then I began to notice strange things like he had no gun, and that he was the same color from head to toe, no hat, no hunter orange? But then what I really noticed was that his arms were long, his hands were swinging at his knees and though he was taking large steps crossing the road very quickly but without running, he was just walking. His arms were swinging wide like a British soldier marching but he didn't seem to be in any hurry and he completely ignored me like I wasn't there but he had to know that I was there. He did not look over and kept his head looking straight ahead. He went into the woods on my side of the road (side I was parked on) and went down the hill and disappeared. My eyes told me that I just saw a bigfoot but my brain and common sense was trying to dispute that. His color was dark brown and I thought could that have been a man in a one piece Carhartt outfit or if he were a hiker lost wouldn't he just have stayed on the road rather than go down a steep hill when it was almost dark or if lost why didn't he ask me for help? He was about six feet tall but very husky with his hands, body, feet, side of his head-face, all one color. I actually couldn't see fur because the light was dim. I could see the trees and tree trunks fine but not the bark because the tree trunks were silhoutetted and that's what I mean about not seeing the fur, it was all one shade of dark brown. Now, all of this that I just told you took place in a minute or less. Soon as it disappeared over the side of the hill I jumped out of my car, opened the trunk and loaded my shotgun (for self-defense only), put on my winter coat, and got my flashlight out of my day pack and walked to where I thought the thing went over the hill. I wanted to check out what I just saw and was hoping to find a footprint in the ground or on a patch of snow and I went slowly back and forth, traversing this rather steep hill going a little deeper down as I moved back and forth. There was a deep like gorge on the right side of the hill and I looked up towards the road and by now the ridge on top was just a slither of gray and looking over my shoulder I realized this was not too smart, it was pitch black below me and I got a little scared and hiked back up to the road and to my car as fast as I could. I placed my shotgun back in the case along with my heavy coat putting them in the truck and then I drove up and down the main forest road to see if there were any cars parked off on the sides or if there were anyone walking, I saw nothing. I drove to the valley road where I thought this thing would eventually come out at the bottom of the hill into farm fields and I drove back to the end of this valley and back hoping to see something but saw nothing. I have been wanting to make a report of what I saw and have told my wife, children, teenage granddaughters, brother, and two close hunting buddies, but have always been hesitant to make a report. The truth is, though I am sure what I saw wasn't a man I can't prove it wasn't a man dressed up in a suit but who would be that stupid especially during hunting season. I can't say positively that it was a bigfoot but that is what my eyes saw. Logic says "no", my eyes say, "yes" and that's my report the best that I can remember it. I am glad to get this off my chest. If this helps in any way then that's great but please use only my first name if this is posted,
I am not seeking notoriety here, thanks. Sincerely, [name removed]

ALSO NOTICED: I came back the very next day to see if I could find footprints in the soft ground (from snow melt) or on remaining patches of snow but saw absolutely nothing and as large as this creature was I was hoping to see, in the daylight, at least something but saw nothing?

OTHER WITNESSES: I was alone-no other witnesses.

OTHER STORIES: Only the two sisters report, BFRO #354 that I read on this site only their location is about five miles away from my sighting near Lake Lemon and their discription of size and color of fur did not match what I saw. However, I have heard about reports of sightings and was told that a team of students and professors from IU actively checked several reports of sightings on Hickory Ridge in Hoosier National Forest south of Monroe Reservoir which is probably 25 miles south of my sighting. These reports were back in the early 1980's if I remember correctly and there were a rash of sightings during that time including at Williams Dam area which I checked out myself but that's another story.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Evening at dusk and the light was dim but not dark but trees were more silhouetted which made the bark hard to see, all one color in other words.

ENVIRONMENT: Heavy brush, thick woods on one side of road, flat blacktop forest road, trees (tall timber) steep slope or hill with gorge-like gully running down on the right on the other side of this road.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Eric Lester:

I spoke to the witness over an hour about his experience. He was initially reluctant to submit a report, but did so after family members urged him to do it. He recalled his experience vividly, and was able to recount details like it happened yesterday.

The creature came out of a thick-undergrowth area of the forest, and crossed the two-lane road in about 3-4 steps, 'much faster than [the witness] could'. Physical attributes of the creature that really stuck in his mind were the long arms/hands, the uniform brown color, little or no neck and the thick 'wrestler-like' build.

When he saw this creature, he was in denial that it could be a sasquatch, and has tried over the years to justify it being a human. He hasn't come to that conclusion, but has recently accepted that what he saw that day was probably a sasquatch.

About BFRO Investigator Eric Lester:

Eric Lester is a medical professional and has been investigating possible Sasquatch sightings since 2004.
BFRO expeditions include: