YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 28

STATE: Iowa

COUNTY: Winneshiek County

LOCATION DETAILS: I don't wish to give exact locations at this time, but down the road is very possible.

NEAREST TOWN: cresco

NEAREST ROAD: gravel road

OBSERVED: On January 28, 2009 I was hunting on a strip of public land in north-east iowa. It was around 5:30 pm. just before dark. I came across a set of tracks coming out of a thicket and heading across an alfalfa field that I was walking. At first, I didn't think nothing of it, others hunt that area. As I took a break to catch my breath from walking. I noticed that the space between the tracks were freakishly large. The snow was any where from ankle deep to knee deep. I could take 4 - 4 1/2 steps in between its two. I'm around 5'9" and in that snow I can't see any man even running make that stride. All the Tracks were in a perfect straight line. - - - - - - That's what the tracks looked like being spaced around 5 1/2 to 6 feet apart. Humans as far as I know walk with staggered footprints. I'm 28 years old and got started hunting at a very young age, thanks to my dad. I also have a degree in environmental science. I know animal tracks and I've came across many human tracks before and nothing compares to this. At the time the tracks looked to be 2-4 days old.

ALSO NOTICED: The only thing that stood out to me is where it crossed the field. from the parking area or road you can't see due to a rolling hill. not sure if that's just a coincidence or not...something tells me it not.

OTHER WITNESSES: none on my outing. on the one with my relative there were 3 witnesses.

OTHER STORIES: 30 miles to the east my brother-in-law and his 2 older boys where late season muzzleloading for deer. The oldest boy sat in a blind and the other one went with my brother-in-law and sat about 200 yards away. At about a half hour before dark. They heard something hitting a tree. My brother-in-law and his middle son went up to where the older son was to make sure everything was ok. When asked what he was doing he stated, "I thought that was you." As they took down the blind they heard the noise again about 150 yards in the timber. They shined flashlights into woods to see if someone was trying to scare them off the public area. My brother-in-law aggravated at this time yelled, "knock if off, I have kids with me." After that he said it got quiet for a second and then something roared at them. As they cautiously walked out on the same trail the walked in on they noticed a very strong smell of rotting fish and something they couldn't describe. They also said that they didn't notice any smell on the way in. A few weeks later my brother-in-law returned to the area and found the same type of prints I described above.

ENVIRONMENT: The area runs along a river with many thickets and cornfields surrounding it. One of my relatives had an encounter with an unknown "thing" a month earlier about 30 miles to the east along a trout stream. We think they use the river for a corridor to travel from one area to another without being detected.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

Witness was squirrel and varmint hunting just south of the town of Cresco, Iowa when he encountered tracks that were unlike anything that he had ever seen before. He felt that the tracks were two to four days old because they were not "blown in" but at the same time they weren't crisp like the deer and other tracks that he had encountered that day, which were obviously much more recent. Toes were not visible in the prints, which he equated to a size 13 or 14 in a man's foot size. As for the distance between each print, he stated that there was room for him to lay down between the tracks. The tracks indicated that the animal was moving in an easterly direction.

The experience that his brother-in-law had with his children occurred near Decorah, Iowa.

After speaking with the witness on the phone it was obvious that he is very credible. He is a very experienced outdoorsman, who takes every opportunity to get outdoors and tromp, whether it is to hunt or just be outdoors. He's out several times a week.

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.