YEAR: 1982

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: do not recall

STATE: California

COUNTY: Santa Barbara County

LOCATION DETAILS: we were near the confluence of the sisquac and manzanita rivers in the wilderness area where access is only made by horseback or on foot; we were on foot.

NEAREST TOWN: Santa Barbara, California

NEAREST ROAD: Hayway 154

ALSO NOTICED: We did not find anything to be unuasual before or after.

OTHER WITNESSES: There were four of us, we where eating and drinking beer, we were not drunk; we had only had a beer or two apiece.

OTHER STORIES: My partners and I do not talk much about what we saw because most people just make fun of us.In the past I have enquired but I have not found anything.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was early evening between seven to nine in the evening. We had a large campfire at the time of our sighing and the night was clear but dark

ENVIRONMENT: We had set up camp right on the manzana river on a sandy area. The terrain was hilly, with a mixture of pine and oak trees.We were making our way towards the old school mhouse campground for some fishing.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kevin Withers:

The witness (a high school teacher), his younger brother, and two friends (all in their early to mid-twenties) were on a hiking and fishing trip. They had hiked about six hours without seeing another human, and were camped next to the Manzana River. They had been eating dinner when they heard a loud crashing sound coming from the adjacent hillside. As they looked up at the trail which was about ten to fifteen yards away, they saw a large bipedal animal running down the trail. They yelled at it and it turned to look at them as it continued running. It quickly ran up over a ridge and then out of sight. The sighting lasted a total of five to six seconds.

Although it was dark at the time, their bonfire illuminated the whole side of the hill and made it possible to see some detail. The witness described the animal as human-like but covered with dark brown or black hair, very muscular with shoulders about four feet wide, approximately 6.5 to 7 feet tall, and over 300 lbs. Its footfalls sounded thunderous as it ran down the trail. There was no odor.

The four of them spent the remainder of the night sleeping in shifts, so two people would always be awake to keep watch. The witness said that they knew immediately that they had seen a bigfoot. It seemed as though it was as anxious to leave the area as they were for it to leave. The next morning they looked for tracks on the trail but found none.

About BFRO Investigator Kevin Withers:

Kevin Withers is a website developer, database application developer, online publisher and entrepreneur in Southern California.