YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: March

DATE: 5

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Pasco County

LOCATION DETAILS: Going south down US 19 in the city of Holiday in Pasco county right before the McDonalds on the right the road is Gulf Trace. the wooded area on the right hand side, right before the bridge leading towards the holiday rec. If needed I can point it out to an investigator

NEAREST TOWN: Holiday

NEAREST ROAD: US19

OBSERVED: the date: 3/5/2009 time: 12:00AM Place: In Pasco County going down Gulf Trace towards US Highway 19. I was just going over the bridge close to the Holiday Recreational Center. Well just over the bridge the road curves slightly then straightens out, I had my high beams on like I always do when I pass a wooded area (I am a strong believer in Bigfoot) to try and catch a glimps of the sasquatch, Well that night it paid off! What I saw was a figure about 8 and a half to 9 feet tall and was hair covered, my light had made his eyes glare and he kinda squinted his eyes a little due to the light I am guessing. And I supposed I surprised it as it appeared to be just making its way walking out of the tree line towards the road and thats were I saw him, he stopped instantly when my light hit him (I saw him instantly, as well I slowed down)he backed up into the tree line more and just watched me in a seemingly very curious manner. at that point I had been stopped and due to the angle of my lights not being directly on him anymore, just the peripheral of my lights were on him, all I could see was from his shoulders up. I was speechless and for some reason I called out saying "Hi!" and at that point he backed up out of the light and I could hear running off into the woods. I stayed a few more moments and continued on my way. the entire incident from start to end only lasted about a minute thirty. END REPORT

ALSO NOTICED: feels of being watched any other time when I used to take walks back in those woods but thats about it.

OTHER WITNESSES: no other witnesses to my incident

OTHER STORIES: I have only heard of a sighting in the same area. not sure of any details

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was night and was pretty dark and was very chilly.

ENVIRONMENT: heavily Wooded, a school is on the right hand side right before the wooded area where I saw him.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

I met with the witness, JP, at the location of his sighting, two days after it had occurred. We could not find any prints on the trails near the sighting area, although there were numerous signs of other animals on the trails.

While rounding a slight bend in the road, JP stated that the flash of eye-shine caught his attention and when he focused on the area, he saw the upper body of a massive, hair-covered biped standing on the edge of the woods.

JP is adamant that it was not a bear or a human, and that it was not anything he had ever seen before except for the pictures of bigfoot he had seen on TV, and in books.

JP stated that what he saw was over eight and a half feet tall, was covered in brown, neat, but short hair, and that he could see massive musculature definition beneath the hair. It had very broad shoulders and a conical head. Its eyes reflected a yellowish-orange glow in his headlights, which had originally caught his attention. After stopping, but not shutting off his car, he observed the creature from about 20 foot away as it stepped backwards into the brush. It did not try to run, but instead peered through the thicket, as if it were curious. This went on for about a minute, to a minute and a half, when JP stated that the only thing he could think to do was to call out, “Hi”. It was at this point that the creature backed further into the thicket and fled. There was no other traffic on the road during this encounter.

JP stated that he could not make out any facial features other than the fact that its face did not have a lot of hair on it. And he could not guess a weight, other than it was ‘huge’. He had the impression that it was male by the fact that the shoulders and chest were broader than the waist.

JP stated that he did not hear anything except its escape into the thickets because his car was running, nor did he smell anything unusual.

The location of the sighting was on the edge of a wooded area that has an active stream running through it. Surrounding the location are many recent housing developments that are interspersed with other wooded areas. There are active signs of game such as fish, raccoons, waterfowl, deer, coyote and turkey. It is connected via natural inland corridors to several large preserves and ranches, as well as several large inaccessible marshes, swamps, inlets and coastal wilderness corridors that border the shore of the coast.

Although the area is recently developed, it is my thought that such a rich environment could be attractive to a bigfoot because of the recent and enduring drought that has plagued the area over the past ten to fifteen years. There are not many places in this county where there is an accessible fresh-water supply that is not surrounded by heavy development, except for the preserves and ranches. And even these have been known to have been so decimated by the drought that there are not many places that hold an active supply of water.

Even JP, who I have found to be honest and forthright, questioned why the bigfoot he had seen would choose to visit such a highly populated area. But regardless, he is adamant about what he saw and stated that, “It was big, it stood on two feet, it was covered in brown hair, and I don't know why it was here. But from what I saw, it was definately a bigfoot."

About BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

Cathy has been a nurse for over 27 years and currently works in a busy ICU. An amateur naturalist, Cathy has been intrigued by the bigfoot phenomenon from an early age.
Attended the following expeditions:
- The 2006 Florida Expedition
- The 2007 North Carolina Expedition
- The 2008 South Florida Expedition
- The 2008 North Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Central Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Utah Expedition
- The 2010 TN Survey Expedition
- The 2011 East Texas Expedition
-The 2012 North FL Expedition
-The 2013 Michigan Upper Peninsula Expedition
For more information, please see the Florida BFRO