YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 23rd

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: McDowell County

LOCATION DETAILS: The area is very rural, steep mountainous terrain. Streams, abandoned mines, clear cuts, few people live here.

NEAREST TOWN: Iaeger,

NEAREST ROAD: RT 52

OBSERVED: I live in a very rural area of McDowell Co. West Virginia. It is not unusual to see bear, coyote, deer, etc. on a weekly basis around my home. I am an avid hunter/outdoorsman, and I have seen and heard (up to this incident) everything the woods of West Virginia have to offer.

On July 23, 2009 I was setting on my front porch area of my residence (I had built a fire) at approx. 11:30p.m when I heard a loud "scream" from 150-200 yards away. My dogs immediately began barking in the direction of the noise. I assumed it was a mountain lion. I listened intently for a few more minutes but I heard nothing else. After about fifteen/twenty minutes, I heard something walking through the wood line directly across the road from my house.

The crashing brush led me to believe that it was a large animal, possibly a bear. At exactly 12:15 a.m (fifteen minutes after midnight) I heard a loud roar or moan come from across the road from my house, approximately 300 yards from my house. The animal then proceeded to moan again, however this time, I also heard a growl. After the second moan, I then heard what I can only describe as a series of moaning howls.

The howls sent a cold chill up my spine. I am avid hunter, and I know that the animal responsible for these noises had to be extremely large, at least 800-1000 lbs. I went inside and locked my doors. I am confident it was not a coyote, bear, mountain lion, cow, etc. This animal had a distinct, powerful moan that could never have been made by any of these animals.

ALSO NOTICED: my dogs became very afraid and they hid. the neighbors dogs were barking and going crazy also. Also, another neighbor has horses he keeps in a field where I heard these sounds. His horses became so afraid, they refused to leave their barn to be fed the next morning.

OTHER WITNESSES: none

OTHER STORIES: Same sounds have been heard by another witnesses. Hunters have came in contact with unknown animal that the dogs became afraid of. The Hunter's stated that the unknown animal had a horrible odor.

My wife told me that night (I woke her up to tell her what I had heard) that she had been outside with the kids earlier in the week and just before dark, she heard a loud moaning noise and what sounded like large sticks being struck together. I am confident what I heard was not from any animal that has been recognized by modern game biologist and being real.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: The weather was clear, and the night was very quite. The time I heard these sound was from 11:30pm until 3:20am

ENVIRONMENT: Hardwood forest, with several gas wells and a stream.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stephen Willis:

11/9/10 - The witness contacted me with more incidents. He reports that during August he was awakened during the night by a "whooping" call, repeated several times. Two weeks ago something slapped the side of his house around midnight, again loud enough to wake him from a deep sleep.

He is acquainted with a law enforcement officer who reported a "monkey without a tail" crossed the road during one of his patrols. The officer reported nearly hitting the creature.

A neighbor reported seeing an 8-foot tall creature creeping around her barn at daybreak. The animal was the apparent cause of horse and cattle feed sacks being taken at night.

Two high school students still hunting in the 2009 season saw a sasquatch exiting what they considered an impenetrable thicket. It exited the brush and walked away from them apparently unaware of their presence.
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Original report:
Another investigator and I visited the witness on 22 AUG 2009. The terrain is very conducive to animals living undetected. The hills around the witness' dwelling have a 40 degree slope. The valley floor is approximately 125 yards wide, sharing space with houses, the single lane public highway and a meandering stream.

His description of the power contained in the vocalizations he witnessed cannot be attributed to a known creature. The distance from his front porch to the area where the vocals emanated from is approximately 175 yards. He stated the volume was frightening. He was a police officer and has been involved in gunfights with criminals. This incident generated the most fearful reaction he has ever experienced. I also interviewed his spouse and a neighbor during my visit.

The neighbor stated he and others had experienced a loss of deer during bow hunting season. The exact words describing his loss were: “I tracked that deer following a blood trail a blind man could see. I found where it had lain down, with a huge pool of blood. Then somehow the deer was gone, with no marks where it had been dragged off.” He is occasionally awakened by someone slapping the side of his house between 1 and 4 AM.

The spouse remarked she had heard wood knocking and whooping calls at various times since they moved in two years ago. She has seen an upright biped watching her and their small children three times from an abandoned garage across the valley. She could not identify what it was due to the distance.

Our original witness stated he was working on an automatic deer feeder when he heard the scream/roaring calls. His deer feeder was suspended off the ground about 12 feet. Something had pulled the feeder down bending the handles and ripping out the battery and dispenser wheel, throwing them in opposite directions, about 20 feet from the crumpled feeder. The feeder could hold 150 pounds of corn.

Other strange incidents:

*Trash picked through- can lid removed, bag opened, and items sorted through with non-selected items neatly stacked on can lid.

*Neighbor's grape arbor picked clean in one night. Grapes were removed by twisting the entire pod off the stem, even up to an 8-ft. height.

*Dogs so frightened they would not leave their kennel. Wanted to return to the kennel and hide.

*School bus driver reported an ape jumped on the bus roof while waiting for students (very old incident).

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.