YEAR: 2001

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 10

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Mahoning County

LOCATION DETAILS: I was between route 224 and Mahoning Ave. Austintowns water comes from Meander Reservoir which is protected by park rangers. We were within a mile from the reservoir but exact location within the forrest is unknown due to the production of housing developments within the past few years.

NEAREST TOWN: Austintown

NEAREST ROAD: Mahoning Ave.

OBSERVED: 8 years ago my friend and I were bored one fall day and decided to hike through the forrest behind my house. The forrest was very deep but also very easy to see through because there was very little brush. Its the type of forrest with no trails, just tree after tree for miles. It was late in the day, early evening. The sun was going down and sending beams of late through the tree tops. It must of rained the day before because it was very wet. We wore our boots to keep our feet dry. With the musty smell of wet leaves and mud we walked deeper and deeper into the forrest. All of a sudden we saw some type of wooden scraps laying on the ground. With us pondering we saw what seemed to be cat eyes staring right back at us. We believed it was a cat or raccoon or something. While staring we heard a crackling noise of sticks being snapped. When we looked behind us to see what it was we were shocked. A furry creature between 7 to 8 feet tall was standing upright like a man staring right at us. We freaked and began to run back towards my house. As we were running I kept glancing back and the figure was keeping up with us. As we got to the end of the woods my friend stepped on an apple thorn which went through his boot and into his foot. He fell to his knees but with our addenaline pumping and fear of the creature we continued back to my house. This took place 8 years ago but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I stopped telling the story to people cause no one believes it. Only me and my friend know it to be true from witnessing the creature with our own eyes. We still talk about it from time to time but after meeting a believer a few days back I was influenced to share my story.

OTHER WITNESSES: It was me and my friend

OTHER STORIES: I met a guy out in Niles at the Eastwood Mall that actually believed the story of my encounter. He is the first person, other than my friend that was with me, that believed me 100% on my siting. He shared common thoughts of the same location.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was probably between 6 and 8 o'clock. The Sun was just beginning to go down. It gave beams of light through the trees of the forrest which also created shadows around us.

ENVIRONMENT: The environment was a deep wet forrest in the Fall. All that was around was trees. It was easy to see deep into the forrest because there wasn't alot of brush, only leaves that have fallen.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Joanna Cuva:

I spoke to the submitter and found his account riveting. He did not see any facial features or ears but did describe the creature standing on two legs, brown in color, and 7-8 feet tall. The creature appeared to have hair not fur. They came as close as 10 yards away.

I spoke with his Mother who removed the thorn from the other boys foot once they reached the submitter's house. She was amazed that he was able to run enduring such pain. The thorn went through his boot and into his foot. She said the boys were extremely frightened.

They live in the same house and although they still have woods around them, there has been development. No other incidents have occurred.

About BFRO Investigator Joanna Cuva:

Joanna AKA Joee, has worked as a veterinarian technician for over 11 years. She lives in the Green Swamp of central Florida area with her husband and her three children. She is very knowledgeable of the local wildlife, spending a lot of her time in the outdoors. Joanna has a special interest in wildlife and conservation. She attended South Florida Expedition 2008, North Florida Expedition 2009, Central Florida Expedition 2009, Pennsylvania Expedition 2009, Georgia Expedition 2010 and assisted with the organization of several Florida expeditions.