YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: August

DATE: Unknown

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Mahoning County

LOCATION DETAILS: Location is off State Route 14.

NEAREST TOWN: Beloit

NEAREST ROAD: Smith Goshen and Middletown Road

OBSERVED: I was woke up by pulling, yanking and scratching on our LOCKED shed doors. This creature was determined to get into the shed. I saw its hand was in between the crack of the shed doors while its thumb was sticking out. I observed the creature to be about 4 to 5 feet tall. Muscle toned but not huge. Covered by hair and standing on two legs, not four. I observed this creature to look at me but over its shoulder.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just myself.

OTHER STORIES: None known personally from anyone.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was between 2 and 3 A.M. It was dark outside but enough light from the moon and surrounding outside house lights. Weather was clear, warm, dry and visible.

ENVIRONMENT: There are corn fields around our home. Woods are also around our house. There is an empty field that leads into woods behind our house. It is fairly quiet where we live, except for an occasional dog barking or a cow mooing.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Brad Bacon:

I spoke with the witness at length in a telephone interview in which she was able to supply some additional information. After being awakend by the noise of the doors, she went to her bedroom window, which was open at the time and only covered by the window screen. From that vantage point, she was able to crouch down and observe the creature for several minutes. She remarked several times about the thumb being clearly visible on the outside of the door and fingers in between the overlap of the locked doors. The height estimate was derived from a combination of her own height and the creature's position relative to the door. The witness said "it looked like a young one". The creature's body was covered in light black hair. Several times she commented on it's muscular shape. "It was strong, it looked strong", she said.

Though good light was available from the moon, the witness wanted to confirm what she was indeed seeing and went to her back door that leads onto a deck which has a closer and more direct view of the shed. Simultaneously opening the door and turning on the porch light, she observed the creature quickly turn towards her with a yellow wide-eyed appearence and then it quickly turned and ran for the overgrown field. According to the witness, "it was fast and covered the distance in just a few strides" "I think I startled it." the witness said. The witness recalled it moved on two legs and remembered the left arm swung backwards and was very long. No sounds were made by the creature and the witness marveled at how quickly it was able to move. In questioning the witness about the yellow eyes, it was determinied that the porch light was a yellow bug light which probably accounted for the yellow eye reflection.

During the interview, it was apparent that the witness was distressed by the encounter. She is married and has two young children and repeatedly inquired about their safety. The witness no longer leaves her windows open and does not like to be outside after dark anymore. Consequently, I scheduled an on site interview and was joined by fellow Investigator Mark Wade. We met with the witness and her husband and found them to be a genuine, sincere, hard working family. With my colleague's assistance, we were able to reenact the encounter. It can be added that when the witness was observing the creature from her window, the creature turned and looked towards the window several times. The husband advised that he snores and suspected that his snoring may have been the reason it looked towards the bedroom. After it looked at her and ran off she woke up her husband. They both described how she came back in the bedroom shaking her husband to wake up and how shaken up she was at the time. The husband also advised me that at the time of the encounter, the family had a cat that had recently had kittens and that he was securing the cats in the shed at night and feeding them in there as well. Cat food was readily available inside the shed. Additionally, the witness advised that she regularly puts out "leftovers" for the deer as she likes to observe them. On this paticular evening, she had not placed any food in the usual spot for the deer which is located close to the shed.

While on site, the witness conveyed to us that she was not a believer in anything Bigfoot related, but that her experience had changed all that. She was clearly distressed by her encounter, but relieved to have investigators to speak with and dissect the information. Without forehand knowledge, the witness described various sounds that would indicate continued activity in and around their residence. My colleague and I spent the evening with the family and took great care to address their saftey concerns. Additionally, we canvassed the property and surrounding area untill the early morning hours but did not observe any activity. We returned the next day to get a better feel for the terrain. The witness' residence is in a rural area of small family farms. In season, there is an abundant supply of corn as well as family gardens and fruit trees. While on site, enough deer were observed to indicate a sizeable deer population for the area. There is also a large reservoir in the vicinity of the witness' property. With plenty of resources available, it remains to be seen if this activity is migratory or not. The witness will remain vigilant and contact me should activity return.

About BFRO Investigator Brad Bacon:

Brad is a native Texan from McKinney. He grew up working with all forms of livestock and spent countless hours in the outdoors and this is where his interest in this subject began. Employment opportunities took him to Ohio where he actively investigated this subject in and around surrounding states. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M Commerce and a Associate of Science from Grayson College. Brad has also been a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor for over 20 years. He attended the Pennsylvania 2009, 2011 and Tennessee 2010 expeditions. He has also Attended Texas 2012, 2014 and Kentucky 2013 as well as numerous private expeditions. He currently resides in a rural area northeast of McKinney, Texas.