YEAR: 1993

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 5

STATE: Missouri

COUNTY: Newton County

LOCATION DETAILS: This was out in an area close to Shoal Creek in Joplin, MO.

NEAREST TOWN: Joplin

NEAREST ROAD: State Hwy. 86

OBSERVED: It was a student at Missouri Southern State College at the time. And a popular hangout was at Wildcat Park.

One evening several students were out there and a friend of mine asked me to drive him out there. Around midnite we were heading back to campus, I was taking a curve and as I got into the corner I saw a large ape-like, human-like creature standing just off the pavement.

I would say it was 7.5'-8' tall and 350-400 pounds. I'm not sure of the color since it was dark. I would say it was dark brown, but the moonlight and limited visibility gave it's coat a whiteish sheen.

The vehicle I was driving was a 'lifted' pickup truck. I was able to see eye-to-eye with it. The creature appeared to be much taller than the vehicle, but it was either squatting slightly or hunched down a bit. It had very broad shoulders, much larger than anything I had ever seen. They were close to 3' across.

I looked right into it's face and it's eyes were a deep black. They could have been brown, and appeared darker due to the lack of light.

OTHER WITNESSES: There were two other people in the vehicle, however, they were sleeping.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Around midnite...there was a lot of moon light.

ENVIRONMENT: This was less than a mile from the dam on Shoal Creek. It was a 'woodsy' area.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Larry Newman:

I spoke to this witness by phone. He added the following information.

As he was driving around a sharp curve he saw the creature standing by the edge of the roadway in the ditch. He could only see the upper portion of the body from about the stomach up. It was about four feet from the edge of the road. The pickup he was driving had been lifted and so sat higher than normal. The head of the creature was even with his. This sighting lasted only a few seconds because of the movement of the truck.

The description he gave was that the face was flat with short slick hair on it and the eyes were dark and small in proportion to the size of the face and it did not appear to have a neck. The hair around the face and on the stomach was slick but on the shoulders was tangled. After he passed he looked back and the creature was gone.

He has not told anyone since this report for fear of ridicule. He moved from this area and now lives about 100 miles away. Recently a coworker told him of an incident they had around Harrison, Arkansas and he decided to share this one. This witness seemed very credible. At about the time of this incident there were other reports within a mile of this. At least one of these other incidents was investigated by the local Sheriff’s Office.

About BFRO Investigator Larry Newman:

Life long hunter and fisherman with tracking skills.
Fall 2009 Missouri expedition.
Retired Law Enforcement investigator and certified crime scene investigator. Also experienced and trained in interview techniques and written statement analysis.