YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 19

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Morgan County

LOCATION DETAILS: Go south of I-72 1 1/2 miles on Illinois 267. Then east on Lake Jacksonville Rd.

NEAREST TOWN: Jacksonville

NEAREST ROAD: Illinois 267

OBSERVED: I spoke with the witness by telephone. I visited the site and spoke personally with his parents in their home which is a couple of miles from the sighting location.

Stan - Can you please explain what you saw?

Mark - It was my junior year of high school, so 2005, probably November. I was driving home on the back roads to the house. I saw a big black head sticking out the top at the corner of the corn field. And I stopped and saw this big black hairy thing. Then the head disappeared and a couple of seconds later it came walking across the road, and disappeared in the corn across the road.

I took off then, I didn't even take time to turn and try and see it walking, I just kept going.

Stan - How tall do you think it was?

Mark - Eight feet to nine feet.tall.

Stan - And what color was it?

Mark - Dark, very dark brown.

Stan - How was it built?

Mark - Very muscular.

Stan - How much would you think it weighed?

Mark - Close to 300 lbs.

Stan - Did it walk slowly or did it run across the road?

Mark - It had a normal walking pace, it just walked across like nothing was bothering it.

Stan - Did it look at you?

Mark - It looked at me when I stopped, when it was sticking its head out of the corn.

Stan - Were you able to see its face at all?

Mark - No, I couldn't see the face.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing

OTHER WITNESSES: None

OTHER STORIES: Yes, I had another sighting a year later.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Clear, about 3:30 in the afternoon.

ENVIRONMENT: Farms, woods, creeks.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

The sighting was brief but the witness does remember the following:

- The animal was about 8 to 9 feet tall.
- The animal weighed about 300 lbs.
- The body build was muscular.
- The hair was very dark brown.
- The animal walked in a normal walking pace.
- The witness was unable to see the face.

His sighting a year later is Report #28534.

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at illinois@bfro.net