YEAR: 1979

SEASON: Spring

DATE: 12

STATE: Tennessee

COUNTY: Maury County

NEAREST TOWN: columbia tn

NEAREST ROAD: newcut rd

OBSERVED: in 1979 a friend and I were taking a hike on TVA land in Columbia tn. At that time the area was deserted my x-father in law owned 20 acres that backed up to TVA which met Duck River on the back. We were walking and suddenly 20yds or less away out of the bush in wide open there he was. We froze and we all stared at each other If he had been violent you wouldn't hear this story. He turned made an awful growling scream and was gone. Later that day my brother and I went back and searched only to find a 4 inch tree about 6 ft up freshly took and twisted to splinters. The farm was part of our area and since this sighting we were not scared when so many times we knew he was near, we were never attacked. Hard for me to write disabled now.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: mid day perfect sunny day 20yds eye to eye

Follow-up investigation report:

I spoke with the witness at length was was impressed by his recollection of the events, even after all these years. He is a a life long hunter and outdoorsman and a very credible witness. I can add the following details to his account:
- The witness and his friend were out walking in the woods at mid-day when their encounter occurred. This was a common practice for them, and the area they were walking was heavily wooded, but had a series of open 'rock glades' that were formed when an earthquake in the 1800's caused a number of caves to fall in, leaving exposed rocky areas where not much would grow.
- As the pair came out of the woods and into one of these open glades they looked up and saw a Sasquatch standing approximately 30 yards from them looking at them. All three froze for approximately 1 minute.
- When asked to expound on the appearance of the creature, the witness related that it looked exactly like the creature in the Patterson/Gimlin footage. He said that his brother is 6' 5" tall and that this creature was approximately a head taller and at least 100 lbs. heavier. He felt that the creature was a male and described the incredible bulk and thickness of the body as being bigger than the largest NFL player. He felt the weight was in the 500 lb. range. The hair was described as being about 4" long, and noticeably muddy in places. He attributed this to the river being near by and felt it had come from the river. He commented several times that the creature was "not apelike". When I asked him to expound on that statement he said that it was not human like either, but was something separate and distinct.
- After observing each other for some time, the creature turned its head back toward the direction it had come from and let out a very loud roar. When I asked the witness to describe the sound he said it started out as a growl and ended up as a very high pitched scream. After emitting that scream or roar it turned and walked back into the bushes in the direction it had come from. The two young men immediately returned home.
- After thinking about the encounter the witness immediately wanted to return to the area, but his friend was too shaken by the incident and left. The witnesses brother ended up going back with him and that's when they found the tree that had been twisted and splintered.
- The witness is 55 now and was 22 or 23 at the time of this encounter. It made a very profound impact on him that was still very apparent as he recalled the encounter. The witness is of partial native American decent with a lot of Cherokee in his lineage and is very aware of the Native American respect for these creatures. He felt very blessed to have had this encounter and realized that if this creature had wanted to harm him it very easily could have done so.
- The witness also related that he has been shadowed several times since that date while walking to his deer stand as evidenced by footsteps paralleling his in the woods. He also recalled that there were a number of encounters related during the 1970's in the local newspaper, "The Daily Herald".
- The Duck River, 284 miles, is the longest river located entirely within Tennessee. Free flowing for most of its length, the Duck River is home to over 50 species of freshwater mussels and 151 species of fish, making it one of the most biologically diverse rivers in North America.