YEAR: 2010

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Citrus County

LOCATION DETAILS: I measured 2 tracks for you but no pics. I got a camera phone now.

NEAREST TOWN: Floral City

NEAREST ROAD: 480

OBSERVED: I have hunted in most of the management areas in and around this state. I was on a bow hunt in the Citrus wildlife management area. I go out 1 hour or so before daylight. I had put my stand out the day before and just parked in pitch black dark area. I got out and walked to the other side of the suv to get my stuff out, before I could do that I heard something jump out of the bushes behind me. I stood motionless and a strong smell of defecation was there. I talked about the smell and it disappeared. I opened the door and got my flashlight to see what was there and it was gone. By the time daylight rolled around there was six or so more cars that had come through and wipe out all tracks that I could have found. This was the first of 5 incidents of it. 2. Two weeks later I moved my stand to a different area due to all the other hunters. I went out an hour before daylight again and parked got in my stand and waiting for daylight. Right before daylight I heard a call unlike anything I have ever heard before. I have heard hogs, deer, and all other types of animal calls including bears. This call was not like any of them. As the morning went by more cars and hunters came into the area. I heard something big running towards me and it sat down 20 to 30 feet in front of me on the only blind spot I had. I waited for about ten minutes and figured another hunter had sat there, so I cleared my throat to see if it was human and it got up and ran off real fast. I couldn't see it. 3. Two or three weeks later I decide to go fishing at the gulf and was driving past the area I hunted at when out of the wood line a big hairy, black bigfoot ran in front of me with my bright lights on. It took 3 leeps from woodline to woodline. the run is what floored me. The knees almost hit the ground before it came up again and out to the side of its foot.

ALSO NOTICED: the doom shaped head and I have hunted the Flying Eagle too

OTHER WITNESSES: myself

OTHER STORIES: Flying Eagle

TIME AND CONDITIONS: early morning and you have the other reports I sent you on it.

ENVIRONMENT: there are freshwater pits and ponds near by and lots of different woods.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

I spoke with WK over the phone and he shared several encounters with me that occurred between 2010 and 2011.

On one occasion WK stated that he arrived early to set up his tree stand. After parking and getting out of his SUV he heard something ‘large’ jump out of the bushes behind him. He could not see what had jumped behind him because it was still very dark, but he did note a strong stench that smelled like feces. He opened the back door of his SUV to retrieve his flashlight, but by then the odor had dissipated. He stated that he looked around with the flashlight but whatever was there must have left. He said that he never heard it leave.

One another occasion WK was hunting and heard what he described as a panther screaming. Immediately after the panther screamed WK heard a howl that he was unfamiliar with. He described it as being an aggressive-sounding, loud growling type howl that changed tones. It lasted for just a few seconds and came from about 50 yards away from him.

On another occasion WK was traveling down a road in the middle of the Withlacoochee State Forest and saw a large bipedal figure run in front of him. It was dark and WK had his high beams on and could see that it was a uniform black color, between 7 to 9 feet tall and weighed approximately 500lbs. He could make out a domed-shaped head, massive legs and longer than usual arms, which it kept held down near its sides as it ran with an unusual bent-kneed stride. He stated that it turned its head towards him but that he could not make out any details of the face, only that its eyes were deep-set. WK stated that it leaped across the road in three bounds, one of which he estimated to be about 15 to 20 feet long. He said that the last step was slower and it moved a branch aside as it eased into the woods.

The latest encounter happened very recently when WK found a long set of tracks running parallel to a forest road. He stated that he could follow the set of tracks for about ½ mile and it eventually met with two other set of tracks. He described the tracks as being about 5 ½ foot between the toe of one print to the heel of the next print, and that the footprints were in a straight line, not staggered, as with human tracks. He also stated that the tracks never went onto the road and that there was no arch noted on any of the tracks.
WK took careful measurements of each individual’s tracks and gave me these dimensions…
-The track he followed was 18 inches long, 8-¼ inches wide at the toes and 5 inches wide at the heel.
-The next track was 15-½ inches long, 7-¼ wide at the toes and 3-½ inches wide at the heel.
-The third track was 8 inches long and 4 inches wide at the toes. These smaller tracks were found alongside of the 15-½ inch tracks.
Unfortunately WK did not have a camera with him when he found these tracks. He did take a few pictures with his cell phone but stated that the pictures came our too blurry to be recognizable.

All of these encounters took place within the confines of the Withlacoochee State Forest’s Citrus tract. Made up of over 500,000 acres of pristine pine, swamp and hardwood forests, which includes spring-fed ponds, rivers, streams and abandoned mines and is home to an abundance of wildlife. This tract abuts other wildlife sanctuaries which, added together, creates a massive natural corridor that extends through much of central Florida.

About BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

Cathy has been a nurse for over 27 years and currently works in a busy ICU. An amateur naturalist, Cathy has been intrigued by the bigfoot phenomenon from an early age.
Attended the following expeditions:
- The 2006 Florida Expedition
- The 2007 North Carolina Expedition
- The 2008 South Florida Expedition
- The 2008 North Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Central Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Utah Expedition
- The 2010 TN Survey Expedition
- The 2011 East Texas Expedition
-The 2012 North FL Expedition
-The 2013 Michigan Upper Peninsula Expedition
For more information, please see the Florida BFRO