YEAR: 1960/2010

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 11/04/1960

STATE: Georgia

COUNTY: Troup County

LOCATION DETAILS: Removed for confidentiality.

NEAREST TOWN: LaGrange

NEAREST ROAD: Whitesville Road (GA 219)

OBSERVED: My sighting occurred when I was about 10 years old on my Grand Father's farm located in Troup County, Georgia. This was the most terrifying experience I have ever had in my entire life. I don't mention this event to my friends because I am sure they would not believe me. When I was a young boy, I accompanied my Grand Father to his 98 acre farm every day from his home located in LaGrange. He had about 60 head of cattle, hogs, chickens and a mule. He also grew corn and vegetables and had a 2 acre watermelon patch. After doing my chores on the farm, I liked to roam all over the property, especially down to the creek and 10+ acre swamp which was created by beavers damning up the creek. It was late one winter afternoon and I was walking in the woods far away from the old farm house when I noticed some move in the woods behind me. I remember it was late in the day, almost the time of sunset, when I was walking along the path leading back to the house when I saw "it" out of the corner of my eye. A huge, 7 foot tall, ape-looking creature that was covered in tangled hair. The creature was standing completely still with its long arms hanging at its sides. The one thing that I saw that I will never forget was its 2 big yellow eyes that were staring straight at me. I felt my heart skip and knew this creature, or whatever it was, was like nothing I had ever seen in my life. It was about 80 yards away and I knew that if it started running, it could probably easily run me down as it had extremely long, gangly legs. I was completely and utterly terrified. I knew the only way I could escape was to turn and run as hard and as fast as I could, back to the house. I did just that - jumping over the one cross-fence located between me and the house, which was about a quarter of a mile away. I knew that I tripped or snagged myself on the fence, the creature would catch me and rip me to pieces. I was near exhaustion upon arriving back at the house; completely out of breath. I immediately went to my Grand Father's side where I almost collapsed. I never told him about my sighting or anyone else, until years later after I was married. I have since then told my wife and parents and one close friend about my sighting. I will be more than happy to explain more about my Bigfoot sighting. I truly believe with all my heart that what I saw that day was a real Bigfoot. After my sighting, I never one time went down to the swamp by myself. Previous to my sighting, I would often find some of my Grand Father's young calves lying dead in the woods, near the swamp. I wondered how and why this could occur, but after my sighting, I knew that the Bigfoot had killed these young calves as well as some of a neighbor farmer's goats. I remember one calf that appeared to have been ripped open i.e. mutilated. Later, after my Grand Father passed away, my Mother inherited the property and allowed some of her friends to hunt deer on the old farm place. One hunter told us recently that he had heard a howling like none other while hunting very early one morning on the farm. He said it sounded, not like a cry or howl, but more like a scream. Said it even frightened him and he is a seasoned hunter of many years! My story may sound make fake, but believe me, I know exactly what I saw that day and it was a living, breathing Bigfoot.

ALSO NOTICED: The area that I saw the Bigfoot creature was along a 4 to 5 foot wide dirt path leading from the main pasture down to the swamp. This area was forested with a variety of oaks and hickory trees which produced an abundant crop of acorns and hickory nuts. Wild muscadine grapes and persimmon trees were plentiful in this area as well. And a year round supply of fresh water was available with Long Cane Creek flowing nearby.

OTHER WITNESSES: I was the only witness.

OTHER STORIES: A hunter friend mentioned strange noises in this very area where he had erected a deer stand and hunted on several mornings.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early evening ... 7:00pm EST.

ENVIRONMENT: Mixed bermuda-fescue pasture (grass growing to 3 feet tall) and pine-oak woods. Long Cane Creek forms the entire southern border of the farm property. Beavers damned the creek on the southernmost point creating a 10+ acre swamp.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Morris Collins:

I spoke with the witness, a retired professional person, by phone on 02 August. We reviewed his report and he added the following details:

He was completely terrified during the encounter to the extent he has not been back to the exact sighting location since. The creature was standing by a tree. When he saw it, it partially turned its head but continued to stare right at the witness. The hair was a light brown/tan color and was very dirty and tangled all over. The head was human shaped, but ape-like. The arms were very long in relation to the body and the hands were described as claw-like. He estimates that he was approximately 80 yards from the creature. He is sure that what he saw was not a bear.

Last year, a long time friend heard an unidentifiable scream while deer hunting on the property. As he has hunted all his life, he had never heard a sound like this in the local woods ever.

The area now has a much higher concentration of deer, wild hog, and associated small mammals than when the sighting occurred. There is abundant flora in terms of nuts, wild grapes, etc as well as plentiful year-round water. The area is still remote; with family farms in the 100 acre size and single family homes comprising the population. We have permission from the witness to visit the location with him once the weather cools.

The witness was highly credible, and a retired, educated professional. I believe based on his testimony that he encountered a sasquatch on the property.

About BFRO Investigator Morris Collins:

Morris holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from Auburn University and additional coursework toward an MBA in International Business. He is an avid backpacker and SCUBA diver. Morris attended Georgia 2006, 2008, 2009 & 2011; North Carolina 2006 and SC 2007 expeditions. He is a member of the SE BFRO Tracking Team and has completed a first course in visual tracking.