YEAR: 2010

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: November

DATE: 1

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Pendleton County

LOCATION DETAILS: Go west on 33 from VA to the WV side, first campground on the left before Brandywine.

NEAREST TOWN: Brandywine

NEAREST ROAD: Route 33

OBSERVED: I had identified through the VA game finder website that Rockingham county (VA) was a good area for turkey hunting. The spot I chose allowed us to park at a campsite (WV) and hike into the woods around 7-8 miles to the hunting spot (VA). Let me start by saying that I was never into and never followed Bigfoot. I know the story of course but never payed any real attention to it until I came home from the trip.

We arrived at the campground late. There was only 1 other camper there with a RV. We started into the woods around 5pm. The terrain is extremely rugged and steep. As we were hiking we noticed that it was very quiet. Not a single bird call, or anything. It was an eerie feeling. We set up camp about 3 miles on the path that led up to the observation tower (High Knob). We had dinner and got into the tent around 9-10 pm. Around 11-12 pm my brother and I heard a very odd howl, it lasted for around 10 seconds. It was not a dog or bear or anything I had heard before. I thought it was strange but assured my brother it was nothing. Around 2 pm my friend woke me up and pointed at his ear, signaling me to listen. I paused and listened. To me I heard what sounded like someone slowly walking up to our tent, choosing their steps very carefully. I whispered to him its a deer to calm his nerves. But all three of us listened as the steps got closer. The steps were heavy but slow. My brother said to me "Get the shotgun." But not in a whisper. The steps stopped and sounded like they went the other direction. I got out of the tent and saw nothing, it was too dark. The next morning we continued up the hill. At the top of hill .5 mile from where we camped there was a large pile of feces with acorns in it. Possibly bear, not sure. My brother was in poor psychical condition and could not continue so we decided to leave.

When I got home I decided to see if i could find an animal call matching the sound we had heard. I looked up a lot of different animals, from cougars to foxes. Nothing matched. Until I found a bigfoot website with sound recordings. The first one I clicked was it. I called my brother on the phone and said recognize this? Played the recording and he said "Hell yeah, that's what we heard in the woods."

I've done a lot of research on Bigfoot since that trip and I'll be going back there this November, I'll try and do a few calls or knocks and see what happens.

OTHER WITNESSES: (3) Myself, my brother, and my friend.

OTHER STORIES: I was inspired to write this because I found 2 other reports in the same area through BFRO's Google Earth map add on.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Call 11 pm-ish
Steps 2-3 am-ish

ENVIRONMENT: Heavy forest, on the side of the mountain near High Knob. On the other side of High Knob is a reservoir.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator D.K.:

After speaking with the witness by phone, the following details can be added to the report:

-He was motivated to file his own report after noting two recently published encounters just to the east of his own incident. Those reports are 17326 and 28449

-The recording he later found on the Internet, which resembles what he and his brother heard, is a possible sasquatch vocalization recorded in Estacada, Oregon in 1972. The recording contains a series of whoops and ape-like howls.

-The night they camped the temperatures were in the low 20's and they had trouble sleeping due to the cold.

-As the footsteps approached, the witness noticed they were heavy, slow, quiet, deliberately placed, and clearly bipedal. He could discern a distinct heel-toe pattern in each step.

-Their camp sat astride the hiking trail, a narrow and unmaintained foot path. The footsteps did not approach along the trail, but from a direction perpendicular to the trail or straight out of the forest.

-The steps approached from the downwind side of their camp and toward the side of their tent which had no window in it, coming within 15 feet of their tent.

-When the witness's brother spoke out, the steps immediately stopped. After a few silent moments they withdrew back into the forest, more quietly than when they approached.

Investigator's note: While camping just east of this area, at Lake Switzer Virginia in June 2011, I recorded two loud wood knocks and faint whoops just outside of camp at 3:50 a.m. Given the emerging history of encounters in this geographic region, and the ongoing evidence of a small, local sasquatch population, its entirely likely that these hunters in their remote camp both heard and were visited by a sasquatch.

About BFRO Investigator D.K.:

D.K. is a business executive with an MS in Systems Engineering. Formerly a linguistic analyst, he applies his knowledge to the collection and study of sasquatch vocals and communication patterns. BFRO expeditions attended: Tennessee 2010, Pennsylvania 2011, Ohio 2012, West Virginia 2012 & West Virginia 2013