YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: 17

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Portage County

NEAREST TOWN: atwater

NEAREST ROAD: booth road west branch dam access road

OBSERVED: It was July 17,2009 an evening i'll never forget.me and my older brother Michael were enjoying a night of fishing at a spot we frequented on many other occasions.the location was just west of the DAM at west branch reservoir on a secluded point that was only accessable by one road which was a dead end turn around where you have to park. our location was approximately 2.2 miles from the intersection of booth road and new milford road. it seemed to be a very peaceful night of fishing,the water was so calm and the air so still and quiet. after about an hour of letting our bait soak i decided to practice a little coyote/predator calling. its a perfect spot for predator calling because of the great distances the calls travel over the lake and beyond,you can really get some great responses from the local predators. I had a 4 inch speaker high in a tree connected to my mp3 player on full throttle volume playing the worlds best predator callers routines. i let this go on for about an hour and a half straight until we just couldnt handle the noise anymore.we sat very quietly in the dark for about 15 or 20 minutes when i told my brother i heard something coming through the woods in our direction.i just returned from a 19 month combat deployment in iraq and nobody was gonna sneak up on me anywhere,let alone in the forest at night. i listened for a few minutes longer and then hit my 30 million candle power spotlight in the direction of the noises. that's when it happened. a god awful daefening scream that was so unhumanly load and horribly frightening that it immediately put me into a state of absolute scared to death im gonna die if i dont get away from this wretched scream type state of panic. i hadnt felt this alarmed since fighting in iraq for my life. it was the first time i was actually scared in the woods anytime with a firearm at my side. for the last 2 and a half years ive been completely engulfed in the bigfoot researchers association. learning as much as i can about what had happened to us that night. I know one thing for sure,me and my brother were without a doubt approached by a very surprised ohio bigfoot. there is nothing in my 35 years of being in the woods and jungles that can even come remotely close to the absolute roaring scream of a sasquatch. this incident report is being wrote on my own free will and is the absolute truth of the events that took place that muggy june night.

ALSO NOTICED: lots of people suddenly looking for missing coon dawgs at 330 or 400am in the middle of nowhere?

OTHER WITNESSES: yes my brother witnessed every singe thing i described above at the exact time.

OTHER STORIES: yes many different incidents like ours happening or happened in atwater also on futown road i believe and many many similar events over the years at west branch state park.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: night about 200 or 230am very dark but some moon light mostly clear skies probably 60 - 63 degrees

ENVIRONMENT: mostly open woods with some elevated pine stands leading to a huge swamp

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Brad Bacon:

I spoke with the witness in a telephone interview and can include additional information. Prior to the encounter, the witness had an interest and curiosity about the existence of Sasquatch but was not completely convinced of the creatures existence. The predator calls he was blasting were intended to just see what animal might respond. I personally have conducted some research in this vicinity and can attest that sound will carry and reverberate for a good distance. The brothers are avid outdoors men and consider themselves capable of being trackers or acting as guides for various hunts. I questioned the witness if any animal responded to the calls and he answered that nothing responded and in fact it was very quiet. The only thing they observed was a few deer that got close to their position, but moved on. The witness could not recall an exact time, but it was after the deer could no longer be heard or observed that he heard the sounds of footsteps coming closer to their position. In speaking with both the witness and his brother, they both thought that it was a game warden approaching their position, but that did not make any sense to them as there wasn't any signs of a flashlight just the subtle sounds of someone approaching them. The witness was keenly alert for something like this given his recent military experience. The brother told me that the witness was part of a rapid response unit that supplied rapid reinforcement to any unit that was under fire and that he was not given to exaggeration. The witness continued to think that maybe it was a game warden after all and decided to light up the area. The erupting roar that ensued was not what he was expecting. In questioning the witness further, he said that he couldn't make out any shape but could detect some kind of movement at about 20 to 30 yards. According to the witness, the sound was deafening and he could feel the vibrations of the noise. The witness added that he drew his weapon as he didn't know of any animal that could make a sound like that and he expected the worse at any moment. I asked if he remembered any other noise or odors and he recalled that he did hear what he thought might have been branches breaking, but it was in a different direction from where the roar was coming from. According to the witness, he did not look in the direction of the breaking sounds. He retained focus on the area in front of him. He added that his brother was gathering up their gear and he was going to cover their exit. He admitted to being very intimidated and desired to leave the area immediately.

In a subsequent interview with the witness, it was determined that one of the calls that was played was the sound of a rabbit in distress. This could possibly account for why something was drawn to the position of the witness. In all of our conversations, I found the witness to be consistent and sincere in his disclosures. His experience and reaction is consistent and similar in nature to other reports that I have investigated. The witness is convinced that he had an encounter with a Sasquatch. Prior to the event, his brother was a skeptic, but is currently reevaluating his opinion.

About BFRO Investigator Brad Bacon:

Brad is a native Texan from McKinney. He grew up working with all forms of livestock and spent countless hours in the outdoors and this is where his interest in this subject began. Employment opportunities took him to Ohio where he actively investigated this subject in and around surrounding states. Brad holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M Commerce and a Associate of Science from Grayson College. Brad has also been a Commercial Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor for over 20 years. He attended the Pennsylvania 2009, 2011 and Tennessee 2010 expeditions. He has also Attended Texas 2012, 2014 and Kentucky 2013 as well as numerous private expeditions. He currently resides in a rural area northeast of McKinney, Texas.