YEAR: 1983

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Tuscarawas County

LOCATION DETAILS: North side of State route 36 east of Crickethill Drive.

NEAREST TOWN: Newcomerstown

NEAREST ROAD: US 36 and Crickethill Dr

OBSERVED: I was deer hunting alone in November 1983 near Newcomerstown, Ohio. I was 20 years old at the time. I started my hunting trip in the early pre-dawn hours. I walked on a path from the rear of my house into the woods located on the top of a hill. The wooded area I hunted was remote with no homes or roads for miles. It contained step hills, deep rocky ravines, streams, abandoned underground mines and open farm land. I hunted in this area for several years and only on a rare occasion encountered another hunter. In a short time after I entered the woods it started to become light, so I decided to stalk hunt deer rather than still hunt in my tree stand. The weather was very cool. There was no wind and the leaves on the ground were damp enough so I could walk through the woods without making noise. I was dressed in camouflage with a fluorescent orange vest and carried a 20 gauge shot gun. I continued slowly, making my way deeper into the woods while stopping from time to time. After the sun started to rise I decided to walk from a pine tree ridge and thick woods near the top of the hill and continued on a deer trail into an opening of small brier patches and waist high brush. The opening was located on the top of the hill in between two deep ravines on either side. The opening was oval shaped, about 80 feet wide by 120 feet long with woods and brush surrounding it. I started walking slowly into the opening and proceeded about 10 feet, turning my head slowly to the left and right. I had a feeling of uneasiness as I entered the opening. I stopped in my tracks when I observed directly to my left about 40 feet away a creature that was black, furry and had a massive wide upper body, large shoulders, arms and head. It was standing at least 8 feet high moving its upper body in a back and forth motion in the tree branches surrounding it. It was located a few feet inside the woods that bordered the opening of the waist high brush and brier patch. There were many smaller trees around it as well as larger ones. The creature started breaking and twisting branches off the smaller trees from the height of its chest on up. I could see the branches moving around it and hear them snapping. At first I thought it might be a black bear, so I continued to watch. However the fur was much longer and the massive upper body shape was more human and not consistent of a bear. It maintained the same shape standing tall and continued snapping and twisting the branches without making any other noise. It appeared to have its back to me, because I could not see its eyes or its possible its eyes may have been blocked by the braches. It definitely was not a black bear. It also was not human. I stood there staring at its massive size trying to figure out what it was and why it was snapping and twisting branches. I could not understand or figure out what type of creature it might be. I held my shotgun tight looking down at the barrel, but the last thing I wanted to do is shoot at something I could not identify. At this point I felt the need to get out of there. What puzzled me is that the creature either did not realize I was there because it kept on snapping branches or maybe it didn’t care that I was there and was trying to scare me off. I slowly moved away from the opening into the woods and at a very fast pace left the area, ending my hunting trip. I informed my family and close friends of the encounter but they could not offer an explanation as to what I observed. Seven months later, I read an article in the local newspaper of a person who researched these types of encounters. The article stated there were other sightings in the surrounding area. I contacted the local researcher to explain my encounter. I agreed to interview and I lead the researcher to the actual location. It was my first time going back to the location since the encounter. The area where I witnessed the creature contained snapped and twisted branches. To this day, the only logical explanation of what I experienced is that I encountered Bigfoot. It is an experience I will never forget.

ALSO NOTICED: Snapping and twisting of branches

OTHER STORIES: Seven months after my encounter I read in the newspaper about other similar sightings in the surrounding area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was 8:45 to 9:00 am and the sun was starting to come up. It was very cool and damp out.

ENVIRONMENT: On the top of a hill in an open area in between two deep ravines. The area had an abandoned underground mine, pine trees, thick forest, open farm land and two areas where electrical lines ran through.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Marc DeWerth:

I had met the witness in 1995 and interviewed him extensively. The encounter he had was one of the many close encounters that had occurred in the Newcomerstown area during the mid to late 80s. Don Keating, as most people know, ran the monthly meetings in the area and has a long history book of purported sightings in and around this general area. The witness never could tell if the creature saw him or not. He was more in shock than anything. This particular area had multiple sightings within a 12-month period. In a follow up interview, XYZ stated that although the area has changed completely with many more residential streets and homes, he would have no problem taken me to the exact location. Even after over 20 years since I last interviewed him, his story has remained exactly as told to me back in 1995.

About BFRO Investigator Marc DeWerth:

Marc has been a longtime investigator with over 25 years of experience investigating alleged Ohio Bigfoot reports. He is currently the organizer of the Ohio Bigfoot Conference that takes place at Salt Fork State Park every year and has featured multiple BFRO Investigators as speakers. He will be leading the BFRO's upcoming expedition in Ohio.