YEAR: 2012

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 22

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Lewis County

LOCATION DETAILS: Rural. National Forest very close.

NEAREST TOWN: Cinebar, WA

NEAREST ROAD: WA Hwy 508

OBSERVED: Live pretty far into the foothills of the cascades near Cinebar, WA. Had a camera (Astak Mole) out on my back porch to capture animals in my yard (for fun in the summer - we see Deer frequently and Bear occasionally). I was laying in bed listening to the audio through the camera (it has a pretty sensitive mic) and heard some odd "wooping" in the distance. Luckily a moth or something set the camera off and it recorded two of them. I think I heard about 4 total - two are on the video file I have and will mail it to you. They sound like they're loud but distant (resonates off the hills a bit it sounds like). This was Aug. 27, 2011 at 11:41 PM.

Sunday morning, January 22, 2012 got up and looked out my bedroom window to look at the snow (we had almost 2 feet total but it had been raining for days so it was dwindling). The tracks were starting to really show up as the snow melted - noticed my ATV tracks through the back yard from Monday or so, several sets of footprints from my son and dog, then an odd "dotted line" set in between all of them. Took a picture from my window, went to church, then came back and took more close up shots and measured the distance between the "steps" which were between 5 and 6 feet consistently. They were in a straight line going from one tree in the back of my yard directly to a large tree in the middle of the yard (not around it, but directly to it which I thought was weird) then a set of prints turn right and head to another tree at my property line with my neighbor to the East and don't know where from there. I also couldn't track the steps out the back of the property - the snow was melted a lot more and there was no obvious direction. There's a private dirt road behind my property and on the other side of that, acres of trees.

On January 27, wondering if this is some frequent path I set up a trail cam on the path and captured what sounds to me like walking up to the camera (the IR's didn't fire due to low battery I think) but the picture's black - but you can take a listen and see what you think...not conclusive, but interesting I think anyway. Got some fresh batteries out there now.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing of interest

OTHER WITNESSES: Wife, son saw the tracks...took pictures.

OTHER STORIES: Only sound recordings of woops in August...and the footsteps from 1/27 which may or may not be anything...sounds like a person but there were no people out there.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Not sure - snowed sometime during the previous week before 1/22.

ENVIRONMENT: Open area between trees.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kirk Brandenburg:

I communicated with the witness by email and telephone, then met with him at his home where the audio was recorded and the trackway photographed. He has proven to be sincere and trustworthy.

The witness lives in a rural area surrounded by abundant woodlands filled with wildlife and water sources. On August 27, 2011, he set up a Mole motion activated, IR assist, night vision camera that also records audio when activated. That night, as the witness and his family were watching television, something activated the Mole. It was probably a flying insect because that was the only thing visible in the video recorded. But the audio that was recorded featured some faint music from the television and a couple of distant unknown vocalizations: * TWO WHOOPS *

On the morning of January 22, 2012, after considerable snow had fallen during the previous week, the witness looked out his window and noticed unusual tracks in the snow in his backyard. He photographed the backyard from his home and later took photographs in the yard with a tape measure. The snow had melted considerably due to rain and above freezing temperatures shortly after the snow storm, so the tracks deteriorated. Despite the poor condition of the tracks, the step length could be reasonably determined and consistently measured 5 feet or more from heel to heel.

Two photos from the house. Large trackway stands out:



Trackway in yard showing classic tightrope pattern:


Measurement of heel to heel step length is 5 to 6 feet:


Zoom in of melted print with tape measure:


The tree cages serve as scale items in the photos and are between 5 and 6 ft wide and 6 ft tall:




On January 27, the witness deployed a trail camera that also records audio (a different camera than what he used to capture the audio in August). He placed it on one of the trees in his backyard that the snow trackway had passed. The trail camera has a glitch that causes it to record audio with a persistent electronic buzz. Despite the glitch, the following audio was recorded that night and contains what sounds like heavy bipedal walking: * BIPEDAL WALKING *

About BFRO Investigator Kirk Brandenburg:

- Juris Doctor degree, University of Minnesota Law School
- BFRO Expedition Organizer in New Mexico and Washington
- YouTube Channel: StudySasquatch