YEAR: 2011

SEASON: Winter

STATE: Iowa

COUNTY: Humboldt County

LOCATION DETAILS: Gotch Park. Please don't put the exact location down. I don't want anyone to hurt him.

NEAREST TOWN: Humboldt

NEAREST ROAD: Gotch Park Road

OBSERVED: I like to go to Gotch Park and watch the Eagles. I used to stand in the middle of the bridge for a cigarette before I went home from work. I had done this a few days in a row. That day I got out of my truck and felt like I shouldn't be there. As I walked to the middle of the bridge I felt VERY Uneasy. I lit my cigarette and starred out over the river. I felt like I was being watched and I started to get scared. It was coming from the other side of the bridge on the right hand side. Whatever it was I knew that it was not human nor an animal and it was a big male. I felt like he was curious as to why I went there every day to the same spot and just wanted to watch what I was up to. I looked around and could not see anything. I built up my courage, looked down and started walking slowly to the other side of the bridge. As I started walking I heard a big Crash into the river and saw a huge log floating down, then I heard a low huff. Like someone let out their air threw their nose in frustration with a little noise from the throat. The log had dried vegetation on it so I knew it was laying on the forest floor. I don't know how many pounds it was but it was huge. The biggest guy I know wouldn't have been able to throw this thing in the river with little to no effort. I looked to where it came from and saw nothing. I slowly turned around and walked slowly to my truck. I wanted to run, but I didn't want it to run after me if I ran. I got into my truck and took off. I was scared and shaken. I haven't been out on the bridge by myself ever since.

ALSO NOTICED: I was out looking at the Eagles and felt something staring at me from the same side of the river a couple of weeks later.

OTHER WITNESSES: No, no one was there. The park attendent had been gone for weeks.

OTHER STORIES: My mother used to tell me stories from where she grew up by Ottosen, Iowa.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: After 7 am when I get off work.

ENVIRONMENT: Gotch Park Bridge. River runs underneath of it. Wooded, forest area.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

I spoke with witness on the phone, and she recounted her experience without missing a beat. It had obviously been a very significant and memorable event.

Area along bank of east fork of Des Moines River where log was tossed:



Witness added a few important details. The log that was thrown into the water landed about 7 feet from shore. The log was about five feet long. She said that the thrower of the log had a good vantage point for watching her on the bridge. The area where the log was tossed is wooded with large and small trees, and it would have been easy for an animal to hide or blend in. The log looked as though it had been lying on the ground for some time.

I asked her why she stated that what threw the log was a male even though she didn't see him, the witness stated that she had the strong intuitive feeling that what she was encountering was a male. I asked if she was intuitive about things and she said that she always has been. She also felt strongly that it was curious as to why she was there, that it wanted her to leave, and that it didn't mean her any harm.

A week later this witness stopped at the bridge and had the same 'watched' feeling.

I found the witness to be very credible.

This incident occurred at a major fork in the Des Moines River, near its northern extent. Many other possible bigfoot related incidents have been reported near this portion of the Des Moines River Valley.

About BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

A native of southeast Iowa, Steve has long been a cave explorer and outdoor adventurer. He became involved in bigfoot research in 2008. Steve organized BFRO IOWA Public Expeditions in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and is currently organizing a 2017 IOWA expedition. Steve is an artist, photographer, farmer, anthropologist and professional researcher. His primary research areas are the river basins of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and all of eastern Iowa.