YEAR: 1949

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: unknown

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Okanogan County

NEAREST TOWN: Winthrop 40 miles south

NEAREST ROAD: 30 miles south

OBSERVED: HAVING BEEN A FIRE-LOOKOUT ON MONUMENT #83 CANADIAN BORDER 1949, AND UPON COMPLETING MY TOUR ON THE LOOKOUT, I HIKED OUT DOWN THE TRAIL ABOUT THREE MILES TO WHERE IT BECAME FLAT And trail; was wide, all of a sudden began hearing loud posts crashing into apparently tree stumps and known to me there were no loggers or other campers in the area. The tree knocks heard on the shows of BFRO, SOUND ABSOLUTELY nothing like what I heard. The knocks did not sound like an axe striking a wood or tree (sounding like a (chis-whop) the sounds I heard were definitly four to five foot lengths and dry enough to leave the impression of the loud sounds heard that SEEMED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 100-150 yards off to my right. I HAVE TO SAY, AT THAT TIME, I NEVER HEARD ANY THING ABOUT A "BIG FOOT" UNTIL 1973, BUT STILL REMEMBERED THE STRANGE knocks heard back then. Wish I HAD KNOWN, Maybe I would have watched for other signs, now I am 89yrs old and still want to go back looking, believe I could with the help of pack strings.

ALSO NOTICED: the knocks themselves were strikingly unusual, so much so that I can still hear THEM IN TERMS OF MEMORY

OTHER WITNESSES: none

OTHER STORIES: ONLY WHEN FIRST KNOWING THAT I WOULD BE GOING UP TO THAT LOOKOUT, PEOPLE WERE TELLING ME ABOUT THE "OLD MAN OF THE PESAYTEN" THAT THE RANGER ON HIS HORSE HAD BEEN STARTLED BY THIS CREATURE THEY CALLED "old man" HAD JUMPED DOWN ON THE TRAIL IN FRONT OF HIM AND THEN RAN OFF. THIS STORY, I ASSUMED BECAUSE I WAS ONLY 17 YRS OLD AT THE TIME, WAS TO SPOOK ME AND THAT IS HOW I SEEN IT HA HA!

TIME AND CONDITIONS: warm clear around 2pm, dry, alone for 2hrs hiking out! startled and curious. knowing full well nothing I had ever heard in the woods or forests prior.

ENVIRONMENT: slightly north of PESAYTEN FOREST SERVICE AIRPORT
ALONG THE TRAIL TO MONUMENT 383 AT THE TIME.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Darrel Verney:

The witness still remembers hearing the strange knocks well. He heard three loud knocks at first and then two or three more. He feels the people on the “Finding Bigfoot” show are doing tree knocking “all wrong.” Sasquatch don’t use “willow switches or bats” for tree knocking, they use “six inch logs” to “smack big stumps of trees.” He remembers the forest ranger telling of the time he rode up a valley and saw a real tall old man jump off the bank in front of him. He wasn’t wearing any clothes. He had an animal skin on him. People in town at the hardware store also told stories of “the old man of the Pasayten.” Witness stated if he knew of sasquatch back then, he wouldn’t have been too comfortable hiking a mile to get water every few days while he worked at the lookout. He also would have been running down the trail back to the airstrip instead of walking.

The "pack strings" he is referring to is a line of pack horses or pack mules working in a line, tied together, carrying materials and/or equipment in the wilderness, often climbing mountain sides.

About BFRO Investigator Darrel Verney:

Originally from Alaska, Darrel now lives in north central Washington. He studied Wildlife Biology and Wildlands Recreation, and has worked for the National Park Service and National Forest Service in the past. He feels fortunate in having had several sightings and numerous encounters during expeditions and informal outings. Darrel has attended the Redwoods ’06, North Cascades ’08, ’09 & '16, Olympic ’09 & ’11, and Morton ’12 & ’13 expeditions.