YEAR: 2011

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 18

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Marion County

LOCATION DETAILS: 66 in Ocla nat forest, lake Delancy area

NEAREST TOWN: Palatka

NEAREST ROAD: 19

OBSERVED: It was last bow season around the middle of sept in Ocala Na.forest, I was in the tree 1/2 hour before daylight, i had an encounter with a black bear 2 or 3 days before in the same area, it came out on the trail on the way to my stand 20 yards away from me, i have a game cam on my bow that takes good video, & i took a video of it crossing in front of me to show my wife that all the bears that i tell her about were real, Now she believes there are bears, But knowing how & what bears look like in the wild & sound like when they are running away or walking to you, this was no bear, around 45 mins after daylight i felt like something was watching me then i heard a loud sound like a big tree had fallen, but it wasn't one, it was something big that been thrown at my direction, maybe 250 feet away then a scream like i have never heard before let out like a pissed off kid that had not gotten his way & it left in front of me crossing back & forth as if it was trying to let some others know to run or get out of the area , scared the S#&*^%$ out of me as bad as it made out a scream, the scream went till i could not hear it anymore ,at least a 1000 yards away, i was in the Lake Delancy west back area i think it was off 66 not to far from the Ocklawaha river, to this day i will never go back to this area with out a gun even during bow season , till i see what that was i will not trust the Ocala area.Thank god for my Fla gun permit, i am not a little girl, just not stupid, Hope this helps you find something to prove that they are here , but you don't have to convince me i am 99% sure thats what i heard , I live in Middleburg where a lot of your sightings take place in Florida, i hunt Camp Blanding & Jennings Forest where i lived off live oak lane till i was 17, i have walked all of that area & when i was 12 i was chased by something for a 1/4 mile 1/2 hour before dark, it smelled like nothing i had ever smelled i my life & it had a grunt i will never forget , it gave me the same felling that something was watching me just like in Ocala, but i didn't see what it was that time either, i was in too much of a hurry to get away & home to a safe place, my Grandmother if she was still alive would tell you that i never opened the front screen door, i busted right threw it & grabbed my 22 rifle & sat on the floor waiting for it, lucky for me it had stopped the chase 100's of yards before my home, but i wasn't taking that chance, to this day i still will not go anywhere with out a gun close, I am 6ft 1inch &275 lbs, but i am not a fool. Thanks for letting me unload this story to someone that believes that they are real. RM

ALSO NOTICED: Just encounters with some bears & turkeys & deer.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just me.

OTHER STORIES: I have talked to some of my customers at my shop about the area & they believe that there are unexplained things there too.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 45 mints after daylight

ENVIRONMENT: Thick Pines & oaks there is a trail # but i will have to look it up , But i can take you there anytime or i can get a Trail map if you need the trail #.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator R. Monteith:

Site of his recent encounter:



The gentleman was out bow hunting in the Ocala National Forest. While he was sitting in his 15 ft high tree stand, about a half hour after sunrise he heard a thundering crash. He describes it sounding and feeling like a “massive tree falling". It sounded fairly close but the forest was too thick to see into. Once he heard the crash, then a very loud screaming began. He has never heard any animal make such a noise. The screaming went on for over a minute, and he could hear it moving trees as it ran further away from him.

He was frightened enough from the entire event that he stayed in the tree stand long enough to make sure it didn’t return.

I went to the location with the witness and we were able to find a very large pine tree that had been downed recently. The gentleman is a seasoned hunter and is an outdoorsman. I believe him when he claims he has never heard anything like this before, and can't explain what could have caused this huge tree to be downed, and the sounds that occurred afterward.

There is another report that took place less than 2 miles of this report. This area sits on the Marion County and Putnam County line. Report #35529

He also has a memory from 1972 when he was a teen. His family lived in Jennings Forest outside Middleburg, FL. He had driven his car out on a trail at dusk and ran out of gas. As he began walking home in the dark, he realized something was following him off the side of the trail. He began running, and it kept up with him. He could hear it grunting and breathing loud. It followed him home. He was so frightened, he ran through the screen door. Once inside he grabbed his rifle and sat facing the door in case it came through. It took more than 20 minutes for his grandmother to reassure him that nothing was coming through the door.

Both areas – Ocala National Forest and Jennings Forest generate a lot of reports.

About BFRO Investigator R. Monteith:

Re Monteith has had a life-long interest in Bigfoot and has an extensive background in outdoor land and ocean survival as well as mountaineering. She has tran-sailed the Atlantic, backpacked in remote places throughout the world and has climbed three of the seven summits. She studied International Relations at Florida International University, and is a Financial and Real Estate Consultant. She has participated in many private expeditions as well as the 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015 BFRO North Florida Expeditions and the 2013 BFRO UP Michigan & Alabama Expedition. She also organized Florida's 2017 Town Hall Meeting. She was an Executive Producer of the documentary film, "Skunk Ape Lives" and featured as a Crypto Expert on The Science Channel's television show, Strange Evidence for seasons 2 - 5.