YEAR: 2013

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 13

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Sumter County

NEAREST TOWN: The Villages

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 441/27

OBSERVED: I live in The Villages, Florida which is a community encompassing three counties (Sumter, Lake, and Marion). Behind my house there is one of those high tower power line paths. On the other side, there are more homes. The area is urban, but close to wooded areas. One night in early to mid-December my partner and I were sitting on our lanai (as we do nightly). It was about 10:00 p.m. or so. Suddenly the quiet was broken by a loud cry which sounded like it was coming from close to the street. We looked at each other and asked each other jokingly, “Is that Bigfoot?” It did not sound like any human we had ever heard. We listened and no more sounds. The next night, I was sitting on the lanai, my partner had not yet come out, about 9:00 p.m. I stopped the sound on my computer and just then I heard, distinctly, two rocks clack together at the end of my short backyard, close to where my neighbor to the left and I share a property line close. There are tall, 6-7 foot, plants at the end of my property. I sat there for maybe 15 minutes listening and heard nothing more. A few days later, for two days, my partner and I came out and smelled a strange, unknown, odor. My dog didn’t make any noise but sniffed the air. It wasn’t a bad odor, just unusual. A few days later, I was again sitting on the lanai, about 11:00 p.m. and to my left I heard a stone hit the side of my home which made it vibrate. I sat quietly for a few minutes and went back to my business. An hour later, when I got ready to go inside, I heard what sounded like 4-5 pebbles hitting the side of the lanai where I was standing. About 3 nights ago, my partner and I were sitting on the lanai again, this time it was lightly raining. It was about 11:30 p.m. Suddenly we heard a barrage of pebbles hit the side of the lanai. My partner said, those were stones. I was unsure if it could have been the rain. A few moments later, another barrage of pebbles hit our lanai. My dog got up and looked. It was not the gentle rain we were hearing. After the second time, we didn’t hear anything else. I don’t know if this is even possible to be bothered by a Bigfoot in The Villages. We are the only ones who sit on our lanai after dark in this area. What do you think? I do not want this information posted to your website until I hear from the BFRO to see if there is a possibility that our suspicions can possibly be true. Believe me, this is truly bewildering.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2 people in some cases and 1 in others.

OTHER STORIES: No known incidents in The Villages.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Between 9 p.m. and 12 midnight

ENVIRONMENT: Relatively urban but where power line causeway goes through.

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

The Villages, a master-planned age restricted retirement community in central Florida, is not your typical place for a sasquatch encounter.

Google earth image of the area:



The 2012 census states there is a population of 91,000 people up from the year 2000 when 8,000 lived here. Forbes named it the “Fastest growing small town in the US" this year.

Most residents are retired or close to it and there are 29 golf courses.

Before I get into the investigation of this report, I want to point out that with these 29 golf courses, there are many small green areas and water. Also since most residents are older, there are no children playing in the woods, no juveniles roaming around at night, and the area literally shuts down around 9 PM as the seniors go to sleep early. Most vehicles used here are quiet electric golf carts, not automobiles.

At first, I thought that this must be a misidentification, but upon further investigation I realize that this very well could have been a sasquatch passing through the area. I will further explain this at the end of this report.

I called the witness and spoke to her. Her house sits on a power- line road that begins in Ocala and travels many miles through The Villages, rural areas, and eventually into the Green Swamp. (The Green Swamp is an extremely active area, as is Ocala.) See Florida BFRO Reports for Sumter, Marian, Lake and Polk Counties . At night she sits on her porch listening to public radio into the early morning. She admits that her light is the only one on in her neighborhood after 9 pm. The pod casts she listens to play for a limited time and when it is finished she plays another. Sometimes her partner joins her, as does the dog.

On the night of December 11, 2012 at about 10 pm, they both heard a very loud scream that seemed to have come from the front of the house. Last year, she had had a bobcat vocalizing in the spring and she claims it was nothing like that. It didn’t seem to sound like a coyote either. They joked about it being a bigfoot, and didn’t hear the sound again.

The following night, around 9 pm she heard what sounded like two rocks hitting together. A few nights following she smelled an unusual odor, as did the dog that sniffed the air but did not react.

Several nights later around 11 pm when one of her pod casts finished playing, she heard what sounded like a rock hitting the siding on the house. An hour later when she was going inside to sleep, she heard what sounded like several pebbles hitting the metal around the screen porch. Within a few days, this behavior happened again. This time both ladies were sitting together on the porch. It was after 11 pm, and it was lightly raining. They both heard a “barrage of pebbles” hit the porch; the dog reacted by getting up to look when it happened a few moments later. Both witnesses know it was not the sound of the drizzling rain.

When I went to the location I did not see any trees or berry bushes that could have produced a sound of hitting the house. I found a golf ball sized rock near the area where something seemed to have hit the house one night. The rock is not part of the landscaping and clearly came from somewhere else. Near the back porch where they described pebbles hitting were large wood chips. I threw a hand full onto the aluminum and both agreed that the sound was similar to what they heard those nights.

The property backs up to a power line road that begins in a very known sasquatch area (Ocala) and ends miles away in another very well researched area (The Green Swamp). Photos of the power-line road looking in both directions:





While walking the back area, I found what appeared to be a footprint. It was just over 10 inches long and there was only one. Both witnesses agree that no one walks that area (the retiree’s don’t walk behind the fences) let alone barefoot. Photo of the possible print:



I walked about ¼ mile north and discovered a large green area that borders a golf course and the polo grounds. The stable houses many horses so there is feed, which can be a food source. In walking the green area behind the stable, I found a scat pile that could be bear, but may not be. There has not been a bear reported in the area in over a year. Photo of the scat:



This report is very perplexing as it is not the typical “bigfoot in the forest type” report. We have typical bigfoot behaviors, yet not in the typical setting. However, considering many things that are particular to this area, I believe it is possible for the bigfoots to move through the power line road at night. The considerations that support this are;

1.The areas the power line road goes to.
2. This community goes to sleep much earlier than the “normal population.”
3. The older community has no children or people going into the smaller green areas during the day - there isn’t a threat of being found.
4. Older people are less of a threat in general to anyone, including bigfoots.
5. The large golf courses have certain predictable patterns of people on them and provide cover.
6. The horse stables offer food opportunities
7. The use of golf carts instead of cars, are quieter and less threatening.

The witnesses are probably the only ones up late at night in their village and between the radio sounds, lights and the fact they are two females, provide the curious sasquatch something to observe and inspect as it travels from one area to the other.

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.