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Geographical Index > United States > Kentucky > Harlan County > Report # 40278
 
Report # 40278  (Class A)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, March 10, 2013.
Hunter in a ghillie suit on Pine Mountain has a close encounter

YEAR: 2006

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: December

DATE: December 9 2006

STATE: Kentucky

COUNTY: Harlan County

LOCATION DETAILS: Old reclamation stripped mine. Also called pine mountain.

NEAREST TOWN: Harlan / Hyden

NEAREST ROAD: 221 / 241

OBSERVED: It was the opening morning of Kentucky black powder deer hunt. I had found a saddle on a map that was almost 3 miles back into the hills. I went into the saddle 2 days before and found a big rock over looking the draw and the ridge that leads into the saddle.
It was some where around 1 hour before day light that I was slipping up the ridge about 1/4 mile from the big rock. All at once something jumped up out of the tall grass on my left side. Then all at once another something jumped up. I turned my 2 AA flashlight on and turned it at what ever jumped up. 2 sets of red/ orange colored eyes was looking at me no more then 50 yards away. The biggest of the 2 looked to be around 7 ft to the eyes. The other was about 2 ft smaller.

With my small light I could not see for sure what I was looking at. All I could see was 2 dark things looking at me. All at once they took off running and the eyes disappeared. I spotted the eyes again going out the ridgeline about 100 yards in front of me.
I thought it was bears standing up looking at me in the grass so I didn't think much of it.

I got to the rock and set up my gear for my hunt. I wear scent lock clothes when I deer hunt and I also drag a rag with deer pee on it behind me to mask my scent. I tied my orange vest up in a limb over my head so other hunters could see me. I put my ghillie suit on and set back waiting on daylight.

Right at the break of daylight I was looking into the saddle for a buck. All at once a stick about 2 foot long come flying at me and landed right behind me. I turned and looked and seen this big black brown monkey looking thing squatted down looking at me about 50 yards away. My first thought was somebody was teasing me or was trying to run me off.

I stand up and yelled HEY YOU BETTER SAY SOMETHING OR I WILL SHOOT ..... I pointed my black powder and it moved its arm back and I could see it had another stick in its hands. I yelled again... All at once it come rushing at me. I shot in front of it and it turned and took off. It went about 75 yards and stopped. It stood up and looked over toward a thicket and grunted. A smaller one come running out making a crying sound. By this time I had already reloaded and was headed off the rock away from the things.

I walked out away from the rock and left all my gear. The next day I went back in to get my gear. When I got there my backpack was tore open and my things were laying everywhere. I had crackers and potted meat and some coke colas. The cans had been hit on the rock and busted open. Anything that was food was ate. I had a knife and a game boy in my pack also. They were still there ....... that proves to me it was not somebody...they would have took them. The limb my vest was on was broken out. My drag rag was gone.

I think I seen a mom and a baby bigfoot. Where I had on scent lock clothes and had deer pee on a drag rag they could not smell I was human. Also I had a ghille suit on. I think it thought I was one of them.

ALSO NOTICED: The sounds. A grunt and crying

OTHER WITNESSES: No

OTHER STORIES: All the time some of the older guys talk about seeing things.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early morning. Light rain.

ENVIRONMENT: Waist high grass. Open thickets.


Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jack Smarr:

I followed up with a telephone interview to the witness and I have the following to add:

The witness was wearing a ghillie suit, rubber boots and scent lock clothes while carrying a rag with deer urine on it. The grass was waist to chest deep in the reclaimed mine area where he first encountered the two squatches. In the dark, using a small flashlight, he thought he had jumped two bears and continued onto his hunting spot.

It was only in the early daylight when he turned his body in reaction to a stick being thrown at him, he realized that he was looking at something that was not a bear. Although it looked like an ape, he thought someone was pulling a prank on him. The sasquatch had another stick in its hand and looked like it was winding up for another toss when he yelled the second time. The crouching figure went into a “football stance” and started down after him.
The hunter fired a shot in self-defense. He did not aim at the creature, but in front of it as deterrence. The sasquatch immediately stopped the charge and retreated up the hill and away from him where it came to a halt. The creature grunted as a possible signal, whereupon the smaller one came out of hiding to meet back up with the larger one. The grunt was low, powerful and guttural. The small one wailed as it ran, in a high pitch “half woman scream and half baby crying” manner. Once the two connected back up, they left the scene. Being an open grassy area, the hunter did not hear them move, nor did they leave tracks.

I believe that the witness had two interactions with the sasquatches. The first was in the tall grass on the way to the hunting spot, and the second one at the hunting spot. I believe that the sasquatches were confused by the ghillie suit and the lack of human scent. I also believe that the sasquatches were checking him out on the boulder and threw a stick at him to see what he would do.

The hunter witnessed a charge and communication between the two sasquatches. One would assume that it was a false charge, but since it was broken up by his firing of the rifle I cannot say. It was not bears. Bears don’t throw sticks. The sasquatches did not yell or scream at him. They did not knock on wood, nor did they clap their hands. The only communication was when the large one wanted the small one to come up to where it was so they could leave together.


About BFRO Investigator Jack Smarr:

Jack Smarr is retired military and worked primarily in Field Artillery, Armored Cavalry and Armor units. He participated in TN 09,10,11,WV 2012 expeditions; and helped organize KY 2013 expedition. He organized the 2014 KY Daniel Boone Expedition, the 2015 Central Kentucky Expedition, the 2016 Carter Caves State Park Expedition, Northeastern Kentucky 2017, Kentucky 2018 and has conducted private expeditions in Eastern Kentucky and Southern Ohio.