YEAR: 2013

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: March

DATE: 8th

STATE: Missouri

COUNTY: Jackson County

LOCATION DETAILS: Area is near multi use trail that winds thru thick woods and fields of the area.

James Reed Wildlife Area
13101 Ranson Road
Lee's Summit, Mo 64082
area maps are available on line

NEAREST TOWN: Lee's Summit Mo

NEAREST ROAD: Browning Road

OBSERVED: While birding the James Reed Wildlife area in Lee's Summit Missouri in the late afternoon of March 8, 2013, I observed in the tree line on the west side of of Bodarc Lake a large brown hairy creature walking along the edge of the Lake. It appeared to be 7ft tall and had a long stride and arm swing.
I observed this for five minutes from the parking lot for this lake. I observed this animal with my binoculars. The animal walked into the woods.
The area has cut back the brush in the area opening large areas to view that have been obscured for many years.

ALSO NOTICED: Did not see any deer on this trip or coyotes which is unusual since there is a dense deer population on this urban wildlife area.

OTHER WITNESSES: none

OTHER STORIES: none

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 4:30 to 4:35 p.m. cst. Clearing skies, cold light wind

ENVIRONMENT: Fishing Lake with deciduous forest and woods with a few pines

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Spoke with witness via phone. Quite familiar with the area, as it is 30 miles or less from my home. He is an avid birdwatcher. He is also a hunter and has hunted bear and all North American game. He is an avid observer of all game, and has seen most, live and in the wild. He insisted his was NOT a bear, nor a person in a suit. He has been going to this same area since 1965, as a kid, and he knows it better than the rangers. The binoculars he was using were Bushnell, 10 X 50, 5.7 in FOV, and 300 meters to 1000 meters. He saw the creature "looking for something in the woods". It was walking along the tree line, sometimes leaning in, looking, then would walk a few more steps and repeat the process. It was walking "in a straight line, a line like the police would ask you to walk if doing a sobriety test". One foot in front of the other, very long arms" longer than humans by quite a bit". There was "arm swing" though it was not "exaggerated", as it was a slow unhurried walk. The creature did not see him. As he watched the creature for a few minutes, he reached for his spotting scope, but the creature had disappeared into the woods by the time he found it. It was as described very large, at least 7 ft tall, brown and hairy, not fur. He did not see any great detail because the sun was directly behind the creature, shining through the woods and creating a "back lit" effect, with an occasional clear view of the side and back only, so there was no detail of the face or musculature. This would be one of my better observational witnesses, as he is a trained observer of nature since 1965. He knows what he saw and he knows what he DIDN"T see. He was succinct and to the point. It was what it was.

The lake is stocked and the fishermen often catch carp, which are tossed on the bank or back in the woods. They are undesirable for eating and the carp eat some of the fish the people are actually trying to catch for sport and food. I saw several carcasses while we walked around.

About BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Carter is originally from Texas & moved to Missouri in 1988. Professional drummer for 20 years. Improv & sketch comic and writer for 5 years. Lighting technician for major touring groups for several years. Experienced outdoorsman and was a trained investigator for MUFON. Studied Herpetology in college. Longtime special interest in Sasquatch long term habituation, burial research, infra sound, language & stick structures. He led three Missouri BFRO Public Expeditions:, 2012 & 2013 & 2014. Led public expedition for BFRO in Illinois in 2019.Participated in Iowa, 2012 Illinois. Michigan 2016. Private Expeditions: Illinois 2011, 2012, 2013. Missouri 2011, 2012 (3) 2013(2) 2014. Iowa 2012, 2014 & 2015. Consulted on two Animal Planet Finding Bigfoot TV shows. Expedition leader in Missouri 2013 (1) & 2014 (2) & Illinois Expedition 2019 (1). Led night ops on numerous BFRO expeditions. Hosted a public Town Hall meeting in Missouri in 2017.