YEAR: 2013

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 27

STATE: Missouri

COUNTY: Lafayette County

LOCATION DETAILS: Carter Buschardt knows how to get there

NEAREST TOWN: Oak Grove MO

OBSERVED: I was in the woods with my friend, it was 6:29pm, and the ground was wet. From 10 yards (or so) away between two trees a blackish figure (8 feet tall) moved and I saw it directly for only a split second. The cat we were with was on a tree stump near by and was looking right by where we saw it and her hair was all puffed up. Then we heard two splashes together (it crossed a puddle). Then the neighbor's dogs ran up to the fence (out of sight) and one barked, then the sound was repeated but in a more girthy tone, and then it was repeated over and over again on different sides of the lake. then everything got louder and very intense and we heard a cow moo from across the lake and they don't have any cows, then we went inside.

ALSO NOTICED: we heard enhanced animal sounds like it was louder and more clear.

OTHER WITNESSES: one other witness, we were building a fort.

OTHER STORIES: Carter Buscherdt has the details.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: precisely 6:29, the sun was just about to start going down, there was rain on the ground and the ground was very soggy.

ENVIRONMENT: Carter Buschardt knows all the information

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

I interviewed the 2 witnesses less than 24 hours after the encounter. I know one of the witnesses quite well, as she and her family have an ongoing visitation situation at their farm going back at least 7 years. See report #36247.

More details on this at end of my comments. Report is as follows: The 2 girls were out gigging frogs in a very marshy area east of their barn and corrals. The main witness looked up when she heard loud splashing, and saw a creature looking right at them. The creature was appx. 10-15 feet from the girls, just across a barbed wire fence and in a clearing between the fence and another tree line. She had a mostly clear view of the creature for a second or two. It was 8ft tall, black hair, it's head was huge, and she described it as "sitting forward on its shoulders". She noted this particular feature as it turned sideways to leave the area. Its body was massive, at least twice as wide as this investigator. The creature left the area going east a few steps, then south, disappearing behind a row of trees, then more than likely crossing a road into heavier woods. (Photos are attached). One of the family cats had followed the girls and had jumped up on a stump to sit. It had "arched its back and was hissing and screeching in full attack or fright mode" when it saw the creature. A couple of the neighbor's dogs had also come over and started barking, then immediately turned and ran. At this point the creature began making "low growling noises that sounded like it was trying to imitate the dogs barking" and did in fact, sound like the dogs. They then heard a dog bark sound (just like the creature's attempt) to the north and west of them. Then they heard crude attempts to imitate a cow, which also came from the same general area as the dog sounds. There were no cattle in the areas they heard the sounds from. They felt the creature(s) were communicating back and forth as a distraction to change their point of focus. The girls then did a couple of knocks after the creature had left and the sounds had ceased, and received 2 faint responses. They also did a howl, and at this time the mother came running over (after hearing all the commotion) and told the girls she thought she heard a bigfoot. They told her it was them making the sound, and then they related the events to her. The immediate area of the sighting is quite marshy and has thick brush. The area was scoured for prints, but due to recent rains there was standing water, patchy ground cover, and numerous horse tracks, and there were no viable traces of bipedal prints. The site has an ongoing series of events and visitations, and the girls story was related to me in a very matter of fact way. They saw it as just another day on the farm.

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.