YEAR: 2012

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: Iowa

COUNTY: Boone County

NEAREST TOWN: Boone

NEAREST ROAD: US 30

OBSERVED: I was eastbound on US 30 in Boone County. I was descending into the the Des Moines River valley and saw 3 deer cross in front of me. They were running fast like they were being chased. I started slowing down and maybe 75 yrds behind them a very large bipedal object was running behind them. This thing was standing at the edge of the trees when I passed and it was HUGE. Guessing the height I'd guess, the top of its head would have came up to the bottom of my window of my Volvo tractor.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dusky

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Scott Allen:

I spoke with the witness on April 4, 2014. Witness is a semi-truck driver who was west of Boone on a run east on Highway 30, a 4-lane divided highway. Time of day in November 2012 was described as twilight; headlights were not needed yet.

Witness observed three deer crossing the road left-to-right, north-to-south about a quarter to half-mile ahead. Witness is an avid deer hunter who described the deer as in a full run with ears laid back and not in the easy-going prance they often do when more casually eluding people who get too close.

Witness routinely remains vigilant for deer, especially through this heavily wooded river valley region, and applied his truck's jake brake upon seeing the deer cross the road in front of him.

Next, witness described a creature in pursuit of the deer, about 75 yards behind the deer. It was on two legs (like a person) leaning forward and moving quickly, crossing the center ditch and east bound lane in only 5 or 6 strides. Based on witness' knowledge of road and shoulder width, he estimated strides to be at least 6 feet.

At the point of crossing the creature is about 300 yards ahead of his truck. By the time witness reached the point of the road crossing, he had decelerated to about 40 mph and saw the creature standing to his right about 75 feet off the road on the edge of the tree line watching him in the truck pass by and also rotating to watch the deer it had been chasing.

Creature's hair was described as a little darker than a chocolate lab. Hair was matted and of a variable length. He was able to recall some facial detail. It was bare faced with visible skin two shades lighter than the hair. It was not quite ape-like and wrinkled like an old man. There was no visible neck. Estimates of 8.5 to 9 feet in height were made based on how it appeared relative to his elevated position in his tractor as he drove past. This location is adjacent to the Des Moines River and the coordinates for this sighting are: 42° 2'4.62"N 93°55'25.07"W

Witness did not stop driving and was unable to see the creature after passing it. He continued eastbound on Highway 30 up out of the valley through Boone and on to his destination. There were no other east or westbound vehicles that the witness noticed during this incident.

Previous to this, witness described himself as skeptical of the existence of such an animal and as one who would make an occasional joke about any and every sound in the woods being made by a Bigfoot. His opinion is different now.

Location of this road crossing near the Des Moines River is within a few miles of other reports I've investigated. It is also not the first encounter in this area with enough daylight to allow a witness to see finer detail and greatly reduce the chance of misidentification.

About BFRO Investigator Scott Allen:

An Iowa native, Scott has explored Iowa and many other parts of the US while hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, caving, canoeing and more. He brings to the investigation process a lifelong interest in natural sciences supported by formal education in biology and chemistry as well as training and professional experience in audio and video production.

Scott attended the Iowa Hill Country 2012 and Iowa Big River 2014 expeditions and has participated in several private expeditions in central and southeastern Iowa. He is currently conducting exploration and research focused along Iowa’s Des Moines River and its many tributaries.