YEAR: 2015

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: 23

STATE: North Carolina

COUNTY: Macon County

LOCATION DETAILS: Please do not post

NEAREST TOWN: Franklin North Carolina

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 64

OBSERVED: I am a BFRO investigator in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Having lived in the mountains all of my life, I have enjoyed hunting, hiking and mountain things since I was a boy. So, I am very comfortable with being in the woods and for years have taken late night drives to see wildlife. For the past few years, I have been taking late night drives to my research are on good weather nights. It was Tuesday June 23rd, 2015; the weather was good and I decided to take a late drive to my research area.
I was still on the main road taking my time and within 5 miles of my destination. I was not really thinking about Sasquatch but just enjoying the late night drive and some music. As I was rounding a slight turn on the road, I saw a coyote on the right side of the road. I slowed slightly as my eyes panned back to the road and I then saw to my left the creature just off the road and behind the guardrail. My trucks side lights hit it just briefly where I could get a good look at it.
My sighting was brief but I did get a good look at it. I could not believe what I saw! I went up the road and turned around as it caught me off guard I did not think to stop. I was trying to talk myself out of what I saw. "Could it been something else?"
The area on the left was very green so I thought I might have seen something else, maybe. As I approached the area I stopped and searched up and down for anything looking reddish/brown in color. Since it was June in the Mtns., everything was very green but nothing was brown at all. Bringing proof to me that it was a creature I saw. It is very hard to describe the feeling I had at the time of the sighting and after. I was feeling very strange and could not believe what had just happened.
This is what I saw. Just past the guardrail and slightly off the bank of the road (this bank is very steep) I saw a reddish/brown upright figure. It had it's back to me and I could see from the back and upper legs behind the guardrail. I am very sure it was on two legs with a most impressive width. The shoulders were very large and the head was slightly forward with a no neck type look. The waist to shoulders made a very impressive "V" shape larger than any man I have ever seen. The hair was slightly long and had another color of gray/white underneath it with a main coat color of reddish/brown. Some of the back hair was shaggy looking. The left shoulder was slightly up and the arm was curled. The sighting was brief but I got a very good look at it. I could tell it was very tall. I did a sketch.
After turning around and checking the sighting area from my truck, I pulled off about 150 yards below on the side of the road. I got out of my truck to listen for about 10 minutes and then did a "Howl Call". I immediately got a response from a pack of coyotes. They were very close and below the road about 150 yards away. (This would be the side of the road the creature was on.) I tried driving back up the road to see anything and about 100 yards above where I saw the creature I saw a Wild Boar feeding on the side of the road. Later on I stopped at an overlook about 1/4 mile past the sighting and made another "howl call". I got an immediate response from an owl behind me close to the parking lot. Then just after this response I heard another owl call in the valley below me towards the sighting area. It was the loudest owl call I have ever heard! I have heard many different owl calls but this one was very strange. The volume of it was very strange and loud.
I stayed in the area for 4 more hours with nothing more happening. The next afternoon me and friend went back to the general area of the sighting and looked for tracks. We could only see disturbances as the ground was very rocky, steep and hard.
I cannot fully explain my feeling after the sighting. I really noticed I was feeling strange when I had gone to get a drink a few miles away in a store. I notice I was sweating and feeling very odd. I think that I was slightly in a state of shock. I feel like this was due to me seeing something I had not seen ever before and something that was hard for me to process. I have been hunting and in the woods all of my life. I have seen every animal in our area in many situations. Trust me, I have never seen anything like this before.
Important footnote: This sighting happened just within about 6-7 miles from another reported incident that I investigated. BFRO report 49148 happened on June 29th, 2015; 6 days after the sighting I had. I feel like this is more than a coincidence.

ALSO NOTICED: The other report BFRO 49148

OTHER WITNESSES: no

OTHER STORIES: yes, I have done other reports from this area and others have been reported.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Good lighting, nice night, moon was out somewhat.

Waxing Crescent Moon 43% illuminated

Sunny day, very hot high of 88, low of 62
0.00 inches of rain

ENVIRONMENT: National Forest hardwoods, ridgeline

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Larry Sidwell:

I have spoken with the witness numerous times both in person and by telephone. He grew up in the mountains of Western North Carolina and has lived there his entire life. He has spent countless hours hiking, researching and hunting in this area, and knows the wildlife and geography very well. His report and recollection are very detailed and I will add some observations from our interview.

The witness frequently goes out at night driving in this research area in hopes of sighting a sasquatch and to observe other local wildlife. He has used these trips to monitor wildlife movement and observe animal concentration for future research and hunting areas. The research area is approximately 38 miles from his home. The road he had his sighting on is very heavily traveled and has major curves and hills and runs through the Nantahala National Forest.

Shortly before seeing the creature he spotted a coyote in the road and that heightened his senses. He was rounding a curve at traveling at approximately 30-35 mph, at 11:50 pm. when his left headlight illuminated the animal. It was standing behind the guardrail and he could not believe what he was seeing. It took a few seconds for his brain to process the shock of seeing a sasquatch, which caused him to drive past the creature a short distance. The observation lasted only a few seconds but was able to remember many details of his sighting.

He could not estimate the height as it was standing on a very steep slope off the side of road. He was very amazed by the extreme width of its shoulders, comparing it to a football player in shoulder pads. It was standing in a vertical bipedal manner, he could see the spinal crease through its hair. The waist was very thin, like a trained athlete. It had little or no neck and the head was leaning forward. Its left arm was curled in front of it like it was carrying something. He described the hair as being reddish-brown in color, around six inches in length, and was very matted in appearance. The animal also had an undercoat that was grayish-white in appearance. The witness did this sketch soon after the sighting to keep the details fresh in his mind, which was suggested by a fellow investigator.



The witness turned around shortly after realizing what he had seen, he drove back to the spot but the sasquatch was not there. He stayed in the area and went down the road a few hundred yards and pulled over and listened, hearing nothing he did a howl and coyotes immediately responded from a close distance. He traveled farther down the road, spotting a wild boar feeding on side of road. He then stopped around 1/4 mile from sighting and listened and did another call and had a response from what he described "as loudest owl call I have ever heard". He stayed in the area for four hours, but saw and heard nothing further.

He returned the next afternoon to investigate with a friend during daylight hours.They found some mashed down vegetation and a kicked over rock on the steep bank. No footprints were found due to the extremely dry and hard packed ground. He was also looking to see if there was any brown vegetation in the area of his sighting, but everything was very lush and green being early summer in the Appalachians.

The BFRO received Report #49148 6 days later on June 29th from hikers around 6-7 miles away reporting possible Bigfoot activity. We feel that these two reports are more than coincidence. I have attended two expeditions in the Nantahala National Forest that were very close to these two sightings. The area is very rugged terrain with high peaks and river and stream bottoms. There are numerous rock outcroppings, and cliff overhangs. The Appalachian Trail is extremely close to these two sightings. It has long been believed by sasquatch researchers to be a North-South highway for Bigfoots. Numerous animals including whitetail deer, wild pigs, black bear, and many smaller animals inhabit this area. In summer months there are lots of edible plants, and berries. With all this food, cover and waterways, it is perfect habitat for a large bipedal primate.

About BFRO Investigator Larry Sidwell:

Larry became interested in Bigfoot at an early age after viewing the Patterson - Gimlin footage. Spent a lot of time in his youth hiking and exploring his families' farms in Clark County, Kentucky. Now resides in Bridgeport,WV.

BFRO public expeditions Larry has attended: 2012 West Virginia, 2013 Kentucky, 2013 West Virginia, 2013 Western North Carolina, 2014 North Carolina, 2014 ,Kentucky (Bluegrass Region), 2017 Maryland, 2019 Western Kentucky, 2020 Kentucky, 2021 Pennsylvania, 2021 Kentucky, 2022 South Carolina, 2022 Fall Tennessee, 2022 Kentucky.

Private expeditions Larry has attended: 2013 SEBFRO Nantahalla National Forest, 2014 Winter Uwharrie National Forest, 2014 Pisgah National Forest, 2014 Fall Uwharrie National Forest, 2015 Croatan National Forest, 2015 Forbes State Forest, Pennsylvania, 2015 Uwharrie National Forest, 2016 KBRO Kentucky, 2016 Monongahela National Forest, 2017 Monongahela National Forest, 2018 Southwest Virginia, 2019 KBRO Kentucky, 2021 KBRO Kentucky, 2021 ECE Spring Monongahela NationalForest, 2021 Fall ECE Monongahela, 2022 KBRO Spring Kentucky, 2022 KBRO Fall Expetion.

Conferences attended: 2013 Midnight Walkers Southeastern Bigfoot Conference, Dahlonega Georgia, and the 2014 and 2019 Ohio Bigfoot Conference, 2021 Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Conference, 2021 Cryptid Con Lexington, Ky, 2022 Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Conference, Gatlinburg, TN.

2023 BFRO West Virginia Expedition organizer
2024 BFRO West Virginia Spring Expedition organizer
2024 BFRO West Virginia Fall Expedition organizer