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Geographical Index > United States > California > Siskiyou County > Report # 5220
 
Report # 5220  (Class B)
Submitted by witness William P. on Saturday, November 2, 2002.
Son and step Father have a strange encounter on the north/east side of Mt.Shasta

YEAR: 1979

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: On a weekend

STATE: California

COUNTY: Siskiyou County

LOCATION DETAILS: A dirt road 20 miles north of Weed, heading south towards Mt. Shasta.

NEAREST TOWN: Weed,Ca.

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 97

OBSERVED: First off, I am a very objective and reasonable person, this is true. In 1979, my father and I went camping in a remote spot on the summit of Mount Shasta, well away from anyone else. At approximately 3 AM, on a moonless night, I was awakened by a noise within our camp. At the time, I thought that it was my father up to relieve himself. Which I thought was odd, since he rarely woke up, because he usually slept like a log.

I was sleeping in the bed of our truck, since my tent was mildewed. I could hear something moving around the truck thru the windows of the camper shell. Something kicked over the ice chest, and I laughed out loud, thinking my father had tripped over it. Yet, I heard no cussing, as he was prone to do. Something hit the truck with such force, that the truck rocked violently. I thought I it was a joke being played on me by my father.

Then, I heard something that sounded like a rabbit "screaming", yet, much louder, almost raspy, yet very piercing. Needless to say, I was afraid for my life. I grabbed my rifle and waited. Then I heard nothing but the sound of my father unzipping his sleeping bag, and then his tent. He asked if I was “OK”, and what happened. He had awakened to the sound. This may sound like a prank, fuelled by my father, but he would not dent his truck for a prank, that was his baby, and the pay for repairs was certainly not worth the laughs.

The camp was a mess, and we noticed that the eggs were gone. Nothing else. There were no visible tracks. We were far from the road, so bare earth was not around. We had no fire only a camp stove. I don't know what the significance of the missing eggs was all about, but we did find the carton a ways from the camp that morning. I doubt any of this will help in your research, but the egg thing still puzzles me. We, obviously, left that morning.

ALSO NOTICED: The eggs were missing.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just my father and myself.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Approximately 3 AM, no moon, very crisp night.

ENVIRONMENT: Forest, heavily wooded, no creek, no people.


Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Richard Hucklebridge:

On the evening of the 17th of December of 2002, I made contact with William P. and he went over his brief encounter that he and his step father had when he was about twelve years old, on the north east side of Mount Shasta. After the incident, they stayed up until morning.

That following morning, they found the camp in disarray, and could only find the carton of eggs missing, which was a complete dozen. The eggs were sitting out on the cook-stove table. After a little looking around, they found the egg carton a little ways from camp, with the top torn off, but did not see any of the eggshells, anywhere. Nothing was missing from the ice chest, which held most of their food. They looked for tracks, but couldn’t find any, due to the pine needles on the ground.

The damage to the pick-up truck was a football sized dent, about a inch and a half deep, located in the aft panel, behind the rear wheel on the drivers side of their 1965 Chevrolet truck. When the damage took place to the pick-up truck, William thought that he was hit by another vehicle, because the truck moved, and it felt like he was just in an accident.

Summery: William P. seemed sincere and believable in his encounter with an unknown creature. The main reason that I made this report a class “B”, was the damage to the truck, and the fact that William thought it felt like an accident, and the screaming sounds, plus the ice chest was not opened. I would think that a bear would have opened that ice chest right away. What I find most interesting was the fact that this creature possibly ate the complete egg, shells and all. The both of them were frightened enough to stay up until the next morning.