YEAR: 2015

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: November

DATE: 25

STATE: Missouri

COUNTY: Jackson County

LOCATION DETAILS: I-70 is about 2 miles south from my location

NEAREST TOWN: Grain Valley

NEAREST ROAD: Duncan

OBSERVED: I have been keeping this to myself since last year.
I have been a deer hunter for over 30 years and wont go back in the woods after what happened.
I'm going to bullet point this incident.
I was deer hunting.
Deer were running around the woods crazy that evening.
I had a small buck run past my stand, it was getting dark. 5:30ish.
He ran out into the middle of the field and stood there looking at the direction he came from for about 15 min, Then ran off.
10 or 15 mins later I then heard this large something coming through the woods. Small trees breaking and leaves crunching.
I had no idea what it was, I had my back against the wide tree 16' in the air, (the tree is wider than my back) and you cant see me or my stand from behind.
It stopped right behind me, it is now dark, I could hear it breathing, it was 8 yards behind me, I didn't move, it stood there for about 5 minutes then started sniffing the air like it was smelling for something, then it started to move slightly, it was dry out and leaves covered the ground so you can hear anything move.
Then 2 loud tree knocks, I then started to get a chill down my back, as I reached for my bow I heard 2 screams, I had my bow in hand and my shooting trigger was on my bow string and I WAS AT FULL BRAW. The screams vibrated the woods.
It stood there pacing behind my tree, left to right then stopped to smell the air again, it started to move West at a regular walk/pace.
I let off my bow, reached around the tree, clicked on my head lamp and about 12 yards from me was a 8' tall 700/800lb tall black figure, it grunted when my light came on and ran along the river bank and back into the woods.
I did not see a face, I saw the back of IT.
I will say this, It was hunting that night, it was smelling for scent and chasing deer, looking for food.
At the time my bow was loaded with a 1.5" expandable broad/arrow head, Yes I was at full draw not knowing what was going on, when my light was on and I drew my bow back again I was ready to shoot if it came back across the stream. I know the exact yards as I have hunted this location for around 5 years, I bow hunt so I need to know the yards for arrow placement. This Sasquatch which what it was, was a massive animal. I don't know if it would harm anyone or persons but the power that I could see it its body was unbelievable. Yes I was scared but I saw something that only a few people in the world have seen.

OTHER WITNESSES: no

OTHER STORIES: Only what I have looked up on the internet after my encounter. (Monkey Mountain)

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 6 ish
clear sky and cold
I could see the ground from my elevated position

ENVIRONMENT: woods

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

I spoke with this witness for nearly an hour. Though we talked of course, a good bit about the incident, we also spoke of not letting this incident ruin his love of the outdoors and hunting. He has had time to relive the incident, and he has decided that he is going back out very soon to hunt and fish. I will go down the report line by line and add what was gathered during our conversation.

As stated, he was in his stand, 16 feet up, back against a tree. Very wide tree and he and his stand cannot be seen from directly behind. 5:30-6pm in November so it is getting dark. He stated he sees pretty well at night. He was not using any lighting device at the time. Deer were plentiful and he saw several, including the small buck he mentioned. After the small buck entered the open field and looked/sniffed around at the direction he had come from, it left. He then heard something coming through the woods quite loudly, not being stealthy or covert at all. His initial thought was someone on a 4 wheeler or a big buck, crashing through the woods from the same general direction the buck had come from. Thinking it was perhaps a trophy deer, he froze and just listened. As stated, it stopped about 8 yards behind him, just past a small creek/river bank. As it stood there breathing, this is when he realized that it was something else, something quite huge. He could hear and almost feel, it breathing. It was "huge, guttural, and you could hear the mass of the creature". Even though 25 feet or so away, he knew this was not an animal sound he was familiar with. It then began sniffing the air, (conjecture here) both looking for the direction of the deer and perhaps sensing the presence of the witness. He was hunting scent free that night, meaning he was not masking his human scent. Being 16 feet up and completely blocked by the tree, it is entirely likely the creature did not see him, but may have sensed (smelled) his presence. It began moving around a bit and as he started to grab his bow he heard two loud tree knocks. It did not knock on his tree, but one closer to the creek, or general area it was standing in. By this time he was still reaching for the bow and had his hand on it. when 2 loud screams rang out. "Shook the entire woods and I physically felt it". In his words "it was like yelling at me hey.....hey...." By this time it was almost directly behind the tree he was standing in, no more than a body length below him. It was pacing slightly, and began sniffing the air once again. It was loud sniffing, drawing in huge amounts of air as though it was on to something. Nothing he had ever heard or "felt" (breathing) before. As it began to move off to the west a bit, (witness was facing south), he looked to the left at his 11 o'clock position, and hit his headlamp. This is when he saw the creature, black, 700-800 lbs, from the back. "Big, powerful, muscular" and it went up the river bank, away from him, and disappeared into the woods. It was approximately twelve yards away when he saw it. He did not see the face. He had an ever so slight side view for a split second, more like the back of the head and side where an ear would be. He did not see an ear. Hair was moving when he hit it with his headlamp, and it appeared dark brown or black.

Witness is an experienced outdoorsman and hunter, and as stated, 30 years in the woods, and is more than familiar with any and all wildlife in the area. He was truly physically and emotionally shaken by the event at the time, and vowed he was never going back into the woods again. He has since had time to reflect and decided that his love of nature and hunting has won out over any concerns he had over the event. For this investigator, to have a grown man, hunter and woodsman, admit he was frightened by "something" in the woods, takes a lot of courage, especially to a complete stranger. This, coupled with other known activity in the area, gives me no reason to doubt the veracity of this witness.

Numerous reports from this area, Monkey Mountain Park Reserve is close by.

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.