YEAR: 1990 appro

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 10

STATE: Montana

COUNTY: Lewis And Clark County

LOCATION DETAILS: The area was a large section of land between the Indian Meadows USFS Trailhead, Copper Creek and Landers Fork Drainages. I believe the USGS 7.5 minute quadrangle maps list an Elk Tail Park and show an airstrip. The occurrence took place 1/2 to 1 mi west or nw of that strip on my estimate.

NEAREST TOWN: Lincoln, Montana

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 200

OBSERVED: After, reviewing the Lincoln, Montana incident near Stonewall Mountain. I decided to write you the following report. About 8-10 years ago 6 (six) of us were hunting south of Indian Meadows trailhead. We were basically hunting across the rough and timbered area in pairs. Brad and I heard the noise in the distance. It sounded like a high pitched scream related to a rusty gate being opened slowly. There was wind and unsettled weather. It was in the afternoon! Later we learned that the others in our group also heard it, even closer to them. Steve and Miles had their wives with them as we combed the varying terrain searching for Elk. Everyone had highpowered hunting rifles. Steve and Germaine apparently got together with Miles and Cheri and decided to take the first main game trails out of the area. Steve was an avid bear hunter and was very disturbed about what he heard. Brad and I continued the hunt, really not getting the full impact of the sound effects. I heard the sound one other time in the same area. Miles and I were hunting elk with the bow and arrow and I had something come into my calling and never had the opportunity to see it close to the same area. No one had a visual on the animal. No tracks visible even at times when the snow was on the ground. We have all heard stories about creatures crossing the roadway early in the morning, other sightings and very rank smells in undergrowth areas.
In relation to our hearing the vocalization, Miles spoke to me on the telephone on day about a television program about Big Foot and someone that had a recorded soundtrack of a believed big foot scream or call. Miles indicated that his wife came from her place of rest in the other room and stated, What was that noise? Miles replied to her, that was a recorded sound of a presumed big foot or Sasquatch. Cheri replied, "That is the sound we heard hunting across from your Dad's house. Miles' dad's house is one of the last homes before you reach the wilderness boundary. The area you have documented near Stonewall Mountain is very close to this area. I hope this information supports believed big foot sightings in this area. Much of the area is being logged and areas of dense canopy cover are dwindling as we speak for this area.

ALSO NOTICED: Just the sound! No tracks or visual contact with the animal making the noise.

OTHER WITNESSES: Six witnesses, Hunting Elk and hiking through the country. Four men and two ladies.

OTHER STORIES: All kinds of stories from this area once one starts talking to various people of the area. I don't have the time right now to add to this section right now.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Afternoon 2 - 4 PM Partly cloudy with sun. No current snow or rain. Some areas very dense and hard to see next to you! Dark in there!

ENVIRONMENT: Spruce, pine and other conifers. There are some dense lentic and lotic sites in the area. The sound as I best could remember came from down in that area. I believe that would be correct! I remember an old powerline to the North or NE of that. Not much for landmarks. I often used my compass in there when I wanted to come out at a given point. You couldn't get lost in there because one is surrounded by two major drainages, one major FS road.

Follow-up investigation report:

The phone interview with the witness occurred nearly 15 years after the date of the incident, and without prior notice. The witness, a federal land manager in Montana, recalled the events of that experience accurately to the report. He is an avid woodsman, hunter and given the nature of his profession, I find him to be very credible.

The witness described the events consistently with the comments he submitted some five years ago. He reiterated the idea of the vocalization sounding like a "rusty gate" being opened; guttural and high pitched. He and his hunting partner heard the sound from a considerable distance, but he remarked that the other men in the party, Steve and Miles, were much closer to the origination of the sound and experienced a much more powerful aspect of it. It disturbed both of them so much that they abandoned their hunting aspirations and hiked directly out of the area to their vehicles. All of them only heard the sound once that afternoon.

Some time later, as is stated in the witness commentary, Miles was watching a TV program about bigfoot. (The witness is unsure as to the title of the program.) It demonstrated alleged bigfoot vocalizations during the program. Miles' wife was napping in the other room. The vocalizations coming from the television woke her from her sleep, and she quickly made her way to the living room. She confirmed that the sounds on the show were an uncanny resemblance to the sounds they heard while hunting near Lincoln, MT.

The witness then shared countless examples of additional stories of bigfoot activity in and around the area. For example:
Miles' sisters both claimed to have seen a bigfoot cross the road in front of them. It scared them considerably.
A woman picking huckleberries west of Lincoln saw one at close range, and desribed the smell as the most horrible stench.
Another sighting reported near "Keep Cool Lakes".

These examples are merely a few of the stories shared by the witness. I will remain in contact with this witness and endeavor to pursue contacts with witnesses of these additional incidents.

Note: The witness actually described a personal sighting nearly 30 years ago at another location. He accompanied his cousin fishing and noticed "someone" standing along the riverbank some 500-800 yards away. Asking his cousin what it was, his cousin replied, "It's just someone fishing". The witness looked again as they moved slightly closer and saw that this "person" was actually covered in brown hair, and then proceeded to watch the figure run quickly away from the river's edge and into the forest. The figure had been standing next to a tree stump. The height of the stump was approximately 8.5 feet. The witness claims the figure he saw standing next to this particular stump was at approximately the same height, admitting error within one foot above or below the height of the stump. The witness was not able to check the immediate area for footprints.

I reiterate the fact that the witness is a federal land manager, and avid outdoorsman, is quite knowledgeable, and credible. It is the opinion of this investigator that the experiences included in this report are valid and legitimate.