YEAR: 1926

SEASON: Unknown

DATE: 7/15/1926

STATE: Colorado

COUNTY: Jackson County

LOCATION DETAILS: Walden is in a high mountain basin known as North Park. It is surrounded by the ranges of the Continental Divide on the east and the Mt. Zirkel wilderness on the west.

NEAREST TOWN: Walden

NEAREST ROAD: Unknown

OBSERVED: The following was sent as a letter from a woman in Cheyenne, Wyo. to investigator J. Davis and transcribed to this form with her consent.


I read in yesterday's Denver Post about your encounter with a Bigfoot.

I am 66 years old and here's a story that happened to my Dad in 1926.

My father was an avid hunter and fisherman. He always had binoculars with him as he liked to look at everything. He was up around Walden, CO and saw what he thought were two bears stalking an elk. I don't know if the elk was part of a herd or was cut out and was alone. Evidently, it did not know it was being stalked. Dad said he was a long way off, he was on one side of a mountain and this was happening across a valley on the side of another mountain in a partly open area. There is heavy timber in part of this area.

When he got out his binoculars and started watching, he still thought they were two bears until they started walking. He said they were a brown color and quite large when they stood up and started walking on two legs. He watched them for about five minutes, until they got into some heavy timber. They did not stalk real close together- they had the elk in the middle. He said they were excellent stalkers and would even hide behind a tree for a while. He said he didn't know if they killed the elk or not but thought they probably did. He was sure they were carnivores or they wouldn't have been stalking in this manner. The incident took place in the late afternoon.

There were very few people living in the area but who knows, there may still be some of the critters up there. Glad I've never run into one the way you did.

OTHER WITNESSES: One, hiking, watching wildlife.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Afternoon, clear light.

ENVIRONMENT: Observation took place from mountainside; creatures were seen in a valley at the foot of an opposing mountain slope.

Follow-up investigation report:

Mrs. (withheld) letter was received on Jan 10. She confirmed she sent it, and requested that it be forwarded to investigator J. Davis. She also agreed to let the BFRO add it to the database.

When asked if her father had ever used the word "bigfoot" to describe the creatures, she said, "Oh no. That many years ago, nobody had ever heard of them."