YEAR: 2017

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: Friday may 12th

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Kittitas County

LOCATION DETAILS: Cooper Lake Washington

NEAREST TOWN: Roslyn

NEAREST ROAD: NF-46

OBSERVED: Me and two other friends arrived at a campsite near Cooper Lake Washington we settled for a campsite that was a couple of miles away from the lake because we couldn't make it past the snow. As we pulled into the dirt road that brings you to the campsite there was a tree covering the road into the site so we moved the tree and proceeded down to the campsite. We found as we got there that the previous campers have left their gear and it seemed as though they were in a hurry but we didn't think much of it other than that they were rude and disrespectful for leaving garbage and stuff laying around. After we got camp set up and got a fire going it started to get dark and down about a hundred feet of elevation in a two hundred yards away we heard a noise that none of us had ever heard before sort of like a really rapid yodel or tongue trill. The girl I was with was immediately frightened and hid behind me and my other friend said guys don't get too freaked out it's either like a wolf or a coyote and we listened again as it covered that 200 yards distance in about two seconds. Became much louder and four or five times vocalized this yodel I almost couldn't answer it from fear, but I was able to let out a scream. After I screamed it became silent and then behind us something hit our truck, sounds kept happening around us and we started to try to see what it was. This noise was very loud and very close and quite obviously directed at us. After that we heard wood knocks through the night but no more Close Encounters as I stayed awake most of the night in fear with one hand on my knife and one hand on a flashlight. This was amazing and intense and absolutely true I was definitely skeptical about the existence of Bigfoot before this trip and now I have absolutely no doubt that they are real.

ALSO NOTICED: The previous campers obviously left in a hurry leaving their tent and garbage and firewood behind. As we arrived at the site we had to move a tree out of the way to drive into the site. It had been ripped down still alive and blocked the entrance. One other tree looked as if it had been bent over and broken with force.

OTHER WITNESSES: Three of us were standing by our fire .

OTHER STORIES: Yes other reports of vocalizations and a lot of sightings in the Cle Elum/Roslyn area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was just after dark very cold with snow on parts on the ground. The moon hadn't come up yet so no light at all except my flashlight.

ENVIRONMENT: Pine forest with little to no underbrush and lots of moss hanging from trees and covering the rocky terrain

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kevin Llewellyn:

I talked to the witness by phone.

The tall, skinny tree that was across the road was seven inches in diameter and still had the root ball attached. The witness estimated the length in the thirty to fifty foot range. They could not lift the tree but slid it over so they could drive by. Two bricks were stacked by the tree. While collecting firewood at a nearby campsite, he found another five to six foot tree that was broken with a spiral split near the ground. The diameter was four inches. No other trees in the area were damaged.

The witness and his two friends found a tent that was flat on the ground with tent stakes in each corner. It was in good condition.

At around 9:30pm, they heard a very loud trill vocalization. There were two more trills as it moved very fast. Then what seemed only twenty feet away, at the top of a drop off, four more trills that the witness could feel vibrate his chest. Each vocalization was two to three seconds in duration. The witness had a fight or flight feeling.

For four minutes they thought their truck was being pushed. No dents were found but bags inside the truck had fallen over.

At about 10:00pm, they heard wood knocks farther away for one-half hour. There would be two to three wood knocks each time, then varying lengths of silence.

No other campers were seen in the area but a van did drive by between 11:30pm to midnight.

No tracks were found as it snowed the next morning.

The witness has camped all his life but never heard a vocalization as this. I find him very credible.

About BFRO Investigator Kevin Llewellyn:

Kevin has camped, fished and hunted in Eastern Washington all his life. His interest in Sasquatch began when he was 10 years old and saw Roger Patterson present "the" film. He lives in Eastern Washington.

Recently retired, he was a veterinarian since 1984, after graduating from Washington State University.

He attended Washington BFRO expeditions in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Oregon in 2015 and 2018, Montana in 2017 and 2018. He was co-leader of N.E. Washington 2019, Washington 2020, 2021 #1 & #2, and Montana 2020, 2021expeditions.