YEAR: 2017

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: September

DATE: 3

STATE: Wisconsin

COUNTY: Iron County

LOCATION DETAILS: Take Highway H to the north tip of Spider Lake where it turns into East Fisher Lake Road. Turn right on Pitt Road and perceived point of the knocks is just to the left of where Pitt Road ends.

NEAREST TOWN: Mercer

NEAREST ROAD: Beaver lodge circle

OBSERVED: It was late afternoon/ early evening in September and we were sitting on our pier watching our dog, Sofie, swim and retrieve tennis balls. I had my binoculars to look for loons when we heard what sounded like a large tree branch or a large animal stepping on a downed tree across the lake from where we were sitting, approximately 450 feet. I was excited because I thought I was finally going to see a bear. Next there was a loud splash in the water that sounded like a very large animal or something large being thrown in the water.

I looked across the lake with my binoculars but didn’t see anything, so I assumed the activity was in the marsh beyond the tree line. During this time my dog got out of the water and sat at the end of the pier next to us. She appeared nervous and kept staring across the lake toward the sound. Over the next several minutes we heard three separate wood knocks like someone was hitting a baseball bat against a tree.

At this point it was dusk and our dog was visibly upset; she left the pier and headed back to our campsite so we followed her. Of note the land across the lake is state land, undeveloped and predominantly heavily wooded with a large marsh area beyond the trees lining the lake. Just wanted to share because I don’t know of any animal that knocks and I’ve never witnessed my dog that upset.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing else was observed beyond incident

OTHER WITNESSES: One other witness

OTHER STORIES: Stories, but nothing specific, and the locals don’t seem to want to talk about it.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Late afternoon

ENVIRONMENT: Described in report

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator B Breedlove:

Witness was credible. This is an area conducive to supporting a large animal, with plenty of lakes, rivers, deer, berries and other food sources, with lots of secluded areas.

The three wood knocks were about 45 seconds apart, and were supported by the preceding tree break sound, the loud noise in the water and also the dog's spooked behavior, which was a hunting dog (a retriever).

From beginning to end these events played out over a period of about 20 minutes, per witness.

Sometimes, knocks can be human in origin, such as a hammer or pounding. These knocks were not frequent enough to be a human working. In addition, this is uninhabited state land.

Interestingly, the witnesses later tried to simulate the knocking sound from the same perceived position. The knocks were inaudible, indicating that it takes quite a wallop to carry that distance, something these humans were unable to duplicate.

About BFRO Investigator B Breedlove:

B Breedlove is recently retired. He spent the majority of his career working as a trainer for various companies.