YEAR: 2013

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 20-24

STATE: New York

COUNTY: Cattaraugus County

LOCATION DETAILS: Hamlin Trail in Allegany State Park, cabin next to cliff

NEAREST TOWN: Salamanca

NEAREST ROAD: Asp 1-3

OBSERVED: [see investigator comments]

ALSO NOTICED: Banging on side of cabin

OTHER WITNESSES: Myself and 1 other

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Night roughly 10pm

ENVIRONMENT: There was a cliff next to cabin semi in woods

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Mike Suppa:

I contacted the witness by phone on 9/8/19 at 1700 hrs. There was no lapse or uncertainty in collecting his thoughts.

He rented a 16X16” cabin on the Hamlin Trail with his wife and young son in July of 2013. The cabin is rented by the NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Society at Allegany State Park. He believed the cabin number to possibly be #4.

The witness states the weather conditions were clear however extremely muggy. He was not wearing a shirt due to the humidity. At approximately 10:30 pm, he and his wife heard a loud banging noise on the outside of the cabin. He said that he could feel the cabin shake. I inquired if the structure had a permanent foundation. His response was that they stood off the ground on cinder blocks.

The interior cabin did have lights. He said the lights helped illuminate the exterior front portion of the dark unlit grounds through non-curtained windows. He immediately grabbed his flashlight and shined it out of the front porch window. He was anticipating a possible black bear however he was startled to see a hulking bipedal creature walking away from the cabin. He observed it to be a minimum of 8 feet tall, 500 to 600 pounds with very broad shoulders, large chest, and long arms that swayed as it walked.

This sighting was estimated to be from a distance of approximately 30 feet away. Also noted was that the bipedal subject had long “grayish to light brown” hair. He was unable to view any portion of the subject from the waist down due to shrubbery. He did not see the face as it was walking away with its back toward him. His wife was watching it out of the second window and advised him that she saw it walk up a ravine.

After waiting inside the cabin for 15 minutes, unsure of what to do next, he decided to open the door and step onto the porch. He noted that his senses were greeted by a “foul, wet, dirty, mildew” powerful odor that was not present during any portion of their stay prior to his sighting. When asked how he came to the assumption of the subjects size/weight and he stated that he is 5’5”tall and the porch was 3’ from the ground. He stated from the waist up he had a clear and unobstructed view of the subject he identified as a “Sasquatch”. When I asked if it was possibly a bear, he stated that he was a hunter and also a butcher by trade. He has no trouble differentiating any animal from the subject that he saw.

He said a fear came over him for the safety of his family. Feeling uncertain and not knowing if the subject was going to return, he and his wife decided to pack their belongings and abruptly vacate the cabin to head home. He stated the ride out of the park was 25 minutes. The entire time he was checking his rear view mirror hoping that the subject wasn’t following them. When asked why he reported this sighting 5 years after the fact, he stated that he was on social media and was searching info on the park and noticed an unknown person made a reference about Bigfoot sighting in that park. He decided to contact a member of the Chamber Of Commerce and told of his encounter. That Chamber member furnished him with the BFRO website and urged him to report it after telling him that there were numerous sightings and he wasn’t the only person to see a bipedal subject in that area.

Allegany State Park is located in Cattaraugus County in western New York State. The park area is 64,800 acres and divided into two sections: The Red House Area and the Quaker Run Area.
It lies within the Allegany Highlands forests eco-region. The main area attractions include Quaker Lake, Mount Tuscarora Fire Tower, Hiking trails; bear caves, Science Lake, campsites etc. The cabin trails are clusters of cabins accessible by dirt roads. The park rents 375 cabins on the trails. Only 150 cabins are winterized.

About BFRO Investigator Mike Suppa:

Mike Suppa has 20+ years of professional law enforcement experience and has been involved in thousands of criminal and non criminal investigations. He has specialized training earning him numerous courses/certifications from agencies such as the FBI & NYPD for interview & interrogation. He is a contributing author of the book "Stranger Than Fiction." He is an experienced hiker, hunter, and tracker. He also works with German Shepherd K-9’s.