YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

STATE: Idaho

COUNTY: Kootenai County

NEAREST TOWN: Athol

OBSERVED: I used to regularly camp in the Whitetail Campground in Farragut State Park near Athol, Idaho. It is especially peaceful during the offseason and I used to like to camp there on weekends from about early May to mid-June. During these times it is dead quiet at night and I heard wood knocks several times (sound really carries due to the large lake surrounded by mountains and hills). At the time I thought it was interesting, but made no connection to Sasquatch. After reading reports on this site I now think the sounds are more interesting.

Late one night my wife and I were asleep in our large family tent in Whitetail Campground. It was dead quiet in the campground and we both woke to the sound of a large animal walking through the brush, loudly breaking branches as it stepped on them. We both thought it sounded like it was bipedal and I thought it was a very large man. I wondered why someone would be wandering around in the woods in the middle of the night.

The footsteps got closer and closer and then the animal was in our site. It brushed against the tent as it walked past. It headed over to a patch of large mushrooms that were growing at the edge of our site. We looked out the tent window and shined a flashlight around but we couldn’t see anything. It was quiet then, and we assumed that whatever it was had kept going. We turned out the light and got back in bed. A few minutes later the animal walked back out of the campground the same way it came in – it just stood quietly when we were shining the flashlight. When we got up in the morning all of the mushrooms were gone.

I thought a lot about what the animal was. I don’t think it was a bear, unless it was a very large one (there are no grizzlies in that area), and I thought that the stride length was much longer than a bear’s. I also think a bear would have reacted to the flashlight, let alone the noise we were making moving around in the tent. I thought it could be a moose, but I have watched them walk before and I don’t think the sound would be bipedal. I have also heard that moose are not nocturnal. I don’t think it was a large person; it was very dark and the animal obviously had no man made light.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2

OTHER STORIES: There have been reported incidents near this location.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 2AM. Very dark.

ENVIRONMENT: Pine forest near a very large lake.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.

- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

- Juris Doctorate (Law degree) from University of Akron School of Law

- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.

- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.

- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.

- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.

- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.

- Current Director of the BFRO

- Available for private bigfoot expeditions and conferences. To inquire please email ContactUS@BFRO.net