YEAR: 2019

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: @27th

STATE: South Dakota

COUNTY: Pennington County

LOCATION DETAILS: Approximately 4 mi north of Rochford, at Carsten’s Cottages

NEAREST TOWN: Rochford SD

NEAREST ROAD: Rochford Road

OBSERVED: I was visiting my family’s former home and treated myself with a night’s stay at the cottages. They lie along the road running through from Deadwood to Rochford. The campground was empty save for me, even the proprietor was not home. They have beautiful pastures and a huge assortment of farm life - from turkeys to quail to goats and llamas donkeys and horses. Their fields run right up to the forest, probably not even a football fields length away. I was sitting outside watching their antics and enjoying the evening air. Suddenly, something started to howl in the woods to the west. Everything alive on the place froze in that same moment and all of their heads - mine included- swiveled toward the sound. I cannot begin to describe it, but I had grown up in these hills and know it was nothing I could identify. The sound was somewhere between a howl and a scream and just echoed. It went on for 3-5 minutes, and every creature stopped to listen. I didn’t hear it again while there. I didn’t tell the proprietor when I saw him next. Since then, I’ve listened to recordings to try and identify the sound and the recent recording by the hunter out of Canada is an exact match. That’s what impelled me to report it.

ALSO NOTICED: Every creature on the place stopped and looked in the direction of the howl simultaneously. It was very surreal and gave me goosebumps.

OTHER WITNESSES: No others present, was only one at campground. I was sitting outside my cabin looking towards the pines, enjoying the evening.

OTHER STORIES: No, but haven’t lived locally for quite some time.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early evening, @ 7, just getting dusk

ENVIRONMENT: Meadows and fields edged with forest

Follow-up investigation report: