YEAR: 1983

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: Saturday

STATE: North Carolina

COUNTY: Warren County

LOCATION DETAILS: Area has seen "some" residential development,and some logging (clearcutting)had been reported
At the time of my experience,it was an old forest,with hardwoods,and pines mixed.

NEAREST TOWN: Louisburg/Warrenton/Centerville

OBSERVED: I was hunting a creek bottom,called the little Shocco Creek.
The creek bottom is heavily forested,and a dense crop of a bamboo like reeds grow along the bottom.
I was leaving the woods,but stalking slowly along a logging road.
As I started up a hill,a doe deer that was bedded down just above the reed cane (on the side of the hill),jumped up and headed for the thick cover of the reeds.
The deer was angling to my right,and down into the reeds.
I quickly got to higher ground,above the reeds,in hopes of seeing the deer as she slipped through the reeds.
As I was watching her white tail waving through the thick,green and brown cover,something to my extreme right moved,and on the other side of the creek.
I could not really understand what I was seeing.
I saw a tall,(in comparison to the reeds,which grow at least 4-6 ft tall)figure moving away from me,and it appeared to be dark,and sort of mottled in color.
The mottling was not in highly contrasted colors,but simply darker shades of brown,and slightly lighter shades of brown.Maybe it was the effect of the sun filtering through the leaves.
It was the early part of the deer season,and the leaves had not fallen entirely.
I estimate the distance to maybe 50 yards.
Being above the reeds,was the ONLY way I could have seen this.
As I watched it move through the woods,it appeared to have what I would call a hump on it's back,and I only saw that when it turned and looked in my direction,as it pushed through the vegetation.
I had the perception that it went through some very heavy limbs,as I saw them snap back once it was through.
It did not seem to be running,but moving quickly,and with no need to duck or dodge the vegetation.It just pushed through it.
I will admit,that I was unbelievably unsure of what I had seen.I was scared to be honest.
At that time,and as it is now,black bears were NOT known to inhabit that part of our state.
And,black bears do not walk very far in an upright manner.This was upright.
I did not go back into that bottom again.
I hunted a very large clearcut area that afternoon,and I could see for several hundred yards in each direction.
I was armed with a heavy caliber hunting rifle,and armed with a .44 mag. revolver,and I would not venture back in there again
I have seen no tracks on the creek bottoms,or around muddy spots,that we could not identify.
As far as I know,area residents ,my immediate family,have not reported any thing similar.
I have several cousins that practically LIVE in those woods during hunting season,and have heard nothing,rumor or otherwise.
Hunting with hound dogs, is still popular in that region,but no one has reported anything unusual being brought to bay,or treed,including bears.

ALSO NOTICED: I was convinced I had seen another hunter.
Until I left and drove up and down the road,and saw NO OTHER vehicles.
The woods were VERY deep,and the idea that someone had hiked in that far,is (was)not likely
It was a week day,I had taken off work.
Most hunters hunt during the weekend.
I was only about 300 yards from my vehicle.

OTHER WITNESSES: NONE

OTHER STORIES: SEE ABOVE STORY

TIME AND CONDITIONS: See above details

ENVIRONMENT: See above story

Follow-up investigation report:

This sighting was near the border between Warren and Franklin counties. The forest consists of mixed hardwoods, including oaks, gums, and poplars. The terrain is hilly and has numerous creeks that branch off of Shocco Creek. The witness remarked that the area provides ideal cover for eastern white-tailed deer.

The witness was hunting during the week with a friend, but was alone for the first part of the morning while the hunting partner handled some personal business in town. The camp was set up on one side of a fairly heavily traveled road.

At approximately 9:00 AM, the witness was getting ready to leave camp and go into the woods. The weather was clear and warm for mid-November. Most of the leaves had already fallen from the trees.

The witness noticed a large number of deer on the other side of the road headed in his direction. He crossed the road, wondering if he might have an early opportunity or if the deer would run away from him. The deer changed direction and ran parallel to the road.

The witness then went into the woods, descending on a logging path down a hill to a creek that feeds into Shocco Creek. He planned to hunt in the morning and head back for lunch. The logging path crossed the creek with large patches of tall reeds at the bottom (i.e. river cane). As the witness crossed the creek, a bedded deer hidden in the reeds jumped from its hiding place and ran away. The witness could not see the deer, so he ran to higher ground to get a better view of the deer.

When the witness was above the reeds, he could see the deer intermittently as it quickly moved off. Across the creek, he saw something large that appeared to be a man dressed in brown clothes wearing a backpack. The observed subject then turned its head and looked over its right shoulder at the witness. The witness was stunned when he realized he was not looking at another hunter. The animal then swung its head forward and moved through the forest “to put distance between us. It was swift and determined.”

The witness then returned to the camp to see if his friend had returned, or if any other hunters had parked in the immediate area. He saw no other vehicles. The witness remarked that any other hunters parked on another road would have hiked two or three miles through dense hardwood forest to reach the creek.

Having no way to contact his hunting partner and not wishing to stay at the camp, the witness decided he would leave and go to a cutover to increase his field of view. He returned to camp once he knew his hunting partner would have returned.

The witness saw the creature at a distance of approximately 50 yards for six to eight seconds. He could see the head, shoulders, and part of the chest. The creature appeared to be standing upright and eight feet tall. The witness estimated the creature weighed 600 to 800 lbs. Gender could not be determined. The hair looked brownish with patches of drab olive green. The animal appeared to have a hump on its neck. It had a perplexed or uncomfortable expression when it looked at the witness. In hindsight, the witness wondered if the animal could have been stalking the deer.

There are black bears in northern Warren County, but there was no resident population in the county at the time of the sighting. The southern part of Warren is considered unoccupied range by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, and there are no verified sightings of black bears in this part of the county from 1971 through 2001. I asked the witness if this could be a bear. He said that bears do not stand on their hind legs. He also commented that he saw no snout or ears. The face of the creature was flat.

Other friends and family have hinted at seeing unexplained animals in the area when prompted, but they would never elaborate.

I found the witness to be very credible.