YEAR: 1985

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 11/13/1985

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Alcona County

LOCATION DETAILS: Huron National Forest in the Hayes Tower area, Beaver Pond 1/4 mile away.

NEAREST TOWN: Barton City

NEAREST ROAD: south of highway 72

OBSERVED: Myself and several others were at our deer hunting campsite, we had used the same spot for years. While we were sitting at our campfire, we heard this mournful wail just outside the light of the campfire behind one of the campers. Next there was what sounded like a low growl then a sort of howl yelping sound, we all went for flashlights and stopped dead in our tracks when we heard the sounds of trees being snapped and branches breaking. We changed from flashlights to rifles as the growling increased. We stood there looking out into the dark for what seemed like 20 min or so then the sound started moving away deeper into the woods. At daybreak we ventured out towards where the sounds were coming from and found several small trees snapped and bushes uprooted. There were what could have been footprints but the ground was so tore up, it was impossible to tell what kind they were. Later that morning a friend of mine was out scouting for a place to put his blind and he came across a huge mound of earth that looked as though it was just piled there. He called the camp on his walkie talkie and told us to come out to where he was we could find him by following his trail markers into the woods going south off the logging road. When we got to him he was pointing his rifle towards some thickets of tag alder saying that when he approached the huge pile of sand and earth he heard the same sounds that we had heard the night before coming from that direction.To make a long story short we contacted the DNR in Harrisvile and an officer came out upon examining the dirt mound several mutilated deer and some wild blackberry bushes were buried in it. Again the ground was tore up so bad that no distinguishing footprints were apparent. The DNR officer said that what we had in the area was most likely a big bear. We have used that site ever since and have never encountered anything like that year again. We still talk about it over the campfire though.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 9:30 pm, cloudy, cold some snow flurries.

ENVIRONMENT: National Forest.

Follow-up investigation report:

This report was originally submitted to the Texas Bigfoot Research Center.

I talked to the witness and found him to be credible. He is a “two-tour Vietnam veteran” and in his own words he does “not scare easily.”

The witness described the incident as occurring in a remotely forested region of Michigan, not more than 12 miles from Lake Huron. The witness was among a group of nine hunters who had all retired to their tents. The time was approximately 2200 hours. The forest was quiet and there was a very light snow falling. The hunters had built a sizeable fire and it was apparently still going strong.

The serenity of the evening was abruptly cut short by what the witness described as a “god-awful sound” originating from “just beyond the firelight” at an estimated distance of 20 – 25 yards from the tents. The witness further described the sound as a “scream” beginning in an extremely high pitch, and modulating downward in tone to a low growling, moaning sound. The sound was extremely loud and boisterous and with it came the unmistakable sounds of a “bunch of trees being snapped”. The witness stated that the “screams” persisted along with the shaking of branches and snapping of trees for approximately one hour. In all, the number of screams that the witness remembered totaled perhaps five. The witness remembered that it was difficult to determine whether or not the hunters had more than one tormentor, but that “it could have been two or more.”

At one point during the incident, the hunters went to their vehicles that were parked just outside their tents and retrieved their weapons. The witness stated that he did not actually feel as though he was in a life or death situation (his weapon was a .300 magnum), but he and his hunting partners felt sure that "something didn’t want us there.” At no time during the tantrum did the “two-tour Vietnam veteran” feel sufficiently brazen to venture out and unmask the unidentified aggressor(s), nor did any of his associates. After the screams and the tree-breaking, branch-shaking noises trailed off deeper into the forest, the witness and his party retired back to their tents, and the remainder of the evening was uneventful.

The next day, the hunters embarked out into the wooded area where the previous evening’s tirade had taken place, and noted numerous trees broken “four to five feet up.” The trees were no less than “four inches in diameter.” The witness described the ground as being “torn up,” like something had “kicked and jumped around.” No tracks were discernable but it was obvious to the hunters that “something was mad.”

Later, one of the witness’s hunting partners found a suspicious “mound” of earth as he was attempting to find a place from which to hunt. The “mound” appeared to be approximately “14 feet in diameter” and “two to three feet high.” The hunters were quite disturbed by their find and their experience and turned to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Apparently, a representative of the office came to site for an investigation. The mound was found to contain in it several deer carcasses that had been eviscerated, and had had the legs “ripped off.” The hunters thought that the deer carcass wounds were not the result of cutting or chewing, but the result of “tearing.” “Blackberry brush” was also discovered in the mound. The DNR representative called the mound a probable “bear stash.”

In summation, although the occurrence seems strange and surreal to most who are not accustomed to investigating bigfoot sightings, to those of us who talk to witnesses day in and day out, the occurrence falls within expected parameters of bigfoot intimidation behavior. I must admit that I am in disagreement with the DNR representative’s assessment of the situation. Although I did not have the privilege of inspecting the area, I cannot attribute any of the behavior encountered to bear. Nor can I attribute the deer carcass cache to bear. I have spoken with several bear experts and wildlife biologists in the BFRO and they also failed to see the connection.