YEAR: 1981

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: Memorial Wkd.

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Pierce County

LOCATION DETAILS: Off a logging road, on the east side of Alder Lake. Not a developed campground, so no real directions to it.

NEAREST TOWN: Eatonville

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 7

OBSERVED: We decided to take a walk upstream, where the creek was narrow and rounded a bend away from camp. We got about 1/4 mile from camp and noticed rustling sounds in the bushes directly across the creek from us, maybe 40-50 feet away. We kept walking upstream, pausing a few times to listen, each time still hearing the rustling. As we kept walking and trying to see what was making the sounds, we realized whatever it was, was keeping pace with us across the creek. Then we noticed a face peering through an opening in the bushes. It was mostly covered in reddish-brown shaggy hair. The eyes were a golden brown color. The sun was dappled through the branches over head, but light enough to really see it looking back at us. We kept walking another 100 yards or so, with the sasquatch peeking through the bushes maybe 2 more times. ABout then we all looked at each other and remembered that the creek ended upstream in a swampy area and we would be face to face with it if we kept going. Also the realization that we were being paced by a huge seemingly sentient creature panicked us, and we ran back to camp, fast. We told our parents, who took us pretty seriously. I remember reading about other sightings in the area that same weekend, whne we got home from camping. We didn't see or hear anything else that weekend, but we were too scared to go far from camp after that.

OTHER WITNESSES: 4 total - myself, brother & 2 cousins, walking upstream from camp, exploring, on a small trail that went along the north side of the creek.

OTHER STORIES: We were camping for about 5 days and when we got back and read the newspapers that had piled up, we saw a sighting reported in the same area on one of the days we were camping. We took that as a confirmation of sasquatch activity at Alder Lake.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Midday, sunlight filtered through trees.

ENVIRONMENT: A small creek that flowed into Alder Lake, about 1/4 mile away. Typical creekside vegetation - alders, thimbleberries, wild rose, ferns.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kristine W.:

At the time of the incident, the witness was camping at Alder Lake with her family and two other families. She was fifteen years-old and walking with three younger children. All involved were between eleven and fifteen years-old.

Details obtained during the interview are as follows:

The face was about six feet above the ground level and the skin color seemed to be the same shade of brown as the hair around the face. In order to see the children, the witness felt that the animal parted the bushes to look. She estimates that the initial gaze lasted for five seconds and that she made eye contact with the animal.

About BFRO Investigator Kristine W.:

• Bachelors of Science Degree in Botany -- University of Washington.
• BFRO Curator of Report Information for Washington State
• Attended all of the public BFRO Expeditions in the American Pacific Northwest
• Organized numerous smaller non-public expeditions in Washington State