YEAR: 1993

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: September

DATE: 4

STATE: Arizona

COUNTY: Greenlee County

NEAREST TOWN: Alpine

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 666 (191)

OBSERVED: I was archery deer hunting in September 1993, when I had a visual encounter with this creature. Around 7:00 a.m., I was slowly stalking down a hiking trail in a heavily wooded area when I began to feel extremely uneasy and almost unnerved. I had the intense feeling that I was being watched and/or followed. There were no other people in the area other than my hunting companions and they were not in this general vicinity. I kept moving along the trail literally one step at a time, all the while anxiously looking around for the source of my uneasiness. After about 25 minutes, I was standing on the trail just looking behind me when I saw this creature walking rapidly down the same trail towards me. I watched it walk closer and closer for about 6 - 8 seconds (it seemed like minutes) then when we were about 70 - 80 yards apart, it turned 90 degrees from the trail and disappeared over a ridge. I followed it to the top of the ridge to try and get another look at it, but when I heard a sound that can only be described as a cross between a grunt and throat clearing, I decided I had enough and left the area.

I returned to the area 6 weeks later to novicely investigate and came across what I can best determine to be a posssible bed. The following year, while hunting the same area I came across an abandoned shelter that has no human signs as far as being built or utilized.

ALSO NOTICED: Yes,
-possible bed
-possible shelter
-suspicious trees broken off about 5 feet high

OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses to the sighting, but several witnesses to the possible evidence.

OTHER STORIES: I've heard of other sightings from third party individuals.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 7:00 a.m.

ENVIRONMENT: 9100 feet in elevation, mountainous pine and aspen forest.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone. He stated that before his brief encounter that he had experienced a very uneasy feeling and thought that there was some type of large animal in the area.

He described the animal as being about six and a half feet tall, dark brown in color and weighing perhaps three hundred pounds.

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at illinois@bfro.net