YEAR: 2001

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

DATE: 9

STATE: Texas

COUNTY: Hunt County

NEAREST TOWN: Quinlan

OBSERVED: Several Bigfoot were observed with binoculars in a deeply wooded area. They were dodging in/out of the tree line, like a game of cat and mouse, with each other. Thought it was a hoax being played on me and just watched them move closer in my direction. We also heard some cackling noises in the distance that I likened to hyenas or coyotes. Separate from these noises were dogs barking in the area. Horses in the area that became real jumpy. After walking into wooded area, we disturbed a large creature that let out a very deep and loud growl that I've never heard any animal make before and we heard a loud thud like a heavy animal jumping. Shots from a .45ACP handgun were fired in the vicinity followed by heavy footsteps and branches/brush being disturbed by the same heavy animal making a hasty retreat. We went into the same distance and reached a creek bed area. There was dead silence and we noticed some smudged prints near the water's edge but didn't hear a splash or any other noise. We got the feeling that we were being watched and feared that whatever we were following had doubled back on us and might corner us with our backs to the water. By this time, it was darker outside but in the more open areas you could see without a flashlight. As we were leaving the area, we heard very heavy footsteps and stomping along with tree branches crashing to the ground that I likened to a bull dozer without the engine rushing behind us. We got to a clearing and turned to face whatever it was and saw a HUGE, silver-grayish colored Bigfoot just at the tree line. It was in the 10 O'clock position from where we were and it was stomping and "bluff charging" or "mock charging" at us and throwing branches. The trees in this area were middle growth to mature trees and he (appeared to be male by the aggressive nature and sheer size...) was rattling these trees with no problem! We squatted down to get a better look and to take aim at him in case he charged. He stayed within the tree line and rocked back and forth like a gorilla. The only sounds that were heard, at this point, were the stomping and the branches being thrown at us. He was about 20 yds. away from us and the large branches were coming very close. I had the gun aimed right at him and I'm convinced that he had a better sighting on me than I had on him because he reacted just like a squirrel on a tree does. I was thinking about taking a shot at him when suddenly from the 12 O'clock position, we noticed another Bigfoot that was shorter than he was and wasn't as thick, up top, and appeared to be female because of (her) actions. The larger one(10 O'clock position) was at least 8 or 9 feet tall and was very massive in the shoulder areas. The smaller one(12 O'clock position) was at over 7 feet tall and was standing there rocking back and forth, but not as violently as the larger one. (seemed like she was following his lead and waiting to see what he would do next....) As long as I pointed the gun in their direction or shined a flashlight at them, they stayed behind the trees and tried to hide their faces. It became a sort of hide-n-seek as I shined the light to see their faces. I did catch a glimpse and the face appeared more sloth-like, from what I saw. They had BIG heads, the eyes were dark looking despite the growing darkness and flashlights. On one, I did notice a sort of frowned expression on the face and it almost looked sad. At this point, I couldn't shoot because I wasn't sure that it still wasn't a hoax, although I understood what I was looking at. Also, it almost seemed like they could almost understand things more than other animals. (I won't say they were thinking and reasoning.....) But, it was as if they were upset that I shot at them and was asking me "WHY?" The larger one (10 O'clock position) became more agitated and wanted us out of the area and began to stomp more and more, so we decided to slowly back out of the area (with gun pointed in their direction) and leave. As soon as we got out of the area, we then heard what I likened to a loud shouting type of horse whinnying shout. That I labeled their victory call, for running us out of the area. I had a camera hanging from my neck but didn't touch the camera until I got home and noticed it hanging from my neck! I was very much afraid and wasn't sure if I'd make it out of there alive or not.

ALSO NOTICED: Footprints were smudged so I didn't bother to make any copies. (I was STILL thinking this was a hoax, at the time.....) As I stated before, I didn't use my camera for obvious reasons. The larger male(10 O'clock) stomped and threw branches. Those hyena/coyote like cackling, the deep and very loud growl/grunt, and the horse whinny type of shout afterwards. Also sounded like a bunch of other sounds like if someone was trying to confuse me or something. (That's why I thought someone was trying to pull off a hoax....)

OTHER WITNESSES: My friend who owns the property.

OTHER STORIES: Then in the spring semester at Paris Junior College I heard a man in his early 50's talking about Bigfoot. So I listened. Remember I never told anyone of this story until he finished his story. I asked this man where he lived and he said Klondike, TX. So I told him of my experience. He said prior to me telling my experience that some federal agency had come down to take hair samples and to do other observations.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Mid-afternoon to early evening. It was a cool, clear day.

ENVIRONMENT: Wooded farmland with several creeks in the area that feed Lake Tawakani.

Follow-up investigation report:

Several TBRC investigators and I met the witness on 10/26/02. We discussed his report in detail. We also recorded the interview on minidisk. The witness had voiced in his first email to us that he was hesitant about contacting us. He did seem to be visibly shaken while recounting his story, and he seemed uncomfortable when we were in the area of the encounter.

His encounter occurred on a Saturday, Dec. 8 2001. It was a cool, clear day. The witness had gone out to some private property at the insistence of the property owner, who is his friend. This piece of property is approximately 5 or 6 acres. It is heavily wooded and there is a trailer there. There are several creeks that run through the area. While the friend was doing some fence repair, the witness noticed some movement in the treeline. He could not make out what was moving, only that it was fairly large. The horses on the property had been acting skittish all day long.

Later, after hearing some noises, they followed what was making the noises into a wooded area. They heard something big moving through the trees and underbrush. They were then confronted by a large Bigfoot. It was described as being 8 to 9 foot tall, at least 500 lbs, upwards to possibly even 1000 lbs. It had an erect posture, not slumped or hunched over. The shoulders were very wide, 4 feet or so across. The facial features were a frowning mouth, large, dark eyes that did not reflect eye shine with a flashlight. The neck was short and the head was round, not conical. It was covered with straight, short (1 inch long or so) hair, silver gray in color. The hair did not cover the face, but did cover the body. The hair on the head was slightly longer than on the body. The skin on the face was a tannish color. This animal was observed for at least 5 and maybe even 10 minutes at a distance of 25-30 yards. It was acting in an aggressive manner, throwing tree branches at the 2 witnesses.

The reporting witness was considering taking a shot at the animal with his .45 handgun. They then noticed a smaller animal in the treeline directly in front of them. It was a foot or so shorter than the other animal. This was did not act aggressively towards them. It was assumed that this was a female, although no breasts were observed. The witnesses backed out of the area. As they left, they heard a loud, almost horse whinny type of sound. They retreated to their vehicle and left the area.

They returned the next day and found some footprints leading toward the water. They were in a muddy area and it looked like they had been sliding. One of the tracks appeared to have 4 toes. The step between the tracks was longer than a humans.

We then went with the witness to the general vicinity of the area. The property owner does not want this reported, so we did not have access to the property. We did stop at Caddo Creek, the creek that flows through the property into Lake Tawakoni. On the east side of Hwy 34, we noticed several times that the sounds of the insects died down. This did not happen on the west side. There was a good breeze. While we were there for 30 minutes or so observing with Gen III night vision and then spotlights, we did not see anything. There was a very bad odor that would waft in for a few seconds and then disappear many times. It had the distinctive odor of death, and may have just been a dead animal in the area.

We will hopefully be able to talk to the property owner and gain access to the property. If so, we will file a follow-up report. The property owner was aware of these animals passing through his property. He does not seek any publicity.

TBRC Investigator

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