YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 4

STATE: California

COUNTY: Nevada County

LOCATION DETAILS: Nevada County, near Nevada City, Californa.

NEAREST TOWN: Nevada City

NEAREST ROAD: Withheld for privacy reasons.

OBSERVED: We were driving up (withheld) road to pick our son at a friends house when the creature passed in front of our vehicle, approx. 15-20 feet in front of us. It was clearly illuminated by our head lights. It appeared 7 to 8 feet tall w/ thick brown/black hair. It had two long legs and only took two strides to cross the street. Then, about 30 minutes later on our way back, we saw it again, this time our son was with us.

ALSO NOTICED: no

OTHER WITNESSES: mother, father & son

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Evening

ENVIRONMENT: pine forest, snow

Follow-up investigation report:

Investigators Robert Strain and Kathy Moskowitz talked with the witnesses by phone. The following details can be added to the report:

Two sightings occurred on January 4, 2004 at 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Both sightings occurred on the same road. The witnesses, a husband and wife, were on their way to pick up their son from his friend's house. There was a lot of snow on the ground, and although the road had been plowed, it was very icy and were driving very slow. It was also very dark, because the road did not have any streetlights.

Without warning, a creature on two very long legs, approximately 7 to 8 feet tall, walked right in front of their car to the other side of the road in two very long strides. Since the animal had moved so fast and they were going so slow, the witnesses didn’t have to break or swerve. Since they caught the animal in their headlights just a few feet in front of their car, they were able to tell that is was either black or dark brown in color and was completely covered in hair. Although they could see its profile, they could not make out any details. After it crossed the road, the animal went into the yard of one of the houses and hid in a clump of trees. The witnesses continued on to pick up their son, and after arriving at the friend’s house, discussed what happened for about 15 minutes.

On the return trip, around 10:00 p.m., the wife suggested that they slow and turn on their brights to see if they could see the animal again. Approximately 60 feet in front of them, they spotted the same creature standing in the middle of the road. The animal crouched down, in apparent reaction to the glare of the lights, and continued across the road on all fours. The husband tried to look for where the animal had gone, but due to the snow and ice, he was not able to continue.

The wife had the impression that the animal was distressed, both by the weather conditions and being caught twice by a car.

The investigators visited the location of the sighting on January 24, 2004. The sighting occurred in a "neighborhood" of very large, forested, home lots. As you near the end of the road, the homes thin out considerably. The road then leads into a remote area, consisting of several thousand acres of ideal habitat.

Both investigators thought that the animal was likely stressed by the poor weather conditions (snow had gotten fairly low in elevation) and followed the natural terrain (and maybe previous knowledge of the area) into the residential area to scavenge from trashcans. After being seen the first time, the animal had ample time to exit the area but was still present when the car returned. The animal was apparently unwilling to leave until it had accomplished what it intended. It also appears that when seen the second time, the animal may have tried to “fool” the witnesses by walking on all fours to give the appearance it was a bear.