YEAR: 2025

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: February

DATE: 28

STATE: Oregon

COUNTY: Jackson County

LOCATION DETAILS: Encounter happened off Parker Meadow Road
Coordinates are 42.51485, -122.38887

NEAREST TOWN: Butte Falls

NEAREST ROAD: Nearest paved road Butte Falls/Willow Lake Hwy

OBSERVED: I was motorcycle camping in the Rogue National Forest of Friday night, about 3 miles from Fourbit Ford Campground (I have the exact location of my campsite marked on my Gaia GPS map).

I had a campfire, ate some dinner, and went to bed at about 9:00PM.

At 11:52PM, I woke up to the sound of what I believe was an elk, running behind my tent, crashing through the forest. I would estimate that it was less than 100 yards away.

I've heard elk running through the forest before, so I wasn't alarmed. I did wonder what would cause the elk to run headlong through the forest at night. I thought possibly a predator - likely a cougar.

Then about 2 minutes later, from the same direction as the elk, I heard three distinct percussive sounds that sounded like wood on wood (each strike was about 1 second apart). This is something I've never heard before, so it caught my attention. At this point, I was listening closely.

Roughly a minute later, I heard three more identical knocks, but they were farther away (I would estimate another 100 yards to the right of where I heard the first set of knocks). Another minute passed and further off in the distance, I heard another three knocks in the same pattern as the first and second set. And finally about another minute later, I heard one more set of identical knocks on the edge of my hearing. It seemed like the same animal was making the sounds - moving away from my location, and likely following the path of the elk.

At the time I was struck by how fast the creature was moving away from me. I had been up in that area earlier in the day and it was an old clear cut that was a tangled mess of branches and brambles - it was tough going. A man couldn't have covered that much ground, in pitch black darkness, that fast, in a tangled mess of a clear cut. It was the craziest thing I've ever experienced.

ALSO NOTICED: I spent a sleepless night there - the next morning I felt uneasy and got out of there as quick as I could.

OTHER WITNESSES: No

OTHER STORIES: I'm not aware of any other incidents like this. I've camped in this area (or near it) at least 10 times and never had an experience like this one.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 11:52PM is when the encounter began. Skies were clear, pitch black night, Weather was fair. About 45 degrees Fahrenheit.

ENVIRONMENT: Mixed conifer forest, elevation about 3800ft.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.

- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

- Juris Doctorate (Law degree) from University of Akron School of Law

- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.

- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.

- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.

- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.

- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.

- Current Director of the BFRO

- Available for private bigfoot expeditions and conferences. To inquire please email ContactUS@BFRO.net