YEAR: 1972

SEASON: Summer

DATE: Big Bay area-early '70s. Probably 72-74 range. Second Incident, during a bike trip appox 2:00 a.m. Oct. 22, 1984

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Marquette County

LOCATION DETAILS: Marquette County, MI South of Big Bay, East of Co. Rd. 550 Shore of Lake Superior and Surrounding woods.

NEAREST TOWN: Big Bay

NEAREST ROAD: Co. Rd. 550

OBSERVED: First Incident: When I was about 7 years old we were at Lake Superior on the beach. We found a set of footprints in the sand. They were very large. My parents said they were a lot larger then a normal footprint would be, even for a large adult. (When your only 7 anything would seem big.) Later when we were leaving, we heard a screeching that sounded similar to a screech owl, or a primate at the zoo. (This is the best I can describe it.) A Very Large "something" also started jumping up and down fairly close to us. We were in the woods near the lake almost to the car at the time. We couldn't see what it was but it didn't appear to want us around. My mom thought in may have been college students playing a prank or on drugs. It was to big for that. I wanted to go see what it was, but my parents let me. We left in the car quickly. A few days later there was an article in the Mining Journal (local newspaper) that some guy and his girlfriend saw a bigfoot on an old road in the same area.

ALSO NOTICED: There may have been more than one critter screeching in the Big Bay area incident. Its been so many years I'm really not sure. My parents might remember. The more I think about it, I seem to remember a group making the screeches and then one coming closer to us. Also, my moms friends relative or friend or something like that, (you know small towns), knows the guy who saw the critter on the road and told the mining journal. She would know how to get in touch with him.

OTHER STORIES: Second Incident: Many years later I was returning from a long bicycle tour.('84) I was travelling between Munising and Marqutee on M-28. I had all ready rode about 110 miles and was dead tired. (This area is extremely isolated, lots of nothing). I decided to stop and camp. Who cares if the sleeping bag was wet from previous bad weather, I was beat. I was in sort of a low area of gully on the highway when I stopped to pitch the tent. Something let out a screech from the woods. I don't know what it was, but it sounded a lot like the thing from the Big Bay area. Believe me I suddenly got enough energy to petal the additional 40 miles to home. I don't know if it was just an animal or otherwise. I do believe this is worth mentioning as it sounded similar and I was in an extremly desolate area. Still it could have been some other type of critter, so I'm not claiming this to be a definite "sighting" in any way. I never talked about this to anyone outside of my family for fear of being considered a "nut" case.

ENVIRONMENT: Big Bay area: Extremly Isolated except for Co. Rd. 550 and some camps and dirt roads in the area. This area has become somewhat more populated in the last 25 years. But overall it is still pretty desolate. Lake Superior shoreline, many swamps, ponds, lakes, rivers in the general area. Thick woods of varying types, hardwoods, pine etc. There is an abandoned RR grade that used to run between Marquette and Big Bay further inland. A few small "Towns" used to exist in this area years ago. Actually they were usually nothing more than a few houses or logging camps. There is next to nothing left of them. The film "Anatomy of a Murder" (1950's) was partially shot on location in Big Bay. In the movie it is called "Thunder Bay", the movie was shot here as it was based on a true story. This is rugged country lots of hills in the area. Reports of cougar being sighted have happened numerous times in this general area over the last few years. Cougar stay away from people. I'm not sure if the D.N.R. acknowledges them still being up here. They usually say someone mistook a bobcat. Needless to say the locals know better. Munising/Marquette (M-28) This section of road is quite similar to my description of the Big Bay area. There have been more camps and houses built in the area since them, but it is still quite isolated. The majority of the building done along the Superior shoreline for its value as waterfront property. The inland area are still quite isolated.