YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 17

STATE: Minnesota

COUNTY: St. Louis County

LOCATION DETAILS: Witness requests location kept private.

NEAREST TOWN: Hibbing

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 73

OBSERVED: We live at a rural residence south of Hibbing. Shortly before 5 on Saturday July 17th, 2004, my husband had gotten up and started his coffee when he started hearing strange noises. He said they sounded like a low cry or calling noise. He said he had never heard anything like it before and so he stepped out the door and thought he would walk down to get the previous days mail and see if he could determine what the noise was.

When he was next to his car he looked to the left into a growth of pines about 50 ft away and he saw a figure there that was 6-7 ft tall and not in clothing and covered in fur head to foot. It was on two feet. He looked at it for several seconds and was too stunned himself to move and then it noticed him and ran off to a field or the woods just north of us. It ran in human form and not on 4 legs. My husband went to the area after but there was not much he could tell on the pine needles but in the grass he could see large footprints pressed down.

Later that day my father walked out to the grassy area and followed his tracks a while and he came upon feces that he says were not from deer or bear.

OTHER STORIES: We heard just the day after the encounter that others had seen a similar creature to the east of us on an old logging road but we do not have dates.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early morning, clear weather, low light but enough to see clearly at 50 ft.

ENVIRONMENT: Area is rural northern Mn on site of an old farm...close to state hwy...river nearby and lakes within a mile and a half.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the husband, who was the witness, by phone.

He stated that when he went outside to investigate the strange noise that he heard the animal vocalized again. He said that it did not sound like a scream but more like a call.

The animal was standing upright near the pines and he was able to see it very well. He estimated its height at between six and seven feet, and of a greyish-brown color. He did not remember seeing any facial features. When the animal noticed him and ran towards the woods it was behind a row of pine trees.

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