YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: August

DATE: 8TH

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Washington County

LOCATION DETAILS: TAKE HWY-77 SOUTH FROM GREENHEAD ABOUT 3 2/2 MILE.

NEAREST TOWN: SUNNY HILLS GREENHEAD

NEAREST ROAD: ROLLING PINES RD.

OBSERVED: IT WAS AROUND 9:30 PM ON 8/8/04. I HEARD MY MINIATURE HORSES MAKING A RUCKUS IN THE YARD. EARLIER THAT DAY I HAD CLOSED THE FRONT GATE SO THEY COULD GRAZE IN THE YARD. IT WAS RAINING FAIRLY HARD AT THE TIME AND MY OUTSIDE FLOODLIGHT BY THE SHED/BARN AREA WAS NOT WORKING. I HAVE A 300 WATT FLOOD LIGHT ON THE BACK PORCH AND I PEERED THROUGH THE DOOR 12 INCH WINDOW AS I TURNED THE LIGHT ON. I OBSERVED WHAT APPEARED TO BE WHAT IN FLORIDA IS KNOWN AS A " SKUNK APE ". IT WAS DIRECTLY STRAIGHT ACCROSS FROM THE PORCH ABOUT 40 TO 50 FEET OUT IN A SMALL AREA OF PINE TREES. IT STOOD ABOUT 7 TO 8 FOOT HIGH. AS I TURNED ON THE LIGHT IT LOOKED DIECTLY AT ME THEN TURNED TO THE RIGHT AND WALKED BACK INTO THE DARKNESS BEHIND AN OUTBUILDING THAT BLOCKED THE LIGHT. I COULDN'T BELIEVE WHAT I SAW AND TILL NOW I KEEP THINKING I'M GOING NUTS AND IT PROBABLY WAS A HORSE BUT MY HORSES ARE34 INCHES AND UNDER AND IT WAS ON MY SIDE OF A FENCE THAT RAN BEHIND THE SHAPE I SAW THE RAIN MADE IT SORT OF SHINE ON ITS ARM THAT SEEMED TO HANG I'D SAY TO THE KNEE AREA. TOTAL TIME I SAW IT WAS AROUND 2 TO 3 SECONDS BUT AS IT WALKED AWAY INTO THE DARK IT SEEMED TO KEEP LOOKING BACK AT ME.

ALSO NOTICED: HEAR LOUD SORT OF SCREEMS EVERY ONCE IN AWHILE.

OTHER WITNESSES: NO OTHER WITNESSES

OTHER STORIES: FOUND OUT THAT SOME FARMS NORTH OF MY PLACE NEARER TO MOBILE SWAMP HAVE HAD GOATS KILLED BUT THE ONLY PART MISSING WAS THE HEAD. WTNESSES SAID THE HEADS WERE LIKE THEY WERE JUST TWISTED OFF. BOTH TIMES IT WAS RAINING. ALSO A HOG HAD BEEN KILLED AND MUTILATED OR TORN APART. ONE NIEGHBOR WHO LIVES ON THE EDGE OF THE SWAMP HAS SAID THAT HE HAS HEARD SCREEMLIKE YELLS COMING FROM THE SWAMP AND HAD SMELLED A REAL BAD STENCH OR SMELL AROUND HIS HOME AND BY THE SWAMP AT TIMES BUT IT DOESNT LAST FOR A LONG TIME LIKE A DEAD ANIMAL. THE SHERIFFS DEPT. WAS NOTIFIED AND INVESTIGATED THESE ANIMAL KILLING BUT WAS TOLD THEY CAN'T TALK ABOUT IT. ALSO I WENT TO THE SWAMP IN BACK OF A FRIENDS PROPERTY AND FOUND IN THE SAND A FOOTPRINT IN THE SAND IN A LITTLE AREA BY THE SWAMP. THE PRINT WAS APPROX 4 TO 4 1.2 INCHES LONGER THAN MY FOOT ,WHICH IS SIZE 9, AND 2 INCHES WIDER AND APPEARED TO HAVE AN ARCH. MY FRIEND SAID NO ONE WAS BARE FOOTED THAT HE KNEW OF AND THEY DONT GO BAREFOOTED NEAR THE SWAMP. UNFORTINALLY MY NEPHEW MESSED UP THE PRINT AND IT WAS A FEW DAYS OLD. BREAKING LIMB AND WALKING THROUGH WATER NOISES ALSO HAVE BEEN HEARD FROM THIS SWAMP AREA.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: APPROX: 9:30 PM , RAINING FAIRLY HARD. REAL DARK UNTIL I TURNED A 300 WATT FLOODLIGHT ON.

ENVIRONMENT: BORDERING A MANAGEMENT AREA WITH PLANTED PINES AND WOODED AREA. AREA GOES NORTH TO SUNNY HILLS WHERE MOBILE SWAMP GOES THROUGH THE AREA.

Follow-up investigation report:

I visited the witness at his home for this interview.

We also visited the swamp where many different people have heard strange vocalizations. Mobile Swamp is actually a very large swamp that covers many miles. The area we explored is exceptionally dense.

The witness introduced me to the son of his friend who owns the goats and he related an incident that had happened to him that previous hunting season. He stated he was in an enclosed deer stand in the late afternoon when he began to hear very loud screaming. He said the screaming was coming from further down a game trail that his stand was situated over and as he listened he could tell that whatever was making the vocalizations was moving in his direction. He said that just at the point he thought he would be able to see what was making these noises, the screaming stopped. At this time he had become very nervous and decided to leave the stand before it got dark. He said he'd never heard anything like it before in his life.