YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: August

DATE: 17

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Guernsey County

LOCATION DETAILS: Take I-77 to State Route 313 and head west. When you get to (edited) road, turn left.

NEAREST TOWN: Pleasant City

NEAREST ROAD: State Route 313, (edited) Road

OBSERVED: I get up every morning about 5:15 am to get ready for work. On this morning I got up a little early, so I decided to eat a banana. I wanted to look outside to see if there was any deer or rabbits outside. Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of a figure that was huge and black. I thought it was a deer at first, but the more I could see of it, I realized it wasn't. This thing stood up and walked right through the crab apple trees like nothing. Then out of the corner of my left eye, I could see another figure smaller in size, but still as black as the big one. It went running like a child after its parents through the crab apple bushes, kinda wobbling. As It moved through the bushes, I could see the trees shake back and forth hard. I wondered where the big one was and looked to my right, and there it was standing in some thick brush staring right at me in the window. I got sick to my stomach! We stood there staring at each other for less than a minute. I took one step back from the window, then it looked at my dog kennel, and started walking up the hill. The trees were shaking back and forth as far as I could see and then they were gone. The night before, I threw almost rotten bananas and cantaloupe into the back yard. It was the same general location that I first noticed the large dark thing. They were gone by the next day.

OTHER STORIES: The article in the newspaper about a sighting at Salt Fork State Park.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Cool summer morning. It happened between 5:12 and 5:26 AM.

ENVIRONMENT: My backyard consists of grass, thick brush, and some Crab Apple Trees that lead into a steep, heavily wooded hillside.

Follow-up investigation report:

We originally received this report on 8-30-04. After interviewing the witness on site, I asked him to then submit the information to our website.

This individual contacted me in response to another sighting Report #9188 in the same general area. He had read about the sighting in the local newspaper. He was planning to never tell anyone about his experience but the article in the newspaper persuaded him to come forward and talk about his encounter.

A small group of three Investigators from the BFRO met the witness on his property to discuss the encounter. Many interesting things were learned from the investigation.

The site of this incident is a private residence comprised of six acres occupying a fairly typical eastern Ohio hillside. The witness purchased the property and the manufactured home about two years ago, and this was the first incident in the time he has lived on the property. There are neighbors beside the home at a distance of 300 feet and to the front/right of the property about 200 feet away. A year round creek is located across the road at a distance of 100 yards, with a steep forested hill rising beyond the stream. Behind the home is a steep hill. At the time of the incident there was 25 feet of mowed yard, another 20 feet of mixed weeds/grass, and black raspberry plants that were brush hogged once last season and had since grown back to a height of three to five feet, depending upon the plant. Beyond the grown up area was a mixture of brambles, small trees to 15 feet in height, including thorny crab apple. This is your typical Ohio wild scrub lands. Further up the hill second and third growth trees begin. At the crest of the hill is a 20 acre meadow.

The property is lit at night by a mercury vapor pole lamp at the back corner of the home. The lamp is approximately 25 feet in height. As the event unfolded, the creatures were spotted at a distance of 50 feet from the lamp, with the longest part of the observation occurring within 40 feet of this light. Because of the rise in the hill, the lamp was only slightly above where the two creatures were moving. Although the lamp was older and not particularly large, it should be able to provide adequate lighting to allow the observation as related by the witness.

The first, and largest, of the two creatures was initially spotted at a distance of 30 feet. He watched it for a short time before it moved through the weeds and up into the crab apples and the scrub. It moved off at a 45 degree angle and then looped slightly back once it was 10 feet into the trees. It eventually took up a position that was 50 feet from the window peering down at the home. Based upon where the witness placed the creature standing, and raising a tape measure to where he stated the top of the head was, the indicated height was 8' 6". The area where he stated the creature entered the scrub, its path to where it was looking back, and the area where it was standing showed a clear, rather large animal trail, broken weeds and trampled grass throughout. Further up the hill and to the right as you stand on the back porch of the residence, a large bed like area of dead and matted grass was found that measured 10 x 15 feet. This area was connected by the same trail the large creature had taken with two trails leading out of that area. These trails seemed wider and more worn than deer trails I have seen.

The second smaller creature was spotted in the weeds at a distance of 30 feet. The witness only noticed it when It stood up and eventually took a similar route back up into the trees further up the hillside towards the larger creature. The witness states he estimated it to be his size, which I would say is six foot tall and probably 250 pounds.

This event transpired 38 hours before the sighting in Salt Fork State Park. The location is just under 15 miles from the other encounter.

(Above- A 5' 10" BFRO Investigator stands in the exact location where the alleged 8' 6" creature was standing and watching the witness in the kitchen window.)


(Above- A possible bedding area for the alleged creatures? It looked much more impressive in person.)