YEAR: 1999

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

STATE: North Carolina

COUNTY: Onslow County

LOCATION DETAILS: From Hubert you can take Hwy. 172 to where it meets Hwy 17. From that intersection look to the right & you can't miss the pecan tree.

NEAREST TOWN: Camp Lejeune

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy. 172 & 17

OBSERVED: I have always wanted to tell this story to someone and after reading report #1939 I finally have the nerve to tell it. I live in Carteret county and at the time worked in Sneads Ferry (Onslow County) and the commute to work everyday took me through camp LeJeune via the back gate. As I made the turn onto Hwy. 17 off of Hwy. 172 I noticed what I thought was a bear sitting down under a huge pecan tree on the right. Since there was about 50 or 60 feet distance between me & "the bear" I decided to pull of to the side of the road & watch him for a minute. It was a warm July morning & I had the windows of my truck rolled down as usual and noticed the most ungodly smell I had ever experienced. It was kinda like rotten eggs mixed with sewage & sulfur. As I sat & watched I quickly realized that this was no bear as the creature stood up from the croutched position walked over to the pecan tree & began shaking it.

I was floored by what I was watching. Understand that this tree is immense & the creature had no problem shaking the pecans from it. Pecans that are still in the green hulls by the way. I wanted a better look at it since the whole sighting was with it's back to me so I put the truck in 1st gear (ready to bug out if need be) & blowed the horn. It suddenly stopped & just completely froze still with it's back to me. it stayed like that til I layed down on the horn about 10 seconds later & it slowly turned & looked right at me. Thats when my heart decided to do the 50 yard dash in 2.3 seconds. I couldn't see it's face that well but it stood about 8 - 10 ft. Tall & it's hair was very long & matty. It stared at me for what seemed an eternity & made a loud screaching noise & tore off into the woods. The sprint from the tree to the woods was about 30 yards or so & it took him no time to reach them. I'm talking split seconds!

On my way home that day I decided to stop again and though the creature was gone I could still smell that ungodly mix of stinch. To this day when I pass by that pecan tree my heart races.

ALSO NOTICED: About 8 hours later when I went by I could still smell it.

OTHER WITNESSES: None.

OTHER STORIES: Yes. BFRO Report # 1939.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was about 6:50 a.m. Lighting was sufficient enough that I needed no headlights. Conditions were calm

ENVIRONMENT: Wooded area mostly pine & nearby swamp area. Atlantic Ocean is about 3/4 mile as the crow flies.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone.

He stated that the animal was about seven feet tall with long, straight reddish brown hair and appeared to be well groomed. It did have one area that the hair was matted down. The back of one of the hands appeared to be bare.

The witness also said the animal walked kind of hunchbacked and always on two feet. It also appeared to have almost no neck, the head being sunked down into the shoulders. It had very long arms that reached almost to the knees. It was built very heavily with the upper torso and shoulders being more bulky than the lower extremities. He was unable to make out any facial details.

The pecans at this time of year are still in the green stage.

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