YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 22

STATE: Oklahoma

COUNTY: Le Flore County

LOCATION DETAILS: Billy Creek campground

NEAREST TOWN: Big Cedar

NEAREST ROAD: road 6020a, highway 63

OBSERVED: This was our third trip to the LeFlore county area. We were aware of the BFRO reports from this area and decided to camp,explore and just enjoy some time outside. To become more familiar with the area we wanted to spend time in the Honobia Wildlife Area and the Ouchita Nat'l Forest. We arrived late on October 22nd and just picked an easy place to access. We set up camp in the Billy Creek campground. At approximately 2330 hours Ann and I both heard an unusual sound. Ann described the sound as being a cross between an elk and an elephant. She heard the sound twice and thought it came from west of us on a slight ridge. I heard the sound four times and thought it came from the creek bottom. I would describe the sound as having a hollow quality with two distinct pitches. The sound lasted about three seconds with the first half being the higher pitch. Our dog was acting rather nervous for a short time before and during the sounds. After the sounds he settled down and went to sleep. We didn't hear anything else. We were the only ones in the campground that night. The next night there were three other tents. We heard nothing that night. We're not saying that this was a bigfoot, but we've spent quite a bit of time outdoors and haven't heard anything like this previously. Being rural people we're aware of the different wildlife sounds but, this was a new one to us.

ALSO NOTICED: nothing noted

OTHER WITNESSES: My wife and I were in the tent. Our dog was also with us and acting rather nervous.

OTHER STORIES: It was our first time in this particular campground. The 2 previous trips were spent camping up and off of old roads.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was approximately 2330. It was very dark, cloudy, with intermittent soft rain.

ENVIRONMENT: Mixed hardwood and pine forest near a creek bottom. The campground was approximately 50 feet above the creek level which was running with water at the time.

Follow-up investigation report:

I talked to the married couple by phone on November 26, 2004. The couple were on their third trip to the area doing bigfoot research and rock climbing. They had heard of the reports from the area via the BFRO web site, and were interested in the subject. Their first trip was the spring of last year (2003). On this trip, they arrived at the campground on a Friday, the 19th of October.

It was misting/light rain when they arrived at the campground after dark. They had a map they had purchased showing local camp grounds, and they had chosen this location because it was in Le Flore County, OK, where many sasquatch reports had been reported.

The wife said that she was having a hard time going to sleep that night when she heard a strange sound like a cross between an elk and an elephant. She heard it twice, and her husband heard it four times. The husband described the sound as a two-pitched sound that lasted for about three seconds. It started out as a high pitch, then midway through the vocalization the tone lowered. There was about a thirty-second pause in between each call. The witness said it had a "hollow" quality somewhat like a foghorn. The sound was estimated to be far away by both witnesses.

The couple obviously was not scared or troubled by the incident, but they did say it didn't sound like any animal they had heard. The man and woman had been rock climbing in Colorado and other areas, and had heard big cats and elk. Neither of the latter matched the calls they heard on the 19th of October.

The next morning the couple tried to point to the direction they thought the calls came from, but they couldn't agree. She thought it came from the south, and he thought it came from the ridge to the north. They had camped near a stream, so they explored this area and the surrounding forest before they left but found no tracks or other evidence.

The couple live in Kansas, and they make a three or four day adventure out of their days off and occasionally travel to this area. They thought the encounter interesting and submitted a report.

Though the encounter dealt with sounds only, I find this report compelling and posted it as a Class B report because it is near the same road around which the BFRO and TBRC did a joint-outing last June. The area may be home to bigfoot, according to a previous witness that took us to an area near the same road the camp ground is located. A local hunter speculates that an unknown animal(s) may travel north of a highway going through this county. The highway runs parallel to a mountain range and river that would be excellent habitat for an unknown animal, and there are caves near this camp ground that an animal can use for shelter. As a matter of fact, the locals claim the caves are used by bears for dens. There is rich food sources including edible vegetation, aquatic food, and abundant game for an omnivorous animal to live on.

We plan another outing with the TBRC soon, and I will be sure to recon this area again.