YEAR: 1974

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 18

STATE: South Carolina

COUNTY: Horry County

NEAREST TOWN: Myrtle Beach

NEAREST ROAD: Serpintine Road.

OBSERVED: At the time of the sighting I was on duty as a Security Police officer in the U.S. Air Force at the Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. I was patrolling on a security road called the Serpintine at about 9 pm. The temperature was pleasant at about 69-73 degrees. The Serpintine is in a restricted area zone within the base and lies in a heavily wooded area. There was a full moon that night so I turned off my headlights to see if I could follow the road with just the moonlight... it was very bright and this was easy to do once my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I remember driving around a curve when I decided to turn my headlights back on. Much to my surprise I saw a creature in mid-stride just as it was about to leap over a ditch by the roadside. It made the jump with ease and disapeard into the tree line in about 3 seconds. The creature had light brown fur covering all of its body that was not long but it was not short either. As I had been trained to report situations of any nature as correctly as possible I believe that the following information is fairly correct. The creature stood about 7-8 feet tall and probably weighed about 400 to 450 lbs. For its size and obvious weight it had remarkable agility and speed. The jump that it made cleared 14 to 16 feet with no problem. It had a body like a large human covered with hair.

I called my flight chief and had him meet me out on the Serpintine road where I explained to him what I saw as was my duty at the time. He said that he believed me but thought it was in the best interest of my career to not put this report on the police blotter that night and that I should simply forget about the incident altogether. Until now, I have done just that.

ALSO NOTICED: See above.

OTHER WITNESSES: No.

OTHER STORIES: Yes. There was one other incident with myself and three other Security Police that were in the SAT Team vehicle in a similar area on the same base.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: See above

ENVIRONMENT: Nice weather, around 70 degrees, forested with road running through it. See above.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone.

The witness stated that the animal was always upright. He also said that the coat was of a sandy brown coloration. The animal was very hairy and he was not able to see any facial features as it was turned away from him travelling across the road.

Although the sighting was brief, he was able to remember many of details because of his military police training.

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

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