YEAR: 2003

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: South Dakota

COUNTY: Jackson County

LOCATION DETAILS: i am quite surprised that there are no other reports, coming from the wanblee area. there is a creek running from a butte (8 miles south of wanblee) through wanblee and out to the badlands. and there is a rich history of sightings of bigfoots in this particular area.

NEAREST TOWN: wanblee

NEAREST ROAD: highway 44

OBSERVED: i just started working as a police officer, and i was assigned the midnight shift. i was doing my basic patrols, when i was runing low on gas. the officer who was working the evening had the gas card with him and he lived approx. 7 miles south of wanblee on a gravel road. i did speak to him over the phone and he said that he'll be waiting for me to come get it. i drove out to his residence and i did get the card and i started driving back into wanblee.

as i was coming over a hill (the ditch area is approx.4-5 feet deep, on both sides of the gravel road) my patrol unit was a chevy tahoe, which did sit kind of high to the ground. i was north-bound when i started to descend the hill i noticed some thing "bobbing" in the ditch (west side of the road) and i was kinda high off the ground. i thought it was a bat or a bird, so i did'nt think nothing of it. the next minute, i did saw something run across the road, right in front of me. it was running towards the east. i did see what i think was the shoulder area to the thigh area, through the windshield. i had a side view of this thing. i could still remember seeing the reddish-brown hair which covered the thing. the hair looked to be approx. 4-5 inches in length. and the overall torso/body from what i could see, was slim. from the chest to the arms. the arms were long and slim, i do not remember seeing the hands. it only happened for a brief second or so, but what ever it was.....was very fast. i did stop and turn around to try to see what it was , but it was gone

ALSO NOTICED: the next morning, i did find some impressions in the ground. upon feeling the impressions (with my own feet) p.s. i wear a size 13 boot. and i could make out the heel and toes in impression, in the grass. but i could not locate any foot tracks in the dirt, as the ground was very hard.

OTHER WITNESSES: just myself

OTHER STORIES: too numerous, there is a creek line that runs through town (wanblee) out to the badlands. i'm pretty sure you all are familiar the that region. if you plan any expeditions in South Dakota you should try there. jsut give me a call and i'll brief you, as best i can

TIME AND CONDITIONS: approx. 0400-0430 hours. the weather condition was clear, but there was no moon light, as it was very dark.

ENVIRONMENT: rolling hills, the incident occured as i drove into a valley. there was a few trees and brush in the general area

Follow-up investigation report:

I have had the opportunity to talk with this officer many times over the phone, by email, while meeting with him and staying at his home and I have visited the location. From our discussions, a few details can be added.

He was driving at a moderate speed of about 35 m.p.h. when, out of the corner of his eye he noticed some movement off to his left. Almost immediately, within two or three seconds a large upright figure dashed across the road from his left to right. The sighting lasted for just a second and crossed so suddenly that he didn't even have a chance to step on the brakes until it had already passed in front of him. The figure was brightly illuminated in his headlights but was so close, probably within five feet, that he was only able to see from its thigh to its shoulder. The lower legs were out of his view beneath the hood of the vehicle and the head was above his immediate field of view and out of the light. He described the torso and arms as "skinny" and mentioned the prominent swinging of the arms.

Several local residents and police officers are now in contact with each other. Their investigations are continuing.

David Petti

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