Geographical Index > United States > Washington > Clallam County > Report # 13816
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Wednesday, February 15, 2006.
Possible encounter with soldier training training in the Olympic National Forest
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YEAR: 1966
SEASON: Spring STATE: Washington COUNTY: Clallam County LOCATION DETAILS: North-central Olympic National Forest. There was a river nearby. NEAREST TOWN: Only Logging Camps NEAREST ROAD: Logging Roads OBSERVED: My name is Ken Gosline. In 1966 while stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington with the 4th Inf. Div., I had an encounter with, what I believed to be a bear, but now I know it was a bigfoot.
The encounter itself did not happen at Fort Lewis. We were on operations up in the Olympic National Forest prior to leaving for VietNam. Myself and about seven other guys volunteered to play the enemy and try to sneak through the Company Lines. We waited till way past sunset before we attempted to infiltrate the lines. We were moving extremely slow, so it had to be past midnight when we were discovered and all hell broke loose. I lucked out and was not captured. I laid under a tree, avoiding capture for well over an hour. When I finally made it back to the logging road it had to be 3-4 a.m. When I got close to my Company area, I heard what I thought was another soldier coming down the side of a hill toward the logging road. I couldn't make out any details, just the outline of a "Big" G.I. If I couldn't make out his unit, I figured he couldn't make out mine, so I figured to reverse roles here and capture him. I challenged him by yelling "Halt, who goes there?" His answer was this ungodly growl that scared the crap out of me and I took off running down the logging road. Thinking it was a bear and that he was right behind me, I ran like I never ran before. I finally saw the campfire at my Company area and headed for it. Not knowing about bigfoot at the time, I told the guys I was chased by a bear. The next day I found out I was the only one to escape capture so it couldn't have been any of the guys out there.
That growl was "REAL", not another G.I. trying to scare me. I left for VietNam in September 1966 and got back to "The World" in September 1967. I remember watching a T.V. special in October or November of 1967 about a creature that was filmed by a Mr. Patterson in the Northwest part of the U.S. At that time it all started coming together. Why it looked like a large G.I. coming down the hill and the real, scarey as hell growl. A bear, standing upright, coming down the hill with that slope would have been thrown forward onto all fours long before and wouldn't have been able to cover that distance walking upright. OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses. TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early morning hours. Clear but dark. ENVIRONMENT: Mostly pine trees and hills. There was a dry riverbed where I was and a river by the Company area.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Caroline Curtis:
Ken states he had laid very still and quiet for over an hour.
This night was chosen for their "war games" because there was no moon. The hill he spoke of was very steep and he was standing very still when he heard what he assumed to be another soldier. He is very certain that it walked on two legs.
The recently logged hill was very sandy. Along with hearing the footsteps he also heard the dirt move with each rapid step.
At the time he had never heard of bigfoots, so the growl made him assume it had to be a bear. His buddies had to be told something because he returned very scared.
There were no sounds to indicate something was chasing him. He only heard his own breath and heart beating as he ran back to his Company. No unusual smells. He did not return to the area to look for tracks.
He was from New York and 19 years-old at the time. Currently lives in Florida and has been a law-enforcement officer over 30 years. Very credible witness.
About BFRO Investigator Caroline Curtis:
- Worked as an Assistant to a Circuit Court Judge in Florida for thirteen years
- An avid outdoorswoman, growing up in the UP of Michigan on a family-owned fishing and hunting resort
- Certified Visual Tracker, Level 1
- Attended and assisted with numerous public and private BFRO expeditions
- She and the Florida BFRO organized South Florida Expedition 2008, North Florida Expedition 2008 and Central Florida Expedition in 2009.
- She and the Michigan BFRO organized the Lower-Michigan Expedition in 2011, Michigan UP Expeditions in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018 and Wisconsin 2018
- BFRO Secretary for almost 20 years
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