YEAR: 1979 or 80

SEASON: Summer

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Polk County

LOCATION DETAILS: Private property on north side of road, between orange grove and reisdences. It's very rural and swampy. Don't know who owns property.

NEAREST TOWN: East of Lakeland, FL

NEAREST ROAD: State Road 540

OBSERVED: loud noise, like a large stick being banged against fairly large tree trunk approximately 20 to 30 yards off trail I as on. Tracks found in area several weeks later.

ALSO NOTICED: Creepy feeling of being watched several times before and since, unusual animal noises heard at night.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2 other witnesses, but they will not come forward

OTHER STORIES: None that I know of and no activity recently probably due to new highway in this area, but there is a large landfill further east of this location.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early to mid afternoon, very sunny and very hot

ENVIRONMENT: Swampy bottom land, used to be old phosphate mine in the 1920's

Follow-up investigation report:

I've talked with the witness B.H. and the trail she was on is now her parents' driveway. This is off SR 540. Her parents' driveway/trail is about 1/8-1/4 of a mile long.She doesn't live in the area now but does house sit for her parents at times.

The area is still overgrown in some areas. She said the last occurrence that she can recall would have been in the early 1990's. When she had a feeling of someone watching her and the "hair on the back of your neck standing up feeling, and that whatever is watching you wants you to leave". She said, that also was the feeling she had back in 79' or 80'.

The sounds she has heard are as follows: A high pitched whistle, an almost shriek sound, huffing noises, and something large moving through the underbrush and a screaming noise that her great aunt heard who also lived out there.
I asked her to listen to the sounds that I had and she said that they sound similar to some of them, but couldn't swear that they are identical.She also said she didn't smell any strange smells at the time
Since her parents still live out there, I asked her to keep her ears and eyes open if something new develops.

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