Geographical Index > United States > Virginia > Halifax County > Report # 19906
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Tuesday, June 26, 2007.
Traveller observes lumbering figure along roadside near Danville
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YEAR: 2003
SEASON: Spring MONTH: April DATE: 19 STATE: Virginia COUNTY: Halifax County LOCATION DETAILS: Location was about 1/2 way between Staunton River State Park and Danville, VA. on Rt 58 at a fairly sharp left-hand bend in the road NEAREST TOWN: Turbeville NEAREST ROAD: Rt 58 OBSERVED: Since this happened 4 years ago you can tell I've been somewhat haunted by it. How I came to believe what I saw was Gigantopethicus or something very like it took time to develop and just tonight (June 26, 2007) after reading the news item about the expedition to the UP of Michigan, finding your site and then seeing Bill Munns model of Giganto on http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/giganto.html
I'm convinced I saw something out of the ordinary.
After driving in from our home in NY my daughter and I were staying in a cabin for a few days at the Staunton River State Park, VA with a friend of hers from VA. On the night in question I had to drive to Danville to pick up and bring back another daughter who was coming up from Greensboro to stay with us for the weekend. Her bus didn't pull in to Danville until around 11PM so I left the park around 9PM. It was a dark, rainy drive with some patchy but not heavy fog.
Because of the conditions and my unfamiliarity with the road I concentrated more on driving than noticing much of the surroundings. At some point around 1/2 way I was coming around a wide bend to the left when my headlights fell upon a broadside view of what I first thought was a huge dog, just off the road moving from left to right. It simply turned it head to look at the lights and lumbered slowly but deliberately towards the treeline. It was then I realized it was no dog. Maybe a lion? It had huge eyes like a lion as well as a mane. But it wasn't shaped like a lion, it was big in the front, big head, big shoulders and chest but more streamlined to the rear. Walking on all fours but not like a dog or big cat. The front legs seemed taller than the rear. If you remember the monster in the scifi movie 'Forbidden Planet' you'll have pretty good idea of it's shape, not of course as exaggerated as that but similar. It did not appear startled or afraid, it simply walked in towards the trees while watching my car drive past.
Since then I had no idea what it could have been until I read something about Gigantopethicus and saw a pic of a statue of it on all fours on a website. That statue I thought was close but no cigar. Then tonight I found the Bill Munns picture with the model in color and it clicked. It was very much the same coloring, mane, head and eyes. The only difference was the size, what I saw was huge, on all fours maybe almost the size of a Volkswagen Beetle but if it stood up not quite so tall...but then again the sighting was only seconds before I had to return my attention to navigating the rest of the turn at maybe 40 miles per hour.
ALSO NOTICED: Nothing as it was a drive by sighting and after the sighting I was too stunned, and maybe too frightened, to go back and try to get another look. OTHER WITNESSES: None OTHER STORIES: None, as this was only a onetime visit to the area and I returned to NY 2 days later. TIME AND CONDITIONS: Around 9-10PM, dark, steady rain not too heavy, light misty patches of fog. ENVIRONMENT: Definitely Pine Forest
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator D.K.:
After contacting this witness, the following details can be added to his report:
-The witness approached to within 50 feet of the creature, observing it as he drove past.
-The figure's back sloped distinctly downward from the higher shoulders to the lower hips. It's back line did not parallel the ground as one sees in a bear or big cat.
-The head appeared large, with excessive hair, like a mane, contributing to its appearance. The eyes reflecting in the witness' head lights were large as well.
-The creature's body was massive, it did not have a snout, a tail was not noticed, and its ears were hidden by thick hair.
-The shoulder line appeared to the witness to be 3 or more feet off the ground. The head extended well above the shoulders
-The figure's gait, as it moved into the wood line, was lumbering and not as smooth as that of a full time quadruped, such as a large cat.
-The hair color in his head lights was a light brown, with darker brown in the thick, mane-like hair around the head and shoulders.
The Bigfoot-Giganto Theory
About BFRO Investigator D.K.:
D.K. is a business executive with an MS in Systems Engineering. Formerly a linguistic analyst, he applies his knowledge to the collection and study of sasquatch vocals and communication patterns. BFRO expeditions attended: Tennessee 2010, Pennsylvania 2011, Ohio 2012, West Virginia 2012 & West Virginia 2013
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