YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Mineral County

LOCATION DETAILS: I have a mapquest image of the area and I labeled it with some approximate points from the incident. I will gladly send this to you.

From Rt. 220 in Keyser, turn onto St. Cloud Street. Head west for several blocks, until you come to E street. Turn Left onto E, and continue on Parkview (E becomes Parkview) and pass the playground on the left. Continue past Potomac State Farm (Left) and St. Thomas Cemetary (on Right) and continue for approximately 2 miles up Green Mtn. At the top, there is a sweeping left turn. The slightly curvy section after this turn is the area where this incident occured. It is between a public access to a hunting area and a residence. They do NOT appear on the mapquest image as it is old.

NEAREST TOWN: Keyser, WV

NEAREST ROAD: Rt 46/4 (Green Mtn. Road)

OBSERVED: So much time has elapsed since this incident, so I am not sure of exact dates and times, so those aspects will be approximations. However, I DO remember EXACTLY what I saw.

It was approximately 9pm, and it was dark and cold. I believe it was around Thanksgiving. My girlfriend lived, at that time, on Green Mountain, about 6 miles outside of Keyser, WV. The area is hilly to mountainous and I will enclose a mapquest picture of the area (although it has changed a bit since the picture was taken). It is technically Rt. 46/4, and the sighting occured along this route, what is now known as Green Mountain Road locally, but older maps may list it as "Hoover Hollow Road".

I was returning home after dropping her off. I was alone and beginning my descent back down the mountain, at approximately the halfway point.

The road changes levels several times in a short distance at this point; many dips and slight rises before the meat of the descent begins. I was in this section and on one of the rises when something on the left side of the road caught my attention. There appeared to be someone sitting on a log on the bank above the road; the "person" looked at me and I realized it wasn't a person at all. The motion of the creature-- for lack of a better term-- indicated that I had startled it-- very sharp, quick movements. The eyes glowed yellowish/amber as my lights hit them; the being had long brownish fur with strands of white (maybe) through it; it appeared matted, or dreadlocked; the feature that struck me most was the size of the thing-- I can't even imagine the actual numbers but, I have a 300 pound Brother-in-law and a 6'3" tall Brother and they both would have been dwarfed by this guy, both in height and weight. I would conservatively estimate the creature to have been at least 400lbs and every bit of 7 feet tall. Upon seeing my car, this creature stood up and jumped from the bank, landing somewhere near the middle of the 2 lane road, and began to run from left to right, into a deep pine and laurel thicket.

I do not know why, but I stopped near the point that the creature entered the thicket and turned my vehicle off. My windows were rolled down slightly, so I could hear the thing running through the thicket-- the sound receded quickly, as if it was moving with considerable speed. I listened for mere seconds, before recognizing the stupidity of my actions forced my hand and I continued on.

As I drove on, I saw what appeared to be a fire burning directly ahead of me. The road bends to the right and the fire was actually on the same side of the road as the point where I observed the creature. Around the fire, I saw several people. They were talking and partying. To me, it appeared that the spot where the creature was sitting was a PERFECT observation point for the happenings at the campfire. And, I remembered him (I say "him" because I got the distinct impression of masculinity from this enormous creature-- barrel chest, thick arms and legs and just a "maleness" to it's movements) turning his head to face me and it turned in a way to suggest that it was looking TOWARD the clearing where the fire was burning. I remember thinkin, "Huh... He just wanted to see what they were doing".

I immediately called my girlfriend after observing the campfire. I told her that I think I just saw a Bigfoot, and I related what I saw. She panicked and told me to come get her, but I was too spooked by then to turn around.

OTHER WITNESSES: I was alone, unfortunately.

OTHER STORIES: Other sightings in the Potomac Valley Region, but mine is the first story I've heard of in Mineral County.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Approximately 9 in the evening. The weather was clear and cold. The only light in the area was that cast by my headlights and the campfire which was ambient, at best.

ENVIRONMENT: Road carved out of hillside; forest w/ maples, oaks and pines and pine thicket.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

I spoke to JR over the phone and he had these details to add-

-JR was driving at night on a secluded area of Green Mountain Road west of Keyser, WV, when his headlights hit a large pair of yellowish-amber ‘nocturnal’ eyes on the left side of the road that were reflective. Slowing down, JR says that he saw that the eyes belonged to a large, hairy creature that was sitting on a log, next to the highway, approximately 50’-100’ away from his vehicle. JR thinks that he might have startled the creature at that point because it stood and with one, ten foot leap, landed past the middle of the highway divider line, and ran into the woods on the right side of the road.
JR then turned the car towards the spot where the creature entered the woods and turned the car off and partially rolled the window down. He could hear heavy, long stride, bipedal footsteps going into the woods as well as the distinct sounds of crashing and breaking limbs. Then, realizing what he had just seen and feeling very shaken, JR started the car and headed home.

-The descriptions of the details of the creature JR saw for approximately 3-5 seconds was that-
-It exceeded seven foot in height.
-It was approximately 400-600lbs, perhaps heavier.
-Its movements were quick, exact and sharp for a creature with that amount of bulk.
-He had the distinct impression that it was male.
-Its hair completely covered the whole creature, except around it’s face. It was brownish with some white interspersed throughout its coat and it appeared matted, or ‘dreadlocked’. JR likened it to a ‘Ghillie suit’ appearance.
-The arms hung very low and when running, swung them forward and back.
-It had no neck.
-Its face was large. JR could tell that the face had no hair on it, but could not discern any facial details like the nose, chin or brow ridge.
-The girth of its chest was enormous. JR estimates that the length between its breastbone and its backbone was approximately 24 inches.
-The shape of its head was ‘taller and longer’ than a human’s, ‘sort of like it was wearing a helmet’.

-On the way home, JR noticed the flickering lights of a campfire, near where he had seen the creature, with several people sitting around it, partying. Later, after studying the layout of the land and the local terrain, JR feels certain that the exact spot he had encountered the creature would also be the ‘perfect’ spot for someone, or something, to watch the people around the fire without their knowledge. And if he hadn’t of driven up to the creature at that moment in time, it might have continued watching the oblivious partygoers.

-From JR’s description of the Green Mountain area, there is a heavily abundant supply of deer and other game as well as dependable sources of fresh, clean water throughout the area. It is sparsely populated and has miles upon miles of undisturbed terrain in which to hide. JR has hunted the area frequently and is very familiar with the animals that roam there.

-I found JR to be honest, forthright and sincere in his rendition of the encounter, and from his description, I am convinced that he had seen a Bigfoot.

About BFRO Investigator Cathy Betz:

Cathy has been a nurse for over 27 years and currently works in a busy ICU. An amateur naturalist, Cathy has been intrigued by the bigfoot phenomenon from an early age.
Attended the following expeditions:
- The 2006 Florida Expedition
- The 2007 North Carolina Expedition
- The 2008 South Florida Expedition
- The 2008 North Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Central Florida Expedition
- The 2009 Utah Expedition
- The 2010 TN Survey Expedition
- The 2011 East Texas Expedition
-The 2012 North FL Expedition
-The 2013 Michigan Upper Peninsula Expedition
For more information, please see the Florida BFRO

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