YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: August

DATE: 29

STATE: Tennessee

COUNTY: Sevier County

LOCATION DETAILS: It was in the woods near some cabins that you could rent for a weekend.

NEAREST TOWN: Pidgon forge

NEAREST ROAD: Unknown

OBSERVED: It was about 10:30 at night. We were driving down a road to go to out cabin in the forest and we saw a large (about 6 or 7 feet.) ape like creature walking down the hill in front of out car. We (Me my mom dad and brother.) all sat there in out seats in awe then drove away quickly.We had been there the last night at about 12:30 at night I had been asleep and my parents saw the creature for the first time and said it was probably a bear and drove off. But after we saw it the second time we knew it was no bear. We came back the next morning after the second sighting and we met another family that said they had seen the same thing about the same time. They said it came within five feet of their car. I never did ask what the face of the creature looked like.

ALSO NOTICED: When we went back the next day we found a broken vine and some slide marks in the leaves.

OTHER WITNESSES: There were about nine of us and we were all just driving along in out cars.

OTHER STORIES: Only the one of the other family I told about.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was dark and it was between 10:30 pm and 12:30 pm. We saw it at both times 10:30 and 12:30.

ENVIRONMENT: It was in a forest it was dark and near some very small scattered cabins and houses.

Follow-up investigation report:

I interviewed three of the four family members (father, mother and daughter, who filed the report) by phone on October 29. Their 14 yr-old son did not wish to speak about this encounter.

The family had driven from Maryland to the Pigeon Forge, TN area for Labor Day weekend, arriving late on Friday, August 29th. After checking-in to their cabin located in the mountains outside of Pigeon Forge they came back to town to eat and were returning to their cabin around 11:30 PM CST when they had their first brief sighting.

The road to their cabin is typical of the mountain roads in the area - winding and steep. The family indicated that prior to reaching the cabin, the road makes a hard right turn and then straightens and parallels a creek bed. At this point the terrain on the left side of the road goes straight up the mountain, and the right side drops off toward the creek.

After making the turn the father and mother both got a glimpse of a large, hair-covered, bi-pedal figure just moving into the brush on the right side of the road. Estimated distance was 20 feet from the right front of their vehicle. They both instantly looked at each other and talked it through, trying to put off the sighting to being a bear, but knowing that was not what they had seen, and in fact stayed up that night talking about what it could have been. The children did not see anything at this time.

The following evening, the family was returning from town to their cabin around 10:30 PM and as they neared the right turn the father joked that they were coming up to 'Bigfoot or Bear Alley'. They were shocked upon rounding the turn to find a 6 1/2' to 7' creature walking on the side of the road within 15 to 20 yards of where they had had the brief sighting the night before.

All four family members had a close hand sighting that lasted long enough for the animal to make several strides on the pavement and then head off the shoulder and down into the brush toward the creek. Their view was from the left profile of the animal. This sighting made a profound impact on all of them and I found it interesting that each of them noticed different portions of the body:

Jay, the father, noticed the waist, thigh and hip and in particular how well defined and muscular they were. He also noted the smooth fluid movement. He estimated the weight at from 275 - 350 lbs.

Kristen, the mother, noticed that the face was flat, and that the head was somewhat domed. She also noticed how broad and muscular the animal was, particularly the buttocks area.

Alex, the daughter, noticed the arms and hands and the upper part of the leg. She particularly noticed that the hand was very much like a humans' and that the body features looked 'eerily human'.

Other pertinent points that were noticed by all 3 family members:
* The hair was thick and dark brown. It appeared 'neat' and seemed to be about 3" long.
* The hair was described as more human than animal-like. There was visible movement in the hair.
* The legs were long and the build was proportionately like a human.
* The animal's gait was very fluid and it appeared to be 'strolling' and in no visible hurry.
* At no time did it acknowledge their presence.

The following day they returned to the area of their sightings to explore the area during daylight. They encountered another family from the Atlanta area also parked in the same area and after visiting with them learned that they had also seen the creature. They explored the creek together and found 'slide marks' where something large had gone down the hill toward the creek. They also found a broken branch. They did have their dog with them on this outing - a hunting spaniel - and the dog showed great interest in the area where something had traversed down the bank to the creek.

I found this family to be very credible and they related their encounter in great detail. Jay is an active duty Navy pilot who has been commissioned for 18 years and in his words is 'used to stressful situations'. I found all three family members to be very good observers and am confident that they had solid, Class A encounters.

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