Geographical Index > United States > New York > St. Lawrence County > Report # 25661
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Wednesday, March 18, 2009.
Wood knocks heard and tracks found near Canton
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YEAR: 2009
SEASON: Spring MONTH: March DATE: 3 STATE: New York COUNTY: St. Lawrence County LOCATION DETAILS: It is across the road from my house NEAREST TOWN: Near Canton, NY OBSERVED: Good Day,
I am An Avid outdoorsman I have spent my entire Life in the woods Hunting, watching and Tracking Animals & Birds I am writing to you within Minutes of what I have just seen, While out in the Woodlot across from my Residence With My Chesapeake Retreiver we walked for some distance across a frozen Swamp and Ahead of us I seen bare ground so I followed my dog that way she was undisturbed in her activity like she is every day and in front of me I noticed a line of Human shaped Bare foot prints, and I asked myself who in the heck would be out on the ice in their bare feet this time of the year and upon closer inspection there were toes and one one foot a long misshapened toenail I have several pictures on my cell phone and have a knife lying next to the print for size verification, this discovery comes after taking my dog out to use go to the bathroom and hearing what sounded like a stick striking against a tree which I found odd also this i heard three times then it stopped.
ALSO NOTICED: The Distinct Sound of an Object Banging on a tree like a large limb in the middle of the night approx 0130 about 5-6 nights ago and with this my dog being very intimidated, by lying on her belly and not wanting to come in and looking in the general direction of this sound, and this is completely out of normal behavior for her,
we also found several trees at various heights from the ground twisted apart OTHER WITNESSES: myself and one of my friends coma over we revisited the Area and took 60+ photos OTHER STORIES: No, not to my knowledge TIME AND CONDITIONS: 1600 E.S.T. ENVIRONMENT: Ash Swamp, flooded right now with approx 18 inches of smooth ice
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Todd Prescott:
On Monday, March 23, 2009 I arrived in the area where the tracks were found and the woodknocks heard. Since I arrived at 3am, I proceeded to thermal the area with an L-3 Thermal Eye X200xp. I also periodically made various calls/sounds in the hopes of inducing a response. At approx 4:30am, while I stood on the edge of a field, I heard what sounded like a faint response to one of my calls. It was too faint to determine exactly what may have made the response and/or record it on my DVR. Nothing conclusive showed on the thermal either.
Just after 9am, I met with the witness at his house. He graciously invited me into his home where he talked me through everything that happened on March 18th, as well as the incident with the woodknocks a few days prior.
We spoke at length about the topic of bigfoot. Witness informed me that he had lived in the region his entire life (40 plus years) and had never found tracks as he'd found that day, March 18th, 2009, or anything comparable to the woodknocks that he'd heard a few days earlier. He did however mention a story told to him by one of the local 'old-timers' concerning the sighting of a female bigfoot many years prior as the old timer was hunting in the area.
The witness lead me to the area where the tracks had been found five days prior. I was able to witness remnants of the tracks showing in the ice. For the most part, the ice had melted, but small patches remained with traces of the footprints. I was also shown a Christmas wreath that was hanging from a branch some 12ft up a tree approx 30-50ft from the tracks. I found this odd. The wreath was probably thrown up on the branch, or placed. However, there was a sapling in front of the tree that would have prevented someone throwing the wreath up onto the branch. It is possible that the wreath was thrown up onto the branch before the sapling was tall enough to block. It struck the witness as odd, and I'd have to concur - indeed it was a strange find. Witness hunts wild turkeys in the forest where the tracks and wreath had been found. If the wreath had been there in previous seasons, the witness hadn't noticed it prior to finding the tracks. The wreath is a standard looking wreath with a large, red ribbon tied across it.
Photos of the tracks that the witness' friend took show a splayed foot gait. What I mean by 'splayed foot gait' is that the footprints face outward. The slippery ice could account for this unusual gait characteristic, although I'll leave conjunctures up to the reader. I would estimate the prints as being 14-16 inches in length and 4-5 inches in width (based on photos sent in with a U.S. dollar bill beside the tracks as a measurement gauge). The step distance (left to right, or right to left) of the tracks appears to be approx. 4ft. Witness submitted a photo of himself stepping beside the tracks. He is 6ft tall and had to really stretch his step to equal the step distance left by the tracks. The area where the tracks were found is a swampy, deciduous forest. The tracks were deeply embedded in ice. Witness considered cutting out a track from the ice, but unfortunately, the ice was just too thick and hard to do so. According to the witness, toe impressions could be found in a couple of the tracks. This was verified by his friend who he called to come over and take photos. Photos of the tracks can be found via the 'Snow Track Finds' section under NY North Central Tracks on the BFRO homepage. As well, a link to a discussion of the tracks also appears on that same page.
When the woodknocks occurred five days prior, witness' dog reacted in a most uncharacteristic manner. The 120lb Chesapeek, who normally fears nothing, proceeded to lay on its belly and not move. The witness, after several minutes, was able to coax the dog back into the house. The Chesapeek has spent countless hours with the owner in and around the forest where the tracks were found, and where the woodknocks emanated from. The dog had never acted in a such a manner previously. Not only did the dog become motionless outside, but it couldn't be coaxed out of the house for two days after the woodknocks sounded.
The tree twists that the witness mentions in his report are interesting, to say the least. There's a series of twisted, broken or split branches/trees of sumac and willow all within a 1000sq ft radius. The aforementioned trees are healthy, living trees, with the willows being saplings. Only the living trees seemed to have been affected by whatever caused the damage. One tree with a diameter of 4inches is strangely twisted, while other trees exhibit branches that are unusually split from the middle outward. My first impression as to what may have caused the tree damage was weather, until I saw the twisted trunk of the willow. The breaks and splits looked to me like the result of ice damage. The witness didn't recall any major local storms or ice coverage on the trees. At the time of my visit, I had no explanation for the twisted trunk. I contacted an old friend who specializes in assessing tree damage for insurance purposes. He also works in landscaping/horticulture. With his expertise, he concluded that the damage to the tree with the twist was probably caused by the wind operating in parallel with an ice load on the tree/branch creating the failure (twist). For a more detailed explanation, go to the public forum (Post Links To Images/Videos Here section, sub-section Tree Twists/Breaks In North-Central NY). Here's the direct URL...
http://s2.excoboard.com/exco/thread.php?forumid=115581&threadid=2033712
Of note, another report (report #25631) from the same general area (with sightings/encounters over a 30yr period) also came to the BFRO about a week prior to the above report. I have spoken with both witnesses of both reports and researched both areas of interest, with the limited the time that I had. Fellow BFRO Investigators, and myself, are going to stay in contact with the witnesses and research the areas more thoroughly when time permits. If needed, a follow-up will be provided.
About BFRO Investigator Todd Prescott:
Todd Prescott has been researching the subject of bigfoot for well over 20 years Todd attended the 2006 and 2008 B.C. Coastal Expeditions, 2008 and 2011 Pennsylvania Expedition, 2010 Pennsylvania Mini Expeditions, the 2007 Ontario Expedition and he hosted the Ontario 2009 Expedition. His research has taken him as far as Alaska to PA, Northern Ontario to BC, including a 2-week solo expedition throughout the Bella Coola (B.C.) region. In 2012, 2013, and 2014, Todd had the honor and privilege of spending many days/nights with one of the pioneers of sasquatch research, Mr. John Green (1927-2016), in BC where he was granted permission to peruse Mr. Green's extensive files dating back to 1957. Todd also had the unique experience of researching with Mr. Green near Harrison Hot Springs one evening. Currently, Todd is working on several books pertaining to the subject of sasquatch.
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