YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: 20

STATE: Oklahoma

COUNTY: Tulsa County

LOCATION DETAILS: It is the "four wheeling" penninsula right next to the Appalacia Bay boat ramp. It is closed right now due to the lake level being up 15+ feet, so it is an island now, so whatever we saw will still be there unless it can swim.

NEAREST TOWN: Shady Grove

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 64/412

OBSERVED: Last night my friend, his girlfriend, and I went kayaking around Keystone Lake, in Oklahoma. The lake levels have been about 15 ft above normal, and we decided to go kayaking and camping. There is a penninsula that is open during the day to people to use four wheelers and dirt bikes on, but since the water has been so high for about a month it has been inaccessable to them due to the path going out there, is under water. We got out there about 8:00 p.m. and kayaked the mile or so to a nice sandy beach, and set up the tent and started a fire. We cooked hot dogs and fished a bit but caught nothing. Midnight rolled around and my friends girlfriend had to be at work early the next morning so he was going to escort her back to her car. Just as they were getting their gear together, we heard some grunting and repeating howling noise with the same tone pattern about five times. I am an Eagle Scout and a seasoned camper in these parts, so hearing this noise frightened me a bit and made me not want to tend the fire alone on the island. I then kayaked with the two of them back to the cars. My friend and I returned to the camp site about 1:30 or so, we got the fire started again and decided to fish a small wooded area that was under water 50 or so feet from our beach. We did that with no success for 30 minutes or so, and headed back to the beach. My friend was about 20 feet the shore and I was about 30 feet and we passed a lower area with willow trees on our way back to our camp and a very large rock, much too large for a human to pick up and throw landed within feet of his kayak. We stopped and shined our flash lights at the shore to see what threw that at us. We could only see just beyond the trees due to the low hanging willow trees. We sat and talked a minute about what just happend and another slightly larger rock landed in the same area making a huge splash. We both got really scared and back paddled a good distance from the shore. I told him what I thought had just happend and watching a show on Bigfoot one time, I remembered that they throw rocks and make similar noises to the ones we had heard earlier. We made the decision to pack up and head out. We heard or saw nothing else while packing up the tent and gear. We took turns shining a light in the forest while the other packed his gear, because we were both pretty scared. I have camped hundreds of nights and have never left in the night, like we did last night. We kayaked around the island before we left to see if any boats were anchored, but we were definitly the only humans on the island.

ALSO NOTICED: The grunting and vocals we heard sounded like they were near the east end of the island.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2, Both kayaking

OTHER STORIES: I have kayaked this lake 60+ plus times and have never encountered anything like this.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 2:00 a.m. Clear sky, temp was low 60s

ENVIRONMENT: Half of the island is sandy beaches with willow trees. and there is a very large hill that goes up on the east end of the penninsula that is very rocky, with thick pine trees.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Sybilla Irwin:

I spoke with this very credible witness and have these details to add from both witnesses:

• The vocalizations started after midnight and lasted several minutes. They were unlike anything both had ever heard before. The “Whoop-howls”, one right after the other, reminding them of monkey or chimp calls. The animal repeated the same tone and pattern about 5 or 6 times and it grew higher in pitch toward the end of the vocalization. His friend reported that it sounded as if the animal was trying to imitate another animal because the last repetition was flawed, as if its voice had cracked. The vocalization sounded like it originated from the other side of the island.

• His friend had mounted flashlights to the rigging on the front deck of his 13ft kayak so he could see the shore as he approached; he was the first to approach the beach. At 100 feet from shore he noticed the reflection of green eyes wandering around their campsite that strangely watched him the entire time he was approaching but disappeared into the forest by the time he beached his kayak. At the time he didn’t mention this to his companion.

• At approximately 2:30 to 3:00 AM they approached the beach for a second time, (After fishing). They were close enough to see their campfire, when a large rock was thrown that landed within ten feet of his friend. They immediately backpedaled the kayaks at least ten feet and were shining their LED lights so that most of the shore was illuminated except a few feet past the shore where the willow trees began. Their flashlights did catch the second, “Bowling ball” sized rock thrown at them in the same vicinity as the first rock.

• The area where this event occurred is typically a peninsula but can be underwater and inaccessible to four wheelers from May through July.


• Keystone Lake is a 26,000-acre recreational area located in north-central Oklahoma. It is located on the Arkansas River just below the confluence of the Cimarron River. It has a diverse 330-mile shoreline and a public hunting area covering approximately 15,500 acres with sandstone bluffs, sandy beaches, steep hills of post oak, blackjack, hickory, cedar and bottomland timber. Sandstone hills are covered with scrub oak, grassland, prairie fields and plum thickets. Principal wildlife includes white-tailed deer, rabbit, quail, dove, squirrel and waterfowl.

About BFRO Investigator Sybilla Irwin:

• Bachelor of Arts Degree from Texas A&M University

• Self employed Artist

• Professional stained glass artist and teacher.

• Professional Artist

• Fine artist. (Oils, pastels, & watercolor) Wildlife, Portraiture, Landscape, and sketches of Sasquatch for investigators and witnesses.

• Attended Texas Expedition 2008, Colorado Expedition 2008, Oklahoma Expedition 2008 and numerous private expeditions. She has attended: Michigan UP Expedition 2009, Utah Expedition 2009,Wyoming Expedition 2009, Colorado Expedition 2009 attended the Oklahoma Expedition 2009. In 2010 she attendee BFRO 'Investigator Only' expeditions in Texas and Colorado. She attended the
Colorado Expedition 2011. She Co-lead the BFRO's first all female expedition held in November Texas Expedition 2011. She lead and organized the recent Texas Expedition 2012.

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