YEAR: 1985

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 24

STATE: Arkansas

COUNTY: Crawford County

LOCATION DETAILS: Location was 4 miles from home near a old forest watch-tower

NEAREST TOWN: Cedarville

NEAREST ROAD: hiway 220

OBSERVED: I'm still wondering if I should be telling this since it's still hard for me to believe what happened while hiking an old logging road in Cedarville, Arkansas located in Crawford County.
My parent's had just bought a home. We had been in the home for about a year now at this point and I had now a very good knowledge of all the forest area around us. And as a 15 year old boy I loved going out into the wood's finding deer antler's and going on hikes up to the old forestry observance tower. This particular Friday I had planned to take my pup tent and a little food with me and go camping like I had done several time's before. I started my hike with my best friend, Chris H. who was staying over for the weekend to go camping with me. We left the house right after he arrived, around 5pm and we got to where we were going to camp out at around 7pm high up on the mountain which is a long, hard and treacherous hike by any means. We set up out tent and made a nice fire and started to cook hot dogs when I needed to go to the bathroom so I went off into the wood's to do natures business. Shortly after digging a hole I heard something being thrown through the branches. This happened about 4 or 5 time's and I thought it was Chris clowning around and I yelled at him to stop throwing stuff at me, I then heard him yell back that he didn't throw anything to quit playing games that if I throw something again he was going to throw something at me. It didn't make sence, I wasn't throwing anything at him, I was pulling my pants back up when I was hit with a stick about an inch in diameter and about a foot long that was freshly "twisted" off of a tree. I got back and had the stick that hit me in my hand because I was going to hit Chris with it since he hit me but he was in his tent and I asked him to come out and he said he wasnt that he was mad at me for throwing stuff at him that he got into the tent so he wouldnt get hit. About that time we heard low, long grunting burping sounds that started out quiet and got louder towards the end of each grunt, I didn't know what it was but it was getting louder each time, it would make the noise 3 or 4 times and stop and then the sound of something being beaten on with what reminded me of hitting a baseball bat aginst a tree but really hard and then hard thud sounds like it was being hit on the ground and then the grunting would start again. By this time me and Chris were scared, I had a 22 rifle with me that my dad made me always take camping if it were just us kid's in case of coyotes. I got the 22 out of the tent and Chris got the light and shined it into the wood's and about 25 yard's from us we saw a very tall man standing there beside a tree as soon as the light hit his area, he ducked behind the tree but we noticed with the light he was huge, around 7 foot tall at least and was wearing what reminded me of a gillie suite that hunters wear, all covered with a redish brown fur. And the smell that was coming from it was awful. It reminds me of road kill and a wet dog combined together. I didnt even dare using the rifle because I knew that if you shot anything large with a .22 you're just going to do much to it because even a deer wont drop with a .22 and this person or thing was a lot bigger than a deer or a bear which are in the area. Me and Chris backed up slowly,poured water on the fire, we were still hearing the grunts but not the same sounding grunt's, these were now more of a growling ooohhhh sound. We finally turned and using the light to keep from breaking out necks ran as fast as we could. I havent been hiking or camping since, don't ever plan to go again and will not live near any forest areas much less in. We moved from Cedarville 2 years later and I haven't been back since and won't be for as long as I live. Me and Chris dont even talk about that night. We both had nightmares for a long time about that night. I know what I heard, smelled and seen and never want to see it again. Now I live in Las Vegas, Nevada and I'm fine without the forest and trees. You will never get me in them again because I know what's in them.

ALSO NOTICED: dont know, didnt go back and will never go back. for all I know the tents and camping gear are still there to this day. I dont want them bad enough to ever go back. you'll have to drag my body there to get me there

OTHER WITNESSES: 2, myself and Chris

OTHER STORIES: nobody talks about these things, at least not these country people. you'd get laughed out of the state

TIME AND CONDITIONS: it wasnt too dark with the moon shining on us, it gave us pretty good light. It was pretty cool outside, but not too bad.

ENVIRONMENT: heavily wooded, rough, rocky terrain.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Ron Boles:

I talked to this witness via phone, a very rational man who ever since he had this experience 25 years ago, has had an irrational fear of the woods to this day. When he and his friend shined the light on the animal they briefly saw its face, noticed eye features, the nose being broad and flat. He also recalled that unlike most descriptions of sasquatches in reports, this one's shoulders were not as wide as one would think, given its height. But the arms were longer than usual human proportions. When the two then teens were retreating from the woods, the animal followed them for most of the hike back home.

This witness stated that there were some older folks in the area that would often warn he and his friends that they might run into something big and hairy, he did not take them seriously. I told this witness that if he ever wanted to meet at this area and face his fear, I would go with him into the woods and hopefully help him overcome a traumatic childhood memory. He accepted the offer, on one condition; it would have to be in the daytime.

About BFRO Investigator Ron Boles:

BFRO Investigator for the Ozarks
Attended and organized numerous BFRO Expeditions starting in 2007. In the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Ron is an avid student of the outdoors, ecology, folklore and regional history.

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