YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Washtenaw County

LOCATION DETAILS: Crooked Lake Rustic Camp Grounds near the lake.

NEAREST TOWN: Pinckney

NEAREST ROAD: Silver Lake Road

OBSERVED: While hunting in the Pinckney State Recreation Area during the last week of deer season my hunting partner and I heard loud whooping or howlling type noises similar to those heard in recordings on this site along with bi-pedal type foot steps through heavy brush. The sound of the foot steps were very heavy and we could hear branches breaking as it moved around. My partner and I were a few hundred yards apart and the noise came from a thick cover between our spots. We both heard it as my partner called me on the two way asking if I could hear it too. I don't know that it was a bigfoot however it was scarry enough for me to remove the safety from my gun and actually swing in the direction it came from knowing my partner was in that direction as well. I have continued to hunt the area since then and have had no further incident.
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ALSO NOTICED: Nothing other than the noises we heard. Did not enter the thick brush to look for anything. Went back to same area for afternoon hunt alot more cautiously and heard/saw nothing.

OTHER WITNESSES: Yes there was my hunting partner who was in his blind and I was in natural cover off a trail.

OTHER STORIES: Only those listed here in Washtenaw County.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Mid morning around 9 a.m.

ENVIRONMENT: Bowl type valley about 1/4 mile from lake. woods with trails and intermittent heavy tangle brush.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Don Peer:

I spoke with the witness by phone. He stated that he heard a series of whoops and screams followed immediately by loud branch breaking sounds that sounded like very large branches being broken. He thought it was coming from the direction of his partner so he radioed his hunting partner on his two-way radio and his partner heard the same sounds and thought it was coming from his way. This meant the source of the sound was obviously between them, which was a low gulley and thickly wooded.

He said the sounds only lasted about a minute but unnerved both hunters. He only sat there for a little more before going back to the campsite and sitting by the fire. He went back out later in the afternoon without incident and has camped and hunted the spot several times since without incident. The largest animal in that part of the state is the whitetail deer, which does not make that kind of noises and do not normally repeatedly break large branches.

I have personally experienced large branch breaking during BFRO expeditions and while scouting and doing investigation follow-ups, by which I believe to be sasquatch. I believe they may do it as a way to scare people away without a confrontation.

If it was not a deer, the other two possibilities would be a sasquatch or a person. A person would be fool hardy to make such noises during firearms deer season in an area where hunters are known to be. This leads me to believe that he heard a sasquatch which probably knew the hunters were present and was doing an intimidation display to spook the men out of the area, without getting close enough to get shot at.

The Pinckney State Recreation Area is a large tract of state land in southern Michigan that is dotted with small lakes and is quite thickly wooded. It is heavily populated with whitetail deer.

About BFRO Investigator Don Peer:

Don Peer lives in northern Michigan and has studied the bigfoot phenomenon all his life. He has attended numerous Michigan expeditions and co-organized the 2011 Michigan BFRO expedition. He is an avid outdoorsman and works for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Don Peer may be contacted at dpeer_mibigfoot@yahoo.com

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