YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 18

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Sumter County

LOCATION DETAILS: center grade by the power lines

NEAREST TOWN: mascote

NEAREST ROAD: 445

OBSERVED: Me and my father were hunting at richloam wildlife management area. we had been walking through the swamps all morning and on various occasions there was a really fowl smell that would come and go. At that time I just figured it was the swamp.

When we got out of the swamp we were thirsty so we decided to run to the store since we had some time before we went to where we were going to hunt the afternoon. While driving out to the store we came around a curve in the road there was something really big that stepped half way behind a scrub oak alongside the road. My dad was only going about 10 to 15 MPH and as we went by we got a good view of what it was or at least what it looked like, as he hit the brakes I could not belive what I saw.

I asked my dad what that was after we went by it. And he asked me what I saw and i told him and he said the same thing and we turned around to take a look at where it was but it was gone. It left a nice size trail the way it ran.
It was about 7 1/2 ft. to 8 ft.tall, about 4 ft. to 4 1/2 ft. across the shoulders, covered with dark brown hair with a Reddish tint standing on two legs. it looked to be really muscular. The face which was covered with short hair. we were able to see its eyes which were dark. the nose was flat and wide, and the mouth was wide but in proportion to its head.

ALSO NOTICED: the day before me and my dad took a 6 mile hike trying to find a good hunting area and i smelled a god forsaken smell

OTHER WITNESSES: my father

OTHER STORIES: yes i have september 5 2010 my best buddy saw it and it knocked over a tree

TIME AND CONDITIONS: between 11:30 and 11:40 sunny and cool

ENVIRONMENT: shrubs pine trees

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Wright:

This witness was interviewed by phone on 9/12/10 for just over an hour. It was quickly determined that he was actually a second witness to a previously investigated report number 26823 which was made by his father within the past year. The son decided to file his own report, so these two reports will be linked.

According to the son, a man in his 20s, the creature stepped out from behind some oak scrub right next to the road as they were driving down a power line right of way late in the morning in full daylight. The creature was on the passenger side of the vehicle. When it stepped out it was facing the car and froze as they approached and went by. He stated that it was so close to their vehicle that it could have reached out and touched it. After they passed by, he stated that they turned around and watched it turn around and go back into the brush in the same direction from which it came. He stated that they went back to investigate and found that it had left a trail of broken saplings and palm fronds where it returned into the brush. He stated that they got out to investigate and found some human like foot prints, but they were not easily discernable. The length of time that they saw the creature was 10-15 seconds. The time of the observation was mid-day. The distance from this witness to the creature was about four feet as they went by. Details concerning the creature are as follows:
- Its approximate height was over 7'.
- The estimated weight was around 300 lbs.
- It was described as VERY muscular all around, similar to a body builder.
- The witness stated that its shoulders were 4-4 1/2' wide.
- It was described to have had hair and not thick fur, though no skin was visible on its body. The hair was estimated at 2- 3" in length, matted and nappy.
- Its face was described as having a lot of hair around the edges, but less hair on the face proper, with a nose that was flat and wide with big nostrils, orangutan-like, but facing more downward, with big dark, rounded eyes. The mouth and lips were described as human-like. No teeth were visible.
- Its head was described as oval or egg shaped, but rounded on the top with a visible brow ridge.
- Neither a neck nor ears were discernable.
- The visible arm was hanging down as they approached, and when the witness looked back, the arm was up in a walking posture. The hands were at about mid-thigh.
- The creature had what were described as true hands with no visible claws and the hands were described as the same color as the face, with distinct fingers and thumb.
- Its legs were described as very hairy, long and muscular, and it was the legs that gave it its height.
- It had a very broad chest "definitely bigger than Arnold Swarzenegger's by at least 5 inches! It was bigger EVERYWHERE!"
- He described the smell penetrating the vehicle as they drove by, and still there when they went back to investigate. He described the smell as a mix between a boar and skunk and rotten meat.
- After they went by, the witness looked back and saw the creature walk back into the brush bipedally, swinging its arms in a human-like fashion.

In these photos the witness is demonstrating the size of the creature at the location:

Where the stick touches the tree is where the top of his head was -



This stick represents the width of his shoulders -



In the process of the investigation, this investigator also talked with the father who had filed the original report, Report #26823. Both witnesses were completely credible and passionate about their experience. It is the opinion of this investigator that they likely had a very close encounter with a Sasquatch creature.

About BFRO Investigator David Wright:

• Certified Florida Master Naturalist (U. of Florida)
  
• Visual Tracker, Level 1
• Teaches Biology, A.P. Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science at a rural high school SE of Jacksonville
• See local TV interview with D. Wright
• Participated in the 2007 Private Florida Expedition [Click the video link on that page.], the 2007 South Carolina Expedition, the 2008 South Florida Expedition and assisted with the organization of the 2008 North Florida Expedition. Assisted with the organization of the 2009 Central Florida Expedition.

• Explanation of the report classification system
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