YEAR: 2007

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 15-21

STATE: Iowa

COUNTY: Lee County

LOCATION DETAILS: I was hunting private property near Shimeck state forest Croton Unit.

NEAREST TOWN: Argyle

NEAREST ROAD: IA Highway 27

OBSERVED: I do not know what I saw. But I do know it was something that should not have been there and it will remain with me the rest of my life. I was turkey hunting 1 morning approximately 4 years ago. I have never told my story due to I feel people will not believe me. It rained all night long that night and thus it allowed me to walk into the forest in complete silence (No leaves crackling etc.) I set up on a hill side over looking a small creek and valley. It was nearly pitch black due to the overcast sky but soon the rain stopped and the forest became brighter. Soon after I realized I was sitting within 15 feet of several birds that were roosted in a tree next to me. I didnt know they were there until they started shaking the rain off. My gun was already propped on my knee and pointed at my decoy. As things became brighter I could make out most of the valley floor and I continued to watch the birds roosted next to me. Soon after 1 of the birds gobbled I began hearing something off in the distance almost immediately after. I only remember this because it was a very strange paced sound. The rythym of it seemed odd. Nothing I could think of would make a sound like this. I could see down the valley to my right for a fairly long distance however, to my left a seperate hillside came out and I could not see up the valley in that direction. The noise continued with almost near perfect rythym for several minutes with only occasional breaks. It continued to get louder. I soon realized the sound I was hearing was coming from up the valley in the direction I could not see. The turkeys in their roost next to me stopped gobbling and remained silent. A few moments later the forest was becoming fairly bright and I could see most everything around me. All of the birds roosted in the tree flew down and hit the forest floor running. They didnt even seem to notice the decoy. I remained perfectly still watching the birds run through the forest down to my right through the valley. They acted as though something spooked them. At first I thought maybe it was me that spooked them but then it occured to me the sound had stopped about the same time the birds took off. As soon as the birds were out of sight the noise began again. I remained still leaning against a large ash tree. Maybe 1 minute after I lost sight of the birds the sound was becoming much louder and apparent of what it might be. My first instinct was that another hunter was walking through the forest. However, to this day I will never forget what I saw in the coming moments. The sound with an almost steady rythym reminded me of what it would sound like if I were walking on dry leaves in the forest. There was not a drop of wind on this morning and I believe the valley might have been echoing the sound. A few moments later I caught sight of it. Maybe 50 yards to my left coming into view on the bottom edge of the valley. At first I thought it was a hunter in a gilly suit. But upon closer examination I realized this was no human wearing a camo outfit. It continued to walk up right on two feet down the valley towards my right. When the creature got to the bottom of the hill out cropping I was sitting on it stopped dead in its tracks and remained perfectly still momentarily. I think it was as this point I truly realized what I was seeing. When it stopped and stood still it became nearly invisible in the forest. It seemed an eternity passed while I sat against this tree uncontrollably shaking. I was scared out of my wits even with a 10GA shotgun propped on my knee pointed in the direction of the creature. What happened next scared me so bad I would have bet my life on it that was going to have a heart attack. The creature turned its head and looked directly at me. I stared directly into the eyes of this creature for an unkown amount of time. It made no sound, it did not move, only stared at me. I was in full camoflauge including a facemask so maybe it was not sure what I was?? Shaking so bad at this point the only thing I could think of was to defend myself. I clicked the saftey off on my shotgun. When I did this the creature went into an almmost crouching position only it seemed more like it was in a position that would allow it to move quickly. The stare down went on for what seemed forever. I readied my shotgun not afraid to move anymore since it was apparent I had been seen. When I positioned my left hand under the forearm of my shotgun the creature sprang up nearly causing me to pull the trigger. It continued its walk though the forest with its head turned watching me. I continued pointing my gun at it. I never pulled the trigger. I was so afraid I didnt know what to do. Eventually I lost sight of it. I jumped up as soon as it was gone and I ran back to my truck without stopping to rest once. To this day I will never forget what I saw or the feeling of absolute terror that overcame me. I do not want to be famous nor do I want my story posted all over the internet. I just thought I should tell somebody my story.

ALSO NOTICED: I have never....and never will return to that area.

OTHER WITNESSES: None

OTHER STORIES: No I have not.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dawn. Light rain ended just before day break and the clouds were beginning to disipate. It was going to be a sunny day.

ENVIRONMENT: Hard wood forest. Creek bottoms and hilly land is the norm. Shimeck forest is very near.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

I spoke with the witness via telephone. He recounted his experience as though it were yesterday. Additional details about the creature he observed emerged during our conversation.

Witness impressed upon me that it was an extremely quiet morning. It had rained and there was no wind. He was able to walk in silently. He heard this creature a full 2 to 3 minutes before seeing it, because it had so much weight. The sound of it walking was rhythmic. While witness was watching the creature walk 'gracefully' through the valley it would occasionally stop next to a tree and touch the leaves of the tree, as though examining it. It did this two or three times.

Witness explained that each time it stopped the creature seemed to completely disappear, which totally baffles the witness.

The creature was well over six feet tall, and was extremely broad shouldered, but was not deep chested. It's arms were way too long, larger than they should have been. It was filthy, and had a bad smell. He could smell it well after it went away. Witness could not tell if the creature had hair or fur. In the low light the color of the creature was a dark gray.

Witness is convinced that the creature saw his turkey decoys. He was well hidden behind a brush pile with only his head showing to the creature. He also stated that the turkeys that were roosting in the tree next to him had to have heard the creature as well, and that they hit the ground running when they flew out of the tree, just before the creature came into view.

I found the witness to be very credible. He is an avid outdoorsman with a good grasp of the local environment and it's flora and fauna. He has not been back to the area of the sighting but would be willing to go there with an investigator.

The Des Moines and Mississippi Rivers form the southern and eastern borders of Lee County, Iowa, in the southeastern corner of the state. Nearby Shimek State Forest and numerous state and county parks have been established along the Des Moines River in Lee and adjacent Van Buren counties.

There have been numerous bigfoot sightings reported along the tributary rivers of the Mississippi in the eastern half of Iowa. The southern portion of the state experiences considerably milder winters than areas of the state further north. An unusual diversity of both fauna and flora exist in the southeast corner.

About BFRO Investigator Steve Moon:

A native of southeast Iowa, Steve has long been a cave explorer and outdoor adventurer. He became involved in bigfoot research in 2008. Steve organized BFRO IOWA Public Expeditions in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, and is currently organizing a 2017 IOWA expedition. Steve is an artist, photographer, farmer, anthropologist and professional researcher. His primary research areas are the river basins of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and all of eastern Iowa.

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