Geographical Index > United States > Michigan > Lenawee County > Report # 29178
(Class A)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, May 1, 2011.
Passenger recalls a nighttime sighting near Brooklyn
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YEAR: 1980
SEASON: Fall MONTH: November STATE: Michigan COUNTY: Lenawee County NEAREST TOWN: Brooklyn NEAREST ROAD: M-50 highway OBSERVED: As a passenger in my brother-in-law's car I was returning to my rental house in Clark Lake from Adrian on a Sunday evening. I was a nineteen year old college sophomore attending Jackson Community College and my bother-in-law was driving me back to school after a weekend at my parent's home in Adrian. Suddenly, while driving west on M-50 near the Jackson County border, a large bipedal, reddish-brown/auburn(brother-in-law's description) colored creature crossed the highway from passenger-to-driver side in front of us. The event happened so fast that for a few awkward seconds I was totally absorbed in stunned silence. This was shortly broken when my brother-in-law asked my brother and I if we had seen that which had just crossed the road in front of us. I acknowledged that I had. I seriously doubt whether I would have shared my experience with the others' if my brother-in-law had not acknowleged it first. The creature was defintely large, bipedal, hairy, and crossed in front of us approximately 75-100 feet in at an incredible rate of speed and corresponding grace. No head was discernible and it did not look back at us as it passed. OTHER WITNESSES: Two beside myself. Brother-in-law (driver) and younger brother. OTHER STORIES: On a different website I read of a sighting near Battle Creek, Michigan in November 1980. Battle Creek is less than fifty miles north and west of our sighting. ENVIRONMENT: A mixture of farmland and woods. Several lakes are located north and south of sighting area.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jim Sherman:
After contacting the witness it was impressive how much he remembered from an incident that happened in 1980 and in such a short span of time. It was dark but clear and the only areas visible ahead were those illuminated by the car headlights. They were traveling between 50-60 miles per hour at the time. The witness, his brother and brother-in-law were traveling from Adrian to Jackson and were near Brooklyn when a bipedal creature at least six feet tall ran into view quickly moving from passenger to driver side and out of view within 2-3 seconds.
The creature appeared to be reddish brown or auburn. No head or lower leg was visible throughout the sighting lending the witnesses to believe that they were very close to the creature as the lights focused only on the mid-section of the body.
The witness had been a State Cross Country Champion and was therefore familiar with the mechanics of running. This creature moved too fast to be human, there was no "over-stride" and it ran with "graceful and effortless speed." He believed that a person in a costume would have to be rather foolish to "...attempt such a stunt," as the terrain on either side of the road was uneven and there was simply too little time to get into the headlights and to the other side of the road within the 75 foot distance at which the creature was first seen. "Even if I were to suspend disbelief that any human could have crossed the road as fast as that creature did...[while wearing an elaborate costume] they would have wanted to draw more attention to themselves by wildly gesticulating...or turning to face us as we approached."
The area around this incident has produced numerous sightings throughout the years. The sides of the roads are heavily forested and dotted by fields containing soy beans and corn. Anyone who has driven this area from around October through the end of November has witnessed numerous deer road kills, which provide an easy meal for any opportunistic predator or scavenger. The population of deer is very large in this part of the state and they are often found near the sides of the road particularly during the rut, or mating season. This area provides plenty of food, water and cover for any type of predator or creature interested in remaining unseen.
About BFRO Investigator Jim Sherman:
Jim is a High School History teacher and Track and Cross Country coach. He attended the Michigan Northern Lower Peninsula Expedition in 2011, the Michigan Upper Peninsula Expedition in 2012, co-organized the Michigan UP 2013 Expedition and attended the 2014 Wisconsin Expedition. He assisted in the production of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot Michigan episodes (Bigfoot and Wolverines and Super Yooper). He participates in Ironman Triathlons and enjoys fishing and camping with his wife and daughter. Jim can be contacted at germanicus1@hotmail.com and Twitter @shermanbigfoot and his YouTube account is : Lordcryptid
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