Geographical Index > United States > Rhode Island > Providence County > Report # 30906
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, October 30, 2011.
Early morning sighting by a motorist along Route 6 near Foster
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YEAR: 2010
SEASON: Spring MONTH: April DATE: 15 STATE: Rhode Island COUNTY: Providence County LOCATION DETAILS: Route 6 East going from CT into RI NEAREST TOWN: Foster NEAREST ROAD: Route 6 OBSERVED: I was driving along Route 6 crossing the CT state line into RI. The road is very dark and heavily wooded in this particular area. As I was traveling east, something quickly moved across the road in front of me. I was driving approximately 55 mph. Once I registered what I was seeing I also realized that whatever it was, it had walked on two legs. It cleared the guardrail on the side of the road in one step and was gone. I was very spooked. The whole incident lasted less than 30 seconds, though I think about it often., especially when I drive through that area. OTHER WITNESSES: No witnesses OTHER STORIES: As far as I know, I haven't heard of any similar experiences in that area TIME AND CONDITIONS: Night/early morning - approximately 2 am ENVIRONMENT: The area is forest, though also swampy in places. The road has guardrails on both sides to prevent cars from falling into the wetlands on either side.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator D.A. Brake (PhD):
The witness is a professional behavior analyst and the following additional information was obtained during a 20 minute phone interview.
The witness is very familiar with the two-lane state road and specific area in which the sighting took place, having traveled the road numerous times in the past and at the same general time. The witness was traveling with young children who were asleep in the back seat and she was on her cell phone driving east when the sighting took place. She observed a dark, bipedal animal move with a relatively fast, steady gait across the road from her right to left as an oncoming, westbound car was approaching in the distance. Her car passed the animal after it had stepped over the guardrail adjacent to the westbound lane and observed the animal take a few steps down an embankment and then disappear from sight. She described the animal’s movement in crossing the road and stepping over the guardrail as smooth and fluid. The approximate distance of the animal from the front of car as it traversed the road was indeterminate, however it was of sufficient distance that she had time to slow down. As the bipedal animal crossed the road, the witness’s car headlights caught the lower half of the animal’s body, which she described as hairy with no reflected light.
The section of Route 6 on which the sighting took place is relatively flat with swampy, relatively dense woodland on both sides of the road. This area is very dark at night due to the absence of ambient light from streetlights, nearby homes or businesses along the road. The general area is marked by low rolling hills and wetlands within relatively large tracts of uninhabited, state protected land. The sighting took place in the Pawtuxet River watershed which is characterized by deciduous trees and mixed forests coupled with freshwater waterlands. This biodiverse environment supports a wide range of mammalian (e.g., deer, bobcats, foxes) and waterfowl species.
About BFRO Investigator D.A. Brake (PhD):
D. Brake holds a PhD in Immunology and attended the Maine 2008 expedition.
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