Geographical Index > United States > Ohio > Guernsey County > Report # 31439
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Thursday, December 29, 2011.
Possible rock throwing display while night fishing at Salt Fork State Park
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YEAR: 2010
SEASON: Summer MONTH: July DATE: sunday STATE: Ohio COUNTY: Guernsey County LOCATION DETAILS: Salt Fork Marina NEAREST TOWN: Cambridge NEAREST ROAD: Salt Fork State Park OBSERVED: Back in 2010 I and a friend were at Salt Fork Lake fishing at about 9:30 p.m. That evening we heard some banging of trees and the next thing we know rocks as big as my fist were bouncing off the ground. After 6 or 7 of them we grabbed our stuff and left. We never saw what it was but the rocks were being thrown from a great distance. I'm 6' 3" and 260 lbs, and there is no way I could of thrown these rocks any distance. ALSO NOTICED: no OTHER WITNESSES: one other and we were fishing OTHER STORIES: No, most people I know wouldn't say anything if it happened to them. TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was dusk almost dark ENVIRONMENT: Forest with a clearing and parking lot.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Bea Mills:
Spoke with the witness, found to be credible. The following can be added to the report.
Witness states that he had been catfishing along the western bank of the Salt Fork Marina with a friend; no other people noted as being in the area. Using chicken livers and shiners as bait, he states that they had 4-5 catfish, approx. 2-3 lbs each, on a stringer lying out on the ground. About dark, with no lantern on, both he and his friend heard 5 distinct knocking sounds ("not in rapid succession"), that were described as "like a bat hitting a tree" with an echo. Witness states that shortly afterwards, large rocks started "bouncing off the road" behind them, coming from a wooded area that leads up a hill. He described the rocks as being both as large as a "bowling ball" and "as big as my head". The witness expressed feeling generally unnerved, and as he and his friend started packing their gear, the rock throwing stopped.
I asked him about the second witness present and was told that he didn't have his phone number and was presently not speaking to him.
Salt fork is Ohio's largest state park with 17,229 acres that includes a diverse region of hills, lakes, ponds, livestock and farmland. This area has an extensive history of reported activity.
About BFRO Investigator Bea Mills:
Bea Mills is an avid outdoors woman currently working in the medical field. A Certified Volunteer Naturalist for Ohio, primarily in the Hocking Hills region, and promoter of education and conservation of natural areas in Ohio.
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