YEAR: 1978

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Lenawee County

LOCATION DETAILS: I remember coming from Adrian, Michigan taking Beecher Road all the way down. There is a store on the right make a left turn down that road and I want to say turn right a mile or so down the road.

NEAREST TOWN: Hudson

NEAREST ROAD: Beecher road?

OBSERVED: I have been watching your show and this reminded me of something I saw when I was around 10 years old. I can remember almost every detail like it just happened. I am now 43 and do not live there anymore so I can't tell you the specific names of the roads but to this day I think I could take you there.

I was fishing with my parents near Hudson, Michigan. We were on a road that had a bridge on it that people fished at. I think a way down is Lake Hudson Park. There was woods down the way of the river. Toward the front of the wooded area was a really big raspberry patch. It was a bright clear day. It was hot and I was at the raspberry patch pulling the off the bush and popping them into my mouth. I looked up and I saw a black outline staring back at me. I remember being absolutely paralyzed with fear. The raspberry patch was very thick and dense and this creature was on the side of the patch towards the woods. It wasn't a bear because it was more ape like and stocky. It was much to large to be a person and it carried itself more animal like than human. I was close to it but because of the density of the patch and the thickness of the woods I didn't have a clear look at this creature. I remember just being so scared I was frozen, and then when I could finally break free I ran to my parents. They half listened to me but I called my mother today and she remembered me telling her about it. Later a wildlife officer came by and I asked him if there were any bear around the area and he laughed and told me no. This happened 33 years ago, and the reason I am telling you this now is because after watching your show I remember connecting with something one of the people said and that was the fear that that runs through you when you see a squatch. I don't know if I can provide you anything in terms of information but I just wanted to let you know. Thanks.

ALSO NOTICED: I remember hearing a slight rustle that caused me to look at whatever that was.

OTHER WITNESSES: I was the only one that saw it but there were several people around. My parents, my brother, some uncles and cousins maybe but they were all several yards away from me.

OTHER STORIES: I heard nothing about this until I looked at this site and read the other accounts.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was hot, bright clear summer day.

ENVIRONMENT: It was by the river where there was a small bridge. It was by the raspberry patch.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jim Sherman:

I contacted the witness regarding her story and was happy that she responded so promptly as I have a great deal of interest in this part of Michigan and have had the chance to investigate the area on previous occasions. The land around this account has seen numerous sightings of unknown creatures for many decades, particularly in the Lost Nations Forest Area. The following is a reproduction of our discussion:

Investigator:
Do you recall what time of day your encounter occurred?

Witness:
This had to happen at around 2-3 p.m. The reason I make that determination is because we would eat lunch first, stop to buy bait at the store on the corner of Beecher Road, and proceed to the fishing area. It was a clear sunny day.

Investigator:
Is there any more description of the creature you saw regarding movement or coloration? What led you to believe that this was not an animal known to live in the area like a bear or a deer?

Witness:
I almost think that the creature was also eating raspberries and I began eating on the opposite side. I went deeper toward the woods and was picking berries. When I looked up, I saw a dark figure, black. It wasn't a person. I wanted it to be a person but it wasn't. It was huge. I have seen my share of bears and this was not a bear. This creature was ape-like in the face where a bear is more animal-like and I have seen bears eat berries many times. In fact, I looked at several photos of bears eating berries and this was not what I saw. Way too big and dark to be a person--this thing was massive. I was around ten, but even so I wanted to believe this was a person, but there was no way it could have been. It must have been four times my size, though I think the creature was hunched a bit, it still towered over me because I remember looking up to see it. The creature was very quiet and looking at me for I don't know how long. It was dark, black and definitely more ape like than bear like. Not human, no way.

Investigator:
Could you describe the paralyzed feeling that you had?

Witness:
I remember being frozen with fear. I wanted to run, but I couldn't. I wanted to scream but I was too frozen to scream. I was looking at the outline of the creature through the raspberry bushes and he was looking at me and being still. I thought if I ran he could grab me, but I didn't want to stay there because I had such a feeling coming over me to get out of there. I remember telling myself turn and run, now! That's what I did. I did not look behind me. I ran to my parents who were by the road under the bridge. I had no idea what I saw and told my mom who still remembers me telling her about it.

At this point I discussed having a similar feeling come over me on several occasions. The witness felt relieved that someone else understood what she was feeling and expressed gratitude that the show Finding Bigfoot had helped her to better understand what had happened to her so long ago. She ended our conversation by stating:

"I feel now that I saw something I wasn't meant to see, but I have so much respect for what I saw."

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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