YEAR: 2011 2012

SEASON: Winter

DATE: 5/7/2012

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Charlotte County

LOCATION DETAILS: (specific directions omitted)

NEAREST TOWN: Punta Gorda

NEAREST ROAD: Omitted

OBSERVED: I have a few, where I live in Charlotte county, borders the web reserve, and is woods for miles and miles, when I started to build my home, just after hurricane Charlie, I had an rv trailer on my property to live in while my home was being built, so I could keep an eye on the building supplies, I had a hot tub outside of my trailer and I would take a soak in it every other night or so usually after midnight, many times I would hear what would sound like someone smacking 2 2x4s together some distance away, and sometimes it would come from different directions, I would sit there thinking to myself why in the world is someone working out here in the woods at 1am, but I just blew it off, after the home was built I didn't hear the wood smacking anymore, because I was in my home and not outside late at night, then I had a deck built on the front of my home, my home is a 2 story home and the deck is on the second floor in the front, after the deck was built we started using it at night and would you believe it I started hearing the sticks hitting again every once in a while not every night, still I was thinking to my self why is someone working so late at night, then I was watching a bigfoot show and saw that they bang sticks together to talk to each other and then it all made sense to me, about 5 months ago one of my lids to one of my fish boxes were lifted off and about 20lbs of mullet were taken out of my boat in my yard, I went out to my boat around 3am to get ready to go fishing and during my walkaround of the boat to check the lights and tires I noticed my ice box lid not on, the lid weighs around 40 to 45lbs and has a bungee cord on it, the bungee cord was still attached but the lid was pulled to the side and fish were taken, and I had a weird feeling that something was looking at me so i fixed the lid and jumped into my truck and drove off, also about 3 or 4 months ago I took my son on a cubscout camp out and we had a small group of around 12 to 15 children, usually there are over 1000 people at a camp out but this time it was just our pack on a special camp, I woke around 230am to use the bathroom and then laid down to go to sleep then I heard a yell that lasted for about 10 seconds and it sounded like one of the yells that I have heard returned on one of the shows on tv, I was born and raised in the woods in fla and am a commercial fisherman and know all the sounds that you will hear in the woods and near shore, and in fla we have a bunch, some from normal animals like foxes or bobcat or panthers will make you get chicken skin and your hair stand on end, but the yell I heard that night was like nothing I've ever heard, it didnt scare me but I knew what it was.

OTHER WITNESSES: me

TIME AND CONDITIONS: always at night usually after midnight, always clear weather

ENVIRONMENT: swamp, pine, and palmettos heavy wooded, both my property and the boyscout campground border on the cecil web wildlife preserve, but are 12 to 15 miles apart

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Bakara:

Spoke to witness and he sounds credible and honest. He was careful to reiterate that he did not see one. These events have spanned over 12 years. The wood knocking and howls he has heard are not part of the known ecosystem he has grown up with. The fish that were missing were part of a large catch of mullet. A staple of the Florida fish frys and a type of fish that are caught in large quantities with nets. The lid was over 40 lbs and held in place by a bungee to keep it from flying off when trailering it. The lid was slid to the side and the missing fish were nowhere to be seen. Usually, if its a large animal there would be fish parts everywhere as the animal would sit there and consume them on the spot. These fish were carried off with none dropped on the ground anywhere. He surmised that whatever it was, had hands.

I spoke with some of his neighbors, they have had ducks and chickens taken. One neighbor said that a fence was peeled back to get access to the chickens in his coop. Not the usual work of coyotes and bobcats. Another neighbor said she found large footprints in her sandy driveway but the kids had driven over them before any pictures could be taken.

These areas border on the Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area. The area is surrounded by residential development, citrus groves, and improved pasture. Babcock-Webb is among the last undeveloped expanses of hydric (wet) pine flatwoods in southwest Florida. We have received other reports from the vicinity.

About BFRO Investigator David Bakara:

David has three daughters and a wife that shares his interest in research, both having developed a deep respect for nature and knowledge of the outdoors and wildlife. Attended Northern Florida Expedition 2011, 2012 Washington Exp., and 2012 North Florida exp. Prior US Navy and currently works as a Leasing Agent, spending his time off in the woods as often as he can investigating Bigfoot reports.

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