Geographical Index > United States > Michigan > Berrien County > Report # 35753
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Tuesday, June 12, 2012.
Gentleman walking his dog at dusk describes possible encounter and print near St. Joseph
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YEAR: 2012
SEASON: Summer MONTH: June DATE: 6/10/12 STATE: Michigan COUNTY: Berrien County NEAREST TOWN: Kalamazoo NEAREST ROAD: by a KOA Campground OBSERVED: i was walking my dog in the woods by Kalamazoo MI and my dog was acting really strange growling alot and thats when i saw the foot print it was not there the night before.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jim Sherman:
I contacted Mr. C regarding his report because even though he did not provide a great deal of information in his initial posting I had a feeling that there was more there. Furthermore, I grew up around the Kalamazoo area and spent a great deal of time hunting and camping throughout the southwestern part of the lower peninsula. The possibility of a photographed print was also hard to pass up.
The Land area around this sighting is dominated to the east by Lake Michigan and I-196 to the west by Paw Paw Lake and M-140. The land in between is surprisingly wooded and dotted with fields and blueberry farms.
When Mr. C initially sent the print to me I was interested but not convinced. I had no known object in the field of view for size comparison and the print itself was not well defined. I asked him what had happened prior to his discovery of the possible print. I was looking for corroborative evidence that would point to the print belonging to something other than a human. Mr. C believed he knew the general length of the stick found in the picture and so I was able to make a rough estimate of the print dimensions. This still put it well within the realm of human manufacture. However, what he described to me regarding the discovery of the print was interesting and made me take another look at the picture.
The following is Mr. Cs story in his own words:
James this was at the (location removed) and I had walked the dog the night before in the same area behind the campground just as the sun was going down. As we got farther down the trail which only went about 150 yards. Sargent my dog started staring deep into the woods and just started growling but he would not go too far away from me and I noticed that the fur on the back of his neck was standing straight up and like I stated he would just keep growling and staring in the same direction. And when we both heard what sounded like a large stick break he was looking like he was going to charge at something so being that he is my working dog and trained for seeking out animals and birds in stores, I could not risk jeopardizing my dog and it was starting to get dark so I decided to go back to the camper for the night. The next morning I took him for a walk out in the same area and he was fine. Then he started sniffing the ground and would not let it go or stop so I pulled him back and that is when I saw what he was sniffing it looked like a large foot print so I got down and took a closer look and decided to see how it compared with my size 10.5 shoe and then I realized that it was about 5” longer and wider than my shoe so I put all my weight on one foot next to the print and I weigh 205 and I did not even make a dent nor leave any mark. So as I looked at the print closer it was about ½”to ¾” deep so I figured that whatever made that print had to have had some serious weight to it. So Sargent was not acting up I let him search the surrounding area staying in my sight and within close proximity of me while I pulled out my cell phone and took a picture of the print. After I put it on my laptop I sent the picture to a friend in Ohio to get his opinion and all he said is I should go back and make a cast but I had to get to my next job and I had a full schedule so I had no time to go back. That is why I contacted you guys to tell me your opinion. I would be leery of having a dog interaction as I would be afraid of getting the dog hurt or killed.
I thanked Mr. C for sharing his information with me. I also told him I was glad he had not let his dog run free the night before his discovery of the print as any large animal might react in an unpredictable manner when confronted by a barking dog.
Please see the attached photograph below:
While this may not be the best photo evidence it was found to be deeply pressed into the soil and it came with interesting activity by the dog and the sound of something breaking sticks in the darkness.
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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