Geographical Index > United States > Washington > Pierce County > Report # 38413
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Friday, December 21, 2012.
Homeowner hears unusual vocalizations in his backyard near Orting
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YEAR: 2012
SEASON: Fall MONTH: October DATE: 9/21/12 STATE: Washington COUNTY: Pierce County NEAREST TOWN: Orting NEAREST ROAD: Orville Road OBSERVED: My family and I live near Orting, Washington in The Buttes housing development. My house is situated at the highest elevation in the development, right around 700 feet and near the water tower. My back yard is bordered by woods that extend for 200-300 yards without interruption. My bedroom window looks out over the back yard from a height of about 12 feet towards the woods and we always sleep with the window open.
The first incident occurred right around the last week in August of this year (2012). At 2:45 a.m. my wife and I were awakened by a series of piercing shrieks. They were very loud and sounded as though they were coming from the woods right in back of our house. They did not sound like any other animal that I have ever heard. This continued for perhaps 5 minutes and then abruptly ceased as it began to rain. The second incident happened approximately 5 weeks later early on a Tuesday morning in October of 2012. This time, at just after 3 a.m. we were awakened by two shrieking screams followed by several minutes of intermittent whooping sounds, something like whoop..whoop...whoop...WHOOooop..This stopped almost immediately after we heard the same whoops from a distance of what I would estimate to be at least half a mile away. The last incidence was in mid October at 3:15 a.m. when I was awakened to the same whooping sounds from a distance (1/4 mile?). There were two sets of vocalizations just a few seconds apart, from two different sources. There were some dogs barking like crazy at that time from the same general direction. The whoops became closer and closer together until they overlapped (during this time they sounded as though they were moving further away from me, then they stopped. I have not heard them since but I am going to try to record them on my cell phone if it happens again. ALSO NOTICED: Both nights were calm, no other background noises except the distant dogs during the third incident. OTHER WITNESSES: Both my wife and I were woken from sleep on the first two occasions, I was the only one to hear the noises on the third incidence. My rottweiler started growling during the second incident (she sleeps on the floor by our bed). OTHER STORIES: Neither of my immediate neighbors heard anything on those nights, but one said that he had heard that our area has had some reported bigfoot sightings. TIME AND CONDITIONS: Always between about 1:45 and 3:30 a.m. ENVIRONMENT: Towards the top of a ridge in the Cascade foothills of the Orting valley. It is forested with small to intermediately sized conifers and mid sized deciduous trees, primarily alder.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Chris Gonzales:
After communicating with the person I found him to be honest and forthright about his experiences. He is also a school teacher and likes to take long walks around his property with his dog. His report is very self explanatory and I only have a few details to add to this investigation.
He and his wife live in a small, rural housing development and his backyard looks over a huge swath of heavily forested land. There is also a good water source in the form of a small lake or pond directly behind the housing development. He has seen many different varieties of wildlife including mountain lion, black bears and lots of deer.
When I spoke to the witness he described the high pitched shrieks of the first incident as being similar to a metal beam being ripped apart by a powerful force. He also stated that he has listened to the BFRO Sound Recordings page and would describe them as similar to the 1973 Whoop-Howl from Puyallup, Washington but "ten times louder".
The first incident occurred in August of 2012 and the witness added that after the screams stopped he noticed that there was no wind, clouds or overcast and that it was unusually dark and quiet.
The second incident occurred at the beginning of October. He heard two of the high pitched screams and then 10-12 whopping sounds followed by a response whooping sound and then nothing more.
The third incident occurred during the middle of October in which he only heard two sets of whooping calls some distance away and also dogs barking wildly.
In addition to these three incidents the witness told me of a fourth incident in which he was again awakened around 3:15 in the morning to a series of whooping sounds and dogs barking wildly from an estimated 1/4 of a mile away. This happened at the end of October of the same year.
The experience has caused him to be very uneasy and wary of the area and his surroundings so much so that he obtained a Concealed Weapons Permit and purchased a very high caliber handgun. He now carries it with him every time he walks with his dog. He has spoken with his neighbors and no one has heard any of these types of noises.
The environment includes a good source of water, an abundance of deer, and other food sources.
About BFRO Investigator Chris Gonzales:
Chris is a native of California and has lived in Washington for over 21 years. He has served 11 years in the U.S military. He currently works as Site Coordinator in the city of Preston, Wa. He has attended multiple expeditions in both Washington state and Canada.
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