YEAR: 1963

SEASON: Unknown

DATE: late summer

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Alachua County

LOCATION DETAILS: The Subdivision was Orman Leigh Estate

NEAREST TOWN: Gainesville

NEAREST ROAD: NW 23 Blvd

OBSERVED: My sighting was 41 years ago at NW 21 Terr/NW 31 Ave in Gainesville Fl. Back then it was mostly woods and I was going to see a neighbor at a slow jog, looked to my right and we were both surprised. He was what I figure to be about 7 ft 6 in. He had big dark round eyes, lots of hair and just stared at me till I took off. No sound, he didn't come after me he just stared. I know it was a long time ago, but I did see Sasquatch.

ALSO NOTICED: The next night my mom came out of her room screaming that someone was looking in the window. That is why I though he or she must be 7 FT or so our windows were very high.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just me.

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 7 pm It was dark weather was warm.

ENVIRONMENT: Lots of woods. Glen Springs nearby. Hog Town Creek.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Bakara:

I spoke with the witness by phone, and though it was 41 years ago, she remembers it clearly as a day that changed her way of thinking about the world. It was 1963, and that area of Gainesville was much more rural than it is now. Most homes in the subdivision were on several acres of land and a 5-10 minute walk away from each other. There was also much forest still standing just outside the homesteads. One warm evening in late summer the witness, who was only 12 at the time, was going to visit one of her neighbor friends. It was dusk, about 7pm, and she was in a light jog on the dirt road she walked and ran everyday. She emphasized that all she heard was the sound of her feet on the dirt and gravel. As she neared an area that the trees grew near both sides of the road, she noticed something out of the corner of her eye to her right about 30 ft away. Suddenly a large figure walked out of the woods and stopped dead in it tracks when it saw her. The witness was also stopped, and both just stared at each other in shock as it seemed they both surprised each other. She got a good look at the figure as it was quite close. She said she was frightened by its sudden appearance and huge size, but didn't feel it meant her any harm. After what seemed like minutes but was only a few seconds, the large man-ape tilted its head as it looked at her, and at this, she bolted the rest of the way to her girlfriend's home. She described the figure as a man-ape. Ape like but more man than ape. It was huge, over 7ft she guessed, and had a large chest and shoulder area. It was covered with brown hair except for its face, which she described as having a sloped back forehead, and large dark eyes. Its arms were longer than a man's, powerfully built, and it stood with a slight forward stoop.

The next night, her mother woke up in the middle of the night saying someone was looking at her through the bedroom window. The witness said her step-dad went out the next morning and even though he was 6'4", he wasn't even close to the bottom of the window. The window peeker had to be at least 7 ft just to reach the bottom. Her mother would never tell her what the face looked like. Later that week the family discovered 4 dead rabbits placed in the mailbox.

The witness now lives on the east coast of Florida. I have included a composite of two sketches from Pete Traverse's "The Painted Cave" project, working with the witness.



Thanks Pete for a wonderful base for witnesses to work with. In regard to the sketch, the witness stated that "the eyes were open wider, but this is about as close as we can get. I really do hope one day to see him or her again. Just hope if I do, it is the same one, and it remembers me. I guess that is asking for a little too much."

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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