Geographical Index > United States > Indiana > Morgan County > Report # 44166
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Saturday, February 8, 2014.
Possible nighttime encounter by a couple camping near Martinsville
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YEAR: 2012
SEASON: Spring MONTH: May DATE: 4th STATE: Indiana COUNTY: Morgan County LOCATION DETAILS: Omitted per the witness' request NEAREST TOWN: Martinsville Indiana NEAREST ROAD: Forest Road OBSERVED: Our encounter was May 4th 2012 in the Indiana state forestry. My wife and I were camped out in a campground with the area to ourselves. All night while cooking and eating and sitting by the fire we kept hearing something large moving behind our camp, but out of sight for the fire. After bedding down I came out at 2AM to relieve myself. Standing there I looked over to our SUV and saw something standing on the other side of it. At first I thought is was a tree until it moved away from the tree and closer to the car and was just standing there swaying back and forth. Its waist came up to the roof of the car where my shoulders hit and I’m 6 foot. This put this thing's height at 8-9 feet tall. I ran and grabbed my LED super bright flash light and shined it right on a large hair covered creature. It immediately ran by me stepping over the 3.5 foot high road gate like it wasn’t even there and ran behind our tent into the woods. The creature/being ran so fast I couldn’t keep track on it with my light. About 30mins to an hour later we heard two loud knocks and several small rocks began hitting out tent. This went on for about an hour as we set on our cots looking out. Then one big rock hit with such force that it ripped our tent roof open through the rain fly and this was a brand new Coleman tent used for the first time... and it was a 200 dollar tent! The next morning I found the trail and partial prints of something about 30 feet behind our tent, and the bark on the root of the tree where I thought I saw that figure had been torn off where something stepped on it! It was a fresh tear as it was still oozing sap that next morning. So after all that we packed up and came home, wife and I scared to stay another night. I know that was a squatch in the woods that night... he owes me a tent... and new underwear for us both! ALSO NOTICED: Heard something large circling camp all night prior to the event but out of range of camp fire light. OTHER WITNESSES: My wife was camping with me. OTHER STORIES: Yes, we told the guy we bought fire wood from about our account and he said there have been all kinds of sightings and encounters in the forestry plus dogs go missing. Plus since that event we have returned and had additional encounters but no visual. Heard knocks and whoops plus had food taken from camp and found multiple prints even in the snow the last 2 years. TIME AND CONDITIONS: 2AM ENVIRONMENT: Dense old wooded forest. No one else was camping at that time.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matt Euler:
I spoke with the witness by phone and find him to be very credible. He provided the following additional information during our conversation.
He initially observed the creature standing behind his SUV from twenty to thirty feet away. When he turned his light onto the creature it ran on two legs around the SUV and past him into the forest at a distance of around ten feet, clearing a three foot high gate without breaking stride. The creature moved so fast he could not keep his light on it as it ran by.
The creature was described as: • Bipedal. • Eight to nine feet tall. • Having very wide shoulders, twice as wide as the witness who has a 54 inch chest. Its shoulders were wider than the hips. • The arms hung away from the body, and he was able to see moonlight between the arms and the body. • Body, arms, legs and head were completely covered in dark brown or black hair. • The hair on the head was longer and described as almost shoulder length and messy. • He could not make out details of the face. • The creature appeared to have no neck or it was hidden by long hair.
The witness located two footprints in the forest behind his tent the next morning. The prints were both eighteen and a half inches long and nine inches wide. They were not continuous so no stride length could be determined.
The witness is a former field researcher specializing in wolf and coyote field studies. He is an avid hiker and camper and spends a lot of time in the woods. He is familiar with deer, coyote, wolves and bear and is confident that what he saw was none of these. He is also a tribal member, familiar with his tribal history and stories of Bigfoot.
South Central Indiana contains the Morgan-Monroe State Forest, Yellowwood State Forest and Brown County State Park which together comprise almost 70,000 acres of dense hardwood and pine forest with steep ridges and valleys. Rivers and lakes are numerous and the area supports a wide variety of wildlife.
About BFRO Investigator Matt Euler:
Matt is a native of Illinois and an avid runner, hiker and camper. A ten year veteran of the U.S. Navy, he currently works in the I.T. field as a systems analyst. Matt joined the BFRO as an investigator in 2013 and has attended multiple public expeditions in Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, as well as numerous private expeditions in Illinois and Indiana.
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