YEAR: 2001

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 16

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Delta County

LOCATION DETAILS: This was in the back of Holy Cross Cemetery, which is located between the Airport and 12th Rd (or Jaeger Rd). Portage Creek is nearby with a bridge on M-35. Jehovah Witness has a church near the cemetery.

NEAREST TOWN: Escanaba

NEAREST ROAD: M-35 (South)

OBSERVED: I was walking in Holy Cross Cemetery looking for graves of veterans. I am building a database of veterans buried at Holy Cross and Lakeview Cemeteries in Escanaba.

I was in the back of the cemetery when I noticed, what I thought was a deer. But it did not appear to run away like a deer would do. I continued doing what I was doing but continued to feel I was being watched. I would look in that direction every so often and thought something was there but because of how far I was I could not get a good description. This was in the evening between 6 - 8 pm.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing that I remember.

OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses.

OTHER STORIES: Yes, I just read about the January 2013 incident with the couple. They had an incident 1/4 mile north of Portage Creek. That is what prompted my memory.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: In the evening, between 6-8 pm. It was a sunny day and around 70 - 75 degrees. This was on a Saturday. Not sure of the exact date.

ENVIRONMENT: Portage Creek runs along the cemetery. Bridge on M-35 near cemetery. A lot trees, etc. Airport is nearby. A church is on M-35 near Holy Cross. There is an office, church building, and there is a fence near the entrance to the cemetery.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Rich Meyer:

After talking with Richard on the phone he and I met at the Holy Cross Cemetery. Richard has a Bachelors degree from Lake Superior State University, his hobbies include fishing and genealogy and he spends a lot of time on the U.P. roads for his job. He conveyed to me that this experience has stuck with him ever since it happened almost 14 years ago. What brought it back to the front of his mind was reading Report #40801, which happened less than 5 miles down the highway. Although the landscape has changed significantly since the sighting, I have no reason to believe this was anything but a legitimate sighting.

The Holy Cross Cemetery sits to the north of M-35 south of Escanaba. At the time of the sighting there was a dirt road to the north of the cemetery that separated it from the Delta County Airport, which has now been paved and extended to a house. There was also a very thick forest/swamp with the Portage Creek running through it and the airport that went right up to the road and bordered the cemetery on the west side, that has since been logged off and turned into building sites. On the east side of the cemetery there is still a very thick stand of trees separating it from the airport access road and the church that is still used by the deer in and around the airport to move across the highway to Lake Michigan, much like they would use a fence line in between farm fields.

The sighting happened in the early evening and he remembers feeling as if he was being watched from the time he entered the cemetery and exited his car. He was in the middle of the cemetery looking for the grave sites of Veterans for a database he was helping maintain when he noticed some movement in front, and to the right of him, which would have been to the northeast along the east side of the cemetery. He initially thought it was a deer until he looked up and saw a very large human shaped creature 100 to 150 yards away looking back at him from the edge of the trees. Because it was inside the edge of the treeline in the shadows he did not get a really good look at it with any kind of great detail other than it was bipedal and dark brown to black in color. As soon as he felt safe to move he backed away from where he was and went back to his car and left. He has not had any other experiences like this at the cemetery since then but does still frequently visit it.

About BFRO Investigator Rich Meyer:

Avid outdoorsman, grew up in the woods all over Michigan.
Worked with a Hunting Guide service for many years as a guide, scout and tracker.
Attended the 2013 Michigan UP Expedition, 2014 Wisconsin Expedition and many private expeditions.
Co-organizer 2015, 2016 and 2018 BFRO Michigan U.P. Expedition and 2018 BFRO Northeast WI Expedition
Co Creator of the U.P. Bigfoot Conference est. 2016
Researched Bigfoot on his own before becoming a BFRO Investigator. Creator of the Upper Peninsula Bigfoot/Sasquatch Research Organization Facebook Page

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