YEAR: 1997

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: 24

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Pierce County

LOCATION DETAILS: FT. Lewis

NEAREST TOWN: Ft. Lewis Washington

OBSERVED: While serving in the Marine Corps I was stationed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard on the USS Carl Vinson. We went to Ft. Lewis Washington to conduct some day and night patrols. I remember the exact day because we listened to the Mike Tyson fight on the radio earlier in the day while in the field where he bit off Holyfields ear. While at Ft. Lewis during a night patrol we got off of the path we were supposed to be on and ended up in some deep brush that was thick and hard to get through. I was the point man on the patrol and carrying a SAW which is a fully automatic machine gun and it was loaded with blanks. While busting through the brush I encountered something that was very big and shaped like you would think bigfoot would be shaped but only saw it in the dark with no lights except for the moon. This large thing and myself were within probably ten feet of each other and it scared us so badly that I opened fire on it with the SAW and the blank rounds to run it off. It ran through the brush on two legs taking huge steps each time and busted through the brush like it was nothing and disappeared over the hill in seconds. Ever since this day I have always known that it was a bigfoot that I saw that day. This was in 1997 before computers and google so I had heard rumors afterwards that Washington was a hot spot for bigfoots. I never knew until now when I ran into this website that there is more sightings of bigfoot in that area than anywhere else in the US. I googled to see what county Ft. Lewis was in and was very surprised when reading through the stories from that county that there was several other sightings on the base such as mine. I don't tell many people this story unless they talk about bigfoot first because as you know most people who have not encountered something like this themselves will not believe you anyways.

OTHER WITNESSES: Several but unknown now who they were

OTHER STORIES: just on this website

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Some time during the dark of night under moon light. Weather was good as far as I remember.

ENVIRONMENT: Forest

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Scott Taylor:

I initially contacted the witness via e-mail. After coordinating a time to talk, I called him on the phone. He currently lives in West Virginia. He is in the Army National Guard, and almost ready to retire. He was in the Marine Corps when he had his encounter.

I asked him to re-tell of that night when he had his encounter. It was around midnight. His team was conducting a night land navigation exercise. They were at that moment lost. The brush was heavy and they were brush-busting their way through it without light. Having hunted Fort Lewis, I know how thick the brush can be. It had to be very tough going. The witness was walking “Point” when suddenly in the moonlight he realized that there was a very tall, human-like figure standing about 10-15 feet in front of him. He was so shocked and instantly frightened that he fired-off a long burst of blanks from his M249 Squad Automatic Weapon at the figure. The figure reacted by running away very fast down the hill on two legs. The witness said that no human could run that fast through that thick brush in the dark.

He described the creature as human-like, but very large. He estimated it to be 7 feet tall. He said that it had no neck, and that the head blended into the shoulders.

The next two or three Marines behind him also saw it.

I asked if he remembered where on Ft. Lewis (now JBLM) this occurred. He said that he had only been on Ft. Lewis that one time, and being dark, he had no idea where they were exactly.

Ft. Lewis is very large. It is also not accessible to civilians unless one obtains a recreational permit. Since the witness does not remember exactly where it was, and since it was 19 years ago, there is no need to attempt a site investigation. Sasquatch reports are very common on the base.

About BFRO Investigator Scott Taylor:

Scott Taylor is a retired aerospace manager. He lives in Mason County, Washington. He had his first bigfoot encounter in October 2005 where he was stalked and later heard vocalizations.

Scott has attended official BFRO Expeditions in the Washington Cascades in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. He also attended 2007 Central Oregon Cascades and 2007 Utah. He now organizes BFRO expeditions in Washington and has participated in bigfoot conferences over the past 17 years.

Scott will be leading a Washington BFRO expedition in 2025 (July 17-20) which is open to non-members. For more details and registration information for that trip click here.

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