YEAR: 2015

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 26

STATE: Arkansas

COUNTY: White County

LOCATION DETAILS: A public hunting grounds.

NEAREST TOWN: Searcy

NEAREST ROAD: dirt road

OBSERVED: Hi BFRO my sighting happen nine months ago near Searcy Arkansas I was hunting on Thanksgiving day. It was getting dark when I had a rock thrown over my head which freaked me out so I quickly turned around and lifted my shotgun and light and look up and down the tree line until I came up on a big oak and I saw what looked like a Sasquatch looking at me from behind the oak and it yelled at me with a low grunt and high pitch scream so I jumped and actually took a shot and hit the tree and it took off running back down the line towards a valley.

ALSO NOTICED: Hair and blood

OTHER WITNESSES: No just me

OTHER STORIES: Yes once but he passed on a couple of months ago

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 7:00 and light raining and a little cold

ENVIRONMENT: Forest, hills, and dense meadows

A & G References: 12-1

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

I spoke with the witness for an hour on Nov. 7th. Very down to earth and open. There ended up being a lot more to the account then in his written report, reason being he had a lot to tell us and he was concerned about his report being sent successfully.

He was hunting alone on that day. Every year, he and members of his family go hunting around Thanksgiving, and they go somewhere different each time. His cousin had dropped him off at the hunting location mid-afternoon and would pick him up a little after dark. These are public hunting grounds.

He had not been to this particular area before. He found a good spot up on a hill and sat on a rock, with a good view of the woods and an open meadow. He had been there for an hour or so with little activity when he heard a "low growling sound" which went on for about 10 minutes. He is an avid hunter and had heard nothing like it before. He was searching his mind, trying to figure out the source. He knew it wasn't bear, cougar, or any big cat. Then about 30 yards in front of him a pack of coyotes burst out from the tree line and ran across the meadow. After they left his field of vision was when a rock was thrown in his direction. The rock came out from the tree line, very close to where the coyotes had come out of the trees. This is when he grabbed his gun and started scouring the tree line, ready to fire at whatever it was. Knowing he would be alone after dark in an unfamiliar area, and with concerns about black bear, big cats and feral hogs, he had and used a flashlight (not a spotlight) attached to his rifle due to poor lighting. He then saw a creature standing behind a large oak tree. It let out the low growl he had been hearing, then a high pitched scream. This is when he pulled the trigger in a knee jerk reaction to the scream. The creature was described as at least 8 ft. tall, with light brown hair, not fur. The creature's arm wrapped around the front of the tree, which was at least 3+ feet wide. When the light hit the creature, he noted the eye color as reddish yellow, and when he lowered the light, the eyes were still "glowing". He knew he hit the tree from the sound the bullet made when it hit.

The creature then ran off across the meadow into a valley in the same general direction the coyotes went. The creature was massive, absolutely bipedal, and was gone in 3-4 seconds. He sat there a moment to gather himself, then took a walk over to the tree. He indicated there was blood and hair on the tree where the creature had been standing. He felt he probably hit it in the arm, since the bullet strike was square in the middle of the tree where the arm was wrapped around the tree. After a moment of reflection, his hair stood up on his neck and arms, and he then realized what he had seen and shot at. He sat down for a moment to gather himself. He decided that he was going to follow the path the creature took, even though he knew "he was asking for trouble", but with his adrenaline flowing and thinking he had hit the creature, he wanted to follow a bit to see if it "was down". I questioned his decision and he stated "I had the gun, and it ran from me, and would probably run again if it saw me".

He walked for 5-10 minutes and had gone slightly off trail. He saw a "teepee like structure at least 8-9 feet tall with a lot of animal bones laying around and an awful smell". He heard a rustling sound across the open area near a briar patch and saw a creature standing there just looking at him. The briar patch came up to the witness' chest, but was about knee high on this creature. He was about to raise his rifle when he then saw a second creature, shorter than the first one, step out from behind a thicket. He described the hair as about the same color as the first. He then saw a third creature, probably a juvenile, smaller than the other 2, and he described the hair as a "reddish brown" and not the same color as the others. He also noted that 2 of the 3 had eye glow/shine, though he did not remember exactly which ones were shining and which were not. He did not consider taking a shot. It just did not occur to him. He felt he was looking at a "family unit" and was totally in awe. They stood there staring at each other, and then the creatures just all turned and walked off. This entire episode took 5 -10 seconds. The time elapsed from the first encounter to this one he estimated at about an hour. It was dusk and getting dark, so he then headed back to where his cousin was going to pick him up. The entire elapsed time from being dropped off to the final event he estimated to be about 5-6 hours.

Commentary from Investigator & BFRO: Several items, but first and foremost. BFRO is a NO KILL organization. We do not advocate or encourage the use of deadly force for evidentiary purposes under ANY circumstances.

That being said, the use of deadly force to protect yourself when one TRULY feels threatened while hunting is an accepted, and normal, reaction, under most circumstances. This witness's reaction upon first sighting the creature, then hearing the growl repeated, and then a scream, was a knee jerk reaction to a situation he, and most others, have never been in, and it could be considered a "normal" reaction for many. Understandable? Yes. Acceptable with a bit of hindsight? Perhaps. Perhaps not.

His assessment of his situation was an "eye of the beholder" moment. Had he seen the family unit first and the solo encounter secondly, it is unlikely he would have raised his weapon. Hindsight, and the opinion of this investigator only. We thank you for viewing our reports and supporting our continued efforts at BFRO.

About BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Carter is originally from Texas & moved to Missouri in 1988. Professional drummer for 20 years. Improv & sketch comic and writer for 5 years. Lighting technician for major touring groups for several years. Experienced outdoorsman and was a trained investigator for MUFON. Studied Herpetology in college. Longtime special interest in Sasquatch long term habituation, burial research, infra sound, language & stick structures. He led three Missouri BFRO Public Expeditions:, 2012 & 2013 & 2014. Led public expedition for BFRO in Illinois in 2019.Participated in Iowa, 2012 Illinois. Michigan 2016. Private Expeditions: Illinois 2011, 2012, 2013. Missouri 2011, 2012 (3) 2013(2) 2014. Iowa 2012, 2014 & 2015. Consulted on two Animal Planet Finding Bigfoot TV shows. Expedition leader in Missouri 2013 (1) & 2014 (2) & Illinois Expedition 2019 (1). Led night ops on numerous BFRO expeditions. Hosted a public Town Hall meeting in Missouri in 2017.

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