YEAR: 2014

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

DATE: 02

STATE: New Jersey

COUNTY: Camden County

LOCATION DETAILS: I was behind a subdivision of Berlin NJ called Albion. At the time they were building a new development and I was camping behind their dirt storage yard for that development.

[The location is adjacent to the swampy headwaters of Great Egg Harbor River]

NEAREST TOWN: Berlin NJ (Albion)

NEAREST ROAD: Cross Keys Road

OBSERVED: I had a close encounter in 2014 and at the time due to my ignorance then I just told myself it was something else.

I knew very little about Bigfoot. I was always under the impression that they were way out in the North Western US and Canada..... That is, if they were even real at all. Now I know that people have run into them in all corners of the country.

Today my life is just about perfect...... I have a new wife, a new house and two new baby girls. I retired 3 years ago at the young age of 39 and am a stay at home father who is living the dream.

But just 5 years ago my life fell apart all at once. I lost my job, my place to live and my vehicle in a matter of a week....... This was in the last week of November 2014.

The one thing that I did have was a full set of camping gear and just enough money to buy a junker vehicle.

I had gone into the woods on the edge of a town in Southern NJ and set up a stealth camping site for myself to sleep in at night. In the morning I would make the short walk into town, meet my girlfriend and take her to work in her car and then spend the days using her car to find a job, look for a vehicle and go to the gym to get a shower and shave.

My little camp was near a finger of the Pine Barrens, right next to a brand new residential development that was still being built. I set up right off of a path through the woods that locals would use to walk their dogs and in warmer months, ride their off road vehicles. I had found a spot that was very well hidden and you could easily walk within a few yards of my tent without noticing it was even there.

I pitched my tent on the other side of a large mound from the path, covered it with a camo tarp and surrounded the area with piles of brush. When I was in the tent I had the path behind me, a few homes maybe a quarter mile straight ahead looking out my tent entrance, the new development another quarter mile to my left and thousands of acres of [Great Egg Harbor River (swamp)] to my right.

The nights were cold........ and like clockwork a pack of coyotes would gather right outside the front of my tent at about 8:30 pm each night. They would fight, howl and run around doing god knows what for a few hours before finally heading into the deep woods. They didn’t seem to be scared of me being there and they never gave me any trouble but I would sleep with a 26 inch full tang short sword in my hand each night just in case.

By day five I had set up a new job that started in a few weeks and had bought a 1996 Ford Explorer that I was to pick up the next day once my new insurance was active.

I had gotten to my tent that night right as the sun was going down around 5:30pm. It was going to be a cold night so put on some warm clothes, I ate some snacks, puffed on my vape and settled in for the night. At 8:00pm the coyotes showed up and were raising hell. They were so noisy that they had lots of the neighborhood dogs barking like crazy off in the distance.

All at once they went from super noisy to running off..... I could hear them whining and yelping as they ran to my right off into the deep woods.

I was laying on my back ready to fall asleep when an unbelievably powerful stench filled my tent. It was BAD, I mean REAL bad. It was a mixture of unpleasant aromas....... a combination between really nasty B.O., feces, skunk and most of all smelly feet.

I sat up in my tent and thought “What the hell?” . I was confused....... I cannot over emphasize the absolute power of the stench. It was completely overwhelming and I could barely stand it. I tried breathing through my mouth and that was even worse as it was so strong that I could taste it on the tip of my tounge.

After maybe 20 seconds or so I decided I needed to open the tent up get out of there and hopefully escape the smell. Right as I was unzipping the tent I heard someone coming down the path......... Then I heard them slowly walking off the path into the woods to my left. It was the unmistakable noise of a person cautiously walking through the woods. I slowly zipped up the tent and froze.

My heart started pounding...... I figured it was the police or maybe some local homeowner. My stomach dropped....... I had made it all week unnoticed and now someone was going to cause me grief I really couldn’t afford on my last night here....... Life was hard enough at the time, the last thing I needed was trouble with the cops or some guy breaking my balls and calling the cops.

The footsteps came closer........ They came around the mound that was hiding my tent and to the left side of the tent...... Still about 20 feet away I gathered. The footsteps then made their way to where the coyotes had been a few yards directly in front of the tent and suddenly stopped........ I was still as a statue..... I could hear deep hoarse breathing, like a large man catching his breath. Then the footsteps came forward and right up to the very front of the tent. With the tarp covering my whole tent I couldn’t see a thing. But whoever it was RIGHT THERE....... Breathing. The footsteps then continued around to the right side and stopped again.

Then it leaned its face right up to the tarp and started trying to smell what was inside. I could hear big long “sniffs” each followed by an exhale through the mouth. At this point I was not so sure it was a person anymore....... No man could smell so powerfully. Also......Why would a person be sniffing my tent?

As unlikely as it seemed I thought maybe it was a bear...... Bears are VERY rare in the Pine Barrens, and I was positive that whatever had walked into my area was on two feet...... But what else could it be right????

So at this point I decided to say something. If it was indeed a black bear there was a 99% chance it would run for its life as soon as it heard a human voice. So I said loudly “Who’s there!” And whacked the right side of the tent hard with my backhand....... “It” took 2 steps back and then let out a long, very deep and terrifying growl............ My blood ran cold. I gripped my blade tightly and poised for some kind of attack.

Then it simply walked off into the forest...... I could hear it’s two legged footsteps crunching through the leaves....... Getting further and further away until it was gone. I started to breathe again........ The putrid stench began to fade.

After about a minute I heard the loud snap of a branch breaking followed by the sound of wood hitting wood....... Twice

I sat there catching my breath and wondering if it was a monster or a bear. Nothing made sense. Black bears do not have a strong odor, even during their mating season...... And I'm sure that it would have ran like hell as soon as I opened my mouth. Sasquatch never even crossed my mind.... I thought they only existed in far away places..... Certainly not on the edge of a town in New Jersey.

Once the adrenaline wore off I was exhausted. I don’t know how but I remember sleeping well that night. The next morning I packed everything up and got the hell out of there.

A few months later I had gotten my life squared away and all but forgotten that night. I just shrugged my shoulders and told myself “Musta been a bear”.

Of course, now I know exactly what it was.

OTHER STORIES: The year before my incident a horse in the area was attacked and killed nearby (within walking distance of my experience) and was disemboweled with organs missing.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was around 8:30 pm, the temperature was in the 30’s and it was not raining or snowing that I noticed

ENVIRONMENT: Flat land, pine forest bordered by residential homes.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Eric Spinner:

I spoke at length with Mark by phone, and he was able to provide me with the exact location, and further details.

In October of 2014, he had taken his son to a nearby sandpit. They found small barefoot tracks by a mound that led into the woods. They were about 6-7 inches in length. He wondered why any kids would be running around barefoot with all the broken glass on the ground. Less than 2 months later, this would be the same spot he wound up stealth camping at, while he arranged to find work, a vehicle, and a place to live.

On the fourth night he was awakened by what sounded like a horse whinnying right by his head. Then silence, he heard nothing moving off afterwards. The following night is when he had the visitor approach his tent and sniff it. He added that he also saw it poke the tent with a finger.

After he called out from inside the tent it made a long, deep growl. As it walked off, he heard a big branch snap and then two wood knocks as it moved off. Then everything went silent.

He passed out 10-15 minutes later from the adrenaline. By the following day, his car insurance went into effect, and he broke down his camp and left the area.

I found Mark to be a credible witness. Even though he was camped near civilization, the woods are connected by greenbelts that go deep into the Pine Barrens. In the immediate area where he was, there are streams, lakes, a golf course, a quarry, train tracks, and pole lines that make for ample food source and easy means of travel.

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Note from BFRO Investigator Matt Moneymaker:

This incident occurred along a power line route that runs NE into the Pine Barrens. In the opposite direction, bending to the south and then west, the power line route leads to the area outside Clayon where a Class A sighting occurred in May of 1998 around 2AM. To read that report click here: REPORT 76444.

Click the images below for larger versions:








These power line routes are like private freeways for bigfoots, especially after dark. A fast walk for a bigfoot is about the speed of a fast jog for humans. At that speed they could go 30 miles in one night, and only occasionally slow down to let a lone car pass by before crossing a lonely stretch of country road like this one. They would rarely be seen after dark if they stuck to these power line routes most of the time.



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As a result of publishing this report there were local news reports about this incident. One local news report was a 30 minute long interview with Eric Spinner, the investigator for this report. The interview was conducted by a reporter with Fox 29 in Philadelphia.

Here is the link: Fox 29 Interview at Eric Spinner's Bigfoot Museum in South New Jersey

About BFRO Investigator Eric Spinner:

Eric Spinner is the owner of a health food store in Medford, NJ - a town that borders the Pine Barrens. He is a Certified Nutritional Consultant, and a Shiatsu Practitioner. Eric has attended the 2008 NW Pennsylvania Expedition, the 2009 Sunshine Coast BC Canada Expedition, the 2016 & 2020 So NY Expeditions, and 2021 & 2022 PA Expeditions. He also organized the 2023 PA East Expedition. Eric has been an investigator for the BFRO since 2009 and has been organizing New Jersey Expeditions since 2014. He makes numerous solo excursions into the NJ Pine Barrens, and Pennsylvania, and has done investigations in Missouri and Florida. He was most recently involved in the production of the South Jersey Sasquatch episode of Finding Bigfoot and was one of the witnesses featured during the Town Hall meeting.
Eric is cofounder of NASBRO, and host of Squatch Talks Podcast.

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