Geographical Index > United States > Oregon > Umatilla County > Report # 65970
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Monday, August 24, 2020.
Camper hears vocalizations near Meacham, region with history of "Umatilla Screamer."
(Show Printer-friendly Version)
YEAR: 2020
SEASON: Summer MONTH: August DATE: 12 STATE: Oregon COUNTY: Umatilla County LOCATION DETAILS: Near NF-3102, before Red Saddle
(45.4502371, -118.3243227) NEAREST TOWN: Meacham NEAREST ROAD: 84 OBSERVED: My teenage sons and I were camping in a dispersed site off of NF-3102 for a few days. On the morning of the 12th just after 6am I was making coffee when I heard a guttural growling that rose to a higher pitch scream and then became a whooping sound, after which it dropped back down to a growl. This sequence repeated three times. My dog freaked out barking, but would not go past the saplings on the east edge of the camp, which is strange because he usually pursues deer, elk, and bears several hundred yards into the woods.
I grabbed my bow and walked past the line of saplings, into an open forest that sloped down to a ravine with areas of dense vegetation. I called my dog to follow, but he would not come. The forest in this area is full of downed trees, where my sons and I had gathered firewood the previous afternoon. I believe the sound came from the vegetation / trees at the bottom of the ravine, which we had been within 30 feet of when gathering downed wood.
I only walked about 20 feet past the saplings, and stood on a log for a better view, but did not see anything moving. I then decided to go back to camp, being a bit worried because my dog wouldn’t leave the area of our tent. For the next hour and a half I sat with my bow next to me, the dog sitting between my legs, and listened to many instances of downed branches cracking beyond the saplings. When the cracks stopped, it was abruptly, not fading as if the cause were moving away. These were large branches being broken, similar to the sound of a bear breaking wood. My dog is not afraid of bears and has chased away several, including one the previous week in eastern Idaho.
About half an hour after the cracking sounds stopped the dog went out in the forest to investigate, and everything seemed to return to normal. It was then that I again heard the squirrels angrily chirping and chittering at the dog, and realized that I had not heard it at all during the noises or cracking.
I have never heard anything in the Blue Mountains, Rockies, or Cascades like this sound. It sounded nothing like deer, elk, moose, bear, mountain lion, or bobcat. The only thing I could possibly think is maybe a mountain lion was killing an elk, but it repeated three times with just about the same length and cadence. And the whooping part of it reminded me of those plastic bellows hoses that you swing in the air to make a whistling / whooping sound.
While in Pendleton a couple days later I was describing the sounds to a local hunter when an older native woman overheard and said she thinks it was a Bigfoot, and that she’s heard them on the Umatilla Reservation. OTHER WITNESSES: My 17 year old son heard it, the other one was sleeping TIME AND CONDITIONS: 6:00 am, clear skies ENVIRONMENT: Pine and fir forest
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kevin Llewellyn:
I talked to the witness by phone:
The witness and his sons camped in many states the summer of 2020. They camped at this spot for six days and did not see any other people. On the fourth or fifth morning, the witness was cooking bacon for the first time at that location when the vocalizations started about 150 yards away.
Each vocalization started with a four to six second growl that went into scream with five to six whoops. It was about ten seconds between vocalizations.
The witness said the branches cracking sounded as huge branch breaks but was constant, as if something was walking around, maybe intentionally stepping on and breaking large downed branches. He did not detect any foul odor. His dog is half Boxer, quarter German Shepherd and quarter Pit Bull and is usually not afraid of any wildlife.
This encounter is about twenty miles straight line on a map from the area of the "Umatilla Screamer." The reader can refer to BFRO report 57323 to read about this and find links regarding the "Umatilla Screamer."
About BFRO Investigator Kevin Llewellyn:
Kevin has camped, fished and hunted in Eastern Washington all his life. His interest in Sasquatch began when he was 10 years old and saw Roger Patterson present "the" film. He lives in Eastern Washington.
Recently retired, he was a veterinarian since 1984, after graduating from Washington State University.
He attended Washington BFRO expeditions in 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Oregon in 2015 and 2018, Montana in 2017 and 2018. He was co-leader of N.E. Washington 2019, Washington 2020, 2021 #1 & #2, and Montana 2020, 2021expeditions.
|
