YEAR: 1980

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: August

DATE: 8/1980

STATE: Oregon

COUNTY: Deschutes County

LOCATION DETAILS: Davis Creek between Davis and Odell lakes.

NEAREST TOWN: Crescent

NEAREST ROAD: Century Drive (#46)

OBSERVED: Walking up to a stream to fish for German brown trout, we always try to be quiet as not to scare the fish . As we got around a 90 degree turn in the stream, we both saw what at first was a bear with its paws in the water. As it saw us, it stood up and looked to be around 7', we both knew it was not a bear as we have hunted black bear. We dropped our fishing poles and stared. I have hunted and fished in the high lakes in Oregon for a lot of years but have not been back to this stream since. I think this creature was as scared of us as we were of it.

It watched us for about 20 second then turned and headed for the tree line but turned his head and watched us all the way to the trees, then stood and watched us for about a minute then in two big steps it was in the trees and gone.

OTHER WITNESSES: two

TIME AND CONDITIONS: late afternoon
clear
lots of light

ENVIRONMENT: Along a creek with dense trees. Rocky banks with about 100' to the trees

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Dr. Wolf H. Fahrenbach:

The site is along a wide creek that connects Davis and Odell Lakes in the south central Oregon Cascades. The valley is forested and rather flat. The animal was on the opposite side of the creek and about 50' away. Their assumption was that the noise of the water covered up their quiet approach.

The eye witness reports a muscular but not particularly massive animal. He commented repeatedly about its unusually long legs and the extremely long steps, about 6', that it took to reach the forest. It did not take its eyes off the fishermen for the entire encounter. Both witnesses retreated to their cars and moved their camp site about 30 miles away, but did not rest with the assurance that it couldn't catch up with them, given the rate at which they had observed it walking.

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