YEAR: 2004

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

STATE: Montana

COUNTY: Missoula County

LOCATION DETAILS: We live just inside the Flathead Indian Reservation near Evaro.

NEAREST TOWN: Evaro

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 93 North

OBSERVED: In mid july 2004 I was on my back porch it faces east and it faces a mountain I live in the woods on the side of my house where the creature was the house is scarecly wooded and the land is flat. The sun was shining. The reason I went out side is this, my dogs started to bark and run through the house they got half way through the dog door stopped an whined. I thought that was odd so I went and sat on the back porch. Then I saw the tree to my left move and the tree was about 300 yards away from me or less I am bad with measurements. So I watched the tree to see what caught my eye and then I saw the creature. It was behind the tree looking out from behind it. It's head was in the banches and it was hunching. Is's head was large and it had a definate brow I thought I was seeing an oranatang. Except it was about 6 and ahalf feet tall. It was moving it's head aroud the tree to watch me as I stood up to get a better look. It's hair was a rust color like to color of dead pine needles, It's eyes were haunting. And it was completely silent. It was watching me while I was watching it. I sat back down. I watched outside for about 6 minutes and didn't tell the person on the phone.
Then I went in the house and watched throught the window to make sure it wasn't a trick of shadow. Then the creature moved in front of the tree, staying hunched over but watching me in the window. I watched a few more minutes and then went to the back of the house when I went back it was gone. While this was going on my kids were in the front yard playing in the water. I think if the creature had been aggressive it would have made some sort of move. but it d=seemed peaceful. It seemed to be curious I think it was young to be in such a vulnerable open area.
When my husband came home we went out to the tree and all of the knapweed was completely trampled down around the tree. We didn't find any hair though. I look every day To see if it ou t there again but to no avail.

ALSO NOTICED: just the dog behavior, that I noted above. that the wold not go outside. they had been barking all morning. before but that isn't un usual. the weird thing is that they stopped short and whined. that is very unusual for them.

OTHER WITNESSES: none.

OTHER STORIES: I have just recently heard of some stories happening now that is why I am reporting mine but i do not know what the other reports are saying.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: sunny mid afternoon

ENVIRONMENT: Our land one the side of the house where the creature was is scarecly wooded but the other side of the house its thickly wooded. Then On the side of the house where the creature was thre are railroad tracks. a farm with cows, and the mountain, our land is flat and so is the farm.

Follow-up investigation report:

I interviewed the witness directly over the phone, some nine months after the incident. She recounted the particulars of the event clearly and accurately in accordance with the details of her initial report. I found the witness to be genuine in her discussing the incident, and believe her to be quite credible.

The incident began at approximately 4:00 PM in July of 2004, when her dogs began barking excitedly from inside the house. The witness recalls that she was talking to her sister-in-law on the phone as this began. The dogs ran through the kitchen to exit the house to the backyard via the dog door. However, upon reaching the dog door, the dogs both stopped suddenly and the normally agressive, larger dog began to whine. The witness considered this very abnormal for this particular dog. Out of curiosity, the witness stepped outside to see what might be affecting her dogs in this manner. It was a bright sunny afternoon. After scanning the area, the witness describes something catching her eye. Upon returning her gaze to that location, she then saw an animal, that she could only compare to an orangutan, at approximately 200-300 yards away. It was standing on two legs, but hunched over, as if trying to remain hidden, slightly behind a tree. The animal was swaying from left to right as if to see around the tree, seemingly curious about the witness. She described the animal as completely covered in hair the color of red pine needles. The witness also described the 'style' of hair as that of a golden retreiver; wavy and flowing. She estimated the height of the animal at seven to eight feet tall, but could not estimate accurately because the animal was maintaining a hunched posture. (Later that day, the witness asked her husband, who is six feet tall, to stand in that position. She claimed the animal, while hunched over, was easily taller than her husband.) She also described the mass of the animal as very thick. The witness described the eyes as an amber color and they were deep set in the face, with a forward brow. She claimed the head was very large and round. (After the incident, she searched the internet for explanations for this event, and found the BFRO site. She claims the animal she saw strongly resembles the Gigantopithecus model displayed in a photograph on the website.) The witness also mentioned that there was not hair around the eyes, nor on the brow of the face.

The incident continued while the witness stayed on the phone with her sister-in-law. She did not mention anything about what was happening to this person. The witness was stunned by what she was seeing, and most likely was not listening much to the other end of the phone. This particular sighting lasted approximately five to six minutes. At no time did the witness experience any sense of fear, nor did she notice any unusual odors. At this point, the witness walked to the front of the house to check on the children who were subsequently playing in an inflatable swimming pool. After checking the children, the witness returned to the back yard and found the animal had departed.

After getting off the phone with her sister-in-law, the witness immediately called her husband to discuss the experience. He returned to the home shortly thereafter and they both went to the tree from which the animal was standing behind. It was obvious, based upon the flattened grass and knapweed, that something large had been standing in that exact location.

In the nine months that have passed since this event, the witness and her family have had no other similar incidents to report.


Note: When asked about any unusual sounds in the area, the witness did describe one such event. She described a "scream" they heard in the spring of 2004. It sounded "garbled", and reminded her of a young mountain lion screaming. However, the sound emanated from a significant distance, the capacity of which is not normally suggestive of a mountain lion.

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