YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: March

DATE: 03-12-08

STATE: Washington

COUNTY: Mason County

LOCATION DETAILS: We were in Hartstene Point. The gated community at the north tip of the island. The sound was coming from the south. We guessed it was 1/2 mile to 1 mile away based on where the gated community starts. It sounded like it could have been right down on the beach or up above on the high bluff.

NEAREST TOWN: Shelton

NEAREST ROAD: Points Drive East. 15 mins from Hwy 3

OBSERVED: My husband and I had just arrived at our cabin on Harstine Island and were unpacking the car.I cam out of the cabin and heard what I thought was a howl at first. I stopped to listen. after the next vocalization I said to my husband it's Bigfoot and he stopped to listen. We could tell they were coming from far away. Maybe 1/2 mile to a mile south of us. We did not feel threatened or scared at the time. The sounds were deep. Something between a roar and screem. They had a very deep growly under tone. In between sounds my husband was disagreeing with me. He suggested it was an elk or coyote. Our dogs both became clingy and started whining, so I had to bring them inside so we could hear. When I came out I started counting how long the sounds were. I counted 5 seconds. My husband said that while I was in the house there was one about 3 seconds longer or about 8 seconds. The sounds were deep but some of them changed pitch going even lower midway through. What ever was making the sounds had much larger lung capacity that even a big man. That is what finally convinced my husband it had to be a big foot. All other animal calls we have heard go higher rather than lower. The sounds contined for about 5 minutes. The next night my husband tried to recreate the sounds at the beach and couldn't even come close to the deep pitch or that length. His comment was that what ever made it was not human.

ALSO NOTICED: Not that we remember.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2, my husband and myself. Unpacking the car.

OTHER STORIES: There have been other sightings on the island. We read about them on this site.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 9:30 PM (the week after spring forward.)

ENVIRONMENT: Forest near the beach.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Derek Freel:

This is an area with a history of Sasquatch activity. Upon making contact, the witnesses described the vocalization in great detail remarking that it sounded like a mix of a fog horn and a howling animal. This description matches what is commonly reported and associated with a sasquatch vocalization.

A group of Investigations from the BFRO visited the location in March of 2009 and spent several days investigating the area. They had no significant encounters while investigating, however they did observe several things that would substantiate this report. While the property itself is located within a community of summer vacation homes, for a large part of the year the community is for the most part abandoned. The investigators felt that it would be unlikely that sasquatches would frequent the area during peak tourist seasons, however during the winter and early spring months this would be prime habitat. There is ample wildlife to provide a food source. Large numbers of deer and elk were noticed within a mile of the cabin.

We encourage anyone else who has had recent encounters such as this one, to please file a report.

About BFRO Investigator Derek Freel:

Derek Freel grew up near Okanogan, Washington, and currently lives in the Kennewick area. He has studied the subject of sasquatch for many years, and was very lucky to have encountered the animals on several BFRO Expeditions. Derek is taking an active role in bringing these animals into mainstream science. He attended the 2005 Washington Expedition, 2006 Redwoods Expedition, 2006 Oregon Expedition and the 2006 Washington Expedition.