YEAR: 1970-1972

SEASON: Spring

STATE: California

COUNTY: Mariposa County

LOCATION DETAILS: A 40 acre site with ranch style house, two ponds, located in a rural site, off approximately 1/2-1 mile off Highway 140 at Guadalupe Pass, keep to the left.

NEAREST TOWN: Between Mariposa/Cathey's Valley

NEAREST ROAD: Guadalupe Mountain Road off Highway 140

OBSERVED: I was a girl. I think it was 1969-70 and I was 10-11 years old. I was sick and sleeping on the couch in the living room. I heard our dog whining. He never whined. No stranger let alone an animal could come close to our dog as he was an agressive watchdog. The whining is what woke me up. I looked out the window from the couch and then looked again trying to focus. It was dark and everybody else was sleeping. I saw a dark outline of a creature looking into the front room. I saw its silhouette against the night sky. It had to have been taller than 6 foot, and the window, if I remember correctly, was off the ground 3? feet and the window itself was 4? feet tall. The creature took up the width of the window and there probably was about 6-8 inches of moonlit sky showing above its head. It made no sound. It just stood there looking in. I don't remember anything else. I probably thought I must be dreaming, but the impression of something watching me never left me and I never told anyone about it until I told a trusted friend about a year ago. However, other members of my family, including myself at that period of time, heard sounds that summer--like a low, steady whistle, sounding almost like a wind blowing through a groove of some kind. This happened more than once. When one of my uncles investigated with a rifle one night while we were playing cards, he came back shaken and unable to explain why. The night would be silent except for the whistle noise.

Another time, I went exploring down the creek which ran out of a pond. I got to the bottom of the ravine. There was a smell, like sulphur, or something rotting, at a place where the water pooled. It scared me and I ran back up the mountain. I did not tell anyone because I was not suppose to go beyond the sight of the house.

ALSO NOTICED: I already told of the sounds heard from various family members at other occasions. I don't remember anything else other than the dog whining. I don't know why no-one else heard him, unless this is when my brother thinks he saw this creature, too.

OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses to my sighting. I have a brother who has told me he saw something, too, in that area. He would have been about 8 or 9 years old then.

OTHER STORIES: No. I did not want to talk about it. I thought I was dreaming, until my brother brought it up himself some time ago. Even then I did not mention it.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Middle of the night. It was dark in the house. The weather was fair and cool. The night sky clear.

ENVIRONMENT: Rural countryside. Oaks, pines, ponds (stocked with fish), fresh running creek. Cattle grazed in neighboring acres. We had animals-rabbits, chickens, a dog, cats. Plenty of deer and other wildlife in the area (back then). We had a fenced in garden.

Follow-up investigation report:

During phone interview on 12/26/05, the witness added the following corrections and/or clarifications:

The incident probably occurred between '70 and '72 when they were 11-13 years old, and added that it was probably spring season.

There were 7 people in the house, including 2 adults (parents).

The window was over the ground, not a porch or walkway; witness will try and take measurements and/or picture when visiting the area soon.

Dog was outside, usually slept next to house at the location of the window where silhouette was seen. Dog was a Georgia coon hound/bear hunting dog mix.

Witness states that they only saw silhouette, no movement. Ambient light was moonlight and stars outside; no light from interior. No outside artificial light source.

When asked why witness didn't think it was a person, they stated that it was "too big". Witness had seen bears at the time, and this was larger in shape than a bear. No definition or features seen, just silhouette. Adults had not left the house.

No missing livestock at time of incident.

The whistle noise was heard late at night, after dark; probably after 22:00-23:00. Constant pitch, possibly dropping in pitch at very end. Duration of 4-5 seconds per whistle.

The whistling noises lasted for 15-20 minutes. Witness states that when whistling started, all other animal/insect sounds stopped.

The witness will contact investigator when they have additional information regarding window height, and have heard the brothers' recollection of incident that occurred around the same time.

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