Ohio Field Research: Eyewitness Sketches

Observed just north of New Philadelphia, Ohio, in Spring of 1991. The sighting occurred in daylight. The witness said he stood approximately 40 feet from the "wolfman" for a minute or so before he, the witness, ran away. A few years later the witness drew this sketch at a restaurant on a paper napkin, during his one and only interview about the incident.?

Observed within the boundaries of the Berlin Lake State Wildlife Area, near Alliance, Ohio, in July of 1994. The sighting occurred around 2:30 AM. The witness, Brian Jones, said he stood approximately 15 feet from the "hairy man" and illuminated it with his flashlight for about 30 seconds. When first hit with the beam of light, the "hairy man" raised its left arm slowly and covered its eyes with its forearm. After a few seconds it slowly let its arm down to its side. It then tightened and flexed its chest and arms slightly, while squinting toward Jones with a stern facial expression. Jones (probably the most fearless bigfoot investigator in Ohio) walked away shortly thereafter. This drawing was made by Jones over the course of a few days, a month or so after the incident.

Observed in the area of Sharon, Ohio, on July 2nd 1984. The witness said she stood about 25 feet from the creature. The sighting occured in daylight. The lady had brought her children to a playground located in a relatively unpopulated, hilly, wooded area, not far from her home. She was supervising them at play when the incident occurred. First she heard some rustling in the woods on the edge of the playground. When she walked over to see what it was, she observed the creature moving slowly through the trees and bushes toward the edge of the grassy field where she stood. It stopped at a point where it could view the children playing on a small merry-go-round. She believed the animal was attracted by the noise of the children. After observing it for a moment or two, she calmly gathered up the children and drove away. This drawing is closely based on a drawing made by an artist at the direction of the witness.

The distribution of eastern Ohio bigfoot reports over the past 20 years is roughly depicted on this map, which also shows the major physiographic regions of Ohio and county borders. The red dots do not represent individual sightings but rather relative concentrations of sighting reports and track finds which are known to various bigfoot researchers.

One can expect certain human variables to influence this apparent distribution to a limited extent. For example:

• The likelihood that locals will be out in wooded areas where they're more likely to have sightings and find tracks
   
• The presence or absence of local bigfoot researchers who have enough of a local network to connect with a greater percentage of witnesses
   
• Local attitudes which may affect the basic willingness of witnesses to report these types of incidents to someone who will record them

If you've seen an animal similar to those depicted in the sketches above or heard sounds like these in any North American forest, please submit a report, so we can put you in touch with a local bigfoot researcher.

• Ohio Field Recording - unidentified recording collected in the field in Ohio, believed to be from a bigfoot