YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: February

DATE: 26

STATE: Kansas

COUNTY: Jefferson County

LOCATION DETAILS: Perry State Park. Hike/bike trail, after you cross over Lake Perry, it's up the hill and you take the first right for about a mile to the parking area; we were on the Mad Mile extension of the Skyline trail.

NEAREST TOWN: Perry

NEAREST ROAD: Lake Perry Park Road

OBSERVED: I teach botany/ecology at a local college. My wife and I were out hiking on the skyline trail (hike/bike trail) to see if any early wildflowers were out yet. We decided to take the Mad Mile extension, since it runs parallel to the lake and is visually quite nice (as well as exhausting). I was taking photos of mosses, so I was paying attention to the ground quite a bit. My wife walked ahead a bit, and I was kneeling down to take some more moss photos when I saw this print (attached Word document). I was very excited, as I had just started reading again about bigfoot, so I took a couple of photos (attached to the document). The first photo is just a overhead pic, the second photo has my size 12 shoe lined up at the base to show how long the footprint was. This was the only footprint noted, with good reason--the leaf litter on the trails was extensive. I did see raccoon tracks, and my wife saw a turkey trot away; later we saw a cottontail scurry off. This may be nothing, but as there was a sighting of BF some 20 miles away at the Baker Wetlands, I thought this might be interesting.

OTHER WITNESSES: Wife.

OTHER STORIES: Sighting in 2000 (your database) at Baker Wetlands, south of Lawrence, KS.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: About 2:30pm or so; full light, some light clouds, muddy but not squishy. Lake side, hilly, with elms, oaks, etc. No squirrels seen at all.

ENVIRONMENT: Lakeside, hilly though. Lowest point on the Mad Mile trail.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone.

Although there was leaf litter on the ground the footprint was very visible in the soft soil. The footprint measured approximately sixteen inches long and seven inches wide.

The witness did send me photos of the track, however they did not show enough detail to be included with this report.

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at illinois@bfro.net