YEAR: 1989

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: u/k

STATE: Colorado

COUNTY: San Juan County

LOCATION DETAILS: see report

NEAREST TOWN: Silverton CO.

NEAREST ROAD: 550 and oper pass rd

OBSERVED: This incident happend in southwest Colorado in early spring/late winter 1989. I worked at the Gladstone mine North of Silverton Colorado and lived in Montrose Colorado. I usually car pooled with another individual at the time and we took turns rotating driving every other day I.E. we took my truck one day and his the next. We did this four days each week for two weeks on day shift and two weeks on swing shift. Anyway to get to the story and sum it up. I ended up driving to work by myself that particular day because my car pool did not show up in time making me a little late or behind our normal time of leaving. Whoever was driving in the morning had to be alert and wide awake because of all of the deer and elk along the road and crossing the road that early in the morning. The commute south on 550 from Montrose to the mine took about one and half hours which is about seven miles north and west of Silverton CO.

I had just come over Red mountian pass going south bound on 550 and just south of the Ophir Pass 4 wheel rd turn off about two miles and north of the east turning curve towards Silverton about one and half miles. As I was approaching what is known as the slide area I was on a relative short stretch of straight away and approching some S curves now at the time you could see across these S curves to the other side in which the road on the other side is in line with the first straight away and continues for a short way before a slight curve to the left that starts downhill.

I had my head lights set slightly higher and wide, then stock on that 1985 Toyota 4x4 with rectangle Halogen headlights so that my truck would have a better chance of stopping or avoiding any collisions with a deer or an elk. DID I HAVE ADIQUATE LIGHTING? YES. Anyway as I am on the first straight away I could clearly see across to the second straight away when I saw movement up on this high embankment to the left on the second straight away about fifty feet above the highway and moving down the almost eighty foot tall and almost vertical embankment. What i saw was not clear until it came directly into the path of my head lights which were on bright by then. It was standing upright and took about four steps from the embankment to the other side of the 2 lane highway and paused slightly in front of a 12 foot or taller big yellow diamond shaped sign that warns of the slide area ahead. it appeared that this creature was slightly blinded or confused by my head lights and paused with two small quick shuffeling steps and a slight glance in my direction before it dropped over the steep embankment on the west or right side of the highway. when that thing stood in front of the yellow sign on that white post at first I thought it was a huge bear and then relized that bears do not travel around on 2 legs and 10 to 11 foot tall bears are not in exsistence in that area.

I saw the glare of its eyes at least three times. It walked upright the whole time. Because of its height, gait and posture, slightly slouched forward above mid back, and its dark multi coloring I always believed that I saw a bigfoot.

I tried to confide to a couple of friends what I had seen later that morning at work but I was met with a skeptical attitude. Therefore I began to keep it to myself and only have discussed it with close people and still have met resistance in talking about it.

The time of day was early morning about 5:30 in the morning, dark and little or no moon. The weather was clear and tempurature mid 30 degrees. I did slow down at the crossing site and looked over the west side of the road as best I could briefly but hurried off in fear.

After work I drove back by the crossing site and stopped. I noticed 5 or 6 large indentations, all in a row coming down the east embankment. It is very steep, with gray shale and dirt. The trail was at a slight angle at about 5 oclock. These appeared to be heel marks like a human would leave descending a very steep slope but much much larger, disturbing the earth around them in a downward sliding motion around each track.

I was and still am an avid rifle and archery hunter as well as an experienced tracker and outdoorsman and have hunted and camped excessivly in south western Colorado and the san juan mountains.

To me it would be a great relief to have it proven to the world that these creatures exist and should and could be studied with great restraint so as not to disturb them too much. I believe that it will be just a matter of time befor their exsistence is proven to the world.

ALSO NOTICED: see report

OTHER WITNESSES: no

OTHER STORIES: just what i read on your reports in the Mancos area which is about 70 miles as the crow flies south west of my sighting and a few years later.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: early morning before sun up. see above report.

ENVIRONMENT: extremey steep high altitude pine and thick under growth. tough to traverse on foot. few roads or trails rough wilderness enviroment.

Follow-up investigation report:

I discussed this incident with the witness for almost two hours and believe him to be entirely sincere regarding these observations. He emphasized that he is a lifelong hunter and outdoorsman with much experience in identifying Colorado wildlife and is certain of what he saw. It was an obvious relief to him to have his account taken seriously.

A brief flicker of an unusual orangish-red colored eyeshine reflection first caught his attention. The color immediately caught his attention because it was so different from the green color that he always watched -- the eyeshine reflection of deer and elk that were so frequently in the area.

This was at a distance of about 150 yards as he approached at about 35 m.p.h. He stated that his lights were set higher than usual and were on bright, giving him an excellent view of the road ahead. No other cars were on the road in either direction in the immediate area at the time.

The figure stepped down from the grassy slope into the loose gray shale and soil of the upper reaches of a roadcut. The figure quickly descended the fifty-foot embankment in about five steps and then stepped from the shoulder and across the road to the right shoulder in four “very large” steps where it paused briefly to turn its entire upper body to look directly at the witness’ vehicle, while fully illuminated in the headlights. The creature then “didn’t just jump” but carefully “negotiated” the next step over the edge and out of view down the hillside toward the river and valley bottom. He estimated the duration of the sighting at about six seconds.

The witness was able to provide some details concerning its physical description. The creature was “massive” and, judging from the sign it passed in front of, which he also looked at on his later return, he estimated its height at not less than 9 to 10 feet tall. His estimate as to the weight was 800 pounds.

“It was slightly hunched over leaning forward, not standing up straight and tall” as it walked and its long arms seemed to be about 2/3 of its entire size in length with its hands and fingertips reaching to just above the knee. “It seemed that its legs were shorter than its arms.” It was entirely dark-colored; dark brown or almost black but with a slightly lighter reddish tinge visible as well.

He noticed the swaying of long hair, possibly 6-8 inches on the forearms and the back of the upper arms as it moved. He described the physique as very muscular like that of a bodybuilder. As it turned to look, it seemed that it either could not turn its neck or had no apparent neck. It was “not heavily bearded but did have hair on its face” and the skin of the face and around the eyes was very dark, almost black. The witness was struck by what he described as a “piercing gaze” which showed that the creature was “obviously alarmed.”

The witness also noted an additional observation from last October just northwest of Rico in Dolores County and approximately twenty miles southwest of his sighting location. While hunting west of Sandstone Mountain above the upper reaches of Horse Creek just under Johnny Bull Mountain. He was startled to hear what sounded like wood-on-wood knocking from about 150 yards away. He reported four distinct knocks at about one per second, but then heard or saw nothing more.

David Petti