YEAR: 2012

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: 5th

STATE: Kansas

COUNTY: Saline County

NEAREST TOWN: Kanopolis State Park

NEAREST ROAD: HWY 141

OBSERVED: On 5/05/2012, myself a friend and my 2 sons were fishing at the spillway in Kanopolis Lake around midnight. We were on the north side of the spillway and we were the only ones there. I happened to turn around and see something move up on the hill north of us. I told Stacey the friend of mine and she looked and seen some red eyes looking at us. Whatever it was it was very large and kept peeking around a large tree at us. This went on for a good 45 minutes or so. Stacey also heard a knock and a scream coming from that direction, I could not hear it due to the water running closer to me.

OTHER WITNESSES: two sons and a friend and we all were fishing

TIME AND CONDITIONS: around midnight but moon was pretty full

ENVIRONMENT: It happened by where the trout stream enters the spillway on the north side of spillway

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Spoke with both witnesses on separate phone calls. He, a family female friend, and his son and stepson were fishing late at night. He saw something move out of the corner of his eye, turned to face the direction of the trees, and saw a a figure duck behind a tree. He said to his friend,"you're not gonna believe this, but guess what I just saw". He directed her attention to the trees. They both saw it peeking in and out from behind a tree. The tree was about 150-200 yards or so away, and slightly up a hill. The moon was mostly full, so even at that distance, they were both sure of what they were looking at. The height was estimated at 7-8 ft, though at that distance and lighting, it is hard to be precise. They shined a large flashlight and there was eye-shine both with and without the flashlight shining. This peek-a-boo lasted for about 45 minutes or so. They said nothing to the kids. They were a bit uneasy, but felt the distance between it and them provided a safety net. Towards the end of the encounter, one of his boys landed a fish, so he moved down to the bank to help him reel it in. It was at that point she heard the scream, then a knock. He could not hear it because he was closer to the flowing water, and also helping his kid. A single knock was heard, and the scream was a 3-4 second sound similar to a high pitched yell. The scream got higher pitched towards the end. She is familiar with a screech owl , and said it was similar to a screech owl, but was definitely NOT a screech owl. More of a scream and not a howl. The knock and scream both came from the immediate area of the figure. It peeked in and out from behind the tree seven times. She kept count. Could have been more but they were not looking at it non-stop, as they were watching the boys fish.

About BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Carter is originally from Texas & moved to Missouri in 1988. Professional drummer for 20 years. Improv & sketch comic and writer for 5 years. Lighting technician for major touring groups for several years. Experienced outdoorsman and was a trained investigator for MUFON. Studied Herpetology in college. Longtime special interest in Sasquatch long term habituation, burial research, infra sound, language & stick structures. He led three Missouri BFRO Public Expeditions:, 2012 & 2013 & 2014. Led public expedition for BFRO in Illinois in 2019.Participated in Iowa, 2012 Illinois. Michigan 2016. Private Expeditions: Illinois 2011, 2012, 2013. Missouri 2011, 2012 (3) 2013(2) 2014. Iowa 2012, 2014 & 2015. Consulted on two Animal Planet Finding Bigfoot TV shows. Expedition leader in Missouri 2013 (1) & 2014 (2) & Illinois Expedition 2019 (1). Led night ops on numerous BFRO expeditions. Hosted a public Town Hall meeting in Missouri in 2017.