YEAR: 2001

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: end of

STATE: Oklahoma

COUNTY: Caddo County

LOCATION DETAILS: 10 miles sw of caddo jake bridge (canadian river)on my land

NEAREST TOWN: El Reno

NEAREST ROAD: caddo jake bridge

OBSERVED: We were at my lake house where we were living for the past 3 months. We had returned to get some things that we wanted at our other house so we spent a couple of hours gathering stuff up and cleaning a bit. I went out side looking for the cat then my wife followed. I was in the front yard yelling "tiger" "tiger"! My wife went to the back yard and started yelling. Then out of nowhere she hears a hoot owl. "hoo, hoo hoot" it was loud. it sounded close to me and i was in the front yard. but she said it came from not more than 10ft from her. she stoped startled. Then another one went off from the other direction even closer. She comes runnin to the front yard.(we werent more than 15yds. apart to begin with and i kind of met her 3/4 of her way at the front corner of the house) Shes like "Oh my god did you hear that. two owls right there above me". Doesnt sound that creepy butin the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with no flash light it will startle you. I said "yea i heard it what was it?" she said "they sounded like owls but owls are territorial and are never that close unless they are mating." Just as she said that every where around us started "hooting" 20 to 30 differernt ones. Loud to like stereo turned up all the way in your car loud. And then some of the calls turned in to jungle noises. Like monkeys and tookans all kinds of noises, and in the middle of some of the calls it in a way sounded almost like human laughing but kind of like in an insane way. It just kept getting louder and louder until it was almost ear piercing and then there was complete silence.....
The crickets and bugs started back in and i heard a twig "snap!". We hurridly got in the car and put it in reverse. Then peeled out (if you can do that in dirt). On the way down the drive way not more than 20yds from our house. I saw the out line of some thing big and dark colored. But the what I remember the most is the eyes they almost glowed.

ALSO NOTICED: strong musk smell like a horse stable

OTHER WITNESSES: 2, yelling a cats name

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: clear, cool breeze, 12midnight,full moon,

ENVIRONMENT: heavily wooded area, with lots of lakes and ponds

Follow-up investigation report:

To reiterate the story:

The witness was in the process of moving from his father’s “lake house” where he and his family lived for a few months while looking for work in a nearby town. Except for a narrow dirt road and a little yard, the house is surrounded by thick woods. A creek and a couple of small lakes are near the house; the South Canadian River is only a few miles away.

As his wife searched behind the house for “Tiger” the cat she was startled by an intense owl-like vocalization; it was quickly followed by another from nearby. The sounds were loud, akin to a person yelling, and seemed to originate from a level higher than her head. She ran to the front of the house where her husband was trying to find Tiger. Both briefly shared their concerns and speculations about the nature of the noises.

As they stood there the sounds started up again. During the course of the next 45 seconds or so a combination of vocalizations similar to what was heard initially along with a variety of hoots, monkey-like screams, and “laughing” sounds steadily and dramatically increased in volume, the result of additional creatures adding to the din as well as apparent increases in the volume of the screams coming from each individual. What sounded like a dozen or more animals surrounded the frightened couple. The degree of loudness was said to have been comparable to a rock concert. The tumult built to a crescendo, then suddenly stopped.

The only noises heard in the ensuing silence were rustlings, “sounds like branches being moved,” and small twigs cracking. Then a loud snap, like a branch breaking, came from the woods in front of the house. Gathering their wits about them, the couple jumped into their car.

Near the house, in a small opening in the woods adjacent to the road on their right, the couple saw a huge upright figure. It was close, only about 25 feet from them. They were able to observe it for about four seconds as they sped away. The eyes seemed to reflect the light of the moon, showing as a yellowish-orange color. The witness, who stands over six feet tall and weighs more than two hundred pounds, said that he thought his head would possibly have reached the bottom of the creature’s shoulder (estimated height at least 7.5 feet) and that it was easily twice his weight. He said the animal did not appear to be fat at all, but was described as having “a very large build.” It was standing close to where the breaking branch sound had been detected.

The witness stated the opinion that some of the animals may have been up in trees. In spite of the fact that only one animal was seen, the witness was adamant that several animals, as in a troop, were heard. He thought they may have been moving through the area.

The witness seemed completely sincere and believable.

Evaluation:

A compelling story, but one I ordinarily would dismiss as an over reaction to a combination of vocalizing owls and/or coyotes. The sighting of a sasquatch, however, casts the experience in a different light.

The fact that the sounds were perceived as coming from above their heads probably excludes a pack of coyotes as the source. Barred owls are common in Oklahoma and have been described as the noisiest of all owls. Many who spend time in the outdoors are familiar with the ordinary call of this species, the commonly heard "who cooks for you." However, a number of other sounds are possible.

The A. C. Bent "Life History" series states that this species is loud at all times of the year and that its "vocal performances are most spectacular and thrilling, loud, emphatic, and quite varied." The hootings of these owls "will hold the hearer spellbound," and "when heard close at hand at night, they are fairly startling, as if a pair of demons were fighting." Other descriptions include "unearthly yells" and "derisive laughter."

William Brewster is quoted as describing "loud and prolonged outbursts of cackling, laughing, and whooping sounds delivered very rapidly ... sometimes as many as three or four birds will be gabbling and laughing at once in unbroken succession, making the woods ring with their almost deafening clamor, perhaps for minutes at a time."

My best guess is that the young couple heard barred owls and that the bigfoot was simply investigating the cacophony.

Thanks to BFRO investigator Brett Elliott for his assistance in researching aspects of the submission.