YEAR: 2003

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

STATE: Oklahoma

COUNTY: Cleveland County

NEAREST TOWN: Norman

OBSERVED: My family resides close to Norman, Oklahoma, and from 1976 to the present, there have been numerous incidents revolving around Bigfoot, including two sightings in 1976 and one in January 2003, footprints in both mud and snow, several incidents where vocalization was heard, and numerous other accounts of stones being thrown, foul odor being smelled, fruit being taken off of trees, etc. Back in 1976, Bigfoot researcher Bob Stamps and his partner took several plaster casts of footprints and interviewed family members who had heard and seen the creature. The most recent sighting happened in January of this year. My 61-year old brother-in-law was chopping wood and breaking kindling approximately 40 feet from his house near the edge of the woods. It was early evening and he was just about to finish when he happened to look up and caught the sight of the creature out of the corner of his eye. At that point, the creature was approximately 15-18 feet away from him, standing in enough of a clearing so that he could see him from the waist up (due to thick underbrush he could not see any further down). He estimated the creature to be 7-8 feet tall with a slight hunch. He froze for a minute and then dropped the wood that was in his hands and ran inside of the house. By the time he entered the house he was visibly shaken and according to my sister, he was "as white as a ghost." The hair on his arms were standing on end caused by physical reaction of goosebumps due to the state he was in. He was having difficulty breathing and therefore was having a hard time speaking. All he could say was "Buh...buh...buh..." My sister and niece thought he was having a heart attack and were fearing for his life. When he was finally able to calm down, all he could get out was "Bigfoot. I just saw Bigfoot."

Since my brother-in-law was snapping kindling over his knees, we have come to the conclusion that it was this noise that drew the creature to him.

ALSO NOTICED: There was no noticable odor. The creature was approx. 7-8 feet in height; his coat was reddish brown with areas of gray.

OTHER WITNESSES: None.

OTHER STORIES: I have several stories to relate, too many to write here.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Time: Approx. 4-5 PM.
Lighting: Dusk
Weather: Clear

ENVIRONMENT: The property is 2 1/2 acres of mostly open land, except on the west and south side of the property line which is densly wooded. There are several creeks and ravines, ponds and small lakes in the area.

Follow-up investigation report:

I spoke to the submitter of the report, who found tracks on the property, and also her brother-in-law, who had the close encounter. I found the statements of both witnesses to be very compelling.

The submitter of the report lives out of state now, but grew up at the location of the incidents. She returns to the area for visitation with relatives. She told of several occurrences that the family believed related to bigfoot. She found large, barefoot tracks out by the pond. A bigfoot researcher took casts of the tracks and told her that he thought a juvenile sasquatch was responsible for making them.

The family has smelled peculiar and strong odors from time to time; they've heard loud, deep, ominous growls from within the woods and they've heard loud, heavy-sounding footsteps on the gravel driveway at night.

The submitter's brother-in-law would occasionally find the gate of the chain-linked fence lifted up off its hinges and placed to the side. The family was at a loss as to what or who exactly was going to the trouble of lifting the gate up off the hinges merely to place the gate just beside the gateway.

The brother-in-law had an extraordinary encounter in January 2003 while gathering and breaking kindling. I spoke directly with him about the incident. He told me that he knew in an instant what he was seeing, as the encounter was at a distance of no more than fifteen feet; the chain-linked fence was all that separated the two. The witness told me that his nerves were shaken to the core, and that he was "all choked up." He said he looked at it for a few seconds before hurriedly turning and fleeing to the house. He recalled the animal doing the same thing; as the witness turned, the animal turned and escaped off into the thicker woods.

The witness could not recall facial details per se, but he did say that to the best of his recollection, it had a "unique face" and the animal was covered in red-brownish hair with gray interspersed. He estimated that its height was no less than seven feet. The creature initiated no aggressive behavior or sounds. Upon entering the house, the witness tried to explain to his wife what he had just witnessed, but had much difficulty talking. Finally he was able to enunciate "bigfoot - I saw a bigfoot."

About three months later, he heard a loud, deep growl from the woods which badly scared him and a nearby dog.

The witness said he doesn't speak of these events with neighbors for fear of ridicule. The family keeps it all within, although it may be a safe assumption that they are not the only ones in the area who may be encountering these animals.