YEAR: 72 or 73

SEASON: Summer

STATE: Pennsylvania

COUNTY: York County

LOCATION DETAILS: I would rather not have exact location (listing the nearest road) to repect the privacy of the family that still owns the property. I have long since had a falling out with my friend at the time and don't feel he or they would like being approache about this. I like my own privacy respected; so I must accord others the same.

The general area at that time was more open farmland with some large housing developements (in which I lived) within a mile. There were a good deal of homes scattered here and there and others in smaller developments. A very large animal like a Sasquatch could conceivably navigate (migrate) through an area like this at night using farmland as cover; but absolutely not stay very long in an area like that even then without revealing it's presense. I can give you more specific details on topography. Farmland opens up eventually much more to the north with a State Park (Gifford Pinchot) at the north end of the county. Southern end of York county where the sightings occurred is a more likely area given in terms of what I've read of similar topography of other sighting then. Also much more rural and forested in the early "70's.

NEAREST TOWN: York; more specifically Manchester twp.

NEAREST ROAD: Raintree Road

OBSERVED: Hello,

My name is Doug and though I am very reluctant to post this story; I am going to do so anyways. The area that this happened could not be a more unlikely area for a bigfoot occurance then or especially now with all the development of the farmland in the last 25 years which has been extensive and at a phenominal rate. After reading many (if not every last report on this website) and coming across more that a few that have happened in improbable areas (bigfoot running down neighborhood streets and sightings/ vocalizations near condo areas), I decided there just might be some merit in submitting this for review. A skilled researcher might be able to shed some more light maybe.

My friends parents owned a small somewhat defunct farm with (I'm guessing maybe 15-20 acres of land -not the best judge on that) They had 3 horses; 2 mares that were allowed out in the field areas; a stabled stallion, and a pony I believe. The barn was in dis-repair and part of the roof had collapsed years earlier. There was a large pond that was almost completely enclosed with an impenatrable thicket of briars ringing almost the whole cirmcuference of the pond, except for a small area that was kept open for access for the horses to water. Much of the property was overgrown with these same briars that tended to make big circular mounds here and there in the field. The house sat close to the road; the barn to the left and further behind. The extreme left side of their property was bordered by a small stream that edged along a small (100 ft x 30 ft) stand of very dense pine trees. These pines (species unknown) tend to have a very dense understory of almost horizontal dead, dry, branches due to years of growth an minimal sunlight. The lower end of this pine grove had a mowed lawn area (next door neighbors property who were also related to my friend family) You had to access the camping area through the neighbors propery as the overgrowth of briars and other weeds, brambles, trees made it impossible to get there directly for the E------- property. The pond in relation to the campsite was to the left if you were looking back up towards the road; with the stream running between. The dense pine grove then lay between you and the road; unless you skirted around it through the neigbors backyard.

This is what happened. No sighting but a vocalization.

We had gone down to the campsite had built a fire and been down there for about an hour. During this time we all felt uneasy even though we had been there before many times. This is a long time ago but to the best of my memory we had been joking; probably made something to eat over the fire but something felt really wrong this time. "Wrong" is the best word I can use to describe. I remember I felt like I couldn't just sit down by the fire and stay with the conversation though. From back in the pine grove was the occasional, deliberate braking of branches that were just a little too large (to the sophisticated human ear) and just had the sound of being "up off the ground some ways" This would start and stop. We would listen and comment on it. First we thought maybe the mares had gotten back into the woods, unusual but this later was confirmed not to be so because we found out the next day that they were stabled for the night. We then thought it might be some older boys who were trying to scare us into running. It would be quiet for awhile then there would be a sense of movement closer to where we were and then receeding. We shined a flashlight and ventured back alittle ways but saw or smelled nothing. The sounds began again this time definately agitated, insistent with a very permiable feeling. We started to get un-nerved moved out into the neighbors backyard. The sound grew louder, with traceable movement and then this ear splitting scream cut right out into the night. One loud shriek louder than anything should have to be. It just cut right to the core of your soul. Like so many reports I've read on this website, it's virtually impossible to do it justice with a human description precisly because it sounded so inhuman. We just ran like hell back to the house, left everything behind. No sense of being followed at all. No visual sighting (I almost wish). No bad smells or odors. In terms of other reports this pales, I know. But this is what happened and I never forgot it. We knew what Sasquatch were at the time, but no one ever heard of sightings east of the Mississippi to the best of my memory then. We kind of joked that maybe that's what our unseen friend was. Years later when I read and saw the reports from the southern part of York County (report on file with your website.) did I ever give any serious thought.

ALSO NOTICED: My friend noted that he had spent the night before down in the grove and felt very uneasy like he was being watched. I'm not sure if he said he left to go back to the house because of this. We had prior to this spent time camping down there and running around in the early morning hours being teenagers and never experienced anything like this before.

OTHER WITNESSES: 3. Don't remember the name of the third. He was a friend of T--. Long time ago. Just sitting around the camp fire.

OTHER STORIES: Just noting that my friend spent the night before at the campsite alone and felt very uneasy.

Part of the reason I am reporting this is due to the existing report about the Kennard Dale students in southern end of the county. I don't remember hearing about those sightings while they were happening in those years. I do remember on the back page of The York Dispatch (now defunct)a picture of a state trooper (I believe) standing almost spread-eagled with his crotch just above the snow with his legs stretched out in some melted out prints that were found in the snow down in that area. I think the year was 1978 for some reason not earlier seventies. Maybe you can confirm this. Some alegged the prints were Sasquatch . I rememeber he (the trooper) was grinning into the camera because he could only just barely match the stride of tracks.

If I remember right I believe there was an accompaning story about a local high school teacher taking students out on a field trip and haviing rocks rolled or thrown at them from an unknown assailant from an above forested ridge area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Incident occured somewhere between the hours of 9-11 pm. Night skys were to best of my memory clear; don't remember it as being very humid at all as most summers around here are. It could have been I'm just not sure due to the long period of time ago that this happened.

Follow-up investigation report:

The investigator spoke with witness for almost two hours relating this story. Witness recalls this incident as if it was yesterday. A trip to the area in question would most likely not prove anything as over the years, the landscape has changed dramatically. When speaking about the vocalization, the witness stated that the sounds heard were acompanied by "intentional" branch snapping sounds.