YEAR: 1994

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: August

STATE: California

COUNTY: Kern County

LOCATION DETAILS: It was a public campground right outside a small town with large boulders right on the Kern River. Little rapids all along the river at this point. Tent was under a bunch of scraggly trees.

NEAREST TOWN: Not sure. Very small towns.

NEAREST ROAD: Road nearest the Kern river

OBSERVED: In the summer of 1994 I was camping with my son on the Kern River in a public campground. Huge boulders on the bank of the river and more boulders inside the rushing river. After we barbequed we found it difficult to move about the campsite because of the huge rocks everywhere. I actually slipped and banged my knee on one of those boulders. I was in a small tent and my son Ron slept in the Ford Tempo. He is a sound sleeper. I am not. During the night he awoke me and said something was moving around in the blackness outside his car. I told him to go back to sleep and it was cold so I bundled up and tried to sleep despite the pain from my banged knee. Right as the sun came up I heard the loudest scream right outside my tent. It was inhuman - much louder than a man's voice and of an alarming intensity and pitch. I unflapped one of the tent windows and looked out, expecting to see I knew not what. Everything was sunny and looked normal. A frightening experience.

ALSO NOTICED: Before son went back to car, he said he heard someone tramping in the woods. He locked up his windows. I was sleeping at that point and after he awakened me I went back to sleep until heard screech or scream (prolonged).

OTHER WITNESSES: One witness. My son had gone back to the car and is almost impossible to wake. I was alone in the tent when I heard the unearthly scream.

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Soon after the sun came up. Weather was clear and sun shining brightly.

ENVIRONMENT: Kern River (campground only a few yards from river itself) under trees with picnic bench, barbeque grill, big boulders. The whole park is a narrow one running between highway and river.

Follow-up investigation report:

I talked with witness by phone and the following details can be added:
--the campground was located above Lake Isabella, with the nearest town being Kernville;
--the sound was similar of those recordings on the BFRO web site from Snohomish County Washington, but the last half of the Del Norte County recording was almost identical in timbre and intensity to what witness heard. The scream was very high pitched, blaring, and angry. Very similar to a howler monkey.

I also contacted a former Forest Service employee that worked in the campgrounds in the Kernville area on the Sequoia National Forest (Steve) for more than ten years. He added the following:
--campground was likely the Gold Ledge or Limestone campgrounds;
--there are numerous cave-like formations and abandoned mines in the area;
--the campground is very near the Golden Trout Wilderness, Fork of the Kern, and Hell For Sure areas, which are all very remote and could easily support a bigfoot population.

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