YEAR: 2000

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: 11/10/2006

STATE: Minnesota

COUNTY: St. Louis County

LOCATION DETAILS: one mile north of Virginia,MN, and 1 mile east of highway 53 It is land owned by the mining company.

NEAREST TOWN: Virginia, Minnesota

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 53

OBSERVED: I was riding a bicycle north of [the town of Virginia, MN] on a small dirt road. I saw a creature about 300 feet to the northwest of me on a hill at the edge of a mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. It looked at me, turned, crouched, and walked up the hill into the forest. It looked cautious and apprehensive. It had black fur and a very hairy face more like a man than a bear (It had no snout). It walked upright like a man. It was not round in the body as a bear, but more lanky. Its hard to judge the height, but it was at least as tall as a tall man. It did not move or look like a bear. My impression of it at that time was that it had sense of humaness about it, but it was a wild, unkempt, hairy creature. I was quiet scared at the time and turned and got out of there in the opposite direction. It looked like the purported Sasquatch I saw on a film strip years ago on TV, but it was not as thick as that one. It was more lanky.

I did not report this at the time to any authority, because I did not want to be labeled as a crank. I did tell a few friends. I report it now because on NPR I listened to a scientist who works at a Idaho University talk about the evidence that convinced him the sasquatch is real.

ALSO NOTICED: no

OTHER WITNESSES: just me

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Evening -about an hour before sunset

ENVIRONMENT: edge of a forest and a marsh on a small hill off a dirt road.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul Schnabel:

After speaking to the witness by phone he described a lasting impression from his encounter. After his sighting he felt a deep concern for the protection of these creatures. He decided to tell his story after seeing a TV interview with Dr. Jeff Meldrum from Idaho. He was discussing his research on the bigfoot mystery.

About BFRO Investigator Paul Schnabel:

Paul Schnabel is a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and an EMT for the area search and rescue.

Paul attended the BFRO's 2006 Wisconsin, 2007 and 2008 Michigan U.P. expeditions and the 2008 Minnesota private expedition

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