Geographical Index > United States > Florida > Okaloosa County > Report # 24441
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Friday, August 15, 2008.
Man recounts his possible daytime sighting while bowhunting near Crestview
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YEAR: 1993?
SEASON: Fall STATE: Florida COUNTY: Okaloosa County LOCATION DETAILS: 30.905288, -86.683717
It has been so long I do not remember exactly where I was, but I'm pretty sure the coordinates I've given will put you in a 2-3sq mile area of where it happened.
Nearest town is Blackman, nearest large town is Crestview NEAREST TOWN: Blackman NEAREST ROAD: Highway 4 OBSERVED: While bowhunting from a tree stand in a row of trees looking out over a field, I saw a very large animal walking on it's hind legs come out of the woods towards me, turn to its left, walk in front of a large oak tree, then turn to its left again and reenter the woods. The distance between the tree and animal vs myself was approximately 2000 ft.
I was dropped off at this area by two other people I was hunting with. I walked roughly 1000 feet into the brush and found a pine tree with a good view to set my tree stand up in. I was in an area with light to moderate pine tree population with a large amount of waist high grass and brush. My view from the tree stand opened up into a field with little to no pine trees with a dense tree line of mixed oak and pine trees on the far side of the field. A prominent tree that stood out from the rest and encroached on the field was a very large oak tree that dwarfed the rest. This is the tree the animal crossed in front of.
After watching for deer for what seemed like an eternity, something caught my eye across the field at the oak tree. My initial reaction was it was one of the people I was hunting with. I took a look through the binoculars but still couldn't get a positive ID on who or what it was. Oddly, one of my first thoughts before I raised the binoculars was, "What is James (one of the hunting party) doing wearing a black suit in the woods?" That's what it looked like from so far away. It looked and walked eerily like the famous bigfoot video clip you see everywhere. A very humanoid gait with the upper limbs swinging in opposition to the lower limbs.
The entire episode lasted maybe one minute.
There were no sounds made that I could hear at that distance and by the time the hunting crew came back to pick me up it was too dark to investigate further. ALSO NOTICED: Nothing out of the ordinary. OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses OTHER STORIES: I've heard rumors of other hunters having similar sightings. One account I remember had the hunter chasing after his hunting dogs on a four wheeler. The dogs were chasing something, but he couldn't tell what. Once they cornered the creature in a large thicket, the hunter caught up with them on the four wheeler. About the time he was ready to come to a stop, the dogs ran past him going the opposite way, tails between their legs and yelping. The hunter immediately followed the dogs and refused to hunt in the area after that.
TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early 1990's... maybe 1992 or 1993
Autumn bow hunting season.
Late afternoon. Probably 4:00 or so.
Clear skies, sun at my back and setting ENVIRONMENT: Sparse pine trees, waist high brush and grass from my position, heavy pine trees, oak trees, knee high grass and shrubs at the animal's location.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Kevin Smykal:
Witness is a 34 year old male who is employed as a computer network administrator and part-time sheriffs deputy. Although he only saw the creature from a distance, it would would be suicide for someone dressed in black to be walking through the woods during hunting season. During the interview the witness added that it seemed as if the creature had a purpose in coming out into the field and crossing in front of the large oak tree, rather than just wandering about.
This area is very close to the Blackwater River State Forest. It is a very large wilderness area that has many creeks, thick vegetation, ample wildlife, many food sources and several different types of habitat.
There have been a number of reports out of this area throughout the years. Many of the old-timers in this area refer to the creature as the Blackwater Booger.
About BFRO Investigator Kevin Smykal:
Kevin Smykal is a mechanical contractor in northern Florida.
He attended the following BFRO expeditions:
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