YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

STATE: Alaska

COUNTY: Fairbanks County

LOCATION DETAILS: The intersection of Auburn and Farmers Loop is about 1 to 1 1/2 miles of the University of Fairbanks campus. You should be able to find it on google maps easily.

NEAREST TOWN: Fairbanks Alaska

NEAREST ROAD: Auburn Dr a mile north of Farmers Loop

OBSERVED: It was the month of July, 2009 in Fairbanks Alaska. I was heading south on Auburn Dr toward Farmers Loop which was about 1 mile away. It is a wooded area frequented by homes and in general would be considered a populated area. Houses are on an average of about 100 to 200 feet apart with only the general area around and close to the homes cleared out. Most of the area by far is wooded. It was the section of the road where it passes by Pearl Creek Elementary school. The school can be seen through the woods. Some of the woods in the area are quite thick and in some places can’t be seen into more than about 10 or 15 feet. But in this area, it had apparently been cleaned out quite a bit and sightlines into the section of the sighting were very open. The school and vegetable garden could be seen off to the right from the road I was on. It was about 6pm and I was heading home after a day of working on a deck I was building. The weather was clear with the sun high in the sky. As I was driving, I happened to notice a “man” standing by the right side of the road about 100 yards ahead. It was more of an unconscious recognition. There’s nothing unusual about a man standing on the side of the road in this area. As I got to within about 50 yards, I looked closer. “That’s no man” I said to myself (I was alone in the car). Shortly after that, 1 or 2 seconds, he bolted into the woods towards the school. He did it like a wild animal would do if spooked. I didn’t slow down until I got to the place where I saw him go into the woods which is where I stopped. I could see him running away from the road and when he was into the woods about 30 yards or so, he turned left and was now running parallel to the road in the same direction I was heading. I got a good look at him, but not his face. I could have probably seen his face had I not been so mesmerized and had the presence of mind to look at it. I was busy noticing other things. His fur or hair looked to be about 3 to 4 inches all over the main part of his body. It was a reddish rusty color. I was mildly struck by how red it was, but it definitely had some rustyness to it. He was about 6 feet tall and looked to weigh about 200 lbs. He ran with a strange “Hoppy” kind of run. It wasn’t a limp. With one foot he pushed off with was more a normal running move, but the other foot he pushed off with propelled him upward (about a foot or less) and forward. I watched him until he disappeared into the woods. There was a road about 100 yards ahead and I took off to get to it so I could turn right and in 20 yards turn right again to the road that lead to the school parking lot. So the wooded area he was in was sort of a peninsula and he seemingly had to be in there somewhere. The woods I was looking into from that angle were quite thick and I didn’t see him and haven’t seen him since. A little farther up on the right was the school garden that had people in it (around 7 - 10) which I’m now sorry I didn’t stop to go talk to them about it.

The next day as I was driving in to work on the deck, I naturally slowed down in the area I saw him (stopped actually) and was surveying the area when a couple walking their dogs were approaching. I flagged them down and told the story of what happened the evening before and they told me that about a week before they were with their dogs and were on the way other side of the school property by the soccer field and 3 kids came running over to them saying “Did you see the sasquatch, did you see the sasquatch.” They also said that what appeared to be a Dad was with them who didn’t seem to excited about it.

My conclusion to whether it was real or not is summed up by saying. “It was either real or there was a man in a VERY, VERY convincing costume.”

I reported it to the fish and game office in Fairbanks a couple days later. The person who was taking the report was sort of rolling his eyes through the whole thing as he seemed to be writing it down on a piece of scrap paper-. I even had to ask him to take my phone number just in case.

ALSO NOTICED: I saw some people the next day who saw some kids the week before who had seen it.

OTHER WITNESSES: No other witnesses

OTHER STORIES: I saw some people the next day who saw some kids the week before who had seen it.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: around 6pm

Lighting was excellent and weather was totally clear

ENVIRONMENT: The forest was made up of mostly birch trees with spruce trees intermingled. Low undergrowth with clear visibility into the woods.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Charles Lamica:

I was intrigued by this report because I used to live very near the area where this sighting occurred. I interviewed the witness telephonically and found his story to be credible. The interview resulted in the following additional information...

1. The entire sighting, from first glance to last seen, was under 30 seconds in duration. The creature was about 100 yards away when first seen, but as the sighting progressed the distance was reduced to about 20 to 30 yards.

2. The witness didn't get a good look at the creature's face or its feet. He described the shape of the head as being a cross between that of a human and a gorilla. The hair on the body seemed to be fairly uniform in length, about three to four inches, and was not matted or scruffy looking.

3. He has no explanation for the unusual gait of the creature, and could not speculate as to the possibility of an injury or deformity that might cause it.

4. The witness says he is inclined to believe what he saw was a real non-human animal, but it was definitely not a bear. He recognizes that there is a remote chance that someone could have been carrying out a hoax, but he indicated that if it was someone in a costume it was so convincing that it would have to be a costume of Hollywood-professional quality.

About BFRO Investigator Charles Lamica:

Chuck Lamica's interest in sasquatch started at the age of 8, when his family discovered large footprints near their home in rural Oregon. He was an Alaska State Trooper for 22 years and later worked as a Forest Warden for the Washington Department of Natural Resources. He now lives in northeast Washington state.

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