YEAR: 2014

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 23rd

STATE: Minnesota

COUNTY: St. Louis County

LOCATION DETAILS: Morse Rd to the west and Hwy 169 to the north, a large swamp to the west and east. I was facing north when I saw it. Ten seconds before I saw it is when I heard the howling in the swamp to the west of my position.

NEAREST TOWN: Buhl MN

NEAREST ROAD: Morse Rd

OBSERVED: Went hunting south of Buhl about a half mile from the cemetery. In the wildlife refuge I made my way to a large swamp. Seeing nothing I headed back and jumped onto old railroad tracks. I heard something howling in a spruce swamp to the west of me. Every time I stopped it would get quiet. I started walking again and heading north when I noticed something on the road ahead of me about a half mile or so. It was black and at the distance I couldn't make out what it was. The closer I got I assumed it was a bear. But then it stood up and very quickly ran into the ditch and stood in the brush and looked at me. I couldn't believe what I had just saw.
Long arms long legs, dark black and about 7-8 ft. tall. It was big and fast. I looked at it and I got the impression it was nervous the way it was acting ... Being a mile from my truck and having 2 of them to the front and back of me and the nervousness I was feeling I decided it was best to head off it was a long walk out.

ALSO NOTICED: Heard howling a month before to the west.

OTHER WITNESSES: none

OTHER STORIES: About 9 am on the morning of the 24th I heard some knocking about a quarter mile in, just south of me about 500 yards.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Morning about 9:30 am, partly sunny.

ENVIRONMENT: Old railroad tracks. There's a trestle about a mile or so south. Large swamp on both sides and a creek running through it, dense northern MN forest.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Robert Barhite:

I discussed the report with Andrew, who had been in the area many times before the reported October incident. He described the location, which is deep in the swamp lands of northern Minnesota, as a spot which always gives him "the creeps". Because to him it felt like he was being watched and his presence wasn't welcomed. Its also the only place he's encountered while hunting, that's given him this particular sensation.

On the morning of October 23 Andrew headed out near the location, parked his truck, and hiked in looking for possible spots for the upcoming deer hunting season. Once again when he came upon the same place which has deep-wooded swamps to the east and west, he felt like he was being watched. He continued walking for about a mile south, then turned around and started back to his truck. As he turned and proceeded north he heard a deep-throated vocalization, like a howl, to his right inside the cedar swamp. Whenever Andrew would stop walking, the howl would start up again, and it appeared to remain parallel with his position even as he moved north.

About a half mile ahead of him he observed something large and black in the middle of the road, but at his distance he couldn't make out what it was. Initially he thought it was a bear. As he approached the figure in the road ahead of him, whatever was making the howl appeared to have moved significantly closer to his position. When he was within 100 yards of the figure it stood upright, took one large stride from the road and into the ditch, then it moved up the other side of the ditch and into tall grass. Andrew could clearly make out the full profile of the creature. The body was sleek and slender, with long arms which swung as it walked, and a conical-shaped head with a black face. Andrew instantly knew it wasn't a bear. The creature, about seven feet tall and bipedal, would take a few quick steps towards the swamp, stop, look at Andrew, then look back down the road towards an odd-looking small black tree that was in the middle of the road. As it looked at Andrew it would slowly sway back and forth looking toward him. During the encounter the howling continued. This pattern of movement and howling continued for about a minute until the creature moved off into the swamp. Andrew said, "...it felt like I was too close and should back off." Which is exactly what he did.

The next day Andrew went back to the location to look for tracks and to gain a better understanding of what he saw. The ground was as hard as a rock, so he didn't find any tracks. But, the small pine tree that was in the middle of the road which the creature was looking at as it walked into the swamp was now gone. Andrew realized that the pine tree in the middle of the road ahead of him most likely was a juvenile, which would explain why the creature closer to him would stop and look back in the direction of the object in the road. And instead of hearing howls, he heard what sounded like something heavy repeatedly strike a tree as he moved close to the area of the encounter.

About BFRO Investigator Robert Barhite:

A native of far northeast Iowa, Robert has always had an intense interest in Bigfoot and exploring the great outdoors.

His first expedition was the 2012 BFRO Iowa Hill Country Expedition He the 2013 Iowa Big River Expedition, 2013 Oregon Cascades Expedition, 2013 Michigan Upper Peninsula Expedition, 2014 and 2015 Wisconsin Expeditions, 2014 Iowa Expedition, and the 2015 Iowa Spring Expedition. Since 2012 Robert has participated in several private expeditions in Iowa and in Wisconsin. In addition to expeditions, he has conducted numerous solo research trips in Iowa and Wisconsin throughout 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. And for the last two years has been a guest lecturer at the request of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Robert led the 2016 Iowa Spring Expedition and is assisting with the 2016 Iowa Fall Expedition and is scouting locations across North America for 2017 expeditions, and continues to monitor activity in a long-term study location in the Midwest.

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