YEAR: 2017

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 17

STATE: Kansas

COUNTY: Woodson County

LOCATION DETAILS: if you leave out of neosho falls past the park heading north to leroy it winds back and forth a couple times. The last turn to the right/north there is an old bridge there.

NEAREST TOWN: neosho falls

OBSERVED: One night while fishing with 2 friends on a creek outside town, it was nearing 11:00 pm. pitch black night. Fish were biting decent. But to pass the boredom my one friend found 2 sticks laying on the bridge. In a humorous way he started beating them together. To join the fun I made a very odd whoop sound just for giggles. He put the sticks down and we went back to fishing.

A couple minutes passed by and we heard what seemed an identical echo to the absurd noise I made. The sound was roughly half mile across a field and in a patch of timber on other side of field. I first thought it was another fishing friend playing a game with me so I made another whoop back. It was quiet for approximately 5 minutes. Then it whooped back again.

To keep the fun and none the wiser I whooped back again. We waited. Then it made a whoop back. Only it was clearly out of the timber in into open field. Startled I told my friends that its on this side of the river which was just quarter mile down the creek we was fishing on. Still not sure what was talking back I whooped again. Then it proceeded to whoop back after I would wait a few minutes and be 50 yards closer every time.

It oddly reminded me exactly of calling in a Spring time tom turkey. So I told my friends ill do it a couple more times but if it keeps getting closer I'm going to stop. And it kept getting closer every time it whooped. I finally told my friends it's probably 200 yards away. There is a little ditch draining into the creek between us and it so I felt safe but we were was startled enough that we packed everything we were fishing with on the bridge. We put our stuff into the buckets to leave in a hurry but we stayed on the bridge.

I remember that this night we were not armed, oddly. So I told my friends if it comes closer imma reel my pole up and "whip the shit out of it" hahaha. Then right after that I got a bite on that pole. I hooked it reeled it up and got it on the bridge. It was a carp maybe 5 lbs. as all 3 of us are looking at this fish I just caught debating on keeping it or not the whoop returned. Only it was no more then 50 yards away just across the ditch from us. That was enuf for us. We put the fish back, grabbed our poles and buckets, grabbed our fish and loaded everything into my truck. We then stood by the vehicles with doors open lights on and ready for immediate escape. We stood with flash lights pointed on the only opening in the trees along the ditch. We could hear the thing walk 100+ yards up the ditch, cross over and walk back down towards us. With lights on we knew the footsteps were about to be right through our beam of light.

Anxiously waiting what we saw puzzled us all together. it appeared to be the top of a head, maybe 4 inches of it. Hairy but it was whitish grey. This thing has been quiet for about 20 minutes at this point. It walked by with only showing the top of what I assume was its head. Headed to where the ditch met the creek and stopped. We could feel it staring us down, looking at us. Then out of nowhere it let out the biggest loudest cleanest whoop not 20 yards infront of us. It was down on the bank behind tall grass but we knew it was looking right at us when it did it. At the instance of the last whoop we flew into the vehicles, started them in gear and tore out of there before the starters stopped turning. We went up the road to the open field and blacktop to discuss what the hell just happened. We then went home and I told my ol lady what had happened. She was thinking we were crazy. We grabbed the gun and went back near where we were fishing, hoping to see it again. It was silent from then on.

The next day me and one of my friends went back out in the daylight to see what had happened. I walked up to where we saw the head top and realized, it was a steep bank down to the ditch. Right where we saw the head top was a tree laying down. roughly 18" starting to decay but still firm. I stood on it and asked my friend, who was standing in the spot we saw it from, if he could see me. He replied "no". I stretched my hand way up as far as I can. He yelled, "I can see your fingers."

I cut hedge posts for a living so I am well aware where 7' stands next to me. This thing was over 7' tall.

I told my cousins about it and they didn't believe the absurd sound I made but a few days later they were fishing in the same spot we had been and they heard the sound. It came from the opposite direction where it came to us from but they instantly new I wasn't lying, and mind you I was born in Missouri and moved to Kansas and I am an avid hunter and fisherman.

I have never heard anything so preposterous of a sound as that night, but it only mimicked my exact sound, which puzzles me even more.

OTHER WITNESSES: 2 fishing with me.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: it happend around 1100 pm and it was clear sky full of stars but no mooon. fishing was really good upto the occurence

ENVIRONMENT: roadside, old road, ditch creek 1/4 mile off the river.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Spoke with witness. Before we started he corrected the date for me. It was April of 2017, not August. April 17th to be exact. And the time is approximately 10:30 to 11:15. He found a time/date stamped photo of the nights catch so this time and date is accurate.

Story is very much like his initial entry. They had watched some reruns of Finding Bigfoot, and thought they would "make a little noise" just to see if they get stir something up. (Please see maps attached for witnesses assessment of the creature moving towards them)

They were fishing from the bridge from their favorite spot. There were 2 lanterns they had for light since it was pitch black.They made the first knock around 10:30 and witness made his "whoop" call immediately afterwards. About 5 minutes later they got the return call. They did this 2-3 more times and each time the call was returned and got closer to them.

They were also getting a bit more spooked as well, but not spooked enough to cease the calls. The thought that maybe someone was pranking them was still in the back of their minds, but fading.

The witness deduced, from numerous years of fishing and hunting the area, that the creature started on or near, a large sandbar in the river ("creature started here" pin on map). It could have course, been in the woods near the bank. There are usually a lot of game tracks on the sand bar, so the assumption is well founded. There is another sand bar on the curve, slightly north and across the river from his "starting point" as well. When they knew the creature was within 100 yards or so, and getting closer, they knew "something was not right".

At this point is when they decided to pack up their gear and load up the truck, toss the carp back in the creek, and wait while they decided when it was time to "get the hell outta there".

When I asked about the location where he thought the creature started, witness pointed out that the creature was getting louder because it was moving towards them, not because it was simply raising it's "voice". I asked him that specific question and he was quick to respond it was moving in on them.

Witness and his friends know this area extremely well and they were all in agreement about where the creature was when it had first replied. They all also agreed it was moving in on them. As they trained the high beam light on the only opening they could see, they heard it moving through the woods.

The following is the specific description of activity and sighting: As it walked along, or in, the ditch by the creek, he described the footfall as like " a hunter walking through the woods with purpose and taking a known route". There were no pauses or interruptions in its gait. They were following its path "with their ears" as hunters would.

When they saw it, it appeared from a level area of brush. They saw the top of the head. It was " shaped like a baseball cap without the bill on it, rounded, not conical "

It was "whitish/grey" with an even mixture of both colors.

Estimate of distance at sighting to be in the 30-40 yard range, possibly a bit closer.

The sighting was 1-2 seconds. From the gait, it appeared to have stepped ON the log they saw the next day, rather than over it. Otherwise it may not have been visible if it merely stepped over it.

It was a minimum of 7 ft and probably taller, by estimate only.

They did "tear ass outta there" as mentioned and went home to collect their thoughts. They did return with weapons to see if there was anything but it was dead quiet.

Witness's conversation with me was accurate as far as his initial report was. The event was very near the Neosho River on a small tributary creek. Locally, the river is called Circle Lake, because of the very numerous curves in the river. There have been 2 other reports filed by this investigator over the past few years, of "white or white/light grey creatures" in an area near Pratt and or Wichita Kansas.

About BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:

Carter is originally from Texas & moved to Missouri in 1988. Professional drummer for 20 years. Improv & sketch comic and writer for 5 years. Lighting technician for major touring groups for several years. Experienced outdoorsman and was a trained investigator for MUFON. Studied Herpetology in college. Longtime special interest in Sasquatch long term habituation, burial research, infra sound, language & stick structures. He led three Missouri BFRO Public Expeditions:, 2012 & 2013 & 2014. Led public expedition for BFRO in Illinois in 2019.Participated in Iowa, 2012 Illinois. Michigan 2016. Private Expeditions: Illinois 2011, 2012, 2013. Missouri 2011, 2012 (3) 2013(2) 2014. Iowa 2012, 2014 & 2015. Consulted on two Animal Planet Finding Bigfoot TV shows. Expedition leader in Missouri 2013 (1) & 2014 (2) & Illinois Expedition 2019 (1). Led night ops on numerous BFRO expeditions. Hosted a public Town Hall meeting in Missouri in 2017.

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