YEAR: 1979-2003

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

STATE: Texas

COUNTY: Red River County

NEAREST TOWN: Manchester

OBSERVED: BFRO Investigators James Walker and Daryl G. Colyer have interviewed this witness extensively. This report was filed on behalf of the witness, due to his inaccessibility to the internet.

The most compelling testimony given by the witness involves an incident that occurred on another lease prior to the one he currently leases, but in the same general vicinity.

Approximately 1992, the witness was hunting for deer in the late afternoon. As he sat on a hunting stool, he continually scanned the surrounding terrain, and noticed some trees in a creek bed area with "buck scrapes" (marks made by male deer with antlers). The witness focused on that particular area.

After a while, the witness noticed a "stump" approximately 125 - 150 yards away that he had not earlier detected. The witness raised his weapon and observed through his scope what appeared to be a large, gorilla-like animal standing very still, arms down by its side. At this time, through the use of the rifle scope, the witness was able to observe the animal as though from a distance of only 25 - 30 feet. The hunter now knew that he was not the only one doing the observing. The animal was watching him every bit as much as he was watching the animal. The witness described the animal as having rather thin hair on its body, but the hair almost had the appearance of being combed or groomed. The color was described by the witness as being "tawny-brown."

After approximately 15 - 20 minutes had elapsed, the witness heard a loud snap of a branch off to his left. He broke visual with the creature to identify the source of the sound to his left. When he attempted to regain visual of the creature, he could not do so. Apparently the animal fled or hid very quickly. The witness believes that the animal suddenly hid in the tall grass surrounding it in order to escape his scrutiny. The witness conjectured that the loud snap that he heard was created as a diversion by another creature to distract him from the first creature.

At that, the witness quickly left the area - leaving behind the stool and everything else that accompanied him with the exception of his weapon. The witness never once considered shooting the creature and further stated that he felt no hostility whatsoever. He had absolutely no inclination to pursue or seek out the mystery animal.

The creature was described as being "gorilla-like" in appearance, but very distinctly bipedal. Height was estimated to be between eight to nine feet tall. Estimated weight was between 400 - 500 pounds. The face was similar to that of a gorilla. The nose was flat but "turned upward" and the witness stated that he could actually see into the nose of the animal. There appeared to be thin facial hair surrounding the mouth, almost in a beard-like fashion. Hair on the animal had somewhat of a "combed or groomed" look. The head had somewhat of a round shape and there was no appearance of a neck. The shoulders appeared very wide. The witness requested that a sketch artist contact him.

This incident is one of many that the witness has experienced through the years. However, none of the other incidents involved a visual identification of the creature.

ALSO NOTICED: Every year, the witnesses experience activity in an almost predictable manner.

OTHER WITNESSES: Over the period of time mentioned above, the entire family, (sons, daughters-in-law, grandchildren) have had experiences with the creatures.

OTHER STORIES: The witness asserted that he and his family have been kept up "all night long" on occasion by the chattering, howling, hooting and yelling of the animals.

They have been awakened quite a few times simply by the creatures banging and pounding on their vehicles in the wee hours of the morning.

The witness stated that on one occasion, a school bus that he converted into a recreational vehicle was rocked so violently by an outside, unknown entity that the witnesses were nearly thrown out of their bunks.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Sighting took place in afternoon - approximately 4pm. Other incidents occurred after dark, usually in early morning hours.

ENVIRONMENT: Mixed forest - loblolly pines, shortleaf and longleaf pines, sweetgum, various oaks (pin, red, etc.), pecan, black walnut. Only two to three miles south of the Red River and the Oklahoma state line. Approximately 40 - 50 miles north of the Sulphur River.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator James Walker:

On three separate occasions I interviewed the witness and two family members who have also hunted and camped out at this lease area many times over the last 20 years. All three agreed on a number of key points. The activity is ongoing and almost predictable at some times of the year, particularly the fall/early winter months during hunting season. Camp intrusions and intimidating actions tend to occur in the early evening right after bed time or as the camp is settling down for the evening and the hunters have gone into their tents and campers. Vocalizations range from low grumbling, mumbling and coughs to whoops and howls to the high pitched screams that seem to be used for positioning or recognition over great distances.

Two additional witnesses (the primary witness's nephews), who are now grown men with families of their own, discussed a number of other interesting experiences to add to the already impressive activity in evidence at this location. These are events that have occurred at intervals over a long period of time and while highly important to an investigative interviewer and to the full and accurate picture of just how much activity is going on in Northeast Texas, were viewed as secondary by the witnesses having been eclipsed by some of the more alarming experiences of more recent years as reported by Daryl above.

On one of the earliest occasions, the primary witness accompanied on a hunting campout by these two nephews, then youngsters of 10 and 12, was run out of camp in the middle of the night by a cacaphony of vocalizations originating from the deep woods and seemingly surrounding the campsite. These sounds were described by the three as "the most godawful mumbling, grumbling, and cantankerous carrying on that you could ever imagine - worse than three, big, mean dogs fighting over a fresh bone." The witnesses recalled at first waking to the sounds of what they thought must be a "group of people partying in the woods a quarter mile away." However, as the sound got closer they realized to their increasing agitation that the sounds weren't coming from people and were unlike any sounds they had ever heard before. The sounds sounded more like "large jungle animals" coming right up to just beyond flashlight distance from the camp. The witnesses fled camp with nothing but the one rifle, leaving everything else behind.

When the adult witness returned a day later, having driven through the night to get the youngsters home, he found everything torn to shreds in the camp - tent torn to pieces, lid ripped off the cooler, lawn chairs crushed and mangled. After this event the witness moved an old bus down to the property to use as a more solid shelter and as the youngsters grew into men they bought campers and trailers to use when staying down at the lease. The bus and trailers have provided scant comfort and only a small feeling of added protection as the visitations have continued over the years to include numerous jostlings, bangs and bumps. At one time one of the trailers was shaken to the extent that most of the dishes and canned goods were knocked out of the cabinets. This particular event was sufficiently alarming to cure one rattled spouse from ever setting foot in a camper at the lease again - and she hasn't.

A final interesting occasion of note - the primary witness and one of the nephews were down at the lease one opening weekend with a brother-in-law who was completely skeptical of all the "spook stories" he had heard about the camp and he was down to see for himself. On the second night, AFTER they had killed and dressed two deer that day, the camp was disturbed and the bus knocked hard on the side - the brother-in-law jumped up and ran outside only to run smack into a smelly wall of hair in the dark! I can only assume the witness is correct in suggesting that this cured both his curiousity and his skepticism. The witness added that they no longer dump any food scraps, trash or deer clean-up anywhere near the main camp area, preferring to put it well away somewhere on the back of the property and well before dark.

Of additional interest - the landowner will have nothing to do with the property and provides no upkeep or maintenance. He only offered a stern admonishment to the hunters that "if you hurt yourself or get into any other trouble down there, don't call me, because I won't be coming down to help you."

Update by BFRO Investigator Daryl G. Colyer - 17 February 2004: My wife and I conducted an extensive investigation of the campsite and the surrounding, heavily-wooded area. We spent the night in the bus, and experienced no unusual activity. We heard one distant, loud, unidentifiable "roar" (for lack of a better word), but nothing else of note. We found no tracks nor anything else that could be associated with the target species. The landowner to the north of the property has been and is currently clearing out some of the wooded area. If the target species was there in the past, the clearing of the woods may explain his ostensible absence at the present time. Bear in mind, however, that the woods in the area are thick and seemingly endless in some areas. The area is very close to the Red River and is less than 20 miles from the Ouachita National Forest in Southeastern Oklahoma. We will return to the area and conduct more field investigations because I am not convinced that the animals have completely abandoned the area.

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