Geographical Index > United States > California > Lassen County > Report # 74829
(Class B)
Submitted by witness on Wednesday, August 17, 2022.
RECENT: Campers hear bigfoot-like howls 11 miles west of Susanville
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YEAR: 2022
SEASON: Summer MONTH: August DATE: 12 STATE: California COUNTY: Lassen County LOCATION DETAILS: This is thick forest area, and is 12 miles from our home town. Campsite is not advertised off highway, we had never even known it was there. Before making your way up Fredonyer Pass there is a small turn out and at the moment has an orange road work sign posted. Coming from Susanville the road is to your Right. Turns to dirt immediately and forks, you stay to the left which goes up the hill parallel with the highway. The road isn’t bad at all, very easy even for a small car to navigate. When you get to the top you will cross the creek and see on your left that you can take road that goes down to a campsite with one fire pit. It loops around and back up to the road you came in on, when you go to leave.
[ The location is "Old Freydoner Campground". You can search for that on Google Maps, etc.
Lcoation GPS coordinates 40.374106, -120.833565 NEAREST TOWN: Susanville NEAREST ROAD: Hey 36 OBSERVED: My husband, our mastiff mix dog, and myself live in a small town called Susanville, California. It is located in Lassen County. We have lived in these parts for almost our whole lives, so we are quite familiar with our surroundings and wildlife.
This incident is fresh as it’s been less than a week since it happened. We had decided to go camping at an campground I found by accident on Google maps. Just a run down one camp spot located about half mile off highway 36 in Lassen county. The camp area is called Old Ferdonyer Campsite. Has a small creek that runs along it.
We normally camp at a location called Roxey Peacon Campground which is a mile or so before this campground ground off the same highway. We have been camping there for 10-15 years with no incidents or complications.
My husband and I have lived in these parts for 30+ years and have felt more than comfortable going camping alone or with family, without a second thought. We had explored this new place we found a couple times during the day after finding it and then decided we’d camp their one evening.
We arrived at the sight between 6:15-6:30pm and set up camp. My husband started a small fire and began cooking steaks we brought with us. Our dog acted normally and was being lazy laying in the dirt.
It was completely dark by the time we finished cooking. We kept the fire going just to keep small critters at bay. We could here them around us going to the creek and walking around.
Our dog is pretty lazy and decided to get in the car to sleep. My husband was standing next to my chair finishing his food when I heard what sounded to me like a teenage boy hoots and hollers coming from below us like on the highway. My husband didn’t hear it a first until I said something about it as it was still going.
We listened in complete silence. My husband turned to me and said that wasn’t human. Then the scariest growl, howl I don’t even know how to explain went off about 100 yards from behind us. My husband almost dropped his plate. It lasted only 5-10 seconds before whatever was at the bottom of the hill answered. Behind my husband up another hill where power poles run , another faint howl/ scream went off. We were in shock and could only stare at each other until it went silent. We both knew that was nothing we had ever heard in these woods and it was time to go.
We’ve heard coyotes, wolves, fox, bear. This terrifying sound was none of the above. It was communicating with more of them. Coyote will do roll call on then howl/yapping. This sounded nothing like that!
My dog refused to get out of the car at this point. We rushed in the dark to pick up everything an soon was making our way down the mountain to get home.
We haven’t been back, and to be perfectly honest I haven’t been out in the woods since. Something I loved to do in a daily basis with my doggie. Too afraid and the sounds of that night still haunt me. We were at the camp site for exactly 3hrs 47 mins. ALSO NOTICED: We had explored this spot before walked all over and never saw or heard anything out of the ordinary. Just thought it was an old run down camp spot. OTHER WITNESSES: There was only two of us and our dog OTHER STORIES: No TIME AND CONDITIONS: We arrived at 6:27pm and was back on the highway at 10:14. I only know this because I have a tracking app that runs 24/7 ENVIRONMENT: Pine forest thick a small bridge/ Colbert you cross because a creek runs beside the camp spot
Thick layer of pine needles on forest floor, uprooted trees
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:
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About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:
Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.
- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.
- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.
- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.
- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.
- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.
- Current Director of the BFRO
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