YEAR: 2022

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

DATE: 12/27/2022

STATE: Pennsylvania

COUNTY: Potter County

LOCATION DETAILS: This took place near the west branch of the Sinnemahoning river. The tree stand is close to a now vacant building that used to be the Tannery Bar

NEAREST TOWN: Austin Pennsylvania

NEAREST ROAD: Cemetery Lane

OBSERVED: Date of Incident: December 27th, 2022
Location: Austin, Potter County Pennsylvania

This sighting occurred at my family hunting camp in Austin, PA, while participating in the late muzzleloading deer season. We were doing an evening hunt that began at 2 pm.

While I was in my tree stand near a small clearing my father and grandfather were pushing from the North and West. The hunt was quiet and uneventful up until legal shooting hours ended around 5:15. By this time, I had broke stand and was walking back to the truck where we would all meet up. This small hike takes no more than twenty minutes.

As I began to walk back, the sun had set, and the night was setting in, so it was dark by the time I hit the road that led to the truck. This was when I began to hear a knocking sound that appeared like it was coming from the direction where the clearing by my stand was. I paused for a second, initially disregarding the noise, and continued walking, then only after my next two steps I heard the knocking again from the same direction, so I stopped walking and listened for a few minutes to hear more knocking, but from a different direction, and considerably further away. At this point, I began to feel uneasy, so I picked up the pace, and when I met up with my father and grandfather at the truck. I asked them if they heard any knocking noises while in the woods, and both confirmed they did, in fact, hear the noises.

drove around for a little to see if we could find something that might explain the noises, but both that drive and the rest of the week were hunting remind uneventful.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing else was unusual

OTHER WITNESSES: Two other witnesses all, including me, were hunting

OTHER STORIES: I am unaware of any other reports in the same area

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Just after sunset

ENVIRONMENT: Oak and hemlock forest

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Phone conversation with witness.  It was late muzzle loader season.  His family has hunted in the area for many years and owns a camp not far from where the knocks were heard.  Nothing like this has occurred before.

Not only did the witness hear the knocks, but also his father and grandfather heard them back at the pickup truck.  None of them could explain what it was and did not believe it was other hunters in the woods.  

Witness describe the knocks as having a regular beat, equally spaced in cadence. There were about four or five knocks per set.  Several sets were heard.  When one knock set occurred an answering knock sounded from another location. This occurred several times as the witness was walking back to truck.  Witness had an impression that it was "following" him, escorting him out, and felt very uneasy.

I (Paul Mateja) am familiar with the general area. I have hiked in parts of Potter County, but have not done any active sasquatch field research. The area is known for its high peaks and deep valleys; it is very remote. It is approximately 35 miles as the crow flies from the Allegheny National Forest and areas of Elk County were I have done active research which have yielded positive sasquatch identification.

About BFRO Investigator Paul J. Mateja:

Paul is a network administrator and systems analyst/programmer for the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY. In addition, Paul and his wife Teresa own and operate a small organic farm in western New York State. He has attended and organized expeditions including New Mexico (Jicarilla), New York (Adirondacks), Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

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