YEAR: 2024

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: 5th

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Columbiana County

LOCATION DETAILS: [Investigator (MM) Notes:

GPS for the approximate location of the creature:
40.704283,-80.612391

In the cornfield south of the intersection of Birch Road and Bell School Road, 6 miles north of the center of East Liverpool.

NEAREST TOWN: Calcutta

NEAREST ROAD: Bell School Rd near Echo Dell Rd.

OBSERVED: Driving from my home in Glenmoor along Bell School Rd. headed for Beaver Creek State Park noticed a large dark object in a cut corn field as it moved slighly to the left and raisng up, I realized that it was living creature that seemed to be in a squatted position,looking to be dark black. Because of the size it seemed to not be a person and didnt have the features to be a black bear. Its shoulder width would be estimated to be between 35 to 40 inches based on the spacing of where the corn was. I've had other encounters with in the park area with some of them being recent but I've never seen anything. I believe this day that changed. I just wish I couldve got a photo. I drove to the park and then went back but what I had seen was gone.

ALSO NOTICED: I heard wood knockings a few days prior to this while taking photographs in the State Park which is near my home.

OTHER WITNESSES: There was a couple of other drivers but Im unsure if they saw it

OTHER STORIES: Ive read of numerous encounters and sightings in the state park area besides my own. The day of this sighting as past things that have caught my atention.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 10:30 am, clear & sunny

ENVIRONMENT: Cut corn field surrounded by a wooded area also with nearby homes. Theres a large Red Barn that was converted into a home that sits across from this field.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator James Thompson:

I contacted the witness by phone and went to his residence to pick him up and drive to the location where the sighting took place.
The witness had been a Volunteer Fire Fighter in his community for 46 years, where he rose to the position of Fire Chief and a fire investigator. Although he is no longer an active Fireman, he is President of his County's Fire Investigation team and still does investigations. He is a hiker and wildlife photographer and spends his free time hiking in Beaver Creek State Park.

The road he was traveling that day led to the park where he was planning to hike. The fields along the way had been planted in corn last year and they now have soybeans about two foot tall. At the time of the sighting the soybeans had either not been planted yet of hadn't sprouted. The field was bare except for about 4 - 6 inches of cornstalk from the previous harvest.

He had just crested a knoll of a small hill and traveling down to the left as he approached the open field he notice a large black spot in the field. Slowing down and looking closer at it he realized it was an animal and it was facing him. It was in a crouching position then it rose up a couple feet and moved it's head to it's left, like it was about to change direction.

At first glance, the witness thought is was a bear, but being familiar with them, he saw that it did not have prominent ears on top of it's head. When it turned it's head, he didn't see a snout, but rather a flat profile of the head.

Due to traffic approaching behind him, he continued traveling on and lost sight of the creature. He had his camera on the seat beside him and turned around to go back and get a picture, but it was no longer there.

As we crested the hill approaching the location of the sighting, I had the witness tell me where he first saw the creature. Because it was only about 50 yards from the crest of the hill, I pulled up another 20 yards and put on my flashers. We exited the vehicle and with the use of a range finder, I had the witness 'range' the distance to where he saw the creature. It was 236 yards away. I didn't go out in the field to get a size comparison because the farmers around here are pretty picky about that.

The witness guessed the creature was 30 - 40 inches wide as he looked at him because he covered about 2 - 3 rows of corn. Around here the farmers plant their corn rows 30 inches apart, so it was wider than he thought.
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Comments from BFRO investigator Matt Moneymaker:

I have marked relevant nearby locations on this map. It would be a much more crowded map if I marked every spot in this aerial view connected to a bigfoot incident.

The famous Ohio Howl recording was obtained in this area in 1994. There were reports back in those days of sightings on the gas line route nearby.

I have marked the nearby power line routes and gas lines routes I suspect are travel routes used by bigfoots in this area. There are other transmission routes in this view but these are the ones I think are most important.

About BFRO Investigator James Thompson:

Jim served as a Marine Corps helicopter engine mechanic / air crewman for 24 years. He recently retired as a County Veterans Service Officer. He is a lifetime hunter and outdoorsman. Jim has attended expeditions in Ohio during 2019, 21 & 22.

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