Partial group photo - Florida expedition, Jan. 2006
More of the expedition group, holding the first track cast in Florida
This first known cast in Florida of a possible sasquatch track was obtained
in Lake County in 1980.
This cast complicates the contention that southeastern sasquatches are substantially
smaller than their northwestern cousins.
The relevant detail in this cast does not show through distinctly in photos.
Photographs do not do justice to plaster casts in general. They need to
be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
It was obtained by a retired county employee named Jim Bliss. The track
impression was found a few months after a spate of sightings that had been
investigated by Lake County Sheriffs in the mid-1980's.
Bliss was alerted to the track finds by some friends who were sheriffs deputies.
He found and cast this track less than a mile away from where other tracks
were found.
Bliss cast two of the impressions. This is the only surviving cast.The brown
coloration on the cast is mud embedded in the plaster.
Camcorder sprinters on patrol, heading toward the howl area.
Click here for one of
the recordings obtained at night.
See the parargraph in the right column for details and circumstances.
For two days the group had been making radio-coordinated knocking sounds
and howl sounds, in a particular pattern, before the first howl recording
was obtained.
Central Florida woodland at dusk, when the first sounds were heard..
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Florida Expedition
Notes
January 26-29, 2006
Summary: Several possible Class B incidents. A few sound recordings
were obtained. One the recordings is available below.
As far as we know it is the first howl of this type ever recorded in the
state of Florida.
If you know of any other recordings like this from Florida, please email
us at Florida@BFRO.net
Click here for the howl
recording (courtesy of recordist Dan McGee).
Collections of comparitive recordings:
Coyote howls
Wolf
howls
Sasquatch howl (Ohio howl)
By the third night roughly 25 expeditioners converged on a particular
area near a swamp in central Florida.
They were spread out along a bay of the swamp on the north end, less than
a mile from where sounds were heard on last year's Florida expedition.
One of the howl recordings obtained is available below. It was the first
sound recorded on the expedition.
Compare the recording to the recordings of wolves (not common in Florida)
and coyotes.
Nearly all of the expeditioners heard this howl clearly from their scattered
positions, across a mile long arc between arms of the swamp.
In two separate zones, indicative sounds, including loud, patterned wood knocks were heard at some points by multiple
witnesses. The sounds were not coming from submerged portions of the swamp.
In both cases the sounds were generally following streams that were feeding
the swamp, which also happened to be the areas with the densest brush and
biggest trees.
Note from the recordist Dan McGee :
On the second night I heard what sounded like loud chatter mixed with a
few whoops. It was around 6:30-ish. There was a 20-30 second exchange in
the distance to my southeast. It definitely sounded like there was more
than one of them, and it did not sound like a barred owl frenzy.
I was the closest one to those sounds, and my recorder was not on (it was
the first thing we heard out there), so I did not get a recording of it.
I recorded the howls later.
Note from bank HR manager Rex Backes (North Carolina)
This was truly a great time, and well worth it! I have stories to last
a lifetime, thats for sure. I would surely be interested in trying to
make any additional expeditions that are stirred up in that area in the
future, and will continue to stay in the loop with the crew. Obviously,
being an 8 hour drive, it won't be a frequent thing for me, but I will
try to make any I can. . . Perhaps the better outcome for me was learning
so much about the process, so that I can do some of this type of investigation
on my own (or with a group) up in the NC/SC area. I will try to identify
some hot spots in the area, and if I can do so, then possibly we can set
up an expedition up this way!!! Thanks BFRO for a great learning experience!!
Note from David Carrazana
I just wanted to breifly salute everyone for a perfect first expedition.
I wish it had been longer so that we all could have gotten to know each
other even better. It seemed like the last day/night was the beginning of
the end. I hope to see you all on next years (if not sooner) trip.
Note from Kevin Smykal.
The more I think about the brush charge incident when we first went in
there, the more I feel that it was meant to intimidate us, rather than
just something fleeing from us. I have jumped many deer in the woods &
once a bear, when I lived in Wisconsin. As soon as they feel that you
are too close they will bolt & they'll keep on going until they are at
a safe distance. They make a commotion when they first bolt, but as they
get going they get quieter, but you can still hear them in crunchy underbrush
like that. This thing did not keep going. Whatever it was, it was obviously
sitting there watching us at close range as we walked by. Then as soon
as we made the whoop sound it bolted. It sounded as if it was heading
right for us and then veered away. Also, it sounded huge, like a freight
train coming through the woods. It must have crossed the road then just
ducked down in the palmettos. It was probably laying low and just watching
us.
It might not have been a sasquatch, but it sure doesn't fit the mold of
anything that I know of. I wish the others could have been there when
that happened. It was awesome!
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