Interesting encounter with a Tennessee Wildlife agent, a listener writes “Hey Wes I had a very weird experience this past weekend while out hiking in one of my spots. I was out with a buddy of mine and we were in a spot where we’d found footprints and tree twists before. It’s also less than 10 miles from where I heard the first vocal that actually got me into this subject. Anyways were walking down a trail usually used for horseback riding because a mile or so in the trail gets smaller to the point that it’s basically just a game trail and we’ve found quite a bit in this area. Here’s where the weird part comes in.
We were 2-3 miles from where I parked my jeep which is in the middle of absolutely nowhere. I hear footsteps coming through the brush on the trail in front of us, not coming from the direction where we parked but the opposite. If you keep going that way there is nothing you’ll wind up in North Carolina and nothing in between. Anyways we here bipedal steps coming toward us and my first thought was OMG here it is were about to have an encounter but, instead of a sasquatch or even an animal it was a TWRA agent (Tennessee Wildlife&Recreation Agency) He came on foot and alone from absolutely nowhere. There are no houses, roads or anything that way he was just there. After the shock of running into him wore off we started talking about what we were doing where we were headed and yada yada yada. I told him that I had received a report of a sighting of a bigfoot in the area and we were just double checking the witnesses claim to make sure we weren’t being shammed. He asked what we were looking with to try and find this supposed bigfoot and all I had on this hike was my digital camera. He said, ” you don’t have an audio recorder?”
I said I did but it wasn’t working for some reason, which was true cause I left it in the back of my jeep and I think water got in it when the storms came through. He asked to look at it and said maybe he could fix it. In hindsight I think he wanted to just make sure it wasn’t on because of what he said next. I asked him if he’d ever seen one and he handed me back my recorder knowing it didn’t work and said, ” no I haven’t but we get quite a few reports from this area” he seemed like he knew more than he was letting on. I asked for some instances but he wouldn’t elaborate.
Here’s another weird part of it. During our conversation he said, ” your not going to find anything this time of year here because your on the wrong side of the mountain range” he said during the late summer, fall, and wary winter I was in the right spot but at this point in the season they’re on the other side (North Carolina). After a little more BSing we kindly parted ways and I didn’t learn anymore from him. I just find it extremely weird that A.) He came out of nowhere and at no point did I ever see a TWRA vehicle in the entire park and B.) he volunteered a lot of info without hesitation when I asked but only after he made sure my audio recorder wasn’t working. Im not even sure if this was a real agent but he did have a legit uniform and everything that goes along with it. I guess I’m just confused as to whether he was a real agent or someone else and also if he was telling me the truth about them not being around at this time or was that misinformation because I was in the right spot. I dunno just a weird situation all around.
What do you think his intentions were. He seemed to be telling the truth but then again you never know. Anyways just wondered what you thought of this and if you’ve heard of any other agents in that line of work freely admitting that these things were real and even trying to help. He never once denied they were real he just said your in the right place just the wrong time. Thanks again man and keep up the good work on the show.”
DrAaron
I doubt it was someone impersonating an agent. Were you close to the Smokemont trailhead? That is a beautiful area!
PATRICK
Good to see you Dr.
Robert W
Hard to impersonate a wildlife officer- but………
They are REQUIRED to show you identification. They are always armed and are always near a vehicle (usually a quad or truck or boat). They also travel in pairs and have a radio on at all times.
If you didn’t see that- report it to the State game warden office…
Carol Germer
Robert W, that’s a good idea.
Trey
They do occasionally go solo but usually not this far out. He was armed with his sidearm and a badass shotgun that I would love to have. We never heard a 4 wheeler or saw one but I guess it’s a possibility he had it parked somewhere else and we just didn’t see it. Im about 95% sure he was a real agent but him volunteering this info was just weird to me.
Paul M
Ya …. report it to the game warden…. I have had enough of these 3 letter disappoints…. I’m serious. This stuff is like taboo to the local woods troops. Well let me say the ones I have delt with. I am always respectful and courteous. With just a few soft questions = but NOOO. they never seen or heard a thing. Ohe by the way. They are not always telling the truth. Just a thought.
Trey
Ya that’s what I was having trouble with was he telling me the truth about being in the right place at the wrong time or was I actually in the right place and he was trying to throw me off track.
pam
sounds like he may have been trying to convince you to go to “where they are, now” and give up on your route, that day.
Or, he had just made sure they weren’t in that area, a shotgun would persuade them to move on?
Trey
Maybe. Or maybe he had the shotgun in case he ran across a rouge bear. I had bear mace on my waist and my pistol just because I don’t like going out there unarmed. But, we only have black bears which in my experience always run when they see a human. Maybe he was looking for moonshiners or pot growers I have no idea. I don’t think the shotgun was for bears but he could have just been being careful. He was a nice guy and didn’t give us any kind of grief it was just one of the strangest things that’s ever happened to me while hiking in the middle of the mountains.
Trey
We’re planning on going back out hopefully this week or maybe this weekend. It’ll be interesting to see if I run into anybody this time. This time though im going to take my broken digital recorder and buy another and keep it hid to see if I can catch some audio of this. If I run into them again
David D
Hey Trey, good to hear of your experience with the officer-game guy. I wish I could have heard and seen his demeanor; it speaks’ volumes! I do think you are correct in that he wasn’t giving you the “rest of the story”. Be careful out there, and please read D.P.’s Missing 411 book, on that area. And, be thankful you’re not a little kid!
Trey
O Ya even without the missing 411 books it’s well known in this area that people mainly kids just disappear in these mountains. That’s why I always carry and don’t go alone. He was actually a really nice guy. He didn’t give me any grief or even ask about my pistol in my holster. That’s another possibility is that something had happened but hasn’t came out yet and that’s why he was telling me I was in the wrong place so I would leave. We didn’t leave but he didn’t make us either. But overall he was a pretty nice guy
Milton L
Why would you report this to officialdom ? If there are people out there who do not seem to be what they claim to be, that is your CLUE that something is afoot. Reporting this to officials will only make the actors more cautious.
To the extent we learn to keep “official” contacts to a minimum, the likelihood of official interference will decrease.
Trey
Ya I don’t plan on reporting it. In fact that option never even came up in the conversation my friend and I had after he left. Now if he’d been a prick and gave us a bunch of grief it might be a different story but like I said he was pretty nice to us. I wish I could have recorded it though just to have and share but my recorder really was broken
Tam C
I would keep yourself listening for anything going on in that area you were located in, for that week. Something may turn up, if even long after the fact. Glad you posted it Trey!
Paul S
Hey Robert , you said they show ID ? not true where I’m from. The uniform is the only I.d. they’ve ever showed me this is while they are checking my ID. Also I’ve been stopped by state and federal agents and they have always been alone when they stopped me. I’m not from tenn so maybe that’s how their rules are there but where I’m from the only I.d they show is there uniform and they usually travel alone when I see them.
Trey
Ya Tenn is the same way they don’t have to show you any ID unless they’re taking you to jail and honestly I don’t think I’ve ever seen more than one without multiple vehicles which is rare. They’re usually alone here too.
Kim L
My youngest daughter and son in law are avid mushroomers. Took me along a couple years ago, I’ll just say by Mt Shasta. We stopped to get our mushroom permits, and as one guy was issuing them, his boss came out to visit, really nice guy, so I just casually said something about BF. He was quick and adamant to tell us that he had personally had a sighting that was no misidentification or hallucination. He said it crossed right in front of his vehicle, in the daylight. It was kind of auburn in color and really big, no doubt at all what it was.
As I said, he was really nice and very genuine in the telling of his sighting, I can find no reason to suspect any deceit on his part. I don’t want to say which station it was, you know why.
SantiamLady
Erie as all heck! A alleged Wildlife Ranger, just afoot and alone in the middle of nowhere? Creepy!
Casey M
Msybe asking to help fix the recorder is just an excuse to see if there’s any illegal activity going on? If not, no harm no foul but he atleast knows youre who you say you are.
Those guys are overly helpful sometimes.
Tennessquatch
Speaking from experience, you’d be surprised how many TWRA and state wildlife officers in this state (Tennessee) know they’re out there. I’ve had a few reports sent my way from some of them (granted, primarily in middle TN, in my experience).
Jon B
I’m a LEO and we have encounters like others do, many have the same or greater level of interest in the subject. It’s not generally conducive to one’s career to spend time openly discussing it, but at some point many just get tired of not doing so. Nowadays Game Wardens (an old school term that shows my age, the correct term now is “Conservation Officer” or some derivative like “Wildlife Enforcement Officer”…) generally don’t spend much time away from a vehicle, but some still of the truck & get out and put some miles in on foot. I personally believe boogers don’t show themselves unless they want to be seen, I think Game Wardens are much the same. Were I to guess I would opine that 1. Your Game Warden a real CO, 2. He wanted you to see him, and 3. he suspected you were monkey chasing and having found that to be the case, simply shared info one person interested in the critter to another…
Trey
Thanks for your input I appreciate it
Paula B
Thanks Jon B – good to have the input of a real LEO, and I can tell you are. Helpful post!