Mar 27

I was not looking at a man

A listener writes “My name is David. I first want to thank you for what you do. The fact that you give a voice to those of us who have seen these creatures that is non-judgemental is fantastic. I love that you do not bring numerous “researchers” on your show and instead let folks share their encounters. and, when you do have researchers on your show, they are humble and genuine unlike others.

I am originally from North Central Alabama but live in Kansas City, MO now. I moved here almost ten years ago because I am a pastor. I had my encounter some 18 years ago. I was hunting in an area that had literally hunted all of my life. It is land owned by two different coal mining corporations who annually give out hunting permits.

One week before I had my encounter, I had walked in to the area via a gas line used for access. I had hunted the area more times than I could ever count and as usual I arrived well before sun up. (For years, I would arrive two hours before sun up every time I hunted deer. Many times I would be up in a climbing tree stand sitting in the dark and hear what sounded like another hunter entering the area but rarely if ever saw anything walking near me. I always assumed I was hearing another hunter.) As I was setting up my ground blind, I heard the sound of an animal running which turned out to be a coyote running through the forest at break neck speed. When it was @ 20 yards from me, I turned on my light and startled the ‘yote sending it in another direction. At the time I just thought it was weird because it was the only time I had seen a coyote running as fast as it could like it was being chased. As the morning progressed, I kept hearing what I thought were footsteps but I never saw anything.

One week later in the same location, after an uneventful morning, I packed up and started out of the woods. As I walked onto the gas line, movement caught my eye to my right. It was what I first thought was a man walking away from me and up the next hill but in the same direction I was headed. But something about this “man” had caused me to stop walking and I just stood there watching him.

My initial response was, “Who is that?” I had not heard anyone approach the area, no vehicle sounds, no car door closing, not even the sound of a vehicle driving up the highway. My next questions were, “Why is that guy wearing a tan sweatsuit with a hood in the woods?” “Why is he swinging his arms so widely?” “Why is this guy marching through the woods the way members of a marching band march on a football field?” “Why are his arms so long?” “How can he be so tall?” “Why is he so wide?” “Is that hair that his body is covered in?”

That was when I realized, I was not looking at a man. I realized that this creature was walking in the same manner as Patty did in the Patterson-Gimlin film. I could see its pointed head sitting low on it’s shoulders which is why I first thought it was wearing a hoodie. It was at that moment that fear washed over me even though at the time I did not understand why I was frightened. After all, I did not really believe in Bigfoot. And I had never researched stories at that point so I did not know that these creatures could be dangerous like I do now.

I let the creature walk over the crest of the next hill but stood there for at least another 15 minutes because I wanted that thing as far from me as possible. I told myself I would wait and listen to make certain I did not hear a car door or the sound of a vehicle being cranked and driven away. I then proceeded with great caution and as I did, I started looking for footprints to see if I could see boot tread or bare footprints. However, the red Alabama clay and sand mixture of the area, what we call chirt, was set up like cement because it had been so dry. There were no footprints.

I went home and started looking for Bigfoot stories for the area of Alabama in which I lived. At the time I lived to the Northwest of Birmingham, AL. In fact the area of my encounter was less than 15 miles from downtown Birmingham. I came across several stories of sightings of white to tan to light brown Sasquatches in the area. Still skeptical of what I saw, I eventually convinced myself that my eyes had played tricks on me and that what I saw was nothing more than two wild turkeys flying in tandem and I only thought it was a Bigfoot. In all honesty, I convinced myself of that because it was the only thing that made me stop shaking. It did not matter that wild turkeys are not tan in color.

(I let that lie stand for years and I told no one. Oh, I would watch every documentary on Sasquatch that ever came on TV and would openly question why they would only look for the creature during the overnight hours. After all, my encounter occurred around 11am not in the middle of the night. It wasn’t until several years later that Finding Bigfoot came on that I first told my wife at the time and my kids what I saw. I instantly regretted it.)

Getting back to the narrative, I stopped hunting in that area and starting driving 2 hours South to hunt in a National Forest. Years later, after my second daughter was born, I tried to hunt the area of my encounter once again but I just couldn’t do it. As a result, I stopped hunting for a few years.

Again, thank you for what you do. I love your show.”

3 Responses to “I was not looking at a man”

  1. Charles R

    Hi listener. What happened to you is very close to what happened to a good friend of mine Rob up in Iosco, County, MI. He also stopped hunting. Should you ever want to see another the area on the SE area of greater Kansas City has been serving up many Bigfoot encounters over the years. That would be from Blue Springs down to Lee’s Summit in the lake areas and James A. Reed Memorial Wildlife area. Also the land to the south of Kansas City has been a corridor.

  2. m99

    David, T/Y for sharing this encounter. Isn’t it something when you tell people who should know you best and believe you the most, and when you do, get that off reaction of unbelief ? Sad, but true. I’ve often thought SC is so much more than a place for people to share their encounters. I think it’s a therapy that’s been needed at this time in history. I think Wes is the man, and his witnesses are simply the best. Thanks again!

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