Interesting report, the witness says “My sighting happen nine months ago near Searcy Arkansas I was hunting on Thanksgiving day.
It was getting dark when I had a rock thrown over my head which freaked me out so I quickly turned around and lifted my shotgun and light and look up and down the tree line until I came up on a big oak and I saw what looked like a Sasquatch looking at me from behind the oak and it yelled at me with a low grunt and high pitch scream so I jumped and actually took a shot and hit the tree and it took off running back down the line towards a valley.”
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:
I spoke with the witness for an hour on Nov. 7th. Very down to earth and open. There ended up being a lot more to the account then in his written report, reason being he had a lot to tell us and he was concerned about his report being sent successfully.
He was hunting alone on that day. Every year, he and members of his family go hunting around Thanksgiving, and they go somewhere different each time. His cousin had dropped him off at the hunting location mid-afternoon and would pick him up a little after dark. These are public hunting grounds.
He had not been to this particular area before. He found a good spot up on a hill and sat on a rock, with a good view of the woods and an open meadow. He had been there for an hour or so with little activity when he heard a “low growling sound” which went on for about 10 minutes. He is an avid hunter and had heard nothing like it before. He was searching his mind, trying to figure out the source. He knew it wasn’t bear, cougar, or any big cat. Then about 30 yards in front of him a pack of coyotes burst out from the tree line and ran across the meadow. After they left his field of vision was when a rock was thrown in his direction. The rock came out from the tree line, very close to where the coyotes had come out of the trees. This is when he grabbed his rifle and started scouring the tree line, ready to fire at whatever it was. Knowing he would be alone after dark in an unfamiliar area, and with concerns about black bear, big cats and feral hogs, he had and used a flashlight attached to his rifle due to poor lighting. He then saw a creature standing behind a large oak tree. It let out the low growl he had been hearing, then a high pitched scream.
This is when he pulled the trigger in a knee jerk reaction to the scream. The creature was described as at least 8 ft. tall, with light brown hair, not fur. The creature’s arm wrapped around the front of the tree, which was at least 3+ feet wide. When the light hit the creature, he noted the eye color as reddish yellow, and when he lowered the light, the eyes were still “glowing”. He knew he hit the tree from the sound the bullet made when it hit. The creature then ran off across the meadow into a valley in the same general direction the coyotes went. The creature was massive, absolutely bipedal, and was gone in 3-4 seconds. He sat there a moment to gather himself, then took a walk over to the tree. He indicated there was blood and hair on the tree where the creature had been standing. He felt he probably hit it in the arm, since the bullet strike was square in the middle of the tree where the arm was wrapped around the tree.
After a moment of reflection, his hair stood up on his neck and arms, and he then realized what he had seen and shot at. He sat down for a moment to gather himself. He decided that he was going to follow the path the creature took, even though he knew “he was asking for trouble”, but with his adrenaline flowing and thinking he had hit the creature, he wanted to follow a bit to see if it “was down”. I questioned his decision and he stated “I had the gun, and it ran from me, and would probably run again if it saw me”. He walked for 5-10 minutes and had gone slightly off trail. He saw a “teepee like structure at least 8-9 feet tall with a lot of animal bones laying around and an awful smell”. He heard a rustling sound across the open area near a briar patch and saw a creature standing there just looking at him. The briar patch came up to the witness’ chest, but was about knee high on this creature.
He was about to raise his rifle when he then saw a second creature, shorter than the first one, step out from behind a thicket. He described the hair as about the same color as the first. He then saw a third creature, probably a juvenile, smaller than the other 2, and he described the hair as a “reddish brown” and not the same color as the others. He also noted that 2 of the 3 had eye glowshine, though he did not remember exactly which ones were shining and which were not. He did not consider taking a shot. It just did not occur to him. He felt he was looking at a “family unit” and was totally in awe. They stood there staring at each other, and then the creatures just all turned and walked off. This entire episode took 5 -10 seconds. The time elapsed from the first encounter to this one he estimated at about an hour. It was dusk and getting dark, so he then headed back to where his cousin was going to pick him up. The entire elapsed time from being dropped off to the final event he estimated to be about 5-6 hours.
Frankie P
I wonder if one of the bigger ones was the one he hit? That is a harrowing story – so close – and he followed it! Yes, good hunting practice to track what you shot – but that? I wouldn’t have been able to even walk…. great encounter – thank you!
Chris I
He’s lucky to have made it out to tell the story!!! Yikes?
Michael L
I think that they are rarely alone. One of the last recording of them on a larger scale was when the Vikings fought a clan of “the eaters of the dead.” They were thought to be a remnant of a tribe of Neanderthals..
Michael1lion
Trent M
These creatures are cultural and if their particular group culture does not include predatory behavior towards humans then they are going to be less aggressive than those who are raised with humans either on the menu or at least on the “enemy predator” list. Much like Killer Whales and their cultures where some eat fish and squid for the most part and other pods in different oceans hunt large whales and seals for the majority of their food.
Doug K
This man was very brave to have followed the creature after shooting at it. Amazing story. Thank you for sharing it.
Bryan H
I live about 60 miles northeast of Searcy. I’ve always been fascinated with bigfoot since I first became aware of the creature when I was young. I’m 54 now. I’ve wondered if there were any around this area. When I was 13 a friend and I was under a tractor shed behind the house I grew up in one evening. It was early winter and drizzling rain. We had my pellet gun and a flashlight and was shooting at birds that was sitting on the rafters. Then in the woods behind the shed something let out a scream. At first I thought it was a woman. It was a very high pitched scream and a very long scream that ended with what sounded like a lion or a large cat. That very deep growl that an animal like that makes. It scared the carp out of me. I ran in the house and told my dad and he said It was probably a panther. I figured he was probably right until I started hearing other people’s encounters and their description of the scream the creature made. Now I wonder if it was a bigfoot we heard that night.
Charles R
Most likely that scream was a bigfoot. I have heard the same except it never did end with a large cat sound. This is a sound of have never been able to figure out, maybe some day.
Dang few hunters would have went to track a huge, likely male bigfoot – rarely hear something like this. Then to get to see the whole family unit – what a terrific experience and at least he came to his senses that time.
This story just shows that even though shot at they would rather not go after humans, and is probably the reason they have survived.
Kathryn C
wow! What a brave guy and what an experience he will never forget. He definitely has God on his side or is a very, very lucky fellow to have made it home. This story gave me goosebumps.