Sep 27

SC EP:150 A Police Officer’s Encounter

 
“I am a police officer and I had an encounter (an aggressive one ) as an 11 year old in 1994 inside the border of the smokey mountain national park. I was on a camping trip with my family and a group of friends consisting of 5 other boys and my younger sister and brother. We were hiking a trail (a rather remote difficult one as I recall) I was temporarily separated from the group to tie my shoes and as they rounded a bend in the trail I looked to my right (down hill) and observed what in my mind at the time was a HUGE gorilla standing only about 50 ft from me . When it observed me observing it it immediately bounded up hill and onto the trail ahead of me cutting me off. I cannot describe how terrified I was.

In an attempt to get away my instinct and I don’t really know why was to go uphill and around to where I could yell down at my friends. I felt like if I stayed were I was I’d be killed! So began about a 3 hour ordeal in which I effectively was lost. People began to search for me. The whole time I walked along a ridge line above the trail occasionally hiding from this thing. The entire time it shadowed me. When I would stop it would stop . I did not have a “visual” of it most of the time and only actually saw it from the shoulders up 1 time after my initial sighting.

I feel like it was attempting to “herd” me away from safety. I was finally able to walk back onto the trail after 3 hours but only after I heard it farther and farther away and above me. It was raining by this time and I was a total mess completely terrified and exhausted. My folks were pretty pissed and of course worried. When they asked me why I had gone off the trail I told them I was chased off by a bear to which I think a park ranger told my parents that that didn’t make sense. Anyway if you’d like to hear some of the details I’d be willing to talk to you about it ”

If you have had an encounter email me wes@sasquatchchronicles.com

 


 

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52 Responses to “SC EP:150 A Police Officer’s Encounter”

  1. Elise B

    I just love it when I see you have a new episode up. It’s like YEAAY!

    I also love the intro…..you can really hear the fear in that guy’s voice. 54321 I could live without. The ominous music is well chosen.

  2. Tyler D

    Wow, another amazing week locked down boss. I think you definitely deserve a vacation my man. I really enjoy encounters from police officers. They’re definitely a genuine, honest bunch of men and women. It’s a little unfortunate that the rest of society will more than likely take the word of a man of the law or a person with a position of authority over an average joe who have encounters with these creatures sometimes on a regular basis. People are people no matter how you look at it or what occupation they hold. But to be honest I think it takes a bit more bravery for a police office or a person in law enforcement to come forward with their experiences than it does for others. Because they’re putting their social lives and careers in jeopardy as well as possible ridicule from co-workers as well as other, people questioning their competence as a person in law enforcement, as well as many other factors that come into play when these people come forward with these experiences. Not sayin this stuff doesn’t apply to every other person that has an encounter, I just think it’s a bit more difficult for someone in a law enforcement position. That’s just my opinion but that doesn’t necessarily make it true. There’s a level of difficulty with coming forward with this that I believe most will never understand. I believe everyone will be vindicated in their bravery soon enough. Wes, your guests are phenomenal and your abilities as a host are second to none and simply off the charts. You keep knocking them out of the park week after week and at the same time taking SC to newer and higher plateaus. I’m not sure how you manage to pick up the pace every week but I’m truely impressed and grateful with your resilience, dedication and determination to bring SC and the members amazing and enjoyable content every week. I don’t know you but I can tell you have very strong and admirable character. Thank you Wes, SC and the members for another great week

  3. Robert P

    Wednesday, Friday, Sunday is a rhythm I could get into but I expect you’d like to eat and sleep occasionally.
    Great show again, Wes. Congratulations on 150 shows. Here’s to many more. Cheers.

  4. Synbios

    Nice one Wes! This continues to be the best sasquatch show on the net.

    Little boring fact: I have a playlist of music which is exactly like this shows. outlands Tron soundtrack, 90 by pompeya and Magic by coldplay which you did for one of your earlier podcasts. Such a great buncha tracks you pick let alone your actual encounters content. Keep it up!

  5. Synbios

    Before I forget… this all falls in line with the David Paulides thing of “they pick on the young/person that fall behind”. I wonder if they just chase for fun until they are exhausted.

    Oh he just mentioned the 411 books as I typed this lol

  6. Jan W

    Thanks, Wes and guest. I wonder if the BF was trying to get him to a specific location. I also wonder why his friends and parents didn’t backtrack down the trail to look for him.

    • Stacy F

      In three hours, if it wanted him, it would have gotten him. I’m guessing that it recognized him as a child and probably harmless, safe to follow and observe, and in his terror (which was totally understandable!) he perceived that he was in danger.

  7. Chris422

    It makes me wonder if the bigfoot’s intentions towards Scott was to make him run down hill, but Scott climbed up hill and stopped periodically.. It probably threw the ape off. So in response it made noises and threw stuff at him to get him to run like it wanted from the start. I think that Scott’s actions plus the rain helped him get away. At least that’s my opinion. That was another great show Wes and a terrific week. It’s nice to know that you keep up with what is said on the forum.

  8. Robert W

    I remember show 75- reflections from Woody, Wes Shannon and will. Congrats! Disappointed to read an article by Brad Lockwood ( Giant EP 66) recently. I will post if I have time; but he berated the show and the circumstances around Will leaving , etc. seemed odd to me given his attitude on the show. Great episode- the guest should connect with Tim Hall who had their cabin attacked in the great smoky mountains. Have a great week!

  9. Gerald V

    Wow ! That is some crazy sh*t ! Maybe the creature was herding him away from it’s family group ,,,once the creature felt he was heading in the opposite direction from them the creature hung back . Just a thought.

  10. Wendy C

    Really enjoyed that episode – I am pretty sure your plan as a thinking logical being kept you alive , Sasquatch prob don’t encounter many human prey while out hunting, so would be confused by a creature that could work out it was being herded – by keeping the trail in sight while you moved was something no other creature in the bush would have done!!! The log throwing thing may have been frustration and a last ditch effort to get you back on the ambush path. Eventually not sure what they were dealing with and probably knowing before you did, how close you were to other people, it wondered off for easier pickings – pretty cool headed of you (by the way) when you were only 11 at the time. You should be proud of yourself for being so level headed.

    Thanks again for sharing your amazing encounter – I think there are prob quite a lot of ‘missing person s’ in Australiia especially New South Wales and Victoria that could well be attributed to the ‘Yowie’ – although I have never really looked into it.

  11. Kay S

    Another great show. I’ve listened to and loved the first 150, and am looking forward to the next 150 plus. Thanks Wes for sticking with us and producing all of these memorable shows!

  12. Dave T

    Holy crap! Scott you must have been one of the luckiest 11 yr olds on the planet to get out of that. It just goes to show these creatures live just out of sight from us and If they get an opportunity they can appear from the fringe in an instant. How easy Scott could have been a 411 case. It’s almost a miracle he’s not. Thanks Scott for telling your story. It’s a good lesson for people to learn for when they go into the outdoors.

  13. diana m

    Another great show, Wes

    Thank you for the share, Scott. You have mad skillz to out maneuver a top predator & not only that, to turn it into an interesting learning game for him.

  14. Pat T

    Thanks Wes , as always another great encounter ! Quick shout out to say congratulations on 150 episodes. Thanks for the education I’ve received regarding this subject not to mention the last two years of being on the edge of my seat listening to these compelling interviews. And to your guests; without them this show would not happen, so thanks to all who have been willing to share their experiences with us. The one thing I appreciate the most about you Wes is the respect you’ve shown to all who’ve been brave enough to come on. Keep it up as we look forward to 150 more!!

  15. matthew D

    I have a few thoughts, on things that weren’t covered.

    First, when talking about the creature blocking the trail, and what the intent was, I think we have to accept, based on the victim’s statement, that this isn’t the first time the creature had done this to a hiker. Which going back to the missing 411 theme, is a huge indicator that these creatures are responsible for lots of missing persons.

    Next, listening to the encounter, the creature reveals itself to the boy and blocks the trail. The boy turns and runs uphill in the opposite direction, and the creature pursues mostly out of sight from the brush, at a distance of 50 ft, on a parallel course. The boy repeatedly stops, after a certain amount of time, and faces the creature, which is what saves him, in my opinion. He is tired, but he doesn’t tire himself out completely. The creature stops, when the boy stops, and the boy stops long enough to rest, and then continues on. This happens over and over again, but the boy doesn’t put himself in a vulnerable position where he corners himself, or makes it nearly impossible to continue evading the creature.

    Also, I am imagining that the creature wants to have a flanking angle of attack, so that the victim can be caught from behind, while running away, and the creature can disable the victim’s leg, and making a killing blow to the head or neck. Since the boy continues to face the creature, perhaps, a big question mark here, the creature sees this as an unfavorable attack position (head on). After a few hours, which is amazing in itself, because I am pretty sure attacks happen quickly and make use of the element of surprise that the creature gains when first revealing itself to the victim, after a few hours, the creature is getting bored, and maybe a little tired and discouraged, since the victim is able to maintain his favorable defensive position, stamina, wits, will to survive, and does not take a path which makes it vulnerable to rear attack.

    I think the stick and rock throwing is the creatures attempt to get the victim to continue running, and exhaust his energy, so the creature can close in for the kill from a flanking position. When the victim fails to take the bait, the creature attempts to move into different attacking positions, but then the rain comes down, and after such a long pursuit, the creature seems to lose focus on the attack, and again the victim seizes the opportunity to make an escape attempt, which is why we are even able to hear this story.

    Very smart boy, who should be very proud of himself for escaping that very dangerous situation.

  16. darren w

    One thing is for sure…adults suck! To be 11 years old and have to lie about something like this because you know they won’t believe you is really sad…especially when you’re so clearly and severely shaken. I find that barely short of betrayal.

  17. cyndie r

    Oh man, this is some scary stuff. I’m not sure what this creature’s motives were. This one seems different. Seems like a lot of the other cases occur and the person is noticed missing right away. Three hours into it and usually search parties have already formed and started searching. Clearly this creature had separated the boy far enough from the rest of the group to snatch him and get away with him if he wanted to. But he didn’t.
    The one thing that is similar to missing 411 is the weather. Strange how it started raining not long after the encounter began.
    Scott said he didn’t know why but he never screamed for help. I think he should have and right away. Maybe he figured his friends were too far away to hear him. Whatever the the case, this was a very scary encounter. Thank you Scott for sharing with us. Thank you Wes for providing the appropriate venue. We learn more with every guest. Sooner or later we will figure this beast out.

  18. Seamus J. C

    First and most importantly, I feel anger at adults and the way they consistently disbelieve children, even ones who have obviously been traumatized. The same thing happens with sexual abuse victims, and the same process of silence and suffering ensues. Sounds to me like our guest came down with a classic case of PTSD, with some help from the adults’ tendency to be ‘analytical’. This is why we have to listen carefully to children when they do dare to report some harm–3 years of serious anxiety sounds as horrible as the encounter itself, in a more chronic, drawn-out way. And kudos to him that he, as a child, did what he felt he had to do in order to take care of himself–refuse to say what he actually saw, thereby sidestepping the ridicule and perhaps anger of his family and social circle; and refuse to return to the woods. I give him credit for a huge pair of brass ‘nards for enduring that experience without completely melting down, folding, and surrendering. I agree with others that his active approach to avoiding this beast helped him cope, and perhaps helped him survive in the end. It is stories like these–especially, in a way, from the innocent perspective of a child–that convince me that North America has two species of great ape, and not just us.

    I have had nightmares in which I was being confronted by something terrifying I could not see, and woke up dying to scream but completely unable to even make a sound. It’s pretty horrible, and I feel for our guest.

    I hope my second thought is not taken to be minimizing the danger our guest felt himself to be in at the time, and I could certainly be wrong about this, because as Wes likes to say, “At the end of the day, it’s a wild animal, and unpredictable.”. But, it seems to me that this male sasquatch was NOT intent on capturing or killing, or he simply would have, and quickly. He had to have been aware that the kid’s peeps had left him behind. Maybe he would have held off a bit to give the rest of the kids a chance to get on down the trail, but what in god’s name would have kept him from grabbing him and disappearing into the forest–an hour later? Two? Almost three? I’m not getting that, unless the fear of the little clothes wearing ape and his guns has become instinctive to the point where an 800=lb. creature has to “herd” an 80-lb. boy into the perfect spot to make a kill. Maybe that is, in fact, the case, but Missing 411 notwithstanding, I wonder about this case. In fact, the 411 stories suggest that BF can soundlessly grab a person (snapping their neck, maybe) and very quickly carry them far away. I wonder if the BF was actually in the mood to punish someone for being in his territory and making a lot of noise, maybe scaring the game away, maybe just getting too close to the family group, maybe for being human. It sounded to me like a VERY long and drawn out episode of “display behavior”, the intimidation that primates favor over actual fighting–pacing someone, shaking brush, breaking branches and throwing stuff, practically the whole time keeping his bad self hidden. It makes me wonder if the sasquatch was feeling particularly vulnerable for some reason–perhaps there was an infant or an injury in his troop? Or perhaps he had recently endured being pushed out of territory by some other humans, or other sasquatch, or fire….? In any case, it sounds like he remembered that he had responsibilities elsewhere, and just dropped his terror campaign and went back to his troop. That was a lot of crashing through brush and breaking limbs–the kid’s flight obliged him to maintain a mobile threat display with new brush and new branches. Maybe the boy tired him out!…The survival skills of children CONTINUALLY amaze me.

    One last thing, a story from someone who had been studying gorillas–probably Diane Fossey. A large silverback had an older female in his troop, and they had always gotten along fine. But one day, he just whaled on her. As I recall, she was down and he was stomping her to death, and he killed her. Just out of the blue. And gorillas really are the “gentle giants”, at least with their own. But they’re wild animals, and unpredictable…

  19. MONTE M

    Excellent show! Really good ! I enjoyed it so much. A lot of how I guage how well I like a show is if I feel a non believer might gain interest in the subject and believe in it. I get a lot of crap for believing in it. I want my kids to realize if they’re going camping or hiking they need to be careful . A good point in this show is that you should be armed .
    My son his friend and myself just spent three nights deep in the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area in MT .We brought a 12 guage with slugs at least we had something . We camped where there had been a sighting but did not experience any Bigfoot activity .

  20. susie l

    Speaking of the little boy missing in Idaho, that was the first thing I thought of too. Now there is a young man that was hiking in Eastern Idaho 12000 ft experienced hiker and he’s disappeared also. He signed in on top of the mt, so I guess it was on his trip down the Mt.

  21. Donald B.

    I’m really impressed by Wes as an interviewer, he asked that man a question and was smart enough to remain silent so that
    cop could spill his guts, which he did and it was a carthartic experience as well.

  22. SantiamLady

    I’ve listened to this Episode twice now & was completely horror struck both times!!!!!????. What a terrifying encounter Scott had at such a young age! He is lucky to have escaped alive. I think the damn-dirty-ape was working itself up to attack. And as Wes said a long time ago, ‘what a dick move’, terrorizing a little kid like that! ????. Unfortunately, it is too bad no one was on hand to dole out a .50 cal attitude adjustment to that cruel brute. ???????? Any predator that exhibits this kind of stalking/harassing behavior will do it again, and the next victim probably won’t escape. The thing was experimenting/practicing, I think. That was a ‘problem’ animal that needed to be put down fast!

  23. Jim D

    This was a truly amazing program, from a man who showed himself to be a very credible witness and Wes’ interviewing style continues to progress and he is fast becoming the best inquisitor in the cryptozoological field. And as far as podcasts are concerned-there is no comparison, and no one even comes close. With SC there is no cherry nose squeaking or morning drive-time DJ antics or any hidden agendas being falsely purported or pursued. To hear how so many of these witnesses are still feeling the effects of these obviously terrifying encounters is awe-inspiring. We just got back from the Smoky Mountains and stayed in a cabin way up atop the mountains of Dolly Parton’s hometown and the cabin’s owner told us to watch out for the bears. Apparently two bears came on the porch where the couple who stayed before we got there had a plate of cheeses knocked out of her hands and their bottle of wine spilled over and consumed by a bear. I have to tell you, my wife and I could not sit on that porch without watching the steps and had a hard time going out onto that porch in the pitch black night and early morning. I can’t imagine how much scarier it would have been had she told us about a bigfoot encounter-we would have probably left early.

  24. Jenny

    Very cool, Is it just me or does Mark have a similar voice and turn of phrase as Joe..the guy that posted that Question that blew up on the Forum a while back.

  25. Judy S

    To me it seems like the BF was herding him out using the sticks to keep him moving..”since the BF couldn’t just walk up and say ….Take my hand and follow me.

  26. Phillips M

    Wes
    I started listening to you podcast a couple of months ago. I started with the first episode and finally Mede it to episode 150 with many more to go. Wish me luck on catching up .

  27. L S

    I think that thing stopped chasing him and basically let him go because people were searching for him. Those things know When people are in their woods and probably know exactly how many people, and they keep watch and communicate with each other over distances and when people started looking for him the hungry Squatches called the “hunt” off. This guy lived to tell the classic 411 story. Lucky as hell.

    There was an episode where a female Sasquatch helped a lost, crying child get back to his campsite, but I don’t think it was altruism or humanity as much as I think it was that they know what happens when one of us goes missing. The woods are suddenly crowded with people and dogs and vehicles and helicopters. This is probably Why they avoid taking humans as much as possible and seem more interested in scaring the shit out of us to keep us out of the woods than they seem intent on hunting, harming or killing us. They’re not friendly forest giants. They’re smart predators.

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