The Dahl Bigfoot encounter is a mysterious and chilling story from the Pacific Northwest, often cited in older Bigfoot lore as one of the strangest early disappearances connected to the creature. While not as famous as Bluff Creek or Ape Canyon, the Dahl encounter stands out for its eerie circumstances and unexplained ending.
The year was 1958, and William “Bill” Dahl was a prospector, logger, and outdoorsman who often worked in the Mount St. Helens wilderness of Washington State — a region already rich with reports of strange “hairy men” seen in the forests and canyons.
Dahl was known locally for his curiosity about such reports. According to accounts retold in cryptozoological circles, he’d been hearing rumors of large footprints found near the Lewis River, and booming screams at night echoing from the ridges. Determined to find the source, Dahl set out alone on a short solo expedition in early summer.
Dahl reportedly set up camp near the river, close to a small cabin he sometimes used for prospecting. Over several nights, he began experiencing increasingly disturbing activity:
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Unexplained Footsteps:
He wrote in notes later found among his belongings that he heard “heavy, two-footed walking” outside the cabin after dark — the sound of something circling him slowly in the night. -
Thrown Rocks and Screams:
On the second night, he described rocks being thrown at his campfire and hearing a “deep growl or moan” coming from the tree line. -
The Smell:
Dahl also mentioned a “sickening stench like dead animals and wet fur”, something long associated with Bigfoot encounters even today. -
Massive Tracks:
He followed large humanlike footprints near his camp the next morning each about 16 inches long and deeply pressed into the mud.
Then, suddenly, Dahl vanished.
When friends and coworkers noticed he hadn’t returned, a search party went out to find him. What they discovered was unsettling:
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Dahl’s rifle was found leaning against a tree near his camp.
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His boots and backpack were still inside his cabin.
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The ground showed large footprints leading away into dense forest but no return tracks.
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No body or trace of Dahl was ever found.
Even the dogs brought in by searchers were said to have refused to follow the trail, whining and backing away. The Dahl Bigfoot encounter remains a mystery without closure part of a broader pattern of disappearances and unexplained happenings in the forests around Mount St. Helens.
Researchers later connected the case with earlier incidents like the Ape Canyon attack (1924) and later theories explored in Missing 411, where wilderness vanishings occur under odd and often “impossible” circumstances.
Matthew A
Wes, if you had a 2nd podcast where you read only these blog posts I would listen every night.
Lorraine W
Thanks for sharing this mystery. I’ve never heard this one before.
Bill F
Are they sure he didn’t just take a few of those giant bowls of gold like in the pic and just leave and go somewhere nice for the rest of his life?
Charles R
I also do not remember this case. Definitely one for the 411 books and case files. Dogs not wanting to track a Bigfoot trail is quite common. I found a great and fresh trackway (20 inches of snow that stopped just a few hours before) in early Feb. of 2011 in Iosco County, Michigan. I took my two Golden Retrievers down the road that had just been plowed, for a walk. The last house before the Huron National Forest had this straight line humongous tracks with about 4 feet distance between each track, going into the yard and crossed over the occupants 5 foot fence. I went to examine the entire trackway and figured my Goldens would bugger it up as they love the snow. Instead they stayed at the road, refusing to move and barked at me continously for the about 10 minutes. The trackway only went 50 feet or so into the yard, went over the fence, then back over the fence back out to the road and surely to the north into the woods. As soon as I got back to them they ran all the way back to my sisters lake cabin.
Shana K
Wow-thanks for sharing this,, very interesting!
Mike L
The bottom line is the one clear thing we know. There are mysteries that even with all of our modern technology we can not resolve. IN TRUTH, our modern tech. just proves the unknown exists!
Amy H
I’ve ridden my mtn bike numerous times around Mt St Helens. I’ll tell you this; you don’t want to be last on the trail. It is super eerie when going along and coming out of smith creek. I recently rode it and for some reason, it wasn’t as scary feeling? I wonder if it’s because more people mtn bike there than 20 years ago. One time on a hike up to chocolate falls, we came across a German fella alone and he asked us if we’d seen the Bigfoot. I wish I’d have engaged that fella more cuz I bet he had a story…. Apparently, that’s an area where it’s often seen. Lewis River is another hot spot. One person I know saw one sitting on a stump on the side of a forest road. There’s a lot of lava tubes and some go for miles. I bet they hang out in those cuz to get to them you’d have to walk on sharp lava stones, mostly. Another friend was telling me there’s a lava tube that runs under the Columbia and people regularly see them walking on the ridge.