Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy

Investigator's Comments

Daryl Colyer

This investigation was conducted as a result of a reported sasquatch encounter that allegedly occurred near Shepherd, in San Jacinto County, Texas, February 2005.

I discussed the alleged incident with the witness at length on 30 October 2006. My impression was that the witness was a mature woman in her 60s, and was quite intelligent as well as honest. It was also my impression that the witness without doubt believed that she saw what could only be described, in her own words, as a "bigfoot."

The witness told me that the day was quite routine for her and her husband, and involved a trip to Houston from the Shepherd area. The day was quite overcast; there had been very recent heavy rains, and "water was everywhere."

As stated in her report, the witness remembered that she was a passenger, as her husband drove south on Highway 59, at perhaps minutes after 11:00 a.m. They were in the far right lane, and the tree line was less than 30 feet from them as they traveled. Their approximate speed was between 55 and 60 miles per hour.

The witness recalled seeing movement at her one o'clock position in the tree line; it was the movement that captured her attention. Had it not been for the movement, the witness was certain that what she saw, because of natural coloration and camouflage, would have blended in almost perfectly, concealing its presence. It was at that point that the witness identified what she described as an upright, tall (six and one-half [6.5] to seven [7] feet in height), hair-covered, reddish-brown, muscular creature, as it seemed to put its left arm on something before leaping. The visual encounter was no more than a few seconds; the witness mostly remembered seeing the whole figure, and prominently seeing the arm and leg movement. The witness emphasized to me that the creature seemed almost effortless in its movement; she described the creature as "graceful" and "agile."

The witness recalled quickly seeing eyes, but could not remember details about the face, other than the face was less hairy than the rest of the body, was a lighter color and appeared more human-like than gorilla-like.

Genitalia were not identified. As the subject turned while leaping, the witness reportedly got a good look at its upper back, which was described as muscular and hairy. The witness described the hair as resembling that of a dog, perhaps a setter or retriever. That said, the witness also recalled a sort of "mangy" look, noting patches of hair that seemed to be thinner than most other parts of the body. In those patches, the skin seemed to be visible.

The witness reportedly lost sight of the unidentified creature just past her 3:00 o'clock position on her right. Immediately, the witness gasped and said to her husband, "Oh my God; I just saw a bigfoot!?"

The witness's husband, who did not see the subject, wanted to turn around immediately, but the witness did not want to do so. Also convincing them not turn around were the abundant large pools of water, which, according to the witness's words, were "everywhere."

Later on the husband did survey the area, but he could find no traces of what the witness reportedly saw.

While the witness has talked about the incident with few, her husband is convinced that she did visually identify a sasquatch. The husband wanted his wife to report the sighting, but both the witness and her husband were not sure to whom the incident should be reported. It was only after the couple watched a documentary involving the TBRC that they realized they could even report the event to the TBRC.

The particular area of the alleged sighting continues to generate reports of this kind from upstanding citizens. The location is on the fringes of the Sam Houston National Forest and is about 10 miles west of the Trinity River; the Big Thicket National Preserve units are located just to the east of the Trinity River. TBRC investigators have made their own observations in the region.