Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy

Two boys have encounter near railroad tracks.

Report#: 03080009
Occurred July 1979: (Submitted March 17, 2002)

Witness Observation

We saw a large man squatting on the rail road tracks looking at us. I thought it was a man but as we began to walk away he rose up. By what I remember of the size of the foliage and trees in the area he stood about 8 feet tall. As we continued to walk away he walked off in the opposite direction. A foul smell like dead flesh was in the air. No birds were making any sounds. It was a full moon night. Next day foot prints were found in the mud of a drainage ditch near where we observed him walk off.

Sounds

Just a low grunt as he was walking off.

Additional Observations

Very large manlike. Approximately 8 feet in height. It was dark but the moonlight gave a brownish color to it. There was a foul musky smell like dead meat. There was a farm across the highway. They breed horses and grew alfalfa. Several years before, my uncle was driving across the bridge on 64 across an arm of the Arkansas river when he almost hit a man. When he came to a stop to see if he was alright, he realized this was not a man but a creature. He stood taller than the truck he was driving. He came up to the truck an hit the hood with his arms and let out a loud cry before running into the river bottoms.

Time and Conditions

10:00 pm - It was a full moon night, warm July temperatures, around 10pm.

Investigator's Comments

Jerry Hestand

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Johnson County, Arkansas, in July of 1979.

I interviewed the primary witness on 25 March 2002. The witness was 10 years old at the time of the incident and he was visiting his aunt and uncle. His cousin, who was 15 years old at the time, was with him. The cousin now refuses to discuss the incident so I was not able to interview him.

The incident reportedly took place at a small rural community called Coal Hill, six miles west of Clarksville. Interstate 40 crosses the Arkansas River near this area, called the Arkansas River bottoms.

The incident reportedly took place around 10:00 PM, on a full-moon night; the temperature was warm. The witness recalled that he and his cousin had spent approximately three hours at this location. They had been playing around and on the railroad tracks. The witness recalled that during this time, the cousin supposedly had the feeling that he was being watched.

The witness remembered his cousin looking to the left and seeing what apparently looked like a man squatting on the tracks some 30 - 40 feet away. The witness saw it as well; it appeared to be watching the boys. The boys did not know how long the subject had been there, but it was very quiet. The witness told me that they would not have noticed the subject squatting there, but its smell gave it away. He remembered the smell as being a combination of dead flesh and a dead skunk.

The subject stood up, grunted and walked down from the tracks and into a farm field. The witness described the height of the subject as being approximately seven to eight feet tall. The witness remembered that he and his cousin later measured the height of the subject by the sapling by which it stood.

The cousin ran home very frightened. The witness, feeling more awe than fear, started walking home. After a few minutes, he had the feeling he was being followed, so he then ran the rest of the way home.

The witness told his uncle what had happened, and the uncle wanted to see if footprints were in the area; they found several. His uncle’s foot was half the size of the tracks, with the tracks supposedly measuring 20 - 21 inches long.

The witness told of how his uncle reportedly had an encounter several years prior on a bridge over the Arkansas River. The incident was but a few miles east of where the boys reportedly experienced their incident. The uncle was driving in his truck and almost hit what he thought was someone crossing the road. When he stopped to check for injury, he saw a hair-covered figure walking on two legs towards the truck. It screamed loudly and hit the hood of the truck, leaving a dent in the hood. The uncle has since passed away.

Additional reports in this county

Occurred Fall 1985 in Johnson County, AR

Submitted on August 19, 2005

Man has encounter while gathering ginseng roots on Ozark National Forest. Read more...

Occurred 7/17/1998 in Johnson County, AR

Submitted on April 17, 2004

Couple in car see a large, hairy, upright figure. Read more...

Class 1a: A sasquatch/bigfoot specimen has been collected (alive or dead).
Class 1b: A report investigation results in a sasquatch observation or the documentation of clear tracks or other forms of physical evidence by an investigator.
Class 1c: An investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot by a very reliable observer is a distinct possibility, tangible corroborating evidence is documented, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
Class 1d: A visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility involving two or more reliable observers, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
Class 2: Investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility, the observer is exceptionally trustworthy, professionally trained, and experienced in the outdoors and/or is accustomed to looking for and recording details (e.g., biologist, anthropologist/archaeologist, ranger, trapper/tracker/seasoned hunter, bird watcher, game warden, naturalist, law enforcement), and other explanations can be reasonably excluded.
Class 3a: Investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility, the observer is credible, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
Class 3b: Unidentifiable vocalizations were reported and there is accompanying tangible evidence to possibly indicate the presence of a sasquatch/bigfoot, the observer is very reliable, and other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
Class 3c: No visual encounter occurred, but physical evidence was found to indicate the presence of a sasquatch/bigfoot (tracks, hair, scat, etc.), the observer is very reliable, and other sources can be reasonably ruled out.