Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy

Family experiences strange activity and daughter has close visual encounter during two-week period.

Report#: 01080031
Occurred Summer 1976: (Submitted March 15, 2007)

Witness Observation

At the time I was a teen-age girl. My parents and sisters and I were staying in a small weekend cabin located at the end of a dead end road that was near Black Cypress Creek. I had enjoyed hiking and riding my horse on the thousands of acres of pasture, woods and creek since I was small. There had never been anything that scared me or caused me to be frightened in this lovely countryside. This ended for me after what I witnessed.

We had heard some strange screams or howls coming from the woods every night for several nights running. My mother described the sound as an old-fashioned horn that might be on an old car, but I knew it wasn't a horn. It was some sort of animal that we had not heard in the woods.

One night, as one of my sisters was standing by the kitchen sink, she smelled a horrible smell and she called me and our mother to the window. We were all three overcome by a really strong stench coming from the darkness outside. We finally agreed whatever had been making the screams in the woods was probably outside of the window, but no one volunteered to go out and see what it was. Later, after my mother went to bed we were startled as someone or something pounded on the kitchen wall near the window. We ran to our mother who was sleeping in the bedroom, but she refused to investigate thinking we girls were simply trying to frighten her.

Not long after, one night I returned home late from the neighbor's house. It was very dark, and the family had forgotten to leave the porch light on for me. I had to park the car approximately 30 – 50 yards from the house because of a locked gate. I sat in the car for approximately fifteen minutes to adjust my eyes to the dark because I knew I had a long walk in the darkness to reach the front steps. I got out of the car and approached the gate. I found that my family had also forgotten to leave the gate unlocked. Rather than fumble with the lock, I decided to simply crawl through the barbwire fence. About the time I got one leg through and was ducking down to pass through, I heard a lopping sort of sound coming towards me down the fence line near the house. I could tell it was a large animal coming towards me, so I quickly tried to go through the fence. My first thought was that a bear was about to attack me. Suddenly a large, dark figure loomed over me. It came to a stop about an arm’s length from me and actually bent over me as if to look closely at me. I could tell that it was no bear. I actually felt the hot breath of the animal as it moved its head closer to me. I started screaming frantically. Whatever it was became alarmed at my screams and ran away. As it ran, my eyes were accustomed enough to the dark to see it run away on two legs until it was out of sight.

I estimated it was very tall, because it had no trouble in bending over and down to look at me. My screaming brought the family to the fence where they helped untangle me and took me inside the house for medical attention.

Physical Evidence

Dead calf, footprint.

Sounds

Howls that sounded kind of like an old car horn.

Additional Observations

There was a foul-smelling animal smell.

Time and Conditions

Very dark.

Investigator's Comments

Jerry Hestand, Mark Porter and Charles DeVore

This investigation was conducted as a result of incidents that allegedly occurred in Marion County, Texas near the community of Berea, in the summer of 1976.

Mark Porter, Charles DeVore and I (Jerry Hestand) met and interviewed the primary witness along with her mother at a café in Jefferson, Texas. DeVore is Regional Director for Northeast Texas and is very knowledgeable of the area, particularly the area of Black Cypress Creek and its adjoining creeks and bayous.

The mother and daughter led us out to their former cabin. As we traveled with the ladies, it became apparent that they were very serious about what they were telling us. We harbored no doubts that the witnesses were describing the events as accurately and honestly as they could.

The area had been clear-cut, and it was not nearly as wooded as in 1976. The daughter led us through the path and former fence line where the incident occurred. Incidentally, there was a power line right-of-way (ROW) near the cabin. (The ROWs seem to serve as possible travel routes for many types of wildlife.)

The primary witness and her mother told us that during a two-week period in the summer of 1976 they witnessed some bizarre incidents that caused the family concern. They told us of the events described in the original report and also told us of a couple of other incidents worth mentioning that also occurred during the two-week period. The primary witness, now an adult living in the Texarkana area, stated that her happy days of roaming the woods were over for her, and she would never again venture into the woods.

The ladies told us that the family had a calf they were keeping in a temporary fenced area. A few days after the visual encounter occurred as described in the original report, the family found the calf dead; apparently its neck was broken and it had been partially dragged through a fence. It was covered with lather when it was found the next morning, indicating it had probably struggled and run for quite awhile until whatever attacked it finally actually killed it. The witnesses indicated that there were no puncture wounds on the calf.

Soon after, the family found a large footprint next to a water hole that they had dug to provide water for the calf. The family described the track as a large, human-like print. It was too large to be human, however, and the toes seemed to go straight across the top of the ball rather than slant like a human foot. It was too wide to be human, they said, and the mother mentioned that the big toe was unusually large.

After the two-week period, the incidents ceased. The family did not have any more strange activity until June 1989, when a nephew saw a similar animal in broad daylight in nearly the exact spot. (TBRC Report # 01080001, Marion County, Texas).

Before the day was through, the ladies introduced us to an elderly gentleman who had lived in the area for many years. We told him what we were looking for and asked if he had any information. All he could tell us was that on one occasion he was hunting with three hounds. He let them out of the truck and they quickly took to the woods. In a short while he heard one of the dogs yelp as though it had been quickly killed. Not long after the other two dogs fled from the woods and cowered under the truck. The man searched for the dog but never found a trace of it.

As we concluded our interviews, we thanked the ladies for their time and information. They were interested in what we were doing and seemed relieved that someone else knew of experiences like theirs and that other honest and intelligent people were reporting similar incidents.

Charles DeVore and I have investigated a number of cases from this area from reliable trustworthy people in or near these remote bottomlands (such as the witnesses in this case); it is our assessment that it seems highly likely that these events have been reported accurately.

Additional reports in this county

Occurred 6/1989 in Marion County, TX

Submitted on January 24, 2007

Medical research biologist (now a TBRC investigator) recalls face-to-face boyhood encounter on grandfather's farm. Read more...

Occurred 10/2005 in Marion County, TX

Submitted on February 25, 2006

Hunter has visual encounters on private property in Caddo Lake area. Read more...

Occurred 10/27/2001 in Marion County, TX

Submitted on October 31, 2001

Two hunters hear ape-like sounds, encounter strong odor and unusual tree breaks. 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.