Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy

Investigator's Comments

Daryl Colyer

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Cass County, Texas, along Highway 59 near Atlanta, in October 1990.

I interviewed the primary female witness along with two of her children, both now fully grown women; all witnesses were interviewed separately at different times. Two of the original witnesses were unavailable. I found them all to be extremely cooperative and straightforward regarding their recollection of the event. Although the children were between the ages of six and eight, they were adamant that they absolutely remembered the event with clarity. Indeed it is not difficult to imagine how such an event could leave somewhat of an indelible imprint on the mind. All of the witnesses with whom I spoke very clearly remembered being initially startled, with the surprise then turning into fear as they began to wonder what it was they had seen dart out across the highway, fully illuminated by the vehicle's bright lights.

The group was returning from Searcy, Arkansas. It was fairly late in the evening, sometime between 10:00 P.M. and midnight. The primary witness recalled hearing someone in the car loudly ask, "What is that?!" At that time, she said, she clearly saw a large, hairy, upright figure bolt out onto the highway in front of her vehicle, perhaps at a distance of only three car lengths or so, running from the right to the left.

The primary observer instinctively began to slow down from her estimated speed of 60 miles per hour; she recalled "hitting the brakes." The others in the vehicle yelled at her not to stop or slow down; they were quite disturbed by what they were seeing.

The witnesses were in agreement that the subject was large; larger than a human by quite a bit. The primary witness estimated its height at no less than seven feet and that it was "real tall." The other witnesses, children at the time, seemed to have a bit more difficulty in nailing down a height, but they were certain that its height was much more than that of human. All witnesses (with whom I spoke) agreed that it was covered with hair, much like a gorilla or chimpanzee, although the primary witness stated that, in her opinion, the subject did not really look like an ape or monkey. She just kept repeating that "It was weird...just weird..."

The color was described as clearly black by the primary witness; one of the other witnesses remembered that the subject was dark brown or black. The estimated duration of the sighting was no more than five seconds. The primary witness remembered seeing hands moving back and forth as the subject ran across the road. The other witnesses remembered that the subject stopped very briefly to look at their oncoming vehicle before running across the road, which afforded the witnesses a very scant glimpse of the face. No eye shine was recalled.

The witnesses clearly remembered the subject as being on two legs as it ran upright across the highway. They remembered that it had long arms that swung as it ran. The primary witness recalled that the subject did not wildly move up and down as it ran, but that its motion was smooth.

None of the witnesses knew at the time what they had seen. It was not until later that they realized that they had seen what is commonly referred to as a bigfoot. They have told some of what they saw, but usually no one takes them seriously.

I believe the witnesses to be of the highest credibility and I believe they truly believe that they saw a bigfoot. Misidentification, while often a possibility, can likely be ruled out in this case. All witnesses had clear recollection of an upright and tall subject. There is no other species that can be comfortably applied within such descriptive parameters. I could detect no hints or signs of hoaxing, either by the witnesses or that they were hoaxed. It seems unlikely that someone larger than the average human would don a suit and risk running across Highway 59 only a few car lengths in front of a vehicle traveling at approximately 60 miles per hour; while possible, it seems improbable.

This case appears to be another example of an event reported by multiple and highly credible observers, for which there is no conventional explanation that is readily apparent.