Class 3a Encounter Report in Segno, TX, Case #01020039

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Class 1a
Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.
1a A sasquatch/bigfoot specimen has been collected (alive or dead).
Class 1b
Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.
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
Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.
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
Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.
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
Class 2, Competency: Reports involving sightings by professionally trained or highly skilled observers.
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
Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.
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
Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.
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
Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.
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.


Case: 01020039

Class 3a

Three family members have encounter near Segno in what is now the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Report Details

Occurrence date: November/1972
Location: Polk County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Segno
Time / Conditions: 3:30 PM — Every household in the community of Segno at the time had gardens and corn fields.
# of Witnesses: 3

Witness Account:
It was November 1972 after the opening of deer season. It was a clear afternoon and I had just gotten home from school, it was about 3:30. My grandmother, great aunt and I were driving down this dirt road. This area is currently in the Big Thicket National Preserve and is very heavily wooded. The Big Sandy Creek runs to the east about 1/2 mile. I was 12 at the time and sitting in the back seat leaning forward between the two of them and talking. We were driving probably not too fast because this was a dirt road, the width of which was probably about 50 - 60 feet. Out of the woods on our right side appeared this ape-like thing running across the road. It stood around 7 to 8 feet in height and had long arms that it swung as it ran. It did not run standing upright like a human but appeared to be hunched over in its back like an ape. It was covered from head to foot in long brown hair. It never turned to look at us but stayed focused on the woods on the other side of the road so we did not get a look at its face. We almost hit it with the car as our front bumper missed it by about 3 feet. It disappeared into the woods to our left and we never even slowed down. We were so shocked by what we just saw. I said, "What was that?" and my grandmother said, "I don't know, maybe it was a man in a hairy suit." I couldn't imagine what kind of person would be foolish enough to be roaming around the woods in a hairy suit during deer season. We never spoke of it anymore or told anyone about it because we knew it was too unbelievable. I didn't tell my story to my mother until a few years ago and she confronted my grandmother. My grandmother finally confirmed what we had seen but she said: "It scared me so bad I hated to talk about it." Now I really don't care if people believe my story or not, I know what I saw and it wasn't a man in a hairy suit or any other kind of large animal. I am very much a skeptic but seeing is believing. It was definitely a bigfoot creature that we witnessed that day and one I will never forget.

Sounds:
The sound we heard at the lake was very frightening and unlike any I have ever heard before. It was very shrill, and almost a hoarse scream. It was also very loud like whatever made it was large and very close but we couldn't see because of the thick woods.

Additional observations:
Large ape-like creature running with long arms swinging by it's side. It was slightly hunched over while running. It was covered with long brown hair from head to foot. This creature's body looked and moved much like the creature filmed in northern California in the Patterson film from many years ago. It had the same body shape and looked very full bodied. We never got a look at its face.

On one other occasion around 1972, I was riding my bike with some other kids and we rode to the back side of the lake in Segno. The back side is a large berm and down behind it is a swampy area that drains into Menard Creek. We heard something scream in the woods behind us not more than 20 yards away. It was a very shrill sound I couldn't describe but would make the hair stand up on the back of your neck. It wasn't any animal that I was familiar with. Possibly this could have been a bigfoot, but we didn't see anything as we were frightened and left the area quickly. One other instance in 1978, my friend and I were riding horses on the same dirt road as my sighting but on the other end about 2 or 3 miles south of FM943. A large dark figure standing on two legs came out in the road and watched us for a good minute as we were riding toward it. It then went back into the trees but was so far up ahead of us that we could not determine what it was. The only reason I mention this one is because no one lived that far down the road and no people were down there that day or we would have seen them drive by earlier. That is the reason I believe this was possibly a Bigfoot.

Investigator's Observations

Investigator(s): Craig Woolheater

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred near Segno, Texas, in Polk County in November 1972.

I interviewed the the witness on 24 October 2002. She recalled that at the time of the encounter it was a sunny day with a cool temperature. The time was around 3:30 P.M. The witness was 12 years old.

The witness, her grandmother and great aunt were driving in a Chevrolet Impala along a dirt road. This dirt road runs through what is now the Big Sandy Creek Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve. The two adults were in the front seat; the witness was in the back seat.

For a dirt road, it was well traveled. The witness could not remember seeing other vehicles on the road at the time of the sighting. While they were driving, a large ape-like figure ran out of the woods from the right, crossed in front of their car, and entered the woods to the left. The subject was reportedly hunched over when running. At the time of the subject's crossing of the road, the car was approximately ten yards away from it. The witness recalled that the car likely came within three feet of hitting the subject when it crossed to the left side of the road. They were driving slowly because of the dirt road.

The witness described the subject as tall, approximately 7-8 feet in height. The front of the car was at the same height of the subject's knees. It had long brown hair and its arms were swinging at its sides. It appeared not to have much of a neck. The witness described the subject's head as "dome shaped." The subject did not stop running while in view of the motorists, and never looked at the vehicle. The witness could not recall being able to see the subject's face.

The witness had also experienced vocalizations in the same area. The one mentioned in the report happened either one year before or after the 1972 sighting mentioned above. The witness lived one and one-half miles from this area. Her cousin and friends were walking along a road when something reportedly stood up along the fence line. They were close enough to run to her grandmother's house.

This area has a lake that her grandfather had built on Farm to Market Road 943. Big Sandy Creek flows in the area. There are gardens and livestock also in this area; it is now part of the Big Thicket National Preserve.

Photos

Sketch based on witness's description.

Map

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