Class 3a Encounter Report in Woodville, TX, Case #01120097

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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: 01120097

Class 3a

Close highway encounter on Highway 287 near Woodville.

Report Details

Occurrence date: December/1976
Location: Tyler County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Woodville
Time / Conditions: 19:00 — It was dark, but it was a clear night, no cars on the road but me, and I had my bright lights on.
# of Witnesses: 1

Witness Account:
I was headed home to Port Arthur from Oklahoma around 7PM and I was on HWY 287 between Chester and Woodville, about 5 miles from Woodville when I saw this big dark thing running down the side of a hill towards the highway. I had my bright lights on and it stopped in the middle of the highway. I slammed on my brakes and I slid sideways, and it looked at me with red eyes. The thing was dark brown and hairy, about 8 feet tall with a chest about three feet wide. My passenger window was down and it growled at me, then it took about 5 strides off the highway and up the hill on the north side of the highway. I stopped at a grocery store when I got to Woodville and told the Cashier on duty what I saw. She said they got reports of this all the time in the big thicket.

Sounds:
Growled

Additional observations:
Red Eyes

Investigator's Observations

Investigator(s): Andrew James Hein

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Tyler County, Texas on Highway 287 on December 24, 1976. I interviewed the witness via telephone on the evening of March 7, 2013. No onsite investigation was conducted since the incident ostensibly occurred over 30 years ago.

The witness was 23 years old at the time of the incident; he was also an avid hunter and a Vietnam veteran. At the time of the sighting the sky was clear, ambient air temperature was approximately 45 degrees, the sun had set but it was not yet completely dark.

Even though the incident occurred over three decades ago, the witness had no problems recounting it. On the evening of the 24th of December, 1974, the witness was traveling home to Port Arthur from Oklahoma, where he had been visiting his Grandmother. The witness was approximately four miles north of Woodville, Texas on Highway 287 traveling south with his headlights on high-beam when he saw a tall, hirsute figure running down a hill towards the highway in front of him. The subject approached the road from the witness's right, from the southwest traveling northeast. The witness recalled the road being slightly damp and when he braked hard to avoid hitting the subject, the car slid sideways, stopping approximately 15 feet from the subject. The witness had the passenger window rolled down and he viewed the subject through the open window for about 30 seconds.

The subject was slightly uphill from the witness's vehicle and the witness estimated that the top of the vehicle was four and one-half feet tall and only came up to the bottom or center of the subject's chest. The witness estimated the subject to be eight and one-half feet tall and its chest to be three to four feet wide. It remained standing in a stooped forward posture the duration of the principal observation period. The witness observed matted dark brown hair with some light brown mixed in, about four to five inches long. Despite the hair, the witness was clearly able to see large toned muscles in the chest and arms. The witness was not able to identify the gender of the subject, but it was clear that the subject did not have breasts, but toned muscles. The subject also possessed a very short neck.

The witness described the subject?s arms as being longer than a human's with the hands hanging just above the knees. The witness recalled brown skin like a "light black man," as opposed to a "dark black man" on the hands and face. The witness likened the skin to a gorilla's in texture. He described the face as definitely not human, but not like the other great apes either. He recalled the face being flat, without a protruding mouth. In the end he described the face as somewhere between human and ape in appearance. The witness also recalled reflective, red eye shine, which he believes may have been from the moon, as the vehicle's head lights were facing the side of the road. The witness also remembered a foul odor coming through the rolled down window, describing it as "raw sewage" or "stinky mud that you sometimes find in the forest."

The witness said seeing the creature very much scared him and he decided to "get the hell out of there.? Upon shifting his vehicle into reverse, the subject growled for two to three seconds, which the witness described as being very loud. After growling, the subject continued across the road, reaching the trees on the other side in approximately five steps.

The witness stopped for coffee in Woodville where a gas station attendant said he looked "white as a sheep." The witness had never heard of wood apes, bigfoot, or sasquatch and he had no idea what he had seen. Upon describing his encounter to the attendant, she told him that he had seen a ?bigfoot? and that there were encounters in the area "all the time."

The witness was an avid hunter and had hunted in several national forests in Texas and is familiar with Texas wildlife. He is adamant that what he saw was not any animal with which he was familiar and it definitely not a human being. He sincerely believes he saw a wood ape.

The witness seemed genuine in his remembrance of the sighting, correcting details and never contradicting himself. He also appeared to be relieved that someone was taking him seriously. He stated that later that night after arriving home he told his father of the incident; his father did not believe him and asked him if he'd been doing drugs. None of his other friends believe him either. After the incident he never went into the woods again at night; only after full daylight would he go into a forested region.

I believe the witness believes that he saw what he described. Moreover, I am confident that he possesses the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience to avoid any sort of misidentification.

Photos

Tyler County is in deep Southeast Texas, the most prolific area in Texas for wood ape reports.

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