Class 3a Encounter Report in Ft. Douglas, AR, Case #03080011

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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: 03080011

Class 3a

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

Report Details

Occurrence date: July/1998
Location: Johnson County, AR
Nearby/Vicinity: Ft. Douglas
Time / Conditions: 1 pm, clear.
# of Witnesses: 2

Witness Account:
My wife and I were traveling across a low water bridge. She looked down the creek and told me to stop the truck. There was a very large hairy animal(?) standing upright in the middle of the creek. It was approximately 300 - 400 yards from our location. We tried to follow a road along the creek to get a closer look but when we got to where we thought it would have been, it was gone. The object we saw didn't see us at first and it looked as if it was preoccupied with something. Possibly trying to catch a fish.

We've been in the area several times since but have seen nothing. My family owns a cabin in the area and several years ago my wife (before we were married) was staying at the cabin with her parents and saw something looking in the window of the cabin at night. The object would have to be tall to look in the window. This location is very remote in the Ozark Mountains but wouldn't be too far from the other Johnson County sightings.

Hand/foot prints:
None.

Sounds:
Too far away to hear. Plus the noise of running water. Screams at night. Mostly dismissed as wild animals. (Cats etc.)

Additional observations:
Close to 8 feet tall. Little or no neck.

Investigator's Observations

Investigator(s): Tal Branco

This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Johnson County, Arkansas on 15 July 1998 near Ft. Douglas.

I interviewed the primary witness on three separate occasions. He was at all times very cooperative and his accounts were given in a straightforward manner and tone. He seemed amazed at what he had seen, and welcomed the chance to take a field investigator to the sighting area. There appears to be no doubt in the mind of the witness about what he observed.

This witness sounded sincere in his account of this reported sighting. I was very disappointed that the wife of the witness declined to discuss the incident; it would have certainly increased the reliability of the report had she confirmed the account given by the husband. As it stands, the report is a Class 3a.

The incident reportedly occurred north of Highway 123 on County Road 5881 just north of Old Fort Douglas Bridge on Hurricane Creek. The area is in Ozark - St. Francis National Forest, and in or adjoining the Hurricane Creek Wilderness Area and the Piney Creek Wildlife Management Area. The area is mountainous, with several streams running south into the Arkansas River. Big Piney Creek is a clear mountain stream that crosses Interstate Highway 40 and empties into the Arkansas River. The creek has abundant fish and is very popular with people who like to wade and fish. The sighting area is about twenty map miles from the Arkansas River.

The area has numerous caves and natural overhang shelters. There are also several chicken farms, some hog farms and cattle ranches in the area. Further, there are large populations of deer and turkey, and populations of wild hogs, bears and small animals. There are several orchards in the surrounding area, and peaches are grown commercially a few miles away.

The weather was hot and clear. The witness stated that he and his wife were driving an unpaved and somewhat rough road through the valley cut by Big Piney Creek. At one point where a concrete bridge crosses the creek they stopped on the bridge when they saw a large, hairy figure standing erect on two feet in the creek with its back to the car. The subject was leaning slightly, with its arms extending slightly in front of its body. Its pose seemed to indicate that it was perhaps watching a fish in the water and poised to attempt to catch it. The witness believed that the subject animal could not hear the car because of the sound of water running over the rocks.

The witness stated that the subject was standing in a hole of water in the creek that the witness had waded several times. He stated the water appeared to only be at the subject?s knees, but that it would have been at the level of the witness?s buttocks had he been standing there. The subject was described by the witness as being manlike in shape except that the witness was struck by the fact that it appeared to have little or no neck. The witness stated that the subject appeared to be close to eight feet tall. He stated the shoulders sloped directly to the base of the head. The witness recalled that the subject was covered with brownish-red hair. He particularly noted that the subject's legs near the knees appeared to be smaller than he would have expected for its size. He thought those areas of the legs may have looked disproportionably small because the hair was wet and clinging to the legs.

The witness stated that he and his wife watched the subject for two or three minutes, but the subject never turned so that they could see its face. The line of sight was completely clear of obstructions. The witness decided to drive off the bridge and continue along the road to get a closer view. In doing so their view was temporarily blocked by brush and trees along the creek bank. He said that when they could again clearly see the spot in which the subject had been standing, it was gone.

They heard no sounds from the subject itself, nor did they hear any sounds made by the subject when it left the area. No unusual odors were noted, and they did not attempt to look for tracks or other evidence.

The witness stated that his family had a cabin in the Big Piney Creek valley a few miles upstream from the visual encounter area. The cabin has been used by the family members for many years. The witness stated that his wife-to-be had supposedly seen some animal looking in a cabin window one night. He stated it would have had to be very tall to look inside that window. He had stated there had been screams heard at night in the area of the cabin, but the family dismissed them as "wild" animal sounds.

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