BIGFOOT

By Charles Jones

This is a report of evidence, tracks and sightings of a creature in Walton County, Florida between July and October 1987. The sightings of a large animal of unknown origin, presumed to be a "Bigfoot," were made by a 13-year-old boy. I had a discussion with the parents in December 1987 and later with the boy and his parents in January 1988. The parents and their son have seen this document and agree with the details of the two encounters described herein.

On one occasion the lad, standing on a clay road, saw the animal about 30 yards into the woods. The boy and the animal both saw each other and started to leave the scene at the same time. The boy stopped and "heard the animal going down through the woods." (This is the first time I have seen Bigfoot referred to as an "animal" - TC)

During the second encounter the youth got a very detailed description of the creature. One afternoon the lad was walking along a clay road looking for deer tracks when he caught sight of the creature out of the corner of his eye. The boy said it was surprising how the animal could look like a large, dark old tree. The creature was standing about ten feet away from him and the two were separated only by a small bush.

The boy froze in fright and the animal also froze in a standing position presenting the boy his right profile. The creature walked on two feet as a human would. When he froze, for several minutes the animal did not move anything except his eyes and ever so slightly turning his head in its attempts to see the youth.

The lad said the animal was about nine feet tall with his crotch about five and one-half feet or so above the ground. Almost the entire body was covered with long reddish-brown hair except for a white hairy streak that ran from the base of his throat narrowing as it neared the groin. A small patch of brown hair separated the white blaze from the white beard on his chin. The nose, ears, upper cheeks, palms of his hands, and bottom of his feet were not covered with this long hair. The nose was very human, long and narrow, with the top beginning in a pair of dark eye brows. The skin was black in color.

The boy said the eyes were brown "like a hamster's eyes." This was explained to mean the eyes were slightly bulging and the entire eyeball was the same dark brown color. The eyes were set under a prominent brow ridge that shaded the eyes. The forehead was sloped back to a pointed skull. Human shaped ears with ear lobes were clearly visible on each side of the head.

The hair was so long that no mouth was visible. No fingers or fingernails were visible from the back of the hands. The animal was not facing him but occasionally cut his eyes and slightly turned his head toward the boy, then returned them to the forward looking position. The boy thinks he was face-to-face with the creature for maybe five minutes.

The lad started to tremble with fear and dropped the walking stick he had in his hand. Finally, the creature turned his head to face the boy, gave a little growl, turned and walked off into the forest. The boy watched the animal walk about 50 yards up a small hill into the forest. The black leathery skin on the palms of his hands, fingers and bottoms of his feet were clearly visible. The animal had two large hair-covered buttocks separated by a definite "crack." The buttocks shook as the animal strode away. When the animal was walking on sand, each step could be heard as the feet struck the earth. On leaves or other ground cover the steps were silent.

When the animal reached a point about 50 yards away, it turned and looked back toward the youth. The boy noted the hair on the animal's cheeks moved out and up as if the animal smiled before it turned and disappeared into the woods. (!) The Creature had a strong scent like a skunk. When it walked it swung it's arms and the boy could see the muscles in it's legs flex and the buttocks move. When asked if the animal was a male or female, he indicated male because it had a chest (pectoral muscles) like a body builder. The youth noted the animal had tremendous biceps. He also added that well developed stomach muscles were visible even though they too were covered with the long hair.

When asked if this could have been someone in a costume, he replied no; because he could see the muscles in the animal's legs flexing when it walked. He also added that the body hair was so long that when the animal walked the hair swung away from the body then flopped back against the body with each step. He guessed the weight of the animal to be at least 800 pounds and probably more.

The parents showed me about ten photographs of foot prints they had taken in the woods near their home. They indicated these were of two separate animals, one of the footprints was about 17 1/2 inches long and the other about 16 inches long. Each footprint was distinctly humanoid with easily distinguishable toes, heel, ball and instep. On one, the fifth or smallest toe was separated more than the others and set off slightly to the side of the right foot. These photographs were very similar to the eight tracks I saw in those same woods on 10 October 1987.

The tracks I saw were not as fresh as those in the photographs so the two smallest toes did not have the same sharp definition. But the tracks were definitely similar in structure and size. I followed the tracks for about eight steps through the woods before the tracks were lost in a bed of leaves and pine needles. The track was about 15 to 16 inches long and about 8 inches wide across the ball of the foot. The heel and ball impression was about 1 to 1-1/2 inches deep. The tracks were of both feet; first the right, then the left, etc. I could see where the animal transferred its weight from the heel to the ball of the foot. In one step the ball pressed the soil backward as it exerted force to push the creature's weight forward. I, at 210 pounds, stood next to the tracks and did not dent the clay and sandy soil. I stepped off the stride which was two of my fully extended strides. This distance was later measured to be approximately 84 inches. In one footprint The animal pivoted on the ball of the right foot and changed direction veering to the left. During a later interview, I was given a picture of the first footprint I was shown. This photo was taken before a plaster cast was made from it and before I saw the prints. This explains why, when I saw it, the footprint did not have the same definition as the photo.

During the discussion with the parents the mother was surprised when I told of my readings where Bigfoot was reported to have twisted off small trees. The mother said she had seen a couple of trees in their woods that appeared to have been twisted off and could possibly have been done in this manner.

The mother also related a story of an incident where something was seen rising from a nearby lake and frightening her young daughter. The mother and daughter were canoeing on the lake when something raising up from under the water was seen by the daughter. The object or animal was not in the line of sight of the mother. The young girl had not been able to explain what she saw but it was nothing she has ever seen before or since. This incident also occurred within the July to October 1987 time frame.

Although the creature cannot be positively identified, all indications tend to support the presence of a creature similar to those previously identified as "Bigfoot.
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This report was given to the Fortean Research Center by Donald M. Ware, MUFON Regional Director from Florida. "Charles Jones" is not the real name of the author of this paper, however, he is known to Donald Ware.

THURSDAY'S CHILD