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DATE: Late summer in 1971.
LOCATION: Pennsylvania, Hampton Township, Allegheny county. Near Bryant Road
OBSERVED: The sound of branches breaking and forest floor debris being disturbed was heard. Also, what can only be described as a loud bird-like sound was heard. After hearing these sounds from a stationary location in the woods for about 20 minutes. We realized that the noises were coming from the same source. At this time, we stood up and observed a large, i.e., 7-9 foot anthropoid being standing in the woods about 20 yards away. It had approximately the same proportions as a human. It was not fat or thin. It was covered in what appeared to be about 2-3 inch long gray/white hair. It must have seen us as soon as we saw it, since it ran away from us almost instantly (we did the same). I kept looking over my shoulder as I ran, and saw it crashing through the woods. There were several more sightings in the vicinity over the years, many reported to me. Footprints were seen in my parent's yard, and they still have two plaster casts of the prints. I have heard the sounds associated with the sighting several times since the original sighting, and so have several of my family members. A young sibling reported seeing bigfoot, or as he called it, "a polar bear", in the woods behind my parents house, which is a part of the forest that the original sighting occurred within. A few years after the original sighting, I was visiting a wax museum in Niagara Falls, Canada, and they had a display of bigfoot. Their wax model looked remarkably similar to the one that I saw.
ENVIRONMENT: Along a right of way for a natural gas pipeline that cuts through a wooded area that exists between Bryant Road and Sample Road.
ALSO NOTICED: Nothing unusual before or after the incident, except that there were no more sightings at this location, after repeated observations of the area at all times of day and night for several years.
ACTIVITIES OF WITNESS(ES): I and my girlfriend were sitting in the tall grass of the pipeline right of way, talking, etc. This was one of my favorite places to pick wild blueberries.
QUESTIONS PRESENTED TO THE WITNESS:
1. In what manner did the creature move?
The creature seemed to run or walk quickly in a relatively straight
line. I will send you a drawing of the scenario. The incident occurred
in a heavily wooded area with lots of oak trees and very dense understory
trees and brush. Essentially, there was no cover for it to hide behind,
i.e., the oaks were not large in diameter and the foliage of the other
plants was not dense. As it departed, it was swinging its arms in what
looked like a strategy to move through the environment efficiently- pushing
vegetation
out of the way, and breaking branches that were dead. I have spent
a great deal of time in the woods of western PA, and this area is typical,
with this very dense undergrowth that is tough to travel through. Usually
travelling in a straight line is the quickest way to get from point A to
point B. There was definitely no zig zagging observed. I can not estimate
how fast the animal was moving, but I remember thinking that it seemed
to be moving faster than I could have, through the same terrain.
2. Can you Describe its facial appearence?
I am not able to provide details on the face- I just couldn't see it that well, but the head seemed to be generally ovoid and covered with hair. I did not see any bare skin. I do not remember the profile shape, but my impression was that due to the covering of hair, features like mandible shape would have been not well defined. The head seemed to blend into the neck and shoulders, again possibly due to the hair. I will ask around to see if anyone else got a good look at the face, but I don't think anyone has. As mentioned before, the wax model at Madame Tussaud in Niagara Falls was/is a pretty good image of what I saw except for the face. By the way, I saw the real thing prior to visiting the wax museum.
3. Is it possible for you to sketch the creature you witnessed?
I will do my best to sketch the creature. I can draw what I saw first, which was a frontal view, and a view of it leaving the area. These images are still burned deeply into my memory.
-Note- ( When I obtain a sketch from the witness, I will post it here) -Scott M.
4. Do you know of any other reports in the area of your sighting?
As far as I know, there were no more sightings at the exact location of my sighting. There was a sighting at a location within one mile of my sighting, and my parents reports are from around their house which is also within one mile of the other two sightings. I know of the precise location of one more sighting, which was about 2 miles from the other sightings. I think that I will obtain a map of the area and mark the precise locations of the sightings. Several other sightings have been reported to me, but either I don't remember the locations, or they were not given to me, and I did not believe some of the reports anyway. So "the vicinity" that I spoke of refers to a fairly small location- the hillside where my sighting took place.
5. Do you remember the date the foot casts were taken?
I don't remember when the foot casts were taken, except generally- in the mid to late 70's- I will check with my parents to se if they can recall.
6. Do you know of any sightings that occured before yours?
All of the incidents that I reported to you besides mine, occurred after my sighting. As far as I know, I was the first person to see one of these creatures in that area. As a child of 6 or 7 around 1960, I lived in Fox Chapel, an area bordering Hampton township. Someone reported seeing a bear in the woods (we lived on the edge of a large wooded area that is now an Audubon reserve on Dorseyville Road, in Fox Chapel Borough. Several of the neighborhood men went out in the woods with rifles, but no bear was seen. My dad used to hunt squirrels in those woods, and he never said anything about seeing anything unusual. That is the only possible sighting of anything like a bigfoot that I have ever heard of in that area prior to my sighting.
7. What is the area of the sighting like today?
My parents still live at the location where the casts were made. They
have no plans of moving, and would be open to inquiries or visitors. The
area is slightly more populated that in the past, but the woods from behind
my parents house to my sighting area has not changed much. There is a corridor
of woods that extends from behind my parents house to the sighting area
and then opens up into a very large woodsy area that includes Allegheny
County's North Park and stretches far to the north. There are some roads
in the area, but not too many. It is pretty rough country, with lots of
steep ravines- a lot of land that has never been attractive to
humans for habitation or farming.
As I have mentioned, I will make the sketches, do the map work, and send the data to you. I will email additional data regarding the questions as it comes in from my family. Thanks for your concern in this case, and I want you to know that I am thankful that there is someone out there who has the time and motivation to work with this data.
PHOTOS OF FOOTPRINT CAST(S): These casts were taken in the same
area of the sighting, by the witnesses parents, in the mid-70's.
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The "curved" print measured 7.5 inches at the narrow point, 8.5 inches
at the widest point, and was 18 inches in length.
The normal print measured 6 inches at the narrow point, 7.5 inches
at the widest point, and was 18 inches in length.