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Geographical Index > United States > Oregon > Lane County > Report # 11304
 
Report # 11304  (Class B)
Submitted by witness on Friday, April 15, 2005.
Campers hear moaning howl at Waldo Lake at night

YEAR: 1992

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

STATE: Oregon

COUNTY: Lane County

LOCATION DETAILS: This was one of the regular camping areas on Waldo Lake. I couldn't tell you the exact spot without going back to the area which I would be willing to do.

NEAREST TOWN: Oakridge

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 58 to Waldo Lake access road

OBSERVED: While we were tent camping at Waldo Lake in the Oregon Cascades, at about 4 am we heard a moaning howl. My wife woke me up and said that there was a bear in the camp. I heard the howl and had no idea what kind of animal made that noise. Another camper a few hundred feet away had dogs that starting going crazy barking. The howling went on for about 20 minutes to a half hour. Our German shepherd started growling. We got up and got in the car with our sleeping bags still thinking it was a bear. At about 5 am and still dark, the other camper left in a hurry in his pickup. It looked like he lit about a half gallon of Coleman fuel in his fire pit. The flames were probably 6 feet tall. We did not see or hear anything else that night. The next day I walked around and looked for signs of the animal. I walked around the other camp and did not see anything. We joked about bigfoot coming that night but I was shocked this last year when I was listening to some of the bigfoot recordings on this site and then heard the moan howl from Columbiana, OH. That was exactly what we heard and it gave me chills.

ALSO NOTICED: About an hour before the incident at 3 am we had gone up to use the outhouses several hundred feet away.

OTHER WITNESSES: My wife and I and dog were sleeping in the tent. There was another camper nearby that appeared to get scared and leave in a hurry. I did not get a chance to talk to him.

OTHER STORIES: Just from what I've read online.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It occured at about 4 am. It was cold and clear. I had a thermometer that indicated about 20 degrees Fahrenheit that night.

ENVIRONMENT: This is a forested area. We were camped about 30 feet from Waldo Lake.


Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Dr. Wolf H. Fahrenbach:

The howl sounded to the campers to be about a quarter of a mile away and each vocalization lasted about 3-4 seconds, first rising and then falling in pitch.

The witnesses state the vocalizations below are exactly what they heard.

Mp3 format of the Ohio vocalization
Wav format of the Ohio vocalization.

Another Report #1778 from Lane County, one of many.