YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: April

DATE: 26

STATE: Kansas

COUNTY: Shawnee County

LOCATION DETAILS: Directions withheld by request of witness.

NEAREST TOWN: Topeka

OBSERVED: Walking the trails there are small ponds near one parking lot. Back in February, I had heard 3 equal-length whoops while in the woods there, about 10 seconds before a train came through. I thought it was probably an owl.

Tuesday afternoon, the 26th, I took this picture near the edge of the smallest ponds near the parking lot. I took the photo because I thought it was odd that a bare human-looking footprint would be there in the mud, fairly fresh, as the nightly temperatures had been near or at freezing recently, and the water/mud would have been quite cold too. The more I looked at the footprint, I noticed how flat the sole was and how even the toes were. I don't know what to make of it, so I'm reporting it here.

ALSO NOTICED: 3 whoops heard back in early March/late Feb.; not heard since.

OTHER WITNESSES: None other than myself and the photos.

OTHER STORIES: No

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Photos taken at 4:30pm; gray cloudy sky, about 50F, strong north wind (30-40mph); rained the previous day or so.

ENVIRONMENT: Near the edge of the smallest pond, very close to parking lot so very open spaces, but not many people around that afternoon as it was quite chilly.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone.

The footprint was nine and one half inches long and three and one half inches wide.

The witness supplied the following photo:

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at illinois@bfro.net