YEAR: 1968

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 28

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Cook County

LOCATION DETAILS: It is hard to remember as it is almost 40 years later and I really was not familiar with the area in the first place. It was 4 miles or so east of Carpentersville. That is the best I can do now.

NEAREST TOWN: Carpentersville

NEAREST ROAD: Can't remember

OBSERVED: In 1968, September, last part, a friend of mine and I were trying to find a place that 2 girls we met had invited us up to for the night somewhere east of Carpentersville. From looking at the maps from today it would seem like where we were lost in what is now Barrington Hills or somewhere around there.

Lots of woods and nothing else. When we realized we were lost we took the next road to the left just to turn around and go back towards Carpentersville. As we came to a stop just off the road, before we started to back up onto the main road, a creature about as tall as the Ford van we were in started to cross the side road from our left to right about 15 to 20 feet in front of the van. It had a long stride, stood upright, was covered with dark brownish to like black straight hair about 6 to maybe 10 inches long in some spots.

It was swinging its arms that looked like they were too long for its torso. Its head was turned to its right and was looking almost straight at us as it crossed and as we were backing up to get out of there.

Its face was also covered with the same type of hair but shorter and not so much around the eyes nose and mouth. It had no muzel or snout like a chimp would have. Just a flater face.

As we were backing onto the main road I was looking to my right and as we started to pull away I thought I saw it coming back towards the van like it had changed directions and it was going to chase the van.

This scared me even more then I already was and my friend was no different. Really scared. It looked so powerfull like it could have torn the doors off with no trouble what so ever. We just kind of looked at each other for a few seconds as we drove out of there saying over and over what the hell was that ... what the hell WAS that?

Needless to say no one believed us and I couldn't blame then either ... because if some one had come and told me that same story as we told I wouldn't believe them either. Except for one thing. I was there and I know what I saw, just not what it was that I saw.

OTHER WITNESSES: Only my friend who was driving.

OTHER STORIES: No. Only since then I have read that other sightings have been made in other ares near there or there abouts.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Around 9:00 to 9:30 P.M. Weather was clear, cool and bright headlights.

ENVIRONMENT: It was dark but it looked like big pines and hardwood forest to me all around, nothing else. The boonies is what we called it back then. I was about 18 yrs old then. I am 55 today.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

I spoke with the witness by phone and can add the following details to the report:

- The witness has been out of touch with his friend for over thirty years so I was unable to contact him about this report.

- The witness stated that the animal was at least six and a half feet tall and weighed over 300 lbs.
- The animal was very bulky in the shoulders with a shoulder width that was greater than three and a half feet.
- The face appeared to look more humanlike than apelike.

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