YEAR: 2026

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 20

STATE: Idaho

COUNTY: Benewah County

LOCATION DETAILS: 47.24378° N, 116.39764° W

NEAREST TOWN: St. Maries

NEAREST ROAD: HWY 3

OBSERVED: I was doing an evening deer hunt ~10mi SE of St. Maries in the mountains. I was walking down a trail, and from what sounded about 200-300 yards away in a creek bed I heard loud knocking on a tree immediately followed by a super strong smell of death. The knocking persisted for 5-10 minutes, and upon searching for any carcasses producing the smell, nothing was found. I also heard briefly what sounded like a really deep voice but I couldn't make out what it was saying, sort of gibberish. I did not see any human footprints or any signs of people on that trail or in the general area. I was the only truck I saw all day on the road leading to the drainage I was in.

ALSO NOTICED: The smell of decay was extremely strong, as if you were standing right on top of a carcass. It was overpowering. I could not even find a single sign of a dead animal near me.

OTHER WITNESSES: Just me

OTHER STORIES: I have not. Usually I hunt in bonner county. I have never had what I would call a potential sasquatch encounter in all my years of being an outdoorsman prior to this.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 5pm, dusk, calm winds, clear skies.

ENVIRONMENT: Creek bottom, thick pine forest.

About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.

- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

- Juris Doctorate (Law degree) from University of Akron School of Law

- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.

- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.

- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.

- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.

- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.

- Current Director of the BFRO

- Available for private bigfoot expeditions and conferences. To inquire please email ContactUS@BFRO.net