YEAR: 2008

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: September

DATE: Sept. 1

STATE: Florida

COUNTY: Collier County

LOCATION DETAILS: about 600 yards out on the north side of the road.

NEAREST TOWN: Ochopee

NEAREST ROAD: Tamiami Trail / Hwy. 41

OBSERVED: On the early morning of labor day a few of my friends and I decided that we would drive across the state of Florida, from Miami to Naples in hopes of surfing some of the swell that Hurricane Gustav was sending to Florida's Gulf Coast. At approximately 6:00A.M we left from Florida International University traveling west on the Tamiami Trail. The weather that day was relatively clear but as I mentioned we had a hurricane passing close to south Florida a few days earlier so everything was still quite humid and the winds were beginning to calm down at about 15 knots to the west. It was near the area of big cypress about 15 minutes from the worlds smallest post office, where the landscape had plenty of saw grass in shallow water and large trees at a distance of about a mile off the road where I saw a figure that seemed to be watching the road as we drove past. This creature was definitely not a person. I know that it was not a person because we had only seen about 5 cars in the entire length of the trip thus far. Whatever it was, it appeared to be large, at least the size of a person, but it was dark, with a wide body structure, and even from the distance at which I saw it (maybe 300-500 yards) it looked as if it was covered in hair. The creature was standing next to a palmetto, and we passed it quite quickly. about 10 seconds after we passed it It came to my attention that I should probably tell my friend to turn the car around to see if I could get a better look. We stopped, drove back to the site, and It was gone. But as I got down from the car there was a very strange smell in the air that was nothing like I had ever smelled before, almost like a wet dog that had been covered in eggs. My guess was that maybe the creature had crossed the road, heard our car and checked us out, and that it realized that it did not like us so much and simply crouched down and hid. Nobody else in the car saw the creature, I was sitting in the back seat on the passenger side, the front seat passenger was asleep and the driver was simply concentrating on the road. I only saw this thing for a few seconds but it left quite an impression on me. Before this I thought that stories about Bigfoot were interesting but I would dismiss them saying that I would believe it when I would see it. But after seeing how remote this area was and how large the Everglades really are, I am now certain that there is a possibility that there is something out there.Thank you for responding to my report and feel free to give me a call at your convenience, if I do not pick up the phone it is probably because I am in class so leave me a message and I will contact you as soon as I can. Thanks David and let me know if there is anything else I can do. All the best,XXXXXXXXXXFlorida skunk ape witnessMiami

ALSO NOTICED: If I had to guess i would say the the creature might have crossed the road shortly before i passed as there was a notable smell similar to rotten eggs.

OTHER WITNESSES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Cloudy but clear

ENVIRONMENT: Saw grass plain, very wet as we have had a few storms passing through during Florida's famous hurricane season. It was about 7:15 in the morning and there was some light cloud cover to the east. This sighting occurred on labor day 2008.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator David Wright:

This witness was interviewed by phone on 09/19/08 for approximately 45 minutes. He acknowledged that he was not necessarily an "all out believer" in the existence of Sasquatch at the time of his experience, but had seen numerous television specials on the subject and was well aware of many of the details of the phenomenon. In addition to his report, he also acknowledged the following information;

-They were driving with the windows open.-It was the instant smell he described as a rotten egg/wet dog smell, that alerted him to look up and out the window.-Upon looking out the open back seat passenger side window, he immediately noticed the silhouette of the figure, standing next to a small sable palm, looking at the road, at about 300-500 yards, standing in the tall grass. -He later surmised that the creature crossed the road, which is why its strong smell lingered.-He stated that the sighting lasted about 5-7 seconds before roadside trees blocked his view. -The witness stated that the figure was 5'-7' in height, and appeared dark brown to black in color. -The figure was standing, facing the road, with arms at its side, and appeared "REALLY wide", with a shoulder width of 3 1/2' to 4'. -It appeared to have a proportional head, with no visible neck.-It's arms hung below the grass line and appeared disproportionally long.-No other people in the car noticed the figure. -The witness alerted the driver to turn around, and upon their return, the figure was not visible.-The witness was adamant about what he saw, and steadfast in his assertion that it was not human. It is the impression of this investigator that this witness likely saw and identified a Sasquatch creature.

Additionally, this sighting occurred in the same general area of previous sightings of Sasquatch creatures, footprints of an apparent creature, and was the general site of the BFRO Florida expedition of February 2008 where calls, knocks and a probable sighting occurred through a thermal imager.

About BFRO Investigator David Wright:

• Certified Florida Master Naturalist (U. of Florida)
  
• Visual Tracker, Level 1
• Teaches Biology, A.P. Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Science at a rural high school SE of Jacksonville
• See local TV interview with D. Wright
• Participated in the 2007 Private Florida Expedition [Click the video link on that page.], the 2007 South Carolina Expedition, the 2008 South Florida Expedition and assisted with the organization of the 2008 North Florida Expedition. Assisted with the organization of the 2009 Central Florida Expedition.

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