YEAR: 2002

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

DATE: 1

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Ross County

LOCATION DETAILS: The closest road is State Route 772 and State Route 50. There is a mountain called Coppers Mountain.

NEAREST TOWN: Bainbridge

NEAREST ROAD: State Route 772

OBSERVED: I was hunting in the area and was coming back down the trail when I looked up and saw something in the trail walking into the woods and looking up the trunk of a tree. I walked closer to see what it was and there was a creature about seven to eight feet tall standing and it was staring me down. I thought it was going to attack me. I was frozen with fear. It just stood there so I started to walk in the other direction when it let out a screeching howl. I stopped and my heart was racing and I couldn't breath. I turned back around and it was about 20 feet from me. I got the idea to slowly put my gun on the ground to show I wasn't going to mean it harm. The creature started to walk towards me so I stood very still. It looked at me with big brown eyes. It started to walk away and I tried to follow but it started running too fast.

ALSO NOTICED: Yes, there was howling, whistles, screams and moans. There was a terrible smell like a rotting carcass or garbage. It had brown shaggy hair. There was hair covering the face but I could see its eyes and partially open mouth.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was around 3:30 PM and it was cold out.

ENVIRONMENT: Very wooded. Near a large pond about 15 to 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep. There was a cattle farm nearby about 1/2 a mile down the trail.

Follow-up investigation report:

**** Follow up investigation was done by B.C. of Ohio ****

I went to the home of the 17-year-old boy who made this report. He lives out in the sticks with his family in a trailer with the woods just a few steps from their front door. I talked to his parents to make sure it was okay since he is only 17. They said okay but didn't believe he had seen a Bigfoot…according to the father they do not exist…however they were friendly. I interviewed the boy and went over much of the original report. He claimed that while hunting alone he was headed for home in the late winter afternoon when he smelled something like garbage when rounding a bend in the trail. He then saw a large creature with its arms around a tree looking up. At first he thought it was a bear until it turned toward him rather stiffly. He described it again seven feet tall, shaggy brown hair, massive build, hair covering face, but he could see its eyes and partially open mouth. When we visited the area, we reenacted relative positions and it was 25 feet or so from him to the creature. They glared at each other for a few minutes or so. When I remarked as to a few minutes being a real long time he remained steadfast but admitted he didn't look at his watch. When he went to remove his rifle from his shoulder it growled with a menace and he stopped. At that point it looked behind itself towards the trail in the other direction. The boy took this opportunity to lay his gun on the ground and when he looked up it was coming his way and ran by him and veered off in the woods to its left at a very sharp angle. He said he ran after it a ways to see where it was going but it had disappeared.

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