Geographical Index > United States > West Virginia > Randolph County > Report # 80146
(Class B)
Submitted by witness Marc Bailey on Thursday, May 7, 2026.
Likely daylight sighting by couple hiking through Otter Creek Wilderness
(Show Printer-friendly Version)
YEAR: 2012
SEASON: Summer MONTH: July STATE: West Virginia COUNTY: Randolph County LOCATION DETAILS: [Investigator (MM) Notes:
Depending upon the location, a witness can often provide pretty accurate GPS coordinates for where a figure was observed. However, it is not unusual for a hiker who is not familiar with an area to not know exactly where he/she was along a trail in a dense forest if that information was not noted down at the time with the help of a GPS device. The hiker will only be able to make a best guess. It is difficult to assess how far off the actual mark the hiker might be unless the hiker can return to the location to figure it out. These coordinates provided below are therefore a rough approximation based on the witness's best guess. They do not pinpoint the exact spot, but the exact spot would not be terribly far from this point.
39.043268, -79.652058 NEAREST TOWN: Elkins NEAREST ROAD: Route 33 OBSERVED: My wife was an attorney for the Federal Government at the time, so we thought it best to keep our encounter to ourselves until now.
At the time, we co-owned an 88 acre farm that bordered the Shavers Fork of the Cheat River. Across the river was the Monongahela National Forest.
We are both avid outdoorspeople and spent countless hours on trails all over the Northeast, but had never hiked Otter Creek in our own backyard. That said, I owned a trail map of the area back when it was managed by the Forest Service. Upon arrival at the trailhead we discovered the area had been declared a Wilderness Area and all of the tail signs had been removed. We confidently made our way into the woods and after 3 hours of hiking we came to a four way intersection of trails and become disorientated. We pressed on for another 2-3 hours beginning to get a little worried as I had drastically thinned out most of the survival contents of my backpack thinking it would be a short hike. All of the sudden, on our right side we saw a huge black shadow/silhouette on the ridge top roughly 100 yards up a steep hill. We then saw a tree begin to shake back and forth violently, then we heard what sounded like a monkey. I looked at my wife and I quietly said "is that a freaking monkey?" She was really scared and acknowledged by shaking her head yet. This lasted for about 30 seconds, and we decided to get out of there. We double fast walked out of there, keeping our eye on the ridge the entire time.
We finally made our way out of the woods in a place the locals call "Panther Hollow". We were exhausted and came upon a farm on our right. We saw an older woman gardening outside and asked her if we could approach to talk. We told her what happened and she replied that she doesn't go in those woods anymore because of all of the weird things that happen. She said her son had some encounters several years ago and won't go in the woods without a firearm. We asked her where we were and she advised that we were something like 17 miles from the trailhead where our car was. When she saw the look on our faces she generously offered to drive us back to the trailhead. Also, the name Panther Hollow itself is rich legends about a black panther who could be seen laying on the rocks there.
OTHER WITNESSES: No OTHER STORIES: Yes. The areas from Elkins to Moorefield, WV and Elkins to Stauton, Virginia and Elkins to Snowshoe, WV are rich with credible stories of Bigfoot. TIME AND CONDITIONS: 5:00 pm
Beautiful sunny, warm day ENVIRONMENT: The section of trail we were on was in a narrow valley. There was fairly steep, wooded ridges on both side of us. A creek ran along side the trail to the left of us. Randolph County and the surrounding areas have some of the most beautiful, but rugged terrain in the state.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:
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
|
