YEAR: 1970

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Baraga County

NEAREST TOWN: Between Three Lakes & Tioga

NEAREST ROAD: Hwy 41

OBSERVED: The following is a letter written to The Mining Journal in May of 2008:
"BIG FOOT, Lock Ness...?"
A few weeks ago in your Sunday editorial page you ran a letter in reference to 'Bigfoot' Loch Ness Monster, etc., which I am sure some people might think is out of the question for anywhere in the U.S., let alone in the great Upper Peninsula. Well, I have an honest to God true story to tell, and then let your readers decide how possibly there might be a Bigfoot in our very own area.

One night, about 38 years ago, my sister-in-law and I went to visit a friend in Three Lakes. On our way home I was driving, and not but a few miles from our friend's home, which was on the highway, upon the arisen (sic) to the left, this massive white creature came to the top of the hill, and we looked at each other in disbelief as to what we were seeing.
We said to one another, "Oh, my God. What the heck is that?" We freaked out. I slowed some and kept looking at this huge white furry creature looking down toward us. We just kept repeating to ourselves as to what we were seeing.

I could understand some people saying, 'Oh yeah, they were drinking." Maybe so, but all we drank were numerous cups of coffee as we visited our friend.

As we drove in a rather hurried pace, rather shook up, we sped. Unknown to myself at the time I had passed a police car, didn't realize it until we saw the emblem on the door. My sister-in-law said, "My gosh, now we passed a cop to boot." We kept talking all the way home, wondering and questioning ourselves as to what we saw and if it was possible that it truly was this giant white furry Bigfoot as we like to call it.

We have told numerous people our story and everyone kind of just says, 'Yeah, right,' and laughes at us, but we will stake our lives on this story and we will go to our graves knowing what we saw was "Bigfoot or Loch Ness."

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator B.G. Martin:

The Mining Journal is Marquette’s major newspaper and the largest paper in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

I was able to contact the submitter of the letter and we talked on the phone for an hour. She was very clear and expressive about the event. Her voice still sounded with the emotion in telling of her experience when she was 20 and her sister in-law was 21. I also spoke to her sister in-law who was the other witness to the event.

On a day early in the month of September in 1970 they were traveling westbound on Highway 41 going home after visiting with some friends. They had just gathered together because their husbands were on an expedition to Alaska. It was a clear day and it was still light out and it was around sunset. While driving between Three Lakes and Tioga the driver noticed something cresting the hill on the south side of the road. She stopped her car and backed up to get a better view of the subject that was now standing still on the top of the hill.

It was standing on two legs facing them and watching them, it had “silver, white-ish fur". It was from 7 to 8 feet tall but she couldn’t be sure because it was standing on the top of the hill. ‘It looked big.' It had long hair all over its body; the hair was layered hanging over its hands, face, and eyes. She said, “It looked like the character Chewbacca in the movie Star Wars. It was one big flowing fur. It looked human but it was too big for a human."

She couldn’t be sure about any detail in the face because of the fur and the distance they viewed it at. She feels they viewed it at 100 to 150 feet for 30 seconds. They became unnerved and left and continued on home.

I spoke to the second woman for half an hour on the phone; she was just as clear about the facts and circumstances surrounding their experience. She owns and runs a health care company now and it was difficult to get time with her on the phone. I asked her about people making light of their claims, she said she didn’t care what they thought, “We saw what we saw, we didn’t ask to see it”. She said they were “Stoned cold sober”, and they had been drinking coffee the whole time while visiting with their friends.

Despite the amount of time that has passed and the distance of the sighting, an artist agreed to work with the witness. The sketched image below was made with the witness’ input. She wasn’t sure about how the hair covered the face. If the subject’s hair was growing out of the face, or if the hair hung down from the head. The sketch artist made a judgment call in this case.

Note: to draw a subject on white paper you have to use a dark color for it to show up. The color of what they saw was white in color.

About BFRO Investigator B.G. Martin:

Investigator Since 2006