Report # 56388(Class A) Submitted by witness on Friday, January 13, 2017.Night driver snaps photo of bipedal animal on remote gravel road near Annapolis(Show Printer-friendly Version)
LOCATION DETAILS: County road (removed for privacy)
NEAREST TOWN: Annapolis
NEAREST ROAD: K highway
OBSERVED: I was on my way home from town between 10:30 and 11:00 pm. As I was coming around the gravel road I received a message on my phone. As I opened my phone to check my message I seen a creature walking upright across the road. It stood about 6 to 6 and a half ft tall. I quickly started backing out of my messages trying to access my camera on my phone. At the time I first seen it, I was about 50 yards from it. By time I came to a stop I was within 25 to 30 yards from the creature. When I first seen it, the creature was in the middle of the road in the process of walking straight across the road. It wasn't In a hurry, it calmly walked across the road and stopped about 5 ft. off the road still in sight. I was able to take a picture of it before it walked off into the woods. From the moment I seen it, it never took its eyes off me. I tried to switch my camera over to video but it was too late. It was gone. I was fortunate enough to take the picture I got before it was gone. That is definitely a night I will never forget.
OTHER WITNESSES: No
OTHER STORIES: Around 2 weeks after, my mother and father seen the creature cross the road about 1/4 mile from my sighting.
TIME AND CONDITIONS: 10:49 pm. The sky was clear. Calm night.
ENVIRONMENT: Gravel road. Forest on both sides. Very Secluded.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Brian R. Woods:
The witness originally had sent an email to the BFRO, and had requested that an investigator contact him, concerning an experience he had 2 years ago. In his initial email, he also mentioned that he had taken a photo, and wanted to bring it to the BFRO's attention. The witness and I communicated via email, at which time he also sent the photo. After speaking with the witness on the phone, he agreed to submit a report using our online submission page. The witness lives in Reynolds County, Missouri, near the towns of Ellington and Annapolis. The exact location of the report will not be published to protect privacy, but the general area is provided.
During the phone call, the witness was able to give me a full account of his experience, and provide a significant amount of detail. On the night of July 16, 2014, the witness was returning home, traveling alone. Part of his usual route includes several miles along a gravel road that is remote, heavily wooded, and without fencing on either side. The witness had decreased his driving speed to approximately 10 MPH, in order to look at a text message on his phone. When he glanced up at the road, about 50 yards ahead of him, was an upright, bipedal animal crossing the road. Slowing his vehicle speed even more, he continued his approach, and stopped within 20-25 yards of the animal. The animal never accelerated its pace or stride, and never took its eyes off of the witness and his truck. During this slowing-down and stopping period, the witness was able to open the camera application on his phone, and capture one photo of the animal before it was concealed by darkness and vegetation in the ditch it was crossing the road toward.
The witness was able to provide additional physical features of the creature. "The arms were long. Definitely at knee level. Arms were covered in dark hair all the way to the hands. Legs were covered with patchy dark hair as well. Most of the feet was missing hair. I did see it blink. My solid estimate on height would be between 6 foot to 6 and a half feet tall." Apparently, the creature seemed rather "mangy", with patches of hair missing on the buttocks, elbows, and other areas. The witness is extremely confident that this was not a human, due to the abnormal body proportions, visible hair, and absence of clothing. The witness is quoted as saying, "I am 100 percent positive that this was not somebody". Meaning, that the appearance and movements were distinctive enough that it was easy to discern that it was not a human.
The witness was kind enough to share his photo with the BFRO. The date the photo was taken was July 16, 2014, at 10:49 PM. During our conversation, the witness was very open and accepting of my attempts to come up with rational explanations for his photo. What about neighbors, out for a walk? A mischievous teen in a hoodie? A friend playing a trick? The witness replied that his only two neighbors were not close to this area. There were no other vehicles parked alongside the road. It wasn't a teen or prankster, because the face, arms, and overall body were not covered with any discernible clothing. The witness observed hair and skin. The witness unfortunately did not see genitalia, protruding breasts, or anything indicative of gender. Below, you will see a slideshow created with the original photo, a map of the general area, a few zoomed portions of the original photo, and daytime photos of the sighting location.
The witness also reported that about two weeks after his sighting, his parents were traveling on the same road, also after dark. They were approximately a quarter of a mile from the sighting location, and also observed an upright creature cross the road in front of their vehicle. I am attempting to speak with his parents, and will document any relevant information that they might provide. I'm interested in hearing their account, and physical description of what they saw.
I found the witness to be consistent with his details, very open to discussing the incident, but still would like to retain a good measure of privacy. It's quite common for witnesses to "sit" on their photos or experiences until they are either comfortable talking about it, or make the decision to bring their evidence to someone's attention. I find the photo very compelling, and the witness and I discussed how lucky he was to have his phone in his hand when he saw the animal crossing the road. Many road crossing witnesses report that the experience can happen so fast, that they simply have no chance to take a photo. Some opt not to or can't because they are driving, or have already passed up the area by quite a distance by the time it registers what they have just seen. Has the witness captured a sasquatch in his photo? I think most viewers would agree that the photo is definitely NOT the typical "blobsquatch" photo, where shadows, tree stumps, or over-zoomed pixels on a blurry photo are presented as evidence. It wouldn't be prudent to claim this is ABSOLUTE photo evidence of a sasquatch, but given the area's history of bigfoot activity and other data collected from that area of the state, it just might be.
For your review, the photo slideshow is linked/embedded below. Check your YouTube settings to make sure you are viewing in the highest quality available, and if possible, view in full screen mode or on a larger screen to see greater detail.
About BFRO Investigator Brian R. Woods:
Brian is a former Emergency Medical Technician, as well as an outdoor enthusiast, and proud Scouting father. He's been a lifelong resident of the Midwest, surrounded by many miles of Missouri forests, waterways, and wildlife.
