YEAR: 2026

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: Sunday the 5th

STATE: Connecticut

COUNTY: New London County

LOCATION DETAILS: See location description in report

[Investigator MM notes:
The GPS coordinates will be accurate to within 20 feet:
41.581538, -71.822755 ]

NEAREST TOWN: Voluntown, CT

NEAREST ROAD: Not far from intersection of Wylies School Road and Forge Hill Road

OBSERVED: I was in Voluntown,CT early this morning (Sunday, July 5th @ 1:44am) I had just left a visit with a friend who rented a cabin on Beach Pond off of Wylies School road. I pulled out of the long dirt driveway for the cabin(s) and crossed a small bridge that is under construction (I believe this bridge is at the intersection of Wylies School Road and Forge Hill Road) I opened my Google maps app on my phone to map my route home (Westerly, RI). I crossed the bridge doing between 15mph - 20mph with one eye on my loading map amd the other watching the road.

This area is the middle of the woods. Super dark. I'd guess I went no more than 200yds like this when I witnessed something jump into the road from my right heading to the woods on my left.I had to hit my brakes to avoid a collision with this thing. Upon doing so I witnessed a bipedal,8-8½ foot tall creature swiftly crossing the road. It had coarse, matted, and greasy looking long brown hair covering every part of its body I could see. Its legs were shorter than its torso and its arms literally hung down to right around knee height. Must have had an 8 - 9ft "wing span" if it fully outstretched its arms. Extremely broad in the shoulders (4+feet easy) Thick with what I can only assume is muscle, and moving like on a mission. It never stopped nor did it turn to look at me. I was only able to see a side profile of its head and face.

The top of its head seemed to cone up slightly and it had a jawline any pugilist would kill for. Minimal hair on its face. It stepped onto the road, took another step, then a third step which put it back into the woods on the opposite side of the road. Walked more like a human than any other animal. I was (and remain) dumbstruck. Took me a minimum of 60-90 seconds to regain control of my faculties and get my car moving again. Make no mistake. This was not a bear. This was a cryptid. Im no longer a skeptic. Im certain of that.

OTHER WITNESSES: I was alone having just left my buddies rented cabin on my way back home to Westerly, RI

OTHER STORIES: I believe I remember hearing other sightings in Pachaug State Forest over the years

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 1:44am on the 5th. The only lights were those made by my high beams and the weather conditions were dark and over cast

ENVIRONMENT: Just past a bridge under construction over what I'm assuming is a brook/creek. It was too dark to tell. The remainder of the surrounding area is woods with a few scattered house in the immediate area which I would say was 150 - 200yds past the bridge and heading back towards Rte 165 / Rte 49 The area I was in is less than a mile from Pachaug State Forest I believe. It migjt actually be a part of Pachaug

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Mike Young:

Notes from Connecticut BFRO Investigator Mike Young:

I interviewed the witness two days later at the location. His description was accurate and honest.

The woods around Voluntown have had significant Bigfoot activity. The BFRO conducted a private expedition nearby at Hopeville Pond State Park during the COVID outbreak.

Away from the coast and Mohegan and Pequot Casinos, the area is traditional New England: Rolling Hills, small villages, tree farms, and abandoned farms.

The location was a narrow ravine with the road and Pachaug River nearby. The river is more of a brook, and feeds the Beach Pond, a resort community.

__________________________________

Notes from BFRO Investigator Matt Moneymaker

I also spoke with the witness a few times but I did not visit the location in person. The witness is credible. He's not lying about what he saw. I could tell from the conversion, and you will likely get that impression as well if you watch the short video interview embedded below. It was recorded by Mike Young on Wednesday July 8, 2026.

It was raining around Beach Pond on July 4th and into the wee hours of July 5th, and then a few more big storms in between the 5th and 8th. All that rain would have made it useless to look around for footprint impressions near the road. Clear tracks would not have been visible even immediately after the sighting because the ground around there is a carpet of pine needles. There could be deer tracks in a carpert of pine needles but big flat feet are not going to leave a distinct impression in pine needles on hard ground.

Why did this sighting occur at this location on this evening? My informed guess: I would bet the sasquatch was attracted to Beach Pond that evening because of the 4th of July fireworks. The sasquatch may have been a few miles deep into Pachuag State Forest but would have heard the explosions of the fireworks around Beach Pond, which may have sounded like gun shots in the distance. We know of a handful of incidents across the country where people deep in the woods were approached at night while setting off bottle rockets.

Why would a bigfoot be attracted to those sounds? It may sound like hunters shooting. During deer season the sound of gunfire will sometimes indicate where a deer has been shot and eventually gutted. It is the gut piles (and particularly the liver) that a sasquatch want from a killed deer.

There are three (3) publicly posted reports in the BFRO database from the same county in Connecticut -- New London County. There are 22 unvetted reports from this same county in the internal BFRO database.

There are also three (3) publicly posted reports from the neighboring county in Rhode Island -- Washington County. There are 20 unvetted reports in Washington County RI in the internal BFRO database.

There are some sasquatches in the vast forests of the Connecticut / Rhode Island border region. They have been spotted occasion by residents for many years. Many more reports came forward in the comment section of the BFRO Facebook Group when the first post was made about this incident. If you have a Facebook account you can see them here.

Here is the video interview with witness Kevin Klimas at the location:

https://youtube.com/shorts/hSQmOgGO7Mk?si=7o95oAEAV-LuhoHo

About BFRO Investigator Mike Young:

Mike Young is a BFRO investigator and has attended Bigfoot expeditions in New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Ohio, and New Jersey. His BFRO investigations have been published in the Albany Times Union, the New York Post, and Fox News Channel.

A data and security specialist, Mike has a Business and Technology degree from Fordham University and a graduate degree in IT Management from the University of Virginia. He has given speeches on IT Security at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland and Cybersecurity conferences in NYC, Ottawa Canada, and Silicon Valley California. He currently lives in Connecticut.

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