YEAR: 2009

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: 23rd

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Raleigh County

NEAREST TOWN: Shady Spring

NEAREST ROAD: West Whitby Road

OBSERVED: My wife and I were riding an ATV about one mile from an abandoned strip mine.We came up over a small hill and approx.25 - 30 yards in front of us and to the right of the trail stood a solid black creature,approx.8 - 9 feet tall standing behind a tree that was only about 8 - 10 inches wide.I saw the creature first and my wife didn't notice it until I suddenly stopped the ATV and was trying to get it in reverse to turn around. She ask me what I was doing. I said look standing over there.When she saw the creature she started screaming Oh my god no no no no.I finally got the ATV turned around and left the area as fast as the ATV would run.My wife kept looking behind us to see if the creature was following us.Thank god it did not,but i still did not slow down until we were about two miles from the sighting area.I have totally lost intrest in outdoor activites that I once loved due to this experience.

ALSO NOTICED: I finally got up the nerve to go back to the sighting area on July 21 2009.I had three other people with me,All heavily armed.We found some very strange things.Trees pushed over,large logs laying across the trail ect.

OTHER WITNESSES: My wife and I looking for areas to dig ginseng later in the year.

OTHER STORIES: Yes approx.three other incidents on your site in this area in the past couple of years.Also about five miles from my sighting area a friend had a deer stolen by something that picked it up and walked off with it.Also a local police officer said he saw a bigfoot run across the road in front of him about 2 - 3 miles from my sighting area.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Approx. 4:30 pm sunny skies approx.65 degrees.

ENVIRONMENT: Sighting took place on a moutain ridge ATV trail lots of Poplar,Hickory,and Oak.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Russ Jones:

I talked to the witnesses (a husband and wife) for about an hour. He is a law enforcement officer, and she is a health care professional at a local hospital.

In addition to what he reported, the following should be added:

The husband initially saw the creature about 50 yards away, and thought that it was a fire burned stump that he was driving his 4-wheeler towards. At about 30 yards, he realized that he was looking at a huge creature, and he saw it turn its head toward him. The husband was utterly terrified and shocked at the sheer size of the creature.

When describing the creature physically, the husband described the head shape as being similar to that of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film subject. The body was much wider across the shoulders than the waist. The creature had very shiny black hair that appeared to be groomed. There was sparse hair on the creature's face. Its forehead sloped back from its very dark eyes. The skin on its face was dark. He described it as "sinister and scary looking". He did not notice any associated odor. The female witness noted how very erect the posture of the creature was, and noticed how the creature was trying to hide behind a smaller tree.

The location is about one mile from the nearest road, and about a half mile from an old strip mine site. The sighting took place on a small trail that spurs off from a gas line right of way. The location is also on a ridge. There are several small waterways, as well as a three to four acre pond.

About BFRO Investigator Russ Jones:

Dr. Jones brings a background of hunting, trapping and outdoor experiences together with undergraduate and graduate education. He is a master naturalist and has attended numerous public and private expeditions. He has led expeditions for the BFRO in Ohio and West Virginia. He has written two Bigfoot books, the last “The Appalachian Bigfoot” was an Amazon best selling book. He hosts the Wide Open Research Podcast on the Untold Radio Network. Dr. Jones may be contacted at [email protected]