YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: November

DATE: 19

STATE: Illinois

COUNTY: Morgan County

LOCATION DETAILS: Go south of I-72 1 1/2 miles on Illinois 267. Then east on Lake Jacksonville Rd.

NEAREST TOWN: Jacksonville

NEAREST ROAD: Illinois 267

OBSERVED: I spoke with the witness by telephone. I visited the site and spoke personally with his parents in their home which is a couple of miles from the sighting location.

Stan - Can you please explain what you saw?

Mark - It was my junior year of high school, so 2005, probably November. I was driving home on the back roads to the house. I saw a big black head sticking out the top at the corner of the corn field. And I stopped and saw this big black hairy thing. Then the head disappeared and a couple of seconds later it came walking across the road, and disappeared in the corn across the road.

I took off then, I didn't even take time to turn and try and see it walking, I just kept going.

Stan - How tall do you think it was?

Mark - Eight feet to nine feet.tall.

Stan - And what color was it?

Mark - Dark, very dark brown.

Stan - How was it built?

Mark - Very muscular.

Stan - How much would you think it weighed?

Mark - Close to 300 lbs.

Stan - Did it walk slowly or did it run across the road?

Mark - It had a normal walking pace, it just walked across like nothing was bothering it.

Stan - Did it look at you?

Mark - It looked at me when I stopped, when it was sticking its head out of the corn.

Stan - Were you able to see its face at all?

Mark - No, I couldn't see the face.

ALSO NOTICED: Nothing

OTHER WITNESSES: None

OTHER STORIES: Yes, I had another sighting a year later.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Clear, about 3:30 in the afternoon.

ENVIRONMENT: Farms, woods, creeks.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

The sighting was brief but the witness does remember the following:

- The animal was about 8 to 9 feet tall.
- The animal weighed about 300 lbs.
- The body build was muscular.
- The hair was very dark brown.
- The animal walked in a normal walking pace.
- The witness was unable to see the face.

His sighting a year later is Report #28534.

About BFRO Investigator Stan Courtney:

Stan Courtney has a special interest in wildlife audio recording. He has attended numerous BFRO Expeditions. See Stan's blog StanCourtney.com for recordings he has collected over the years.

Stan Courtney can be reached at [email protected]