YEAR: 1980

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: June

DATE: a full moon night

STATE: Michigan

COUNTY: Alpena County

LOCATION DETAILS: Fletcher Pond in a cove.

NEAREST TOWN: Hillman 10 miles or Alpena 25

NEAREST ROAD: highway 32 and highway 65

OBSERVED: It was the summer of 1980 June or July a full moon night. At "Fletchers Pond" 25 west of Alpena MI. and about 10 miles east of Hillman MI. off highway 32. Myself and a friend (Adam) decided to go fishing for bass. We were in the cove for some time; since it was a full moon we did not bring a flashlight. Around the midnight hour we hear this "ROAR" come from the shore line which was black due to the thick woods and we were on the water; within seconds something splashed into the water about 10 feet or less from the boat! We were both pretty startled and speechless we just started the motor and headed back to the lodge "Paradise Lodge". Of coarse we were teased about it and Adam would not even say a thing. The following day another friend (Joe) and myself went in search of anything. We had to go by boat to get to the area where "ROAR" came from. It was known as the hunting club property and my first time there; as far as I know there were no buildings, but plenty of cover and trails which we walked on from the shore and came upon a small pond with slight incline banks of sandy ground. To our findings, we did find very large foot prints, you could make out the toes as they were heading up the incline from the water. Then on our way back to the shore and the boat my friend Joe got a little ahead of me and to my right was a thicket that you could not even see anything in this area, that is when I heard a limb snap scaring the heck out of me so much I could not even call out to Joe; I just froze in my steps. Looking into this thicket as hard I could without seeing anything. Then we left and that was pretty much the end of it. I still share the story now and the then but I don't think anyone believes it.

OTHER WITNESSES: Myself and Adam whom I have not seen since that summer. And Joe has deceased.

OTHER STORIES: After telling our story we heard that there was a sighting in around the Hillman area before that time.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 12 a.m.

ENVIRONMENT: We were on the water. The shoreline is thick.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Don Peer:

I spoke with the witness on 7/19/2011. He now lives in Phoenix, Arizona. I found the witness to be honest and sincere in his recounting of the events and to this day he still thinks of that night.

The witness and a friend were fishing approximately 50 yards from the shore line. They heard the loud roar and a few seconds later the loud splash occurred approximately 10 feet from their boat. He surmised it was a rock due to the large splash. He stated that the water flew upwards about 10 feet from the impact. No other sounds were heard that night.

The next day the witness and another friend went by boat to the shoreline where the roar was heard and the splash occurred. They secured their boat to a dock that was near there and followed a two track into the thick woods searching for any kind of evidence to explain what had happened that night. After a while they came upon a clearing containing a small pond. At the edge of the pond they found 3 or 4 large human like footprints. The witness stated he wears a size 10 and these were one and a half times as long and wider than his shoes.

They found nothing further and began walking back to the boat. As they walked they became separated as the witness' friend was walking faster than him. As the witness came to a particularly thick part of the trail, he heard a large branch snap. He stated he was unable to run or yell to his friend for a moment. He then recovered and took off running and they reached the boat and left without further incident.

Fletcher Pond is a popular northern Michigan fishing destination and the surrounding area consists of private and state owned forests. It has a healthy population of white tail deer, bear, coyotes, small game, a few cougar and now a small population of grey wolves. It is thickly wooded with many small creeks, small lakes and dense cover.

About BFRO Investigator Don Peer:

Don Peer lives in northern Michigan and has studied the bigfoot phenomenon all his life. He has attended numerous Michigan expeditions and co-organized the 2011 Michigan BFRO expedition. He is an avid outdoorsman and works for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Don Peer may be contacted at [email protected]