YEAR: 2020

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 28

STATE: California

COUNTY: Mono County

LOCATION DETAILS: Mono Lake

NEAREST TOWN: Lee Vining

NEAREST ROAD: 395

OBSERVED: I went to Mono Lake with my father early in the morning to capture some long exposure photos of the sunrise. We arrived at the lake around 6 AM right at golden hour. When we got to the parking lol there was one other car parked in the lot. After grabbing my photography gear (camera bag/tripod) we began walking down the path towards the lake. I was looking off to my right hand side and clearly saw something that was all black and bipedal walking parallel with me about 15 yards away. It ducked behind a small tufa as I was watching it walk. I told my dad that I saw something walking on 2 feet and he said that he saw something moving over in that direction as well.

I knew that there was a person in the same area as us since there was a car parked in the lot when we arrived so there was still a possibility that what I saw was a person dressed in all black, although it would be strange for a person to be walking off the path in the area where I saw this thing since we were still away from the lake where all of the points of interest are.

My dad and I continued to walk towards the lake to shoot the sunrise. As we approached the lake there was another photographer who had their camera mounted on their tripod and was taking photos. At this point I realized that what I saw walking was not a person since the owner of the car who was parked when we arrived had just been accounted for. I did not think I would ever experience something like this in my lifetime. I wish I would have gone to the area where I saw it and looked for some evidence or footprints but I was too scared to stray off the path since it was able to disappear in the brush / tufas so easily.

OTHER WITNESSES: My father said he saw something moving but I am almost positive that he wasn’t looking in the same direction as I was when I saw it. It was only visible for a second or 2

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 6 am before the sun came up. No clouds

ENVIRONMENT: High desert lake

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

There have been other sightings from this specific area, and one brief video clip. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o2-xj_axpY

There are trees in pockets along the lake but no large groves of trees. There are mountains nearby though. Bears frequent the area because there is an abundance of brine fly larvae along the edge of the lake. It's a very good protein source.

Witness contact info is available to BFRO investigators.

More video of Mono Lake and the tufas. See https://youtu.be/TtF6dvMhfI0

About BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:

Matthew Moneymaker is originally from the Los Feliz District of Los Angeles, California.

- Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

- Juris Doctorate (Law degree) from University of Akron School of Law

- Founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization,1995.

- Writer and co-producer of the Discovery Channel documentary "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science", 2001.

- Co-producer of the TV Series "Mysterious Encounters" for the Outdoor Life Network (OLN Channel), 2002.

- Producer of the "2003 International Bigfoot Symposium" (Willow Creek Symposium) DVD set, 2004.

- Co-host of "Finding Bigfoot" on Animal Planet Channel, 2010 - 2017.

- Current Director of the BFRO

- Available for private bigfoot expeditions and conferences. To inquire please email [email protected]