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YEAR: 2024
SEASON: Fall
MONTH: November
DATE: 8
STATE: Pennsylvania
COUNTY: Forest County
LOCATION DETAILS: Exact GPS coordinates are 41.51503, -79.13862. From Mariienvill center take Northeth Forest St north, then take a left onto Birch St. heading west untill GreelyFarm road. Follow Greely Farm road north until you get to the intersection with Francis and take a left. in several hundred feet you will see a spot to park and dismount from your vehicles and travel down a pth leading to the shooting pit where we camped and heard the woop from the norther treeline.
NEAREST TOWN: Marienville, PA
NEAREST ROAD: intersection between Francis Rd and Greely Farm Road
OBSERVED: Incident took place November 15th, 2024, approximately 6:30pm 5 miles north of Marienville PA in Alleghnay national forest. Myself and 3 other friends were on a camping trip to this area where we frequent several times out of the year. We heard something at sounded like a loud “Woop” that was pronounced, and lasted 4-5 seconds.
It was at some point used for logging 60-70 years ago, and where we camped there is a depression that is often frequented by the locals as a shooting range that sits just to the north east of if intersection between Francis Rd and Greely Farm Road. To the north east there is a small hunting camp whose perimeter begin about 700-800 feet from where we were camping, on the opposite side of Greely Farm Road.
Here are the relevant details leading up to this incident. We camped here at this location Friday evening and heard the usual owls, coyotes and animals walking through the woods we always do. Saturday afternoon we hiked around the area, and before it got dark (aproximatly 4:30-5pm) I brought out a chain saw I had brought and began processing firewood for the evening from timber left from a previous logging operation. During this time the 2 others started a fire and helped me bring back the firewood to our camp. Then at around 6:30pm we heard something at sounded like a loud “Woop” that was pronounced, and lasted 4-5 seconds.
When this happened myself and one other heard it and immediately looked at one another, as this was an unusual sound, and almost sounded like it was produced by a human being. I shined a flashlight into the tree line where I had heard the noise and notice a large owl flying eastbound from the area of the “whoop”. We dismissed it as an owl. However, a few weeks later I was curious just what kind of owl, or other creature could have made that noise and began researching the noises of the indigenous owl species found in the Alleghany National Forest. After listening to the sounds made by owls found in this area, I concluded this sounds may not have been produced by an owl. It also was unlike any coyote noise I had heard.
Following that we heard some owls a few hours later, and coyotes off in the distance when we went to bed at around 11pm and into the evening and early morning. I woke up around 3:30am, and felt like I there was something else there in our camp, and the feeling kept me up until the morning unable to fall back asleep. I didn’t hear any more of the whoops, or anything of the ordinary, but just felt uneasy and that there was a presence there that wasn’t us and around our camp.
I cannot identify what made the sound. I am a biologist by training with a PhD. I currently work as a researcher at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland OH, and teach biology as an adjunct professor at one of our local community colleges. I’ve grown up hunting in the woods as a child with my father, and given by background in biology I feel I could have been able to have identified what made the “whoop” had it been an animal I was familiar with, or after reviewing the noised made by the creatures found in the Alleghany National Forest.
Personally, as much as I joke with my camping buddies about bigfoots, skinwalkers, and other Cryptid creatures, I laugh it off as nothing more than superstition and folk lore since as a scientist there is a high level of skepticism towards these matters. Furthermore, given that I can’t place what made the “whoop” we heard, and just how almost human or unnatural it sounded, has left me to wonder.
ALSO NOTICED: This was the first time we brought out a chain saw to process wood.
OTHER WITNESSES: 3 witnesses in total. myself and 1 other heard the "whoop" distinctively while standing by the fire. The other present heard something but thought it may have been an owl as they were under a canopy we set up away from the fire and tree line.
OTHER STORIES: no
TIME AND CONDITIONS: 6:30pm, just after dusk. Clear weather approximately 50 degrees F. moonlight coming from the west, with partially cloudy skies in the evening.
ENVIRONMENT: Deciduous Forests with scattered pines. old logging or fracking roads threw the area and abandoned equipment to the north in the woods following little salmon stream. There is also an abandoned building about 3000ft north east of where we camped in the woods.
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Matthew Moneymaker:
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]