YEAR: 2005

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: May

DATE: 5/30 Monday

STATE: Arizona

COUNTY: Coconino County

LOCATION DETAILS: 3 Miles east of Lake Mary Rd. on R124. Lake Mary Rd runs southeast out of Flagstaff. This is popular area for camping and hunting. Guess we were about 30 miles from Flagstaff. .

NEAREST TOWN: Nearest Town Mormon Lake

NEAREST ROAD: FR124 east off of Lake Mary Rd.

OBSERVED: Directions to Location 3 Miles east of Lake Mary Rd. on R124. Lake Mary Rd runs southeast out of Flagstaff. This is popular area for camping and hunting. Guess we were about 30 miles from Flagstaff. Nearest Town Mormon Lake Nearest Road FR124 east off of Lake Mary Rd.
Narrative Observed My wife and I were camped along FR 124 Sun. afternoon through Tues. morning. Monday night, Memorial Day PM, at 7:30 I went for a walk heading east on FR 124 to maybe see some elk before dark. I went at least 1/4 mile and heard a coyote sound off. I stopped to listen and a whole chorus of coyotes joined in for about 4 seconds and stopped as quickly as they started. I would guess they were 1/4 to 1/2 mile southeast of me. A second or so after that I heard an "AH,OO" just as distant or even further away in the same direction. I thought someone was calling back to the coyotes but what an odd sound for a person to make, then there was another just the same as the first. I turned back to camp and wondered about these two calls as I walked I didn’t stop to listen again as it was getting dark and I wanted to get back to camp. At 8:15 I was back and I sat outside our trailer to listen again. Just I sat down I heart the "AH,OO" again from the same direction followed by a high pitch "WOW" sound then another and then one more "AH,OO". So there were four "AH,OO" and two "WOW" sounds all together, that I heard anyway. The "AH,OO" was a mid pitch for a male person, The AH was about 1 1/2 seconds with OO short and slightly lower pitch. The WOW was very high pitch and lasted about 3 seconds. Both of these calls just started and ended without fading in or out and without waver. I listen until 9 PM without any more calls then went in to sleep. The calls were not real loud, if I was walking on the gravel road rather than stopped I might have missed them, but they were bit enough to carry over the sound of the breeze in the trees which was coming from the west. I was hesitant to report this since it was just sounds, but , rather odd sounds for a person or any animal I know of. Also I thought the time, date, location, and type of sounds may be worth reporting for past or future incidents. Thank you for the opportunity to record this.

OTHER WITNESSES: Only myself.

OTHER STORIES: Another report of screams heard near Mormon Mountain posted on this site.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Conditions 7:50 PM with clear skies and a stiff breeze from the west. Temp. was in the 60'S. The sun was just setting.

ENVIRONMENT: Pine forest with a lot of standing areas of water from a very wet winter. Elevation about 7300'.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Cliff Barackman:

I contacted the witness by phone on 6/20 at 7 pm PST. The following details can be added to his report:

• The sounds came from the east.
• The witness estimated the coyotes were several hundred yards away, and the vocalizations came from further that same direction.
• The “wow” vocalization was clear and high pitched. It did not have a harsh quality like a roar or scream.
• The witness has experience in the forests of Arizona and has never heard sounds like these. He has asked several hunter friends about these sounds, all of which drew a blank on what it could be.
• The witness “thought hard about this” before reporting the vocalization, taking into consideration the ambiguous nature of sound reports.

Elk bugling (which coincides with breeding season) is most often heard in the Fall in this area, though they have been seen bugling as early as July. The report’s date is well outside of this time range. This, combined with a rich history of sightings in the area, indicate a good possibility that these vocalizations were sasquatch related.

Report #10877 Midnight vocalizations disturb camping family near Mormon Mountain.
Report #11514 Evening sighting by motorists north of Flagstaff.

About BFRO Investigator Cliff Barackman:

• Bachelor of Arts Degree in Music (Guitar) -- Cal. State Long Beach
• Professional educator with more than a decade of experience.
• Attended many public BFRO expeditions since 2005 (Redwoods, Sierras, Arizona, Southern California, Vancouver Island, Mendocino).
• Attended and/or led numerous non-public BFRO expeditions (CA: Bluff Creek, Blue Creek, Stanislaus NF; WA: Stevens Pass, Olympic Peninsula, Gifford Pinchot Nat'l Forest; Ohio: Beaver Creek; Florida: Green Swamp)
• Led the 2007 and 2008 California Sierra Nevadas Expedition (public), and the Oregon Expedition (public) in June 2008
• Can be reached at [email protected]

• Explanation of the report classification system
• Submit a report for the sightings database
• Please send any comments or inquiries to [email protected]