YEAR: 2006

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

DATE: 29

STATE: West Virginia

COUNTY: Boone County

LOCATION DETAILS: [location details edited: a surface mine in Boone County]

NEAREST TOWN: Ridgeview, WV

NEAREST ROAD: Route 3

OBSERVED: I would like to preface this report with a small fact: I have always wanted to see a Bigfoot. I truly believe that I have, based on what i saw tonight. I work for a monitoring lab that conducts late-night bat surveys. Very recently we were commissioned to do a survey to look for Myotis sodalis, the Indiana bat. We had to make sure that the bats were not roosting on an active mine site.

On the second night of our 6-day survey, my coworker and I were going to check one of the nets when we heard a very loud whooping howl nearby (within 30 feet of where we were standing). It was late at night, probably around 1:30 in the morning. At first I thought the sound was a person, trying to scare us by making howling noises. After the creature vocalized a second time, however, i knew the noise wasn't made by a man. I refused to move from my spot, scanning the tree line with my light. I didn't see anything then, but i heard rustling in the woods of something large moving.

The next night i was on a different part of the survey, but 2 more of my coworkers were in the same area i was in the night before. They told us at the end of our shift that they had heard noises in the woods, and saw a place that had been trampled down by something much larger than a deer or bear.

Finally, on the last night of our survey, I was back in the area i heard the noise on the second day. I was in a good mood, because i hadn't heard any strange noises since that first one. As i went to check the nets with 2 of my coworkers at around 2:30 in the morning (in the same area as before) I heard a single, high-pitched "whoop". I jumped but was prepared, and shone my light in the direction of the noise. about 40 yards in front of us, a large bipedal creature crossed the road. It was tall, probably around 7 feet, and was completely covered in short, coarse-looking black hair except for its face, which was brown. The creature looked at the 3 of us as it crossed the road, took two steps, and was gone up the embankment on the other side.

The 3 of us ran back to my truck, where one of my coworkers grabbed a machete. When my boss and another technician showed up, the 5 of us walked to where I had seen the Bigfoot. In the mud were 2 distinct footprints, each much larger than any of our shoes. in the direction that the Bigfoot had walked in was trampled down grasses and broken twigs, as if something very big had moved quickly through the brush. We promptly packed up our nets and left, all of us were extremely scared. I plan on going back soon and trying to extract as much evidence as I can find.

ALSO NOTICED: the footprints that left heavy indentations and were much larger than human feet

OTHER WITNESSES: 3-sighting
5-footprint
2-noises only

OTHER STORIES: no

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 2:30 am, rainy night, dark

ENVIRONMENT: wooded area adjacent to an active mine site. sighted crossing a decrepit dirt road near a creek bed, between two steep sloping hills.

Follow-up investigation report:

A fellow investigator and I proceeded to the sighting location two weeks after the incident. We arrived on site, secured entry through security and entered the mine. The area is actively mined in two separate locations. The northernmost was where the witness had multiple incidents. We scouted two stream channels which were almost dry that weekend. We followed the witnesses directions to the site where he and his co-workers spent their final night.

There was ample evidence of their campsite. The witness described the campfires which looked to be hastily abandoned. My associate and I used the same location for our night of surveillance. We gathered firewood and set up our equipment for the evening.

There was considerable noise from mining activities until around 11 PM. The equipment shut down as the 2nd shift departed for the weekend. Once the hollow was quiet, we listened for unusual sounds until about midnight.

The only visitor to our camp was the Indiana Bat. Several of these large mammals flew past our heads. We talked quietly and listened for any visitors until 4 AM. At approximately 6 AM we struck camp and headed home.

While we did not hear anything out of the ordinary during the short time we were there, the location was ideal for a reclusive animal. The woods are thick and varied in the makeup of hardwood species, water was readily available, human activity is restricted to work sites, and non employees are restricted by security.

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