Report # 56576(Class B) Submitted by witness on Thursday, January 26, 2017.Homeowner describes ongoing activity from a neighboring swamp and takes interesting photos outside Colfax(Show Printer-friendly Version)
LOCATION DETAILS: Take Hwy.471 to Dartigo Rd. to the Church of God. Woods behind the Church.
NEAREST TOWN: Colfax, La.
NEAREST ROAD: Dartigo Rd.
OBSERVED: Since October I have had many howls, wood knocks, eyeshine instances. I believe they have always frequented the hardwoods across the street, but since the recent logging of thousands of acres of pine in the area they have taken up full time residency across the street. There is a large swamp that butts up to the hardwoods. The night of January 21st, 2017 was the most incidental of all so far. After making some calls on my front porch I got a wood knock from the woods across the street. My dog ran toward the activity and barked for a long time. When I heard his collar stop jingling and the barking stopped I got worried and went into the woods with a large limb. I beat against a large oak and yelled "I want my Dog!". I heard a woodknock close by then a chest beat and a bluff charge through the brush. Then a tree push down. I yell roared "I want my Dog!" and beat hard against the tree. I saw eyeshine ahead I I told him to back away so my dog will come to me and we will go home. He did and my dog came out and we went home.
ALSO NOTICED: There has been a long history of things happening for decades. Chickens stolen, watermelons missing, Peeping through windows, pressing against the houses etc.
OTHER WITNESSES: just me
OTHER STORIES: no
TIME AND CONDITIONS: 12 am
ENVIRONMENT: Creek bottom, High ridge with hardwoods and swamp
Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:
I spoke with this witness on several occasions. He lives alone in a secluded area with his dog Bubba. Across the street from him is a massive swamp, along with a good sized hardwood forest that adjoins the swamp. He clarified the description of the area and is noted as follows: Across the street from his home is the Church of God. It is on the main road. Behind that is an old abandoned house, which he is fairly certain was abandoned years ago as the swamp slowly encroached, surrounding the home. I will first address his initial report, then address the photos attached to this report. He was familiar with Sasquatch and their traits, and has been making calls, knocks, etc whenever he detected activity.
On the evening of Jan.21, 2017, as stated, he was sitting on his front porch with his dog, making occasional knocks,howls and calls. When he finally got a response, his dog ran towards the activity. Along with the knock response, there was some heavy rustling in the woods as well. He ran after his dog but had to stop, as the woods and darkness kept him from going further into the woods. He stood there for a bit, calling his dog. His description above is accurate so I won't elaborate on it, other than to add his additional recollection. He indicated that, though his dog is "big & bad" he will get very submissive when you speak sternly to him. It was at the point he heard the collar stop jingling and "a faint whimpering". Once he heard that is when he started yelling for his dog back. The "creature(s) made a bluff charge, what sounded like chest beating, howls, tree pushed over, etc. Classic simian display, as he described it. He also saw eye shine.
Now, as for the attached photos, this is the series of events that led to the photos being taken. Early February he took his riding mower (tractor) across the street to mow a path to the woods and swamp. There is very tall grass that leads to a small clearing, which gives minimal access to the swamp and forest behind. He mows a path, so he has a better chance to see and avoid brown recluse spiders and snakes which are rampant in that area. He mows every 2-3 weeks or so.
As he had finished mowing, he got off the tractor to look around when he saw the footprint. It was so fresh that the water was still filling the print, which in his estimation, meant the creature had been standing there less than a minute before. He took out his phone, (flip phone) and took a photo of the print, and several of the area in a scan of the area. The footprint outlined very lightly next to the shoe is 17.5 inches. He wears a size 12.
He did not see the creature standing there when he took the photos, as he was concentrating on the small screen on his phone as he scanned the area. He estimates he was 20 yards or less from the creature.
As he was looking at the photos, making sure he got what he wanted, he heard "something sloshing through the swamp in a human type gait. Sounded just like a person walking through the swamp, one foot after the other". The hair on the back of his neck was "standing straight up" and he then "got the heck outta there". He sent me the photos, which were taken about two weeks after his initial report.
An original photo from the witness:
This is one of the photos with the figure in it, taken by the witness, sepia tone was added to it for better contrast and clarity:
Having spoken to the witness numerous times, I do not get any indication of hoaxing, embellishment, and find him sincere and down to earth.
These photos are the property of the witness and that I enhanced and are marked as such. The photos were taken with a flip phone. They were run through several tampering detection programs and all came up negative for tampering and or enhancement. The witness does not own a computer and must use a public library computer when the need arises. This also makes the likelihood of tampering much less likely.
These photos show a POSSIBLE shape or figure (mid to lower right of the photo in the original), and though we consider this "blobsquatch" in nature, in the context of the event that occurred that made him grab his phone, this investigator believes that he "saw" and heard something. He did not "see" the creature or figure at the time he took the photos.
This investigator then took the photos and enhanced them with adding/removing color and black and white filters, enlarging and cropping. The following black and white photo is my version with a bit more clarity.
I believe his story, that he has had several incidents, but the photographic evidence presented is marginal at best, as far as "proof" goes. Again, the photos are provided as an addition to his event, and are provided as a courtesy. They do not represent "proof" of the existence of sasquatch and are not endorsed by the BFRO. BUT, these are photos of an event that he cannot explain away with traditional explanations, and the sum of his experiences indicate encounters/experiences that be believes to be real. The number of other peripheral encounters has gone on on a mostly regular basis. He has provided other photographic evidence, but they remain in the "blobsquatch" category. He saw them, and took quick, instinctive photos. As with any witness, these types of photographic evidence are clear only to them, as they were there and had the experience, and we were not. Does not indicate the event didn't occur, just that clarity is in the eye of the beholder.
About BFRO Investigator Carter Buschardt:
Carter is originally from Texas & moved to Missouri in 1988. Professional drummer for 20 years. Improv & sketch comic and writer for 5 years. Lighting technician for major touring groups for several years. Experienced outdoorsman and was a trained investigator for MUFON. Studied Herpetology in college. Longtime special interest in Sasquatch long term habituation, burial research, infra sound, language & stick structures. He led three Missouri BFRO Public Expeditions:, 2012 & 2013 & 2014. Led public expedition for BFRO in Illinois in 2019.Participated in Iowa, 2012 Illinois. Michigan 2016. Private Expeditions: Illinois 2011, 2012, 2013. Missouri 2011, 2012 (3) 2013(2) 2014. Iowa 2012, 2014 & 2015. Consulted on two Animal Planet Finding Bigfoot TV shows. Expedition leader in Missouri 2013 (1) & 2014 (2) & Illinois Expedition 2019 (1). Led night ops on numerous BFRO expeditions. Hosted a public Town Hall meeting in Missouri in 2017.
