Class B First-hand BFRO #10609

Hiker finds large footprints in Northern Highlands State Forest

20 July 1991 around midday and late in the day Arbor Vitae, Vilas County, Wisconsin 1 witness

Account

The witness became lost while hiking west off Rux Road and spent about 12 hours traveling through forest and waist-deep swamp. Around midday in a bog near a wilderness lake he found four to five large human-like footprints with distinct toes in the mud. Later that day in dense brush he heard strange grunting sounds he could not see, then reached a dirt road and got a ride home.

Summary drafted by AI from the source report and checked by code before I publish it. The witness's own words remain with the publisher — read the original report .

What was reported

Every kind of observation in the account. Select one to find other encounters with it.

Sounds

Vocalization

Physical traces

Tracks

Described appearance

In the source's own words, field by field. Hover a field's marker to see where it was read.

Feet src: huge human footprints with really big toes, seventeen inches long and six inches wide

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date	20 July 1991 Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month, Date
Time of day	around midday and late in the day Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Place	Arbor Vitae, Vilas County, Wisconsin Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point	45.96, -89.74 (± 1000 m) Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence BFRO map layer point for report 10609 (4 decimals, no boundary)
Account type	First-hand Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses	1 Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Witness was	hiking while lost Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it	huge footprints in the bog that looked almost human Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification	Class B Stated BFRO report #10609 · BFRO classification label

Evidence & investigation

What the source says was found or done. Claimed evidence is listed as claimed; the Anomadex has not examined it.

Investigated by: Stan Courtney (BFRO)

Tracks

huge human-like footprints with big toes in mud in bog

BFRO report, “Observed” section

Measurement

footprint size documented in follow-up

Measurements: seventeen inches long and six inches wide

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section

Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the witness by phone and documented track count and measurements.

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section

Source timeline

Every record this entry is built from, earliest known first. Records are versioned and never edited in place.

BFRO report #10609 Primary

Published 2005-02-12 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash 3f0366cc0e60

BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
BFRO map layer Reference

Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7

BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization