Class B First-hand BFRO #5477

Teenager has a nighttime close encounter and then sees tracks in the snow in Avery

16 December 1978 night Avery, Calaveras County, California 1 witness

Account

The witness spent a winter night sleeping on a couch in an unfinished hillside cabin while two dogs slept nearby. During the night a large-sounding movement was heard outside that agitated the dogs for about fifteen minutes, but the witness did not look outside. The next morning the witness found a line of large five-toed footprints in snow that appeared to pass the cabin, step over a barbed-wire fence, and jump a creek before continuing uphill, but heavy snow later covered them.

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

Physical traces

Described appearance

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

Feet src
large humanoid feet, five toes, about 13 to 15 inches in length
Gait src
stride about six to seven feet apart

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
16 December 1978
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month, Date
Time of day
night
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Avery, Calaveras County, California
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
38.20, -120.37 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 5477 (4 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section · read with 80% confidence
Witness was
sleeping overnight in an unfinished cabin
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
whatever was making the noise outside
Stated BFRO report #5477 · BFRO report, “Observed” section · read with 85% confidence
Source classification
Class B
Stated BFRO report #5477 · 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.

Tracks

Large five-toed footprints in snow forming a trail past the cabin, over a fence and across a creek

Measurements: 13 to 15 inches long; stride 6 to 7 feet apart; 4 to 5 inches deep; fence about 4.5 feet high; creek 7-8 feet wide

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

An investigator interviewed the witness by phone and verified property ownership through county records.

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.

  1. Published 2002-12-15 Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash 20da4b9b7786
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization