Class A First-hand BFRO #83

Early dawn sighting by hunters near Bass Lake

October 1988 5:30am to 6:45am Bass Lake Ca., Madera County, California 2 witnesses

Account

Two hunters waited in a parked truck below a ridge at dawn hoping for deer. They watched a dark figure dig in brush for about 30 minutes then walk toward them. At about 50 yards they concluded it was not a man but a large black-furred biped. When a truck door latch sounded it looked then ran behind a tree and was gone when approached.

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.

Sightings

Described appearance

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

Height src
over 7 feet tall
Build src
400 plus pounds
Hair colour src
jet black, shiny
Eyes src
reddish color around eyes
Gait src
walked just like a human
Other features src
looked exactly like the Patterson film

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
October 1988
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
5:30am to 6:45am
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Bass Lake Ca., Madera County, California
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
37.36, -119.64 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 83 (4 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Derived BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
2
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
waiting in parked truck to hunt deer at dawn
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
a Bigfoot
Stated BFRO report #83 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #83 · 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

Ongoing long narrow footprints with five straight-across toes reported in same area

Measurements: est. 13" long x 4.5" wide

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the witness by phone to record additional details.

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 2000-07-29 Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash f9f27aa75b43
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization