Class A Investigator summary BFRO #4973

Tracks and vocalizations lead to sighting by trappers in Bellville area

September 1998 a very quiet afternoon Butler And Bellville, Richland County, Ohio 2 witnesses

Account

Two men checking trap lines on a quiet afternoon in early September 1998 encountered a hair-covered creature at about 100 feet. The creature watched them briefly before running uphill into the forest. The men described brown body hair, a low forehead, small dark eyes, huge hands, a bulky build and a foul odor, then removed their traps and did not return.

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

Other senses

Described appearance

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

Build src
bulky body
Hair colour src
brown
Hair length src
medium length
Face src
low forehead
Eyes src
small dark eyes
Hands src
huge hands
Other features src
face without hair

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
September 1998
Stated BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
a very quiet afternoon
Stated BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Place
Butler And Bellville, Richland County, Ohio
Stated BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
40.61, -82.49 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 4973 with published boundary
Account type
Investigator summary
Derived BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
2
Derived BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
checking animal traps
Stated BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Witness's word for it
the track maker
Stated BFRO report #4973 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #4973 · 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

3-4 very large five-toed human-like footprints in soft soil going uphill

Measurements: at least 15 inches long with huge strides

BFRO report, “Observed” section

Source timeline

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

  1. Published 1998-10-25 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash 68bb9666e9a7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization