Class A First-hand BFRO #29223

Man recalls daytime encounter near Columbia and Duck River

Spring 1979 mid day Columbia Tn, Maury County, Tennessee 2 witnesses

Account

In 1979 the witness and a friend were walking in woods onto an open rocky glade when they came face-to-face with an upright creature about 20-30 yards away. All three froze and stared for about a minute before the creature gave a loud growl ending in a high-pitched scream and walked back into the bushes. Later that day the witness returned with his brother and found a small tree twisted to splinters.

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

Full-body sighting

Sounds

Scream Growl

Described appearance

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

Height src: approximately a head taller than 6' 5" brother
Build src: incredible bulk and thickness, bigger than largest NFL player, ~500 lb range
Hair length src: about 4" long
Posture src: standing
Other features src: not apelike, not human-like, something separate and distinct; noticeably muddy; looked like creature in Patterson/Gimlin footage

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date	Spring 1979 Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Season
Time of day	mid day Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place	Columbia Tn, Maury County, Tennessee Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Nearest Road
Map point	35.6151, -87.0353 (± 15 km) Geocoded BFRO report #29223 · gnis:1269483 · read with 30% confidence USGS GNIS populated place 'Columbia', Maury, matched from nearest town 'columbia tn' read as 'columbia' (spelling match)
Account type	First-hand Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses	2 Derived BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Figures reported	1 Derived BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section · read with 85% confidence
Witness was	walking / hiking in the woods Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Witness's word for it	the creature Stated BFRO report #29223 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section · read with 80% confidence
Source classification	Class A Stated BFRO report #29223 · 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.

Tree damage

A 4-inch tree found twisted and splintered about 6 ft up on return visit the same day.

Measurements: 4 inch diameter; about 6 ft up

BFRO report, “Observed” section

Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the witness at length about the encounter.

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 #29223 Primary

Published 2011-05-13 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash 7a52479074b4

BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

The report refers to

“a number of encounters related during the 1970's in the local newspaper, "The Daily Herald"”
Not in the Anomadex yet