Class B First-hand BFRO #23496

Possible daylight encounter by a rural resident south of Sturgeon Bay

15 April 2003 afternoon Forestville Near Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin 1 witness

Account

The witness was walking back from the mailbox in the afternoon when she heard deep man-like grunts and thumping from a brush thicket beside the driveway. She saw part of a large reddish-brown fur-covered animal, hunched over and rubbing or pounding its head or shoulders on trees. When she moved to get a better view, the animal ran toward her growling with heavy footfalls, and she fled to the house as it hit downed trees and stopped at the brush edge.

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.

Described appearance

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

Height src
six to seven feet tall if it were to stand up straight
Build src
muscular, in excess of 500 pounds
Hair colour src
reddish-brown
Posture src
partially hunched over

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
15 April 2003
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month, Date
Time of day
afternoon
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Forestville Near Sturgeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
44.70, -87.50 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 23496 with published boundary
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Observed” section · read with 85% confidence
Witness was
returning from mailbox to house
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Witness's word for it
reddish-brown fur covered animal
Stated BFRO report #23496 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Source classification
Class B
Stated BFRO report #23496 · 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
Richard Noffke (BFRO)
Follow-up

The witness contacted the state wildlife agency by phone and was told what was seen could not have been a bear.

BFRO report, “Other Stories” section
Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the witness on several occasions to document details and assessed the witness as credible and sincere.

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 2008-04-01 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash be0b35515fce
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization