Class A First-hand BFRO #202

Woman sees black shiny figure standing by tree disappear into forest

May 1998 early morning at daybreak Hardin, Calhoun County, Illinois 1 witness

Account

The witness was riding in a truck at daybreak when she saw a small black furry animal standing upright by a tree beside the road. She did not mention it at the time and no one else in the truck noticed it. It turned sideways and disappeared quickly into the vegetation in less than a minute.

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
barely 5 feet tall
Build src
medium, not thin or heavy, evenly built
Hair colour src
black, shiny
Face src
very very dark
Hands src
visible
Posture src
standing upright like a human
Other features src
felt to be some sort of primate

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
May 1998
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
early morning at daybreak
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Hardin, Calhoun County, Illinois
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
39.29, -90.61 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 202 (3 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
riding in a truck on a country road
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
an animal that was all black
Stated BFRO report #202 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #202 · 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.

Follow-up

An investigator interviewed the witness about the animal's appearance, build, and disappearance.

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 2000-07-14 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash 3f280bfab443
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

The report refers to

  • “stories she had heard Native Americans tell”
    Not in the Anomadex yet