Class B First-hand BFRO #32976

Possible daylight sighting by a mountain biker in the Pere Marquette State Forest

BFRO YEAR: 2008, 2009 about 6pm, late evening Jackson, Fife Lake, Grand Traverse County, Michigan 1 witness

Account

The witness was mountain biking on a game trail in thick forest when he stopped in a clear-cut opening to repair a flat front tire. A loud thump came from a burnt-out RV about 50-60 yards away, and he saw a large jet-black furred head appear in a broken window about six feet off the ground. The head tilted slowly to the side as he remounted his bike, and he rode back to his cabin using GPS. He reported smelling a pungent odor at the site and again outside his cabin the next morning, which he interpreted as the animal having followed him.

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

Partial sighting

Sounds

Unidentified sound

Other senses

Odor

Described appearance

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

Hair colour src: jet black fur
Hair length src: very long
Eyes src: not noticeable or black as well
Other features src: large round stout head with beginning of neck and no noticeable ears

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Time of day	about 6pm, late evening Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place	Jackson, Fife Lake, Grand Traverse County, Michigan Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point	44.69, -85.43 (± 1168 m) Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence BFRO map layer point for report 32976 with published boundary
Account type	First-hand Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses	1 Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported	1 Derived BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Observed” section · read with 80% confidence
Witness was	mountain biking and repairing a flat tire Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it	a "head" Stated BFRO report #32976 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification	Class B Stated BFRO report #32976 · 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: Jim Sherman (BFRO)

Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the witness about mountain biking, obtained a written recollection, asked follow-up questions about location and distances, and sent wildlife sound recordings for comparison.

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 #32976 Primary

Published 2012-02-03 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash c28d726c66e7

BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
BFRO map layer Reference

Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7

BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization