Class A First-hand BFRO #8487

Hiking boy has close encounter in High Sierra

September 1972 mid to late afternoon, around 2 to 4 Mammoth Lakes, Inyo County, California 1 witness

Account

In September 1972 the witness was backpacking down a trail from a lake with his father and a companion when he moved ahead alone into a small meadow. About 12 feet away he saw a large hairy animal bent over digging, which then stood erect to an estimated 8 feet or more with its back to him before he hid behind a boulder. When he looked again it was gone, and companions arriving minutes later saw only broken brush and hair. He kept the account secret for decades until later seeing films that matched his memory.

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
8 feet tall or more
Build src
built similar to a human
Hair colour src
reddish, orange, brown multicolor mix
Hair length src
long, especially on upper arms
Arms src
long hair on arms, notably upper arms
Hands src
scratching, grubbing and digging with hands
Legs src
spread legs
Posture src
bent over, then stood erect
Other features src
bare rear end like a monkey's

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
September 1972
Stated BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
mid to late afternoon, around 2 to 4
Stated BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Mammoth Lakes, Inyo County, California
Stated BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
37.57, -118.97 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 8487 (3 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
backpacking out from lake on fishing trip
Derived BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
a large animal
Stated BFRO report #8487 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #8487 · 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
Dr. Wolf H. Fahrenbach (BFRO)
Hair

some hair found on broken brush and twigs at spot where creature had been

BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section
Tree damage

broken brush and twigs at spot where creature had been

BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section

Source timeline

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

  1. Published 2004-04-15 Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash b4e7d6c65e62
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization