Class A First-hand BFRO #7803

Three college students witness a large creature standing just off of the railroad tracks.

July 1980 night, around 9:30 PM Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio 3 witnesses

Account

Three college students walked back to their dorms along railway tracks at night after buying snacks. Ahead of them a dark shape crossed the tracks and briefly blocked a distant streetlight. A short distance later they smelled a strong wet-dog odor and the reporter saw a tall creature at close range with shining eyes. The group fled to their dorm, later drove back for another look without approaching closely, and the reporter retrieved dropped groceries the next day.

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.

Other senses

Described appearance

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

Height src
around seven feet or so
Eyes src
eyes shining in the cool moonlight

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
July 1980
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
night, around 9:30 PM
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section · read with 85% confidence
Place
Nelsonville, Athens County, Ohio
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
39.45, -82.22 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 7803 (4 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
3
Derived BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
walking back to dorms from town along railway tracks
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
this creature
Stated BFRO report #7803 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #7803 · 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.

Other

area where cattails had been mashed over seen the next day where groceries were dropped

BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section
Other

The witness returned the next day to collect dropped groceries and noticed an area where cattails had been flattened.

BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section
Follow-up

The witness and companions drove back toward the sighting spot later that night for another look but stopped without approaching closely.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

The witness returned the next day to collect dropped groceries and noticed an area where cattails had been flattened.

BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section
Follow-up

An investigator who had hiked the Nelsonville area confirmed the location details were accurate and noted nearby rugged terrain and forests.

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 2004-01-19 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash 20e1a6daeefa
    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

  • “article in the Athens Messenger reporting numerous sightings in the area”
    Not in the Anomadex yet