Class A First-hand BFRO #25444

High school teacher recalls a nighttime sighting while camping in the Los Padres National Forest

April 1982 early evening between seven to nine Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California 4 witnesses

Account

Four people camped by a river heard a loud crashing sound while eating dinner. They saw a large hairy biped running down a nearby trail illuminated by their campfire. After they yelled it glanced toward them, continued over a ridge and out of sight within seconds. They kept watch in shifts overnight and found no tracks the next morning.

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

Sounds

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
approximately 6.5 to 7 feet tall
Build src
very muscular, shoulders about four feet wide, over 300 lbs
Hair colour src
dark brown or black
Gait src
running bipedally
Posture src
bipedal
Other features src
human-like but covered with hair

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
April 1982
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
early evening between seven to nine
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
34.73, -119.93 (± 4 km)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 25444 with published boundary
Account type
First-hand
Derived BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Also Noticed” section
Witnesses
4
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Witness was
camping and eating dinner
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Witness's word for it
large bipedal animal
Stated BFRO report #25444 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #25444 · 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
Kevin Withers (BFRO)

Source timeline

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

  1. Published 2009-02-08 Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash 8f9b87cc2cee
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization