Class B First-hand BFRO #34980

Fisherman recalls his possible nighttime sighting near Vermilionville

July 1985 10 p.m. Vermilionville, La Salle County, Illinois 1 witness

Account

A fisherman was driving out on a dirt road by a river after dark with headlights on while his dog ran ahead. The headlights revealed an upright animal standing in the road ahead, which then dropped to all fours and ran out of sight. The dog ran back to the truck and jumped in through an opened door, and the witness drove away without getting out.

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
seven feet tall
Build src
300 lbs
Hair colour src
black
Face src
unable to see the face
Gait src
dropped to all fours and quickly ran off
Posture src
standing upright
Age / size src
huge

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
July 1985
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month
Time of day
10 p.m.
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
Vermilionville, La Salle County, Illinois
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
41.26, -89.03 (± 2 km)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 34980 with published boundary
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section · read with 85% confidence
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Witness was
leaving after fishing and driving out on dirt road
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
the animal
Stated BFRO report #34980 · BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Source classification
Class B
Stated BFRO report #34980 · 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
Stan Courtney (BFRO)
Follow-up

An investigator spoke with the fisherman by phone to collect details of the sighting.

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 2012-04-09 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash dfcf7e886b24
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization
  2. BFRO map layer Reference
    Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash cfb8a3d423b7
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization