Class A First-hand BFRO #11273

Youth has sighting along abandoned railroad line on edge of West Frankfort

17 August 1979 just prior to dusk West Frankfort, Franklin County, Illinois 1 witness

Account

On a summer evening in the late 1970s, the witness rode a bicycle onto an abandoned railroad-bed trail near woods. Behind dumped washers and dryers the witness saw a hair-covered figure that stood upright, grunted, and shook a sapling. The witness fled east, looked back to see the figure on the trail, then watched it walk back into the treeline.

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.

Sounds

Context & caveats

Described appearance

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

Height src
7 to 7 1/2 feet
Build src
broad built
Hair colour src
dark dingy brown
Face src
shadowed, nose and lips discernible without great detail
Eyes src
shine in its eyes
Arms src
long
Gait src
walked
Posture src
erect
Other features src
covered in hair; small head

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
17 August 1979
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month, Date
Time of day
just prior to dusk
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Time And Conditions” section
Place
West Frankfort, Franklin County, Illinois
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County, Nearest Town, Location Details, Nearest Road
Map point
37.91, -88.93 (± 1000 m)
Stated BFRO map layer · BFRO published map layer · read with 85% confidence
BFRO map layer point for report 11273 (2 decimals, no boundary)
Account type
First-hand
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witnesses
1
Derived BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Other Witnesses” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
riding a bicycle on a trail
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
the thing
Stated BFRO report #11273 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #11273 · 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 witness by phone and recorded height, hair color and facial visibility details.

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 2005-04-13 Retrieved 2026-09-25 Version 1 Hash a596801cec8a
    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

  • “other acounts, both prior to mine, and after”
    Not in the Anomadex yet
  • “Big Muddy Monster at Murphysboro, IL”
    Not in the Anomadex yet