Search results

10 encounters
14 December 2012 Litchfield, Montgomery County, Illinois Class A #39568

Nighttime sighting from a window by a young woman near Lake Lou Yaeger

The witness was in bed around 2 a.m. when a powerful stench prompted a look out the bedroom window. A partially cut tree about 100 feet away began to topple, and a camera flash revealed a large brown hunched figure about ten feet from the house, possibly with a second figure near the woodline. The figures left into the woods, and the next day the witness found the tree down with the saw bar displaced and many tracks and cracked walnuts nearby.

OdorPartial sightingTree breakTracks
14 August 2011 Peoria County, Illinois Class B #30510

Possible footprint found near Peoria

The witness was walking along a creek bed in heavily wooded terrain when they found a very large footprint with five distinct toes. After photographing it with makeshift scale items, they heard movement and a large branch being twisted on the hillside and left the woods. An investigator later visited the site with the witness and summarized the track as a 17-inch-long left-foot impression.

TracksMovement onlyTwist
2 August 2011 Olive Branch, Alexander County, Illinois Class B #40474

Hunter finds a possible footprint near Olive Branch

The witness arrived at a hunting area well before dawn and waited in the car, noticing a chill and a faint skunky musky odor. After sunrise he walked to a pond and then east along a fire access road, where he found a single very fresh footprint with visible toes in the dust of a turkey scratch. He photographed the track beside his boot, but wind erased the dust detail by the next day.

TracksOdor
5 May 2010 Princeville, Peoria County, Illinois Class B #27692

Mushroom hunter hears vocalizations and finds footprints near Jubilee College State Park

The witness was hunting with a dog on a sunny afternoon when the dog became agitated and a strong odor was noticed. The witness heard grunt-like noises followed twice by a loud scream or yell, plus cracking and movement in trees and brush, while the dog returned frightened with raised hair. After driving to a more open area across a shallow creek, the witness found two very large barefoot-like footprints that seemed too large and out of place to be human.

VocalizationScreamOdorTracksMovement only
1980 Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois Class C #2806

The "Big Muddy Monster" flap of Murphysboro

In the late 1970s to early 1980s, residents around the Big Muddy River reported a foul-smelling, hairy hominid-like creature. Witnesses described seeing and hearing it near the river and finding footprints, with size and color accounts varying. The writer compiled these secondhand accounts and notes the creature was never reported as violent.

Full-body sightingVocalizationOdorTracks
Summer 1978 Pawnee, Sangamon County, Illinois Class B #28370

Memory told of a possible encounter and footprint found along Horse Creek north of Pawnee

Two companions walking along a wooded driveway in the afternoon heard unidentified tapping sounds and entered the woods to investigate. They found freshly matted grass and a human-like bare footprint with five toes in dried mud. Shortly after, the companion shouted to run as loud timber-breaking crashes and movement occurred in dense undergrowth behind him. The reporter did not see the source, but the companion reportedly saw something about seven feet tall, after which both fled to the driveway.

Unidentified soundTracksTree breakMovement onlyPartial sighting
9/23/08 Mount Vernon, Washington County, Illinois Related account #24766

Scat near Mount Vernon, Illinois

Two family members checking across the pond found unidentified scat, a strong foul odor, and footprints with about a 7-foot stride.

ScatOdorTracks
in April Danville, Vermilion County, Illinois Related account #55144

Tracks near Danville, Illinois

While mushroom hunting in April the witness smelled the strong odor again and found a single very large detailed left footprint.

TracksOdor
around 10:30 at night Atwood, Piatt County, Illinois Related account #47469

Vocalization near Atwood, Illinois

While taking trash out at night, the witness heard huffing sounds from the tree line followed by something large moving away, and found similar-sized prints the next morning.

VocalizationMovement onlyTracks
1980 to 1999 Ottawa, La Salle County, Illinois Related account #36667

Footsteps near Ottawa, Illinois

Over many years the household heard loud walking and branch breaking at night, noticed quiet beforehand and foul smell, and found footprints and damaged rabbit cages.

FootstepsTracksOdorProperty disturbanceTree break