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122 encounters
21 October 1978 Edwardsville, Madison County, Illinois Class A #28516

Memory told of a daytime sighting near Edwardsville

The witness was driving on a dirt road behind a church in fall 1978 when he saw a large dark figure bent over a puddle. He drove to within about ten yards, got out with the car door between them, and watched it stand upright. He fired a shotgun to either side of it without effect, after which it shrugged and bounded into nearby woods in long leaps.

Full-body sighting
April 1978 Gorham, Jackson County, Illinois Class A #41916

Memory told of daylight sighting while mushroom hunting along Happy Hollow Road near Gorham

While mushroom hunting with a child near a creek, the witness noticed movement behind a tree across the creek and then saw part of a dark hair-covered entity, including knee, shoulder and face. The entity moved behind the tree out of view, and the witness left immediately with the child. She later returned with a firearm and found footprints where the entity had stood.

Partial sightingTracks
Summer 1978 Granite City, Madison County, Illinois Class A #41786

Memory told of daylight sighting along railroad tracks near Granite City

Five children playing behind the family property during a get-together noticed something moving along the railroad tracks behind the yard. When they looked, it stopped, turned, and looked back at them from about 60 yards away before they ran back to the house in fright. They described it as a huge, tall, dark, muscular figure about seven and a half feet tall.

Full-body sightingAnimal behaviour
September 1977 Plumfield, Franklin County, Illinois Class A #42945

Memory told of a daylight sighting along railroad tracks east of Plumfield

Two friends rode dirt bikes along railroad tracks to a creek under a trestle. They heard a noise and saw a large dark-haired creature on a nearby hill squatting and rubbing its back against a tree. Frightened, they left quickly on their bikes.

Full-body sighting
1976–1977 Rochester, Sangamon County, Illinois Class A #28545

Man tells of the strange occurrences and his sighting as a teenager near Buckhart

Four people drove to a hilltop clearing at night and parked with the engine off to listen. After hearing twigs crunching as something circled their position, those in the back seat noticed a figure behind the vehicle. The witnesses in front then glimpsed a tall dark bipedal figure with red reflected eyes ducking behind a tree, prompting them to start the vehicle and leave immediately.

Partial sightingEyeshineFootsteps
October 1975 Rantoul, Champaign County, Illinois Class A #41318

Memory told of roadside sighting at night south of Rantoul

An investigator summarized a phone interview about an evening encounter involving two witnesses in a vehicle. A dark brown, hairy animal described as 7 feet tall and beefy was seen about 30 feet away in the headlights near a drainage ditch in harvested farmland. The animal reportedly came out of the ditch on all fours, then stood on two legs and walked away.

Full-body sighting
Winter 1975 Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois Class A #2805

Early morning sighting of creature looking at "something" in the snow in Vandalia

The witness looked out a bedroom window early in the morning to check the snow and saw a large dark creature close to the window bent down in the snow. The creature looked up at the witness, stood up slowly, and took a step toward the window. The frightened witness ran to another room and hid until a parent arrived.

Full-body sighting
June 1973 Victoria, Knox County, Illinois Class A #32162

Recollection of daylight sighting as youth near Victoria

The witness and three companions were hiking on hilltops in a strip-mine area when a bellowing cow drew attention to a nearby clearing. A large white bipedal creature emerged, stopped and stared toward the witness for several seconds after the witness shouted, then turned and walked back in the direction it came from. The group ran back to their campsite and reported the sighting to adults, who did not take it seriously.

Full-body sighting
13 May 1973 Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois Class A #26905

Fisherman has closeup encounter with a juvenile near Kankakee

While fishing with two companions in a rural backwater area, the witness walked the shoreline away from the group and then pushed backward through a tall hedge onto a grassy lane. Face-to-face at close range he encountered a short, stocky, brown-haired biped that then fled upright down the lane while he ran toward his companions. He described the being as fully hair-covered with dark eyes and elongated arms, moving with a flailing-armed jog, with no sound or odor noted.

Full-body sighting
29 October 1972 Chestline, Adams County, Illinois Class A #28423

Man recalls his face to face daylight encounter in Siloam Springs State Park

The witness was breaking camp for the weekend and walked down a path to smoke, sitting on a rock. After hearing a sound behind, the witness turned to see a large, bulky brown-gray hair-covered figure about twenty feet away downslope at eye level. They locked eyes for a few seconds while the witness noted facial details, then the figure swung around a tree and hurried down a gully making noise as the witness ran up the path.

Partial sightingUnidentified soundFootsteps
November 1970 Coal City, Will County, Illinois Class A #47911

Memory told of a nighttime road crossing near Coal City

The witness was driving west late at night when a 6-foot-tall hairy creature stepped into the road. It crossed slowly about 50 yards in front of the vehicle and showed no fear. The creature was described with reddish-orange hair, massive legs, long arms, and eyes that shone emerald green in the headlights.

Full-body sightingRoad crossingEyeshine
9 September 1969 It Was In Hampton Ill., Rock Island County, Illinois Class A #24147

Creature seen at a flooded rock quarry near Hampton

The witness was walking with a companion to a quarry at night to fish. While running down a steep slope to the water, the witness came within about ten feet of a tall, thin hair-covered figure crouched with its hands and feet on the ground and facing away. The witness immediately ran back up the slope without telling the companion what was seen, and the two then fished for about an hour with no further incident.

Full-body sighting
9 August 1969 Norris, Fulton County, Illinois Class A #28714

Memory told of seeing a bigfoot on the side of a road along Middle Branch Creek

When the witness was ten, the witness and the mother drove at night to assist a relative whose truck had broken down near a creek and woods. Headlights revealed a crouched figure behind a fence watching the relative's truck. The relative and the witness approached on foot with a makeshift light, at which point the figure stood tall on two legs and ran into nearby woods, disappearing within a few steps.

Full-body sighting
28 September 1968 Carpentersville, Cook County, Illinois Class A #12984

Nighttime sighting by motorists east of Carpentersville

Two companions lost while driving at night stopped beside a side road to turn around. A tall, dark-haired, upright creature crossed in front of their van from left to right, looking toward them. As they backed out, one thought it turned back toward the van, and they fled in fear.

Full-body sightingRoad crossing
15 August 1967 River Grove, Cook County, Illinois Class A #46494

Memory told of a daytime sighting in Schiller Woods

The witness was resting by the Des Plaines River during a bicycle ride when a hair-covered creature was seen across the river splashing in the water. After the witness coughed, the creature threw large rocks toward the witness, then crossed the river silently and confronted the witness at close range. The witness fled along a trail while hearing a loud howl and screaming and seeing additional shadowy figures across the river.

Full-body sightingSilhouetteRock throwingHowlScream
7 November 1964 Villa Grove, Douglas County, Illinois Class A #30367

Memories told of encounters experienced by a family living near Villa Grove

On a clear November mid-afternoon in 1964, several children and later their mother watched a distant upright black figure standing in a harvested corn field. The children shouted at it, it appeared to turn toward them then away, and a dog chased after it out of view. The mother, frightened, brought the children inside. Decades later the witness still interprets the figure as a bigfoot.

Full-body sighting
Winter 1957 East Peoria, Tazewell County, Illinois Class A #55706

Memory told of daytime encounter near Farmdale Park

As a child hunting in snowy woods along a creek, the witness came over a hill and watched a tall black hairy figure moving around a stick hut in a blackberry patch and picking berries. After the figure noticed the witness, it left very quickly. The witness then reported a multi-hour gap with no memory of leaving before arriving home.

Full-body sighting
Spring 1945 Eldorado, White County, Illinois Class A #49954

Memory told of encounter at a remote cabin at Sandy Run

The main witness was sleeping in the front room of a remote lakeside cabin with a relative when she awoke at night to the porch screen door opening and footsteps. She watched a large, red-haired, bipedal figure pass three front windows and pause at the door to peer inside, bending down to look in. Frightened, she fled to sleep with her grandparents and did not speak of the incident for years.

Partial sightingFootstepsDoor or window contact
BFRO YEAR: 1980-81 Rock Falls, Whiteside County, Illinois Class A #10037

Youth has daylight sighting in corn field near Rock Falls

The witness was in a garage when the dog barked frantically and then hid in its doghouse. The witness then heard heavy running like a galloping horse and felt vibrations, and saw a large bulky humanoid with reddish-brown hair running through a cornfield. The figure glanced briefly, pushed through the corn with swinging arms, attempted to jump an irrigation ditch but fell short, then disappeared into brush.

Full-body sightingFootsteps
BFRO YEAR: 1992-3 Panama, Montgomery County, Illinois Class A #10197

Two squirrel hunters have sighting near Shoal Creek

Two people driving to find a squirrel hunting area saw an animal in a field that first looked like a deer. The animal moved quickly away, then stood and moved on two legs with long arms swinging before walking into distant woods. The witnesses were speechless at the time and later concluded it must have been a bigfoot.

Full-body sighting