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19 encounters
30 September 2015 Lee Vining, Mono County, California Class B #49896

Possible encounter at night by hunters camping at Virginia Lakes

A family was camped in a trailer near a treeline with a deer carcass stored nearby. During the night the family was awakened by rocks hitting the trailer, knocking sounds, growls, screams and whoops. The witness later went outside with a flashlight and saw a single glowing red eye high in the treeline. In the morning stacked rocks were gone, footprints were found, and a large pine by the carcass had been pushed over.

Rock throwingWood knockGrowlScreamWhoop +3
July 2014 Pollock Pines?, El Dorado County, California Class B #47165

Two campers take photos of what they see in the trees in the El Dorado National Forest

The witness and a companion were finishing a dispersed camping trip and had hiked back to the car on a clear sunny day when the witness looked back at the treeline. About 500 feet away, two jet-black figures were visible near the tops of two adjacent pine trees, first taken for bears. The witness took phone photos and watched for about a minute as the figures stayed mostly still while wiggling and appearing to hug the trunks, then left after the companion grew concerned, later concluding they looked like lean human-like silhouettes rather than bears or humans.

Silhouette
25 March 2007 Strawberry, Tuolumne County, California Class B #18403

Possible road-crossing sighting in daylight near Strawberry

The witness stopped along a one-lane road to let dogs out and glimpsed two dark figures crossing the road quickly at a curve, seeing only their upper halves. The figures disappeared around the turn and were not seen again despite visibility of the road beyond. About an hour later the witness returned and found a slide mark and a possible ball-and-toe impression on the muddy bank where the figures had crossed. The witness first took them for hooded people but later considered them possibly bigfoots due to their appearance, upright bipedal movement, and lack of a trail.

Partial sightingRoad crossingTracks
19 November 2006 Twain Harte, Tuolumne County, California Class B #16722

Possible vocalizations heard by resident near Twain Harte

Late at night the witness took a dog outside and heard movement in the densely wooded backyard. The witness then heard a deep growl followed by a loud progressive scream that seemed non-human and kept hearing vocalizations after going back inside. The next morning the witness found disturbed underbrush and broken branches but no footprints.

FootstepsGrowlHowlScreamVocalization +1
2 July 2005 Orleans?, Humboldt County, California Class B #13362

Possible vocalizations near Bluff Creek

The witness and three children were in a tent at a campground when loud whooping calls began from multiple directions around them. The calls lasted about ten minutes and included click-like sounds at the start and a loud thud as the sources moved away. The witness stayed inside with a frightened child and did not see the callers, finding no tracks the next morning.

WhoopUnidentified soundFootsteps
June 2004 Idyllwild, Riverside County, California Class B #26152

Backpackers hear whoops and tree push over SE of Round Valley in the Mt. San Jacinto Wilderness Area

The witness and his son were in sleeping bags in their tent when they heard a loud low-pitched whooping call from boulders just above them. About an hour later the witness heard a loud boom close to the tent. Two mornings later he found a fresh green pine snapped at its base on the boulders near camp, which he inferred was pushed over by the animal that made the sounds.

WhoopUnidentified soundTree break
September 2003 Tuolumne, Tuolumne County, California Class B #25648

Possible nighttime encounter, food taken from hunters camping near Tuolumne

The witness joined a small group for an overnight camp to practice outdoor skills. In the evening the witness walked east of camp, noticed a strong foul smell and heard vegetation breaking nearby before running back to the group. Overnight the campers were awakened by sounds around the camp followed by a loud crash, and by morning the food hung high above ground was gone, the supporting limb was damaged, and a foul smell lingered. The group then packed and left the area.

OdorFootstepsUnidentified soundTree breakProperty disturbance
21 June 2003 Orleans, Humboldt County, California Class B #6520

Hiker sees footprint near Willow Creek

The witness was scouting an area southwest of Louse Camp near Bluff Creek in the morning and found a single large footprint in an old mud puddle, which they recorded on video. The print was described as 16 inches long and almost 6 inches wide at the heel. Several snapped trees were also noted in the area.

TracksTree break
10 June 2003 Placerville, El Dorado County, California Class B #8650

Brothers hear unusual, late-night vocalizations near Sly Park

The witness reports hearing various vocalizations at night during summer at a family home bordering National Forest in Sly Park, last heard the previous summer, experienced with a brother. The witness, brother, and mother also reported very large human-shaped bare footprints with a long stride in a dirt roadway, with no casts or photos taken. They also reported finding twisted and broken tree limbs nearby and submitted photos of the damage, described as occurring where machine cause was unlikely.

VocalizationTracksTree breakTwist
30 August 2002 Downieville, Sierra County, California Class B #7363

Family Encounters Red Eyes and Unusual Smells

The witness group was camped in a Sierra County campground and walked to an outhouse at night with a small flashlight. The witness shone the light toward the outhouse area below the trail and saw two red eyes that appeared to crouch down, then quickly returned to camp. A foul odor noticed around the outhouse lessened when others checked shortly after, and the next morning the group found small uprooted trees and no odor, estimating the eyes had been 7 to 8 feet off the ground.

EyeshineOdorTree break
22 September 2001 Huntington Lake, Fresno County, California Class B #5418

Hikers find footprints and hair near Huntington Lake

Three hikers in the Rock Creek area found a line of very large footprints crossing a meadow to the north. They counted over a dozen identifiable tracks with deep impressions and long strides, and saw no other human footprints. Beside one print they found a broken branch with hairs on the bark, and later reported photos and analysis of the hair.

TracksHair
22 April 2001 Long Barn, Tuolumne County, California Class B #3071

Man see large prints outside of Long Barn

A witness hiking on snowshoes along a gated forest road in fresh snow found six large prints crossing the road. He photographed the prints and measured them with a ski pole, noting a straight-line trackway with a long stride and no other footprints nearby. He did not leave the road to follow the trail, and the prints were melting rapidly when he passed again about an hour later.

Tracks
March 2001 Twain Harte, Tuolumne County, California Class B #3072

BFRO Investigators detail activity around Twain Harte

Investigators found fresh broken trees, dozens of footprints and two nests where a trail crossed a road and staked out the spot. No creature was seen, but something large moving on two feet approached the stakeout before fleeing downhill through brush when a car passed. The sign was documented the next day with footprint and tree-break measurements and a body-length impression in one nest.

TracksTree breakStructure or nestFootstepsMovement only
March 1994 Arcata, Humboldt County, California Class B #11519

Plinkers find pushed-over trees blocking a road and smell foul smell near Horse Mountain

The witness and a companion returned the day after target shooting in hills east of Arcata to find several trees broken across the road. The limbs were described as physically broken rather than cut. They also noticed a bad odor at the site.

Tree breakOdor
July 1986 Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California Class B #8598

Daylight Sighting by Hikers Near Bennett Mountain

The witness and two companions were hiking toward Bennett Peak and stopped to rest before a large climb. They heard loud snapping and cracking of limbs across a valley and saw a large hairy back moving very fast uphill through brush, clearing foliage out of its way. Afterward they visited the spot and found broken branches several feet above the ground.

Partial sightingTree break
October 1985 Humboldt County, California Class B #2176

Large footprints found by witnesses

The witness and a friend were walking their dog on a trail when the dog lunged up a steep embankment toward loud crunching and branch-breaking sounds from above. They followed a short way to the top of a ridge but the source of the noise was gone. On top they found freshly broken lower tree branches up to 10 feet high and foot-like impressions in the duff without claw marks, then returned cross-country to the trail.

TracksTree breakFootsteps
1977 Mendocino County, California Class B #2199

Witness heard stomping and crashing of small trees.

The witness was lying in a tent at night in woods near Mendocino when loud stomping and crashing of small trees was heard about fifty yards away. The sounds lasted about 30 seconds and were interpreted as a biped moving quickly, apparently pursued by barking dogs. After the crashing stopped, a dog was heard yelping as if badly injured, then silence fell. The next morning the witness found broken vegetation but no clear sign of its cause and moved camp.

FootstepsMovement onlyTree break
November 1964 Zenia, Trinity County, California Class B #6962

Friends hear late night scream near Garberville

After returning late from a dance, three people sitting indoors heard a loud wailing cry from bluffs across the road that rose in pitch and lasted several minutes. Frightened, they stayed inside with doors locked for the night. The next morning two of them found a freshly cleared, trampled area on the blufftop where trees had been pulled from the ground, with a strong smell but no tracks due to hard ground.

ScreamTree breakOdor
BFRO YEAR: '96 Weitchpec, Humboldt County, California Class B #3798

Three people looking for Sasquatch sign, while camping in the Bluff Creek area of California

During a July 1996 daytime search near Bluff Creek, the witness crossed to a glade and found a small cedar with its top freshly twisted off several feet up. The break and stripped bark looked moist and recent, and the detached top lay at the base. The witness photographed the tree and carried the top back to camp.

Tree breakTwist