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41 encounters
10 October 2022 Carlton, Carlton County, Minnesota Class B #75007

Tell-tale sounds heard in Jay Cooke State Park

The witness was camping alone overnight in the campground. Around 3:30 a.m. the witness heard three deep loud vocalizations followed by a tree-knock sound. Afterward the witness found a partial handprint on the car door in a spot not normally touched.

GrowlWood knockHandprint
June 2015 Alvwood MN, Itasca County, Minnesota Class B #48930

Strange incident while taking photos in the Lost Forty SNA

The witness was alone photographing old pines around noon when loud banging and knocking began after a car horn sounded. About 15 minutes later a large birch about 20 to 30 feet away was heard cracking, seen bending down and then springing back upright. The witness did not see any creature, feared an animal larger than a bear, ran back to the car, and inferred something had been in the tree watching.

Wood knockTree break
October 2014 Buhl MN, St. Louis County, Minnesota Class B #46817

Hunter scouting locations has a possible encounter near Buhl

The witness was walking north on an old railroad track through swamp while hunting when howls from the woods paralleled the movement. About a half mile ahead a large black figure was seen in the road, initially thought to be a bear. As the witness closed to about 100 yards the figure stood upright on two legs, moved into a ditch and tall grass, pausing to sway and look back toward the road while howling continued, before leaving into the swamp. Feeling nervous and sensing another presence behind, the witness left the area.

HowlFull-body sighting
15 July 2014 BEMIDJI, Beltrami County, Minnesota Class B #45911

Family experiences possible activity outside their home near Bemidji

The son wandered a short distance into the woods while helping with yard work and saw a large dark figure with its back turned. The figure turned to face him for several seconds, showing a hairless gray-brown face on a black-haired body with no visible neck and the head set low and forward. The son ran back to his mother and when they looked again the figure was gone.

Full-body sighting
24 May 2014 Beltrami County, Minnesota Class B #45150

Possible daytime sighting on a golf course in Northern MN

Early one morning the witness was talking with a coworker at a golf course bordering woods when he noticed a tall bipedal figure moving through dense brush parallel to a paved path. The figure, described as lanky and uniformly reddish-tan, walked with a long easy stride and covered ground quickly without running. After about 20 seconds it passed behind a small bathroom building and did not reappear on the other side. The coworker, who was facing away from the woods, did not see it.

Full-body sighting
18 December 2013 Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minnesota Class B #49518

Biped sighted crossing road at night near Lake Bemidji

The witness was riding as a passenger while driving south toward town at night when an upright figure crossed the two-lane road in the headlights of their car and an oncoming car. The witness saw only the upper body and pumping arms as it crossed the road in about two and a half strides and then disappeared. The driver also saw something but was unsure what it was.

Partial sightingRoad crossing
28 June 2013 Orr, St. Louis County, Minnesota Class B #42295

Possible encounter makes campers leave Lake Jeanette campground near Orr

The witness and a companion camped for two nights beside a lake in pine forest. On both nights they exchanged wood knocks with unseen sources and heard a whoop, and something large walked past their tent. On the second night they watched red eyes near camp, then heard a very close loud grunt and packed up and left feeling unwelcome.

Wood knockWhoopVocalizationEyeshineFootsteps
April 2013 Badger, Roseau County, Minnesota Class B #42596

Possible daybreak sighting by a motorist in farm country north of Badger

Before dawn the witness was driving slowly on an icy highway when headlights revealed a dark upright figure paused in the ditch. The figure then ran bipedally across the road in a few very long strides and disappeared into woods near a vacant farm. The witness described it as tall, bulky and black with long arms and immediately called the spouse. A later daytime check of the site found no tracks.

Full-body sightingRoad crossing
3 March 2013 Bigfork, Itasca County, Minnesota Class B #40293

Cabin owner discovers possible footprint trail across lake and onto property near Bigfork

A companion of the reporter photographed a long line of large footprints in deep snow. The trackway was reported to run about a half mile from across a lake, ashore around a cabin and through woods to a road where it disappeared. Individual prints were described as very large with clearly visible toe indentations.

Tracks
Summer 2013 Grand Marais, Cook County, Minnesota Class B #43973

Canoers report a rock throw and possible grunts near Grand Marais

Two people were canoeing at night when a rock landed very close to them in the water though the distant shore appeared desolate. A short time later their canoe became grounded in a shallow channel between lakes and they heard a loud strange animal-like noise for about ten minutes that stayed just beyond flashlight range while surrounding wildlife went quiet. They freed the canoe and returned to the car for the night.

Rock throwingVocalization
September 2012 Isabella, Lake County, Minnesota Class B #41411

Possible encounters at a favorite backwoods spot near Isabella

A witness and a relative were carrying camping gear to canoes in the afternoon when they heard an extremely loud bellow followed by muffled talking-like sounds. The witness retrieved a shotgun and moved toward a river point while the relative watched from the canoes. The witness heard heavy footsteps and brush movement heading toward the rapids but saw nothing, and found dry crossing rocks with no splashing. He concluded whatever made the sounds must have leapt rock to rock to cross.

VocalizationChatterFootstepsMovement only
12 August 2012 St. Louis County, Minnesota Class B #44428

Trapper describes strange occurrences in an area deep in the Superior National Forest

Two people setting bobcat traps in a secluded mature forest found a section of pine trees twisted and snapped off. Several trees were strewn across and blocked the road they were walking, while others were suspended high off the ground and woven between other trees. The witnesses felt the area was creepy and left after gathering their traps.

Tree breakTwist
11 August 2011 Cass Lake, Cass County, Minnesota Class B #44793

US Forest Service employee unnerved by possible vocalizations near Lydick Lake

While working in a national forest around noon in August 2011, the witness heard high-pitched yelps or screams from one direction answered by very low guttural whoops from another direction. The two sets of sounds were described as about a mile apart and about a half mile away, repeating in a call-and-response pattern that sounded like communication. The witness, who described experience with wolves and other wildlife, stated the sounds were not wolves and searched nearby roads by truck without seeing the source.

ScreamWhoop
August 2011 Orr, St. Louis County, Minnesota Class B #35281

Unknown nighttime visitor at a campsite on Lake Jeannette

The witness and a companion were camping in a tent when the witness heard loud, heavy bipedal footsteps approaching around 4 a.m. After the witness shouted, something threw a rock at the tent and then walked rapidly away with the same loud steps. The companion heard the rock strike the tent. In the morning the witness could not reproduce the loudness of the steps.

FootstepsRock throwing
October 2009 Iron, Mn. Just Before Virginia, St. Louis County, Minnesota Class B #27676

Possible brief sighting by a motorist outside Mountain Iron

The witness was driving east on Highway 169 toward Virginia on a bright Sunday morning when she spotted a large silvery-gray furry creature on a hilltop clearing north of the westbound lanes. The creature walked west toward the woods with a swaggered gait, long strides, swinging long arms and a slightly forward-bent posture, showing a conical head with little or no neck. After a few seconds median trees blocked the view, and the witness continued without turning back. A car stopped on the opposite side appeared to be watching the same thing.

Full-body sightingPossible misidentification
July 2009 Calumet, Itasca County, Minnesota Class B #29435

Woman and friend watch a tall animal walk oddly across a mine hill in Calumet

The witness and a companion were sitting on a porch in clear afternoon light when they saw a tall figure walk across the top of a nearby iron ore hill past a lone tree. They described long limbs, arms swinging with each stride, and a slightly hunched upper back during about 40 seconds of observation. Afterwards they felt no ordinary person could have covered that distance so quickly or appeared so tall at that distance, and concluded they had seen a bigfoot.

Full-body sighting
August 2008 Nimrod, Cass County, Minnesota Class B #24426

Local people record strange primate vocalizations in remote woods north of Nimrod (w/ recordings)

The witness and three companions went to a regular search area at night to listen for responses. They heard prolonged vocalizations from unseen sources, at one point estimated within 75 yards and loud enough to feel chest vibration. A companion recorded the sounds on a digital camera and the group felt the sounds did not match known hunted animals.

Vocalization
21 June 2008 Laporte, Hubbard County, Minnesota Class B #24089

Witness hears loud screams and foot steps while camping near Laporte

The witness was camping in tents with five companions. In the early morning after going to bed, she and one companion heard two very loud vocalizations combining screaming and grunting, with the second appearing to move quickly. Later she heard heavy bipedal footsteps in camp, and in the morning bottled water was missing from a cooler while other food remained.

ScreamGrowlFootstepsProperty disturbance
10 June 2007 Sturgeon Lake, Pine County, Minnesota Class B #19655

Possible vocalizations south of Sturgeon Lake

The witness was asleep at home when a very loud screaming and howling sound woke him around 3 a.m. He went to the front door to listen as the sound quieted, describing it as similar to recorded whoop-howls and unlike coyotes he had heard before. He estimated a single caller a quarter to a half mile to the southwest, noting dogs and livestock reacted to it before it stopped.

ScreamWhoopHowl
3 March 2007 Grand Marais, Cook County, Minnesota Class B #18221

Snowmobilers find several sets of large tracks on the Gun Flint Trail (w/photos)

The witness was snowmobiling with two companions in the Boundary Waters area when they found large human-like footprints in snow crossing lakes. They photographed the tracks over three days in March 2007 and reported measurements of about 16 inches long with a roughly six-foot stride. No figure was seen, only the tracks and an apparent light in one distant photo.

TracksPossible misidentification