Sasquatch In Oklahoma Or Not?

[Arrow]

There was a show on the travel channel on Sasquatch or Big Footsightings in Oklahoma. The show was centered around sightings in Southeastern Oklahoma but there have been sightings up around Adair and a few other places. What say you boys that grew up in Oklahoma? Most of those people interviewed were just down home folks didn't seem anycrazier than those of us gathered here on PF.

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YEAR: 2000

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: January

DATE: 28

STATE: Oklahoma COUNTY: McCurtain CountyNEAREST TOWN: Honobia

NEAREST ROAD: HWY 144

OBSERVED: I was told by phone by a relative that three large manlike, hairy creatures were observed on a persons porch and yard. The man got his SKS and has allegedly shot one. Two others came out of the nearby forest and carried him away. That the FBI was called and samples of blood and hair have been taken for testing. My relative also told me that contractors who plant young pine seedlings are refuseing to go in near Honobia and plant trees. Today Jan 28, 2000 we have had a very heavy snow and while I was home listening to the scanner I overheard a conservation between two Oklahoma game wardens talking about the incident. One told the other to be on the lookout for large manlike hairy creatures. They seemed very serious. They were talking about the same incident that I have mentioned above. This area is called the Honobia Wildlife area and is very,very sparsly inhabited. The area of 875.000 acres is owned by a large timber company and as the loggers move in to cut there are sightings.

ALSO NOTICED: In July of 1983 I worked for the timber company driving a one ton truck pulling a 12 hundred gallon tanker in the Honobia, Pickens are of McCurtain county. On a trip back to our facility a very large hairy creature ran across the road in front of me. I came within a few feet of running over it. It did not stop it just kept on running. It was approximately seven feet tall and very poor. The upper torso of its body was a brownish color and the lower was a lighter color. One of the things I particulaily noticed was no SHOES. My first thought was someones pulling a prank. I soon realized that couldn't be, not up here in these mountainous forest. No houses for miles. The thing that bothers me is when I tell this some laugh. I soon realized better just shut up. Should I hear anything else I will inform you folks.

YEAR: 2001

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: October

DATE: 19

STATE: Oklahoma COUNTY: McCurtain County LOCATION DETAILS: Coming south on Highway 259 you travel about 5 miles of the junction of 259 & 4 (which heads back to Smitville proper). On the east side of 259 you will see a low water crossing that crosses Mountain Fork river you follow that logging road 2 miles to the east. At the two mile mark the road Y's back south there is a pond on the south side to mark this spot. You take this logging road about 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile further and you will see the steep bank off the road on your right hand side (west). I will include more precise directions here below:

Using the Smithville Quadrangle 7.5 minute topo map the UTM coordinates are as follows:

Zone 15
347964E
3806266N

This area sits between Hee Mountain which is to the south and Mountain Fork River which is north.

NEAREST TOWN: Smithville

NEAREST ROAD: Highway 259 (about 2 miles as the crow flies)

OBSERVED: While my son and I were camping in the Quachita National Forest on Oct 19 2001, in McCurtain County we discovered 4 large foot prints and one large hand print.

We were off one of the logging roads that wind through out the forest. I came upon a area that had a very steep cut out along the bank off the road. This cut off had exposed the underlining strata, and I thought it would be a good time to show my son some geology of the area. The exposed strata was layered and I could show my son (18 years old) how the rock and soil was layered by water over thousands of years.

We went up to the bank and was starting to show him the layers when suddenly my son said "Dad look at this print" it turned out that it was a very large hand print. After further investigation we found 4 large foot prints.

The prints were in a single line and you could follow the prints for a space of roughly 15 -20 feet. We did not have a tape measure or ruler to measure accurately so every measurement is a guesstimation. The first print seen is a left foot, then comes right foot about two feet away, then comes left foot about 8 feet further up then about 3-4 foot away and slightly higher up the (what I will call for lack of a better term alluvial fan, because off this bank the soil and rock is washed down into a pattern like that off larger areas such as the sides of mountains, etc.)

Following the left hand print comes another left foot print about 3 feet away, however this print only shows the toes and about 1/2 of the foot it appears to have been made while the foot was rotating off the ball and toes, and stopped at what with some caution I will call the arch. (I say that because there does not seem to be much if any arch at least like a normal human foot.)

Following this print is another large print however this print seems to be out of place as that it is perpendicular to the others and headed further up the debris pile. After this the tracks stop. There are some others there that I think were at one time prints however they were deteriorated to the point where it would be impossible to ID. The material in this wash is a combination of small chat like material mixed with the native soil (clay based sandy loam). It is not a material that is condusive to holding any print of any kind for very long and they will be gone totally after the first rain.

The track these prints and place was not a easy track for it was slightly up the debris pile and a fairly steep angle, my best guess why it would take this track was because the location of this place is in one of the few places in this area which has any open ground (not very large, but larger than the surrounding area) and as stated earlier it was right off one of the logging roads, so I guess he/it was walking along the bank to minimize his silhouette while treking along this open space next to the road.

The next morning (Oct 20) we went back out there and we took some small sticks and placed hunters orange tape on the tops of the sticks then placed the sticks in the middle of the tracks so that we could get a visual on its track. We used one piece of tape to mark foot prints and used two pieces of tape to mark the hand print. This was so we could get a easier visual sight of what was going on.

We then took the video camera and filmed the tracks and the track markers, so we have all this on video and you are welcome to view this, and in fact I can/will furnish a copy of the tape if interested in it. Just let us know if you wish to see it.


ALSO NOTICED: none

OTHER WITNESSES: My self and my 18 year old son. We were just riding ATV's and exploring the logging roads trying to figure out where the ones in our area went to.

OTHER STORIES: none

TIME AND CONDITIONS: We first discovered the tracks about 1 hour before sundown so it was about 6:30 PM. When we first discovered them the light was good the weather was clear with a slight breeze. You could see cearly without a problem.

ENVIRONMENT: Heavy pine forest with some hardwoods interspaced with hardwood buffer zones between river bottoms and pines.



Follow-up investigation report:

I spoke by phone with the witness and his son on separate occasions. In addition, we met in my office for over an hour discussing his observations and examining a copy of the video he presented. He spent six years in the navy and currently works for the Department of Defense. I found him to be a completely credible witness.

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REPORT RECEIVED: From the field notes of David Holley. DATE:May 1971 TIME: Daytime LOCATION:Oklahoma, McCurtain County, Broken Bow Reservoir, out of the Beaver Bend Reservoir area. TERRAIN:Wooded, Mountains OBSERVED: In May of 1971, while on a fishing/camping trip to Broken Bow Res., north of Broken Bow, Ok., I , and my friend A.C.(Name with held by request) encountered what I now believe was a Sasquatch/Bigfoot. At this time in my life I was only 18 years old, and neither A.C. nor myself had ever heard of such a creature.

We were being rewarded by my father for our 12 years of hard work getting through high school. A.C. had (along with
most of my other friends) enlisted in the Armed Forces. I had bigger plans as I had been awarded a scholarship to attend college.

We arrived at our campsite around midday and began setting up our camp. My father, Hugh Holley and a cousin of ours; Earl Varley set a tent up near the beach. A.C., my brother-in-law Carl (Sonny) Walston, and I set our tent up approximately 50 yards from the rocky beach. A variety of trees surrounded our tent. The brush was thick. (The reader should be made aware this was before there were any "established" camp sites on the Broken Bow Res. Everything was primitive).

Following a light lunch of cheese and crackers, the four of us started out onto the lake in two separate boats to fish and set lines out. My father and Earl were in one boat. They would be setting out "trot lines". Sonny, A.C. and myself were in another boat. Our intention was to catch some Crappie or Channel Catfish for the evening meal with our poles.

As the day wore on, and as we were not catching anything with our poles, sonny suggested we call it a day and return to camp. We arrived ahead of Dad and Earl, so we decided to get things set up for the evening meal. A.C. had never camped or fished in the 18 years I'd known him. So, he wanted to have a camp fire. (Now I don't ever go camping unless I have a camp fire. It doesn't have to be big, just cheerful and small) We gathered fire wood, and A.C. reflected that he thought there should be birds chirping, and squirrels running through the trees. I didn't think anything about it, until that night after it got dark.

Dad and Earl had left camp shortly before dark to run their lines. Sonny had gotten sick during the evening meal and had retired to our tent to sleep. A.C. and I had gotten close to the fire and had started congratulating each other for having survived 12 years of the Clarksville, Texas, school system. We opened a couple cans of Coors beer and began toasting each other, and our futures together. We sat close to the fire and A.C.. remarked, "Dave, it sure is quiet." I stopped talking long enough to listen to the sounds of the night; but there were none. No crickets, no owls, no frogs, nothing. It was strange. I'd been on enough trips with my Dad, Earl, Sonny and my uncle and cousins to know that you always heard sounds. Especially on or near a lake surrounded by trees.

I think I told A.C. it was strange, but not to worry about it. I got us another beer and as we sat around the fire, I began to get an uncomfortable feeling. The hair on the back of my neck began to stand up, I began to wipe my eyes which had begun to tear. I turned to A.C. and asked him if he had the feeling we were being "watched". He nodded his head yes, and we began to listen. Just beyond the tree line, we could hear something large moving around our campsite. We began to get worried about Sonny. He was asleep in our tent, and whatever was circling our camp was also just behind our tent.

We began to walk around the fire, putting the fire behind us. We both just figured with the campfire flames in front of us, we wouldn't be able to see whoever (and we did think it was a whoever) was trying to scare us. We soon heard my Dads boat coming back towards the beach, and so gathered up a couple of weak flashlights and went down to the beach to meet them. (Maybe not the bravest thing to do, but perhaps it was the smartest).

Dad and Earl told us we really needed to have been in bed, and that we should turn in for the night if we were going to fish the next day. we looked at each other, and then looked back towards our tent. Believe me, the night had suddenly become much darker...much more menacing. As we began our long walk towards the tent, Dad said, "You boys be sure to put out the fire." Yeah...go ahead and laugh. When the fire was put out, and we had to walk to the tent, the night was even darker.

Somehow, we fell asleep. Maybe it was because we didn't hear anything or anyone walking around the tent after we turned in; but we slept. The next morning, Sonny woke us up and told us he didn't appreciate A.C. and I walking around the tent the night before breathing hard and "growling". A.C. and I just looked at each other and tried to tell him we hadn't been guilty of trying to frighten him. (After all...my brother-in-law had been in Viet Nam and had been awarded a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, and a Silver Star. Sonny wouldn't scare easy).

Nothing happened that day, or that night. Everything changed, however, on Sunday, May 16,1971 .A.C. and myself had
decided to climb to the top of one of the islands in the middle of the Res. We had spotted the island we wanted to "conquer" the day before. We told my Dad, Earl, and Sonny we would meet them back at camp. They were going to take their lines up.

I was running the outboard motor. Everything was fine. We moved across the water and circled one island and then we saw our island in front of us. I eased off the gas, turned the motor off and we slip effortlessly to a stop on the islands rocky beach. A.C. pulled the boat up farther onto the beach, secured the boat and I climbed out. We noticed a rather large game trail a short distance away from us, and we decided we'd use it to make our way to the top of the island. As we walked up the trail it began to get steeper and harder to climb without grabbing a sapping, or a bush along the way. We persevered, however, and gained the top of the island.

We were amazed with what we saw. A clearing of about 50-60 yards wide had been packed down. There was no tall
grass. The grass had not been grazed by deer, wild cattle, etc. No, it had been flattened by something, or someone who was very heavy. Near the edges of the clearing were several trees; all around us which had been snapped off approximately 9-10 feet . The tops of these trees (mostly Pine saplings) hung down lifeless towards the ground. I commented to A.C. that a skunk must be near because the wind was bringing its scent towards us, and it was sure stout.

We had brought a small Confederate flag with us, and I put it in the break of one of the broken saplings. We agreed we
should do our class yell. "WE RAISE HELL...WE HAVE FUN...WE'RE THE CLASS OF '71!" We left the flag and began our trip back down the hill.

At some point, we became aware we weren't alone. Just beyond our vision we could hear something, or someone walking. When we walked, it walked. When we stopped, it stopped. The worse smell odor either of us had ever smelled was nearly overpowering.

A.C. said he caught the glimpse of someone watching us as we stopped for a rest, but he couldn't make any features out. Suddenly we heard it moving towards us. The stench was bad! We began to run, and I realized we were not on the game trail. We panicked! After 28 years I'm not ashamed to say I was scared. We found ourselves standing on the edge of a drop off of about ten feet from the forest floor, and whatever was pursuing us was coming closer. I screamed to A.C. to jump! We landed on our feet and tried to catch our breath. That strange sensation washed over me, and I became very still and very quiet. The forest was still. Not even a breeze. Then we heard it. A grunting/growl, heavy breathing. We both turned our heads upwards and looked into the face of what I at first thought was a gorilla! "F#@kin'A!" shouted A.C. All I could do was say "Run!"

Run we did! We ran through thorn bushes. We crashed through trees and brush a sane man would have gone around, and all the time we could hear this "gorilla" crashing through the same brush and trees. Only it sounded like a freight train coming after us.

To this day I don't know how we made it to the beach, but we made it. However, our escort was still coming, and it didn't sound to pleased. Fortune smiled upon us in the fact we came out only yards away fro our boat. I raced for the boat, untied it and jumped in! I started the motor and shouted for AC. to come on. He was about to climb into the boat when he spied a triangular rock. Grabbing the rock he planted it in the middle of the game trail we had originally followed up the hillside. I was still screaming at him when he pushed the boat into the water and jumped into it.

As I put the boat in reverse and was moving away from the island, "IT" burst out of the brush and onto the beach. It made a scream I will never forget. (I have heard screams of a similar type on many of the BIGFOOT WEB SITES.)

What did this creature look like, I honestly can't say I looked at his/its feet, so I'm not going to be foolish enough to
comment upon this point. However, as it entered the lake after us, swinging its long arms, splashing water, I had the impression it was about 8-9 feet tall. Heavily built, covered in redish-brown hair which covered its entire body except around the eyes, nose and mouth. I also had the impression its head was conical in shape, and I can't remember seeing much of a neck. I do know it was very aggressive.

A.C. and I agreed not to speak about what happened to our buddies. We were afraid of being branded as "Nuts". We
never did speak of it.

It was about a year later while sitting in a doctors office I happened to run across a Readers Digest, which carried an article on a creature called Sasquatch, or more commonly known as Bigfoot.

It didn't take me long to figure this is what A.C. and I saw. Since that day...I've been a hunter of sorts. Forget deer. Forget big game. I search for Bigfoot.Activities of Witness: Camping, exploring island Description of Creature:8-9 feet tall. Heavily built, covered in redish-brown hair which covered its entire body except around the eyes, nose and mouth. I also had the impression its head was conical in shape, and I can't remember seeing much of a neck. I do know it was very aggressive.

[melody1181]

LOL My grandpa would get a laugh outta this, he grew up in Geary.

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How Others See The Bigfoot Tale By Ron Wolfe, Tulsa Tribune

IDABEL, Okla (AP) ? Down near Idabel, where the Little River borders the Ouachita National Forest, where the woods are thick, where the wild things are ? there in the dark, people are reporting sightings of a large, smelly creature that seems to fit the description of the legendary Bigfoot. Also known as Sasquatch, yeti and the Noxie Monster, the existence of such a creature never has been confirmed, although people have reported seeing it in wooded area across the country, especially in the Pacific Northwest. Now it is making noise in McCurtain County ? and what a noise. It screams in a way that Joe Atwood has trouble describing. "It's just a real shrill scream," Atwood said. "It sounds like of like a siren that's off-key." Atwood said the sound is enough to scare his coon dogs out of the woods. "Whatever this is, they don't want nothing to do with it," he said. And he said he agrees with the dogs' good sense. Atwood, a 52-year-old timber cutter and longtime coon hunter from Bokhoma, tells of two occasions when he might have seen the giant, ape-like creature that scared his dogs back to the truck. "I don't know what it is," he said. "Something unusual ? something that don't belong out there." Atwood's account is one of several reported sightings in the past six months of "something unusual" in McCurtain County, in far southeastern Oklahoma. McCurtain County Deputy Sheriff Kenny McKee said "probably a half-dozen or more people" have reported seeing an animal that fits the general description of Bigfoot. "I wouldn't know why they would lie about it, or want to start a rumor." McKee said. "I was raised up in that area for 50 years," McKee said. In all that time, he said, he never saw a Bigfoot. But the woods are deep enough to hide a mystery, and there are caves along the river. McKee said he is willing to concede that, "evidently, there is something down there, but I don't know what." Atwood said the first time he saw the creature was about five years ago, and the second time was about six months ago. Both times, Atwood said, he was coon hunting at night, and he was able to shine a light on the animal that he saw from a distance of 50 to 75 yards before it lumbered away from him. "He's a big animal, 7- or 8-feet tall, dark-colored, heavy-made, weighs 300 pounds or better," Atwood said. He said the stringy-haired animal "smells pretty raunchy; he needs a bath real bad." Atwood said he thought it was odd that the animal's eyes didn't seem to reflect light. And when he tried to find tracks in the daytime, he couldn't. "Over the years, I've had people laugh at me 'cause I said I saw it," Atwood said. Bigfoot stories and legends date at least to the early 1900's in Oklahoma. Even earlier stories abound in the Pacific Northwest, but no one has been able to prove what the Bigfoot really is. Missing link? Elusive, endangered wild animal? Nothing but a shaggy myth? Dr. Grover Krantz, visiting anthropology at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., has been researching the Bigfoot phenomenon for 20 years. People laugh at him, too. "That's a common reaction that people have," Krantz said. But to him, the study is "part of my field of human evolution." "I don't have any real knowledge of the Oklahoma area," the anthropologist said, but the sightings in McCurtain County are similar to some reports from the mountainous, wooded states of Oregon and Washington. "I'm satisfied that half the reports in my area are real," Krantz said. His evidence includes plaster casts of massive footprints he identifies as being those of a Bigfoot. However, Idabel High School track coach Skippy Smith doesn't need that kind of evidence to be convinced. Smith told of the morning in June when he went squirrel hunting a half-mile into the woods. "I thought all that morning that I could feel something watching me," Smith said. And then, he began to hear the sounds of something big and strong on the move, something just out of sight. "The sound of breaking limbs, shaking trees," Smith said. Through a gap in the leafy cover near the ground, Smith said, he saw the hairy, reddish-brown legs of an animal that appeared to be walking upright. "I got the heck out of there," he said. "And I haven't been back." "I've got a reputation for being a real good hunter," he said. "For a long time, I didn't tell anybody (about the animal)." When he did tell, "Everybody made fun of me, so I haven't said too much about it." But he is beginning to feel vindicated. "Too many other people have seen it," Smith said. "A lot of coon hunters have been talking." State Game Ranger Mike Virgin's job includes listening to that talk, although he has not been persuaded to believe it. He recalls too many other times of "bears" that turned out to be hogs, and the "mountain lions" that turned out to be dogs in the woods. These woods have been full of stories of Bigfoot by one name or another "probably as long as people have been here," the ranger said. "The Indians ? Choctaws ? had stories about them." "I'm in the woods all the time, and I haven't ever seen the track of one. I haven't ever seen one." "Of course, that doesn't mean anything," Virgin said. Bringing in evidence probably would mean shooting or trapping the animal, and Atwood said he has no intention of taking a shot at any 8-foot-tall creature, least of all with a .22-caliber squirrel gun. "It seems to be that if you don't crowd him, he won't crowd you," Atwood said. And the hunter would just as soon keep it that way. "If somebody was to shoot him and get him upset," Atwood said, "he might make it rough for everybody in the woods." ? Tulsa Tribune.

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Collection of newpaper clippings on Sasquatch...



http://www.n2.net/prey/bigfoot/articles.htm

[catman]

Hell Sis.....those sightings are just Sids family out lookin' for a little fun!!!! We would never have had this in good ole Southwest Oklahoma!!!!

Trav

[b3196]

Trav
You're wrong....Its just a couple of folks trying to get admission into Oral Roberts University
Bob K

[catman]

Bob...I do stand corrected!!!


Trav

[Arrow]

Very funny you two.

That'sok.Griz didn't laugh when Iasked him.I'll take his word'cause he'shuntedin countryand seen things out there that most men only dream about.

Sasquatch you can make fun of but don't be makin' fun of my brothers and sisters at ORU. I'm only blocks away from ORU the students come from all over the world. The majority of those that I've met are dead serious about being Christ Followers. I have a lot of admiration for them.