- Class 1a
- Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.1a A sasquatch/bigfoot specimen has been collected (alive or dead).
- Class 1b
- Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.1b A report investigation results in a sasquatch observation or the documentation of clear tracks or other forms of physical evidence by an investigator.
- Class 1c
- Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.1c An investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot by a very reliable observer is a distinct possibility, tangible corroborating evidence is documented, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
- Class 1d
- Class 1, Corroboration: Reports involving a sighting, and accompanied by another form of support.1d A visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility involving two or more reliable observers, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
- Class 2
- Class 2, Competency: Reports involving sightings by professionally trained or highly skilled observers.2 Investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility, the observer is exceptionally trustworthy, professionally trained, and experienced in the outdoors and/or is accustomed to looking for and recording details (e.g., biologist, anthropologist/archaeologist, ranger, trapper/tracker/seasoned hunter, bird watcher, game warden, naturalist, law enforcement), and other explanations can be reasonably excluded.
- Class 3a
- Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.3a Investigator determines that a visual encounter with a sasquatch/bigfoot is a distinct possibility, the observer is credible, and all other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
- Class 3b
- Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.3b Unidentifiable vocalizations were reported and there is accompanying tangible evidence to possibly indicate the presence of a sasquatch/bigfoot, the observer is very reliable, and other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
- Class 3c
- Class 3, Credibility: Sightings or possible wood ape evidence reported by credible witnesses.3c No visual encounter occurred, but physical evidence was found to indicate the presence of a sasquatch/bigfoot (tracks, hair, scat, etc.), the observer is very reliable, and other sources can be reasonably ruled out.
Case: 01050037
Class 3cWhile fishing on Neches River, high school teacher hears unusual vocalization
Report Details
Occurrence date: September/2004
Location: Jefferson County, TX
Time / Conditions: 6:00pm — Unusually mild, calm, overcast; Big Thunderstorms one week prior. Swampy.
# of Witnesses: 0
Location: Jefferson County, TX
Time / Conditions: 6:00pm — Unusually mild, calm, overcast; Big Thunderstorms one week prior. Swampy.
# of Witnesses: 0
Witness Account:
I am going to submit this report based on what I experienced and on a vocalization in Hardin County I read about on the GCBRO site. Hardin Co. is approx. 20 miles north of my location. First off, I would like to clarify that I am no stranger to the outdoors. I have hunted and fished all over the South and have heard and seen most everything you can possibly imagine (and some things you can't). Furthermore, I have been going to this particular area for close to thirty years and have never heard anything remotely close to what I heard in this report.
I was fishing late one evening in Sept. of 2004 on the Neches River in a canal that leads back into the marsh. I was fishing on the incoming tide so I was using no paddle or trolling motor. It was very quiet. Then, out of the silence came a VERY LOUD "scream/roar". I cannot emphasize enough how loud it was. It sounded like whatever made it was within 60 yards of me. It was continuous, and lasted about 5 seconds. I was very startled and began wondering,
A.) WHAT in the world made that sound?; and
B.) WHERE is it right now!?
I stayed right there, looking and listening, until it became too dark to see and I never heard or saw anything again. On the way out, I began a process of elimination..."Was it an OWL?" Barred owls and Screech owls are common to this area and I have seen and heard both my whole life. I've heard Screech owls on this river at night make noises that would make you want to jump out of the boat! But this vocalization was in no way even close to that. This was different entirely. I said to myself, "NO WAY this was an owl." Nor was it a coyote, crane, dog, hog, cougar, cow or anything I have ever experienced in the outdoors. I even entertained it being a person, but I don't think a person could make a noise like that with THAT MUCH VOLUME behind it. Besides, it was a weekday and mine was the only boat I saw on the whole river that evening. There are also no houses or public roads in that particular area. In addition, in 30 years I have never seen a person on the banks in the whole bayou, much less that particular canal.
I went over this experience in my mind over the next several months, and the more I thought about it, the more it bothered me. It was at that point I began to entertain the possibility of it being "something else." On a prompt from a friend, I began looking for information on the internet about the possible existence of sasquatches and whether or not any sightings were ever officially reported in this part of the country. I was surprised to find so much information on the subject. From this site, I went to the GCBRO site and there was a posting from Nov. 2004 in Hardin County, TX that was very similar to my experience. That person said that they too had heard a loud vocalization going to a deer stand and upon doing some research had found it to be similar to a sound byte from Washington State called the Klamath Scream. Then I found a vocalization from the NAWAC?s Operation Thicket Probe expedition called The Big Thicket Howl. So, played it. The Big Thicket Howl is IDENTICAL to what I heard. Only mine was much louder because of the proximity.
So now, I am absolutely sure of one thing...
FACT: There is a type of animal that lives in the marshes of Southeast Texas that also lives in the mountains of Washington that can make one heck of a noise.
OPINION: I believe that sound came from an animal. From what I have heard and read to this point, I believe it COULD have been a sasquatch. But, if someone wants to show me the animal that lives in both the marshes of Texas and the mountains of Washington that can make that kind of noise ...I'm all for it. If they can't, I say, "Let's find out just what IS making that noise."
In closing, all I guess I can say is that I KNOW what I heard and I KNOW what it wasn't.
Physical evidence:
I did not get out and look at the time. (No flashlight by the time it got dark) I did go back twice this Summer (July 2005), during the daytime, and found nothing peculiar. There was much more traffic on the River though during those times.
Sounds:
Yes. Very loud...5 second duration... virtually identical to The Big Thicket Howl recorded during NAWAC?s Operation Thicket Probe from the Big Thicket, just a few miles from where I heard the sound. Deep, raspy, scream/roar. Never heard this particular sound before in this location or anywhere else for that matter.
Investigator's Observations
Even though sound-only reports generally can be quite vague and can leave much room for misinterpretation, this report intrigued us because of the description of the vocalization that the witness reportedly heard and the location of the incident. The location of the NAWAC's Operation Thicket Probe expedition was not far from where this reported incident took place. During that expedition, researchers recorded a vocalization that fits the description of that reportedly heard by the witness.
In discussing the incident with the witness, I learned that the witness had never given much thought to the actual existence of an undocumented species of primate, even though he had heard other outdoorsmen in the region tell of seeing and hearing things that they could not explain. Like many others in Southeast Texas, the witness grew up hearing stories about the "wild man" of the Big Thicket, but he dismissed them.
The witness told me that when he heard the loud, piercing, howling, scream, it certainly startled him. He had absolutely no thoughts about bigfoot, the wild man or sasquatch. He simply wanted to know what could have made such a loud scream for such a duration. The witness was impressed not only by the volume, which was "incredible," but also by the vocalization's duration, which was at least five seconds long. The witness, a high school teacher and coach, instantly knew that those two characteristics preclude most, if not all, known indigenous animals of the region. It should be noted that this vocalization was heard at a time during the day that appears aberrant from most other vocalization reports; the witness reported that he heard the sound at roughly 6 pm. Based on the experiences of NAWAC researchers and other aural reports, typically, purported sasquatch vocalizations are heard at night, beginning at dusk. That being said, there have been exceptions.
For some time after the event, the witness remained puzzled about the aural encounter. At the prodding of a friend, he began to reluctantly entertain the possibility of an unconventional source - bigfoot. Upon searching via the Internet, the witness found the Klamath Scream and the NAWAC's Big Thicket Howl to be most like what he heard, with the Big Thicket Howl, in the words of the witness, being nearly identical.
The witness's perception about things has been altered. He is now convinced, simply by hearing the extraordinary vocalization, that there is indeed an unknown animal that exists in the Big Thicket region of Southeast Texas. He told me that it makes perfect sense to him, now, that an animal of this nature would resort to loud imposing vocalizations to locate others of its kind, especially if it is rare and largely nocturnal.
In discussing the incident with the witness, I learned that the witness had never given much thought to the actual existence of an undocumented species of primate, even though he had heard other outdoorsmen in the region tell of seeing and hearing things that they could not explain. Like many others in Southeast Texas, the witness grew up hearing stories about the "wild man" of the Big Thicket, but he dismissed them.
The witness told me that when he heard the loud, piercing, howling, scream, it certainly startled him. He had absolutely no thoughts about bigfoot, the wild man or sasquatch. He simply wanted to know what could have made such a loud scream for such a duration. The witness was impressed not only by the volume, which was "incredible," but also by the vocalization's duration, which was at least five seconds long. The witness, a high school teacher and coach, instantly knew that those two characteristics preclude most, if not all, known indigenous animals of the region. It should be noted that this vocalization was heard at a time during the day that appears aberrant from most other vocalization reports; the witness reported that he heard the sound at roughly 6 pm. Based on the experiences of NAWAC researchers and other aural reports, typically, purported sasquatch vocalizations are heard at night, beginning at dusk. That being said, there have been exceptions.
For some time after the event, the witness remained puzzled about the aural encounter. At the prodding of a friend, he began to reluctantly entertain the possibility of an unconventional source - bigfoot. Upon searching via the Internet, the witness found the Klamath Scream and the NAWAC's Big Thicket Howl to be most like what he heard, with the Big Thicket Howl, in the words of the witness, being nearly identical.
The witness's perception about things has been altered. He is now convinced, simply by hearing the extraordinary vocalization, that there is indeed an unknown animal that exists in the Big Thicket region of Southeast Texas. He told me that it makes perfect sense to him, now, that an animal of this nature would resort to loud imposing vocalizations to locate others of its kind, especially if it is rare and largely nocturnal.
