- 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: 01060015
Class 1dNighttime encounter on rural property near Hooks, Texas
Report Details
Occurrence date: April/1995
Location: Bowie County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Rural Hooks
Time / Conditions: 10:00 pm — Clear sky. Wooded, but near homes. Many farms down in the bottoms close to this area.
# of Witnesses: 2
Location: Bowie County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Rural Hooks
Time / Conditions: 10:00 pm — Clear sky. Wooded, but near homes. Many farms down in the bottoms close to this area.
# of Witnesses: 2
Witness Account:
My coon hounds started barking in the barn where I had each hound in separate horse stalls. My one coon dog never barked while on his chain or in the pen, only while he was hunting. That is what got my attention when he started barking. The barn was about 30 yards behind the house. Me and a friend of mine both looked at each other when the barking started. Hounds as you may know have a different kind of bark when they smell something that spooks them. We call this "booger barking." I have encountered this one time before down in the Red River Bottoms where I coon hunted. Anyway, we got up and looked out the back porch window. Chris's little cow dog was looking and barking at a small barn just north of the big barn where the hounds were. We looked toward where she was barking and there is where we saw an upright creature, black in color, standing behind the little barn as if hiding from the hounds. The creature was slightly humped over, but we judged it was still about seven foot tall. We grabbed my coon light which had a spotlight, and shined it on the creature. He turned around and glanced at us. I will never forget the eyes. They were copper clad, almost gold in color. The creature then retreated back off toward the thin strip of woods behind the barns. We grabbed a shotgun and without thinking, went out to the little barn. There were several "tramped down" places where it was standing, and the bush near the barn where the creature was standing behind had broken leaves on the ground. No hair, and no footprints! We should have immediately sealed off this area and searched real good for hair but we didn't. I think this is a problem when bigfoot is sighted. People are so excited like we were, they don't think clearly for just finding evidence. People want to get another sighting or spot it again. I beleive I have also ran into this same creature or something similar before while coon hunting Red River Bottoms, but never got a visual sight of it. We just smelled it and was tracked out by the animal as we were coon hunting. Hope this helps. There have been many sightings in the Red river bottoms around Hooks. Thank you.
Additional observations:
Tall, about seven feet tall, slightly slouched over, copper eyes -- almost gold. It was black in color. No smell to the animal, but I think I have encountered him before while coon hunting, and I have smelled the animal, and I believe have been tracked out by the animal while handling hounds. So excited we didn't do a good look for evidence. Just the ground and grass flattened down where it was standing. No. Not this encounter, but I have smelled him before I think. It smelled almost like rotten stagnant water.
People have reported it further down in the Red River bottoms near the river. My father had a sighting when I was little off Hwy 59 near the Sulphur River bottoms. An old man named Rose who coonhunted with us said he saw this creature in the 70s while coon hunting. His wife also saw this creature very early before sunrise while she was driving to work. It was said to be about seven foot tall, and had a "goat head." No horns and brown in color. He described it as having a man's body and build, standing on two legs upright. His hound ran into the creature and started barking at it. When he got to the hounds, he saw the creature, standing between two small saplings, thrashing the saplings toward the ground trying to scare off the dogs. This man had seen everything in these bottoms, and he said he ran plum out of his boots to get back to the truck! Another gentlemen was hunting with him, but I cannot recall his name. Both gentlemen are passed away now.
Investigator's Observations
Investigator(s): Charles DeVore
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred near Hooks, in Bowie County, Texas, April 1995.
I spoke with the primary witness at length concerning this report, and also visited with the secondary witness. The witness gave testimony that there were three mature coon dogs in his large barn all barking with a sense of urgency, referred to by the witness as the "booger bark." The witness explained that his dogs "booger bark" when something is not normal or when they are afraid or agitated and their barks become frantic in tone and duration. There was also a small "cow dog" that was running loose in their yard.
The witness explained that it was pitch dark outside and the little dog was barking and looking in a certain direction, which alerted the men to look in that direction. The witness recalled grabbing his coon hunting light rig (Sunburst 6 volt with side spotlight) and shined the spotlight in the direction that the little dog was barking. The witness next remembered that at a distance of approximately 30 yards, he saw what appeared to be the large animal described in his report. The unidentified upright subject turned to look at the men when they illuminated it with the light. The witness claimed that the subject looked at them for less than two seconds, turned and quickly walked off into the woods. The eye shine appeared to be a reflection of the witness's coon hunting spotlight. Total time of viewing the subject was estimated by the witness to be about three seconds before it turned to leave.
The smaller barn housed chickens; the witness assumed that the subject was attempting to raid the chickens before being detected by the several dogs. Both witnesses agreed on all the details of what they viewed. The primary witness has been an avid coon hunter all his life and extremely familiar with all known indigenous wildlife in the region; he seemed to be well qualified to eliminate any other known animal. The witness told me that he has witnessed his dogs chasing black bears and panthers; his dogs never acted afraid of those animals like they did in relation to this animal.
The primary witness also related to me that while coon hunting on a couple of different occasions, his dogs returned to him, cowering and would not return to the hunt. During these occurrences, there was an overpowering stench described as "stale swamp water and urine." On one other occasion, the witness recalled being "escorted out" of the woods while detecting this same malodorous smell and hearing loud crashing through the woods; his dogs were cowering all around him. The witness went on to say that he never sighted whatever "escorted" him and his dogs.
The primary witness told me that he heard many related stories given by older fellow coon hunters and his father from back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The area in general is densely wooded, sparsely populated by humans, receives abundant annual rainfall, and has numerous creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds and bayous. It is seemingly perfect habitat for a very rare, secretive, largely nocturnal animal. In addition, the area has a long history of rumors and reported encounters with an unknown primate-like species of creature that most closely fits the description of the sasquatch.
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred near Hooks, in Bowie County, Texas, April 1995.
I spoke with the primary witness at length concerning this report, and also visited with the secondary witness. The witness gave testimony that there were three mature coon dogs in his large barn all barking with a sense of urgency, referred to by the witness as the "booger bark." The witness explained that his dogs "booger bark" when something is not normal or when they are afraid or agitated and their barks become frantic in tone and duration. There was also a small "cow dog" that was running loose in their yard.
The witness explained that it was pitch dark outside and the little dog was barking and looking in a certain direction, which alerted the men to look in that direction. The witness recalled grabbing his coon hunting light rig (Sunburst 6 volt with side spotlight) and shined the spotlight in the direction that the little dog was barking. The witness next remembered that at a distance of approximately 30 yards, he saw what appeared to be the large animal described in his report. The unidentified upright subject turned to look at the men when they illuminated it with the light. The witness claimed that the subject looked at them for less than two seconds, turned and quickly walked off into the woods. The eye shine appeared to be a reflection of the witness's coon hunting spotlight. Total time of viewing the subject was estimated by the witness to be about three seconds before it turned to leave.
The smaller barn housed chickens; the witness assumed that the subject was attempting to raid the chickens before being detected by the several dogs. Both witnesses agreed on all the details of what they viewed. The primary witness has been an avid coon hunter all his life and extremely familiar with all known indigenous wildlife in the region; he seemed to be well qualified to eliminate any other known animal. The witness told me that he has witnessed his dogs chasing black bears and panthers; his dogs never acted afraid of those animals like they did in relation to this animal.
The primary witness also related to me that while coon hunting on a couple of different occasions, his dogs returned to him, cowering and would not return to the hunt. During these occurrences, there was an overpowering stench described as "stale swamp water and urine." On one other occasion, the witness recalled being "escorted out" of the woods while detecting this same malodorous smell and hearing loud crashing through the woods; his dogs were cowering all around him. The witness went on to say that he never sighted whatever "escorted" him and his dogs.
The primary witness told me that he heard many related stories given by older fellow coon hunters and his father from back in the 1960s and 1970s.
The area in general is densely wooded, sparsely populated by humans, receives abundant annual rainfall, and has numerous creeks, rivers, lakes, ponds and bayous. It is seemingly perfect habitat for a very rare, secretive, largely nocturnal animal. In addition, the area has a long history of rumors and reported encounters with an unknown primate-like species of creature that most closely fits the description of the sasquatch.
