- 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: 01090045
Class 3aCamper claims to have visual encounter on shore of Lake Tawakoni.
Report Details
Occurrence date: Summer/1986
Location: Rains County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: East Tawakoni
Time / Conditions: 23:00 — Hot summer night. Clear skies as I remember, but little to no moon light.
# of Witnesses: 3
Location: Rains County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: East Tawakoni
Time / Conditions: 23:00 — Hot summer night. Clear skies as I remember, but little to no moon light.
# of Witnesses: 3
Witness Account:
I have never forgotten the experience my friends and I had one night while attempting to spend the night on the shore of Lake Tawakoni.
I was about 16-17 years old at the time and it was mid-summer. The lake level had dropped enough to provide a large shore line that we would make bond fires on and ride motorcycles, etc. (We lived on about 20 acres of lake front property)
After setting up tents and starting a large camp fire, we generally goofed off and told stories until we had adequately freaked ourselves out so we went back to the house to calm down and regain our braveness.
Sometime after midnight we decided none of us had the guts to sleep in the tents so we all got flashlights and made our way back down to the lake to put out the fire.
As we came within 100 yards of our tents we heard the distinct sound of someone inside the tent moving around pretty aggressively....you know that sound you make when you rub against the nylon fabric of a tent.
Thinking it was some other friends trying to scare us we all trained our flashlights on the tent that was moving around and as we walked closer, began to yell out threats to whoever was in there.
The camp fire we had made had burned down to a red-orange glow. We all were very nervous and the hairs on my body were standing on end....something wasn't right and we all felt it.
As we got within about 50 yards of our tents, a figure came out of the tent and trotted off from our left to right with the camp fire between us and it.
To this day I can see this creature in my minds eye very clearly. I believe it was a young bigfoot (I know this now...not then) that was around 5 1/2 to 6 feet tall (that's a guess on my part as I am 6'4" tall).
It had a very pronounced slump in the head/shoulder area with little to no neck and hair all over the body that was not dense.....the hair seemed to average about 1-2 inches tall and was standing mostly straight up vs. laying down. Much like a young orangutan.
I remember it having very long arms and a very muscular body.
I'm guessing this was a "teenage" bigfoot that was trying to find something in our tent to eat or steal.
Needless to say, we all stood motionless for a few seconds as the creature disappeared in the dark woods, then we all broke the sound barrier as we took off back to the house.
We all stayed pretty silent the rest of the night and went to sleep in my bedroom. After everyone had gone home the next morning, I rode my dirtbike down to the campsite to clean everything up.
As I shut the bike off, I had the VERY strong feeling of being watched and after just a few minutes couldn't take it anymore and started towards my bike. As I was getting on I heard a very loud and very deep grunt the likes of which I had never heard before or since. It put a fear in me that, as I type this, is giving me goose-bumps.
I put my bike in gear and took off like a scaled cat back to the main house.
After explaining everything to my dad, and he seeing my pale face, got the shotgun and we both walked back down. When we got there the terrible feeling of being watched was gone and it was if everything was normal.
We poked around and didn't see anything. To this day I wonder why we didn't look for prints in the dried clay of the shoreline but I guess we just didn't know any better.
I've never told anyone this story because I thought I was crazy for seeing what I believe to be a young bigfoot in the Lake Tawakoni area....but I see from your web-site that I am not alone...there have been several sightings in that area around the same time frame as mine.
Hand/foot prints:
None
Sounds:
The only sound was the next morning. It was a very deep guttural grunt that scared me to the core and it had a bass volume that no human could reproduce. Not overly loud just very deep and strong...I could almost "feel" it in my chest and I have never been that scared.
Additional observations:
No smell was observed like so many others say is associated with bigfoot...maybe this creature wasn't old enough yet to have acquired it.
Investigator's Observations
Investigator(s): Jerry Hestand
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Rains County near Lake Tawakoni in 1986.
The witness is a helicopter pilot. It had been over two decades and he decided to report his experience to the NAWAC after learning that others may have had similar experiences in the same general area. The witness and I discussed the incident at length. He seemed reasonable, sensible and reliable. I could detect no signs of deception and I believe that the witness told the truth; he believes that he saw an animal that falls within the physical parameters for a young sasquatch.
The individual first explained that his family owned land in East Tawakoni by the lakeside. He went on to tell me that at the time of the incident, he and his friends were making quite a bit of noise during their campout. I asked the witness about the possibility of someone attempting to hoax him, but the witness countered that a hoax was highly unlikely. He described the subject as extremely muscled with thin hair covering its body and he believed that someone would have to go to extraordinary lengths to fake this.
The witness stated that he believed that he got a fairly good look at the subject because it was between him and a large campfire. The witness stated that the subject came out of his tent and was silhouetted against the large campfire. He described it as having no obvious neck and standing in a posture that appeared stooped or ?hunched over.? Its arms appeared longer than would be expected from a human. The witness said the subject moved extremely fast. As he recalled, the subject did not look at him; he only saw the profile of the right side of its head. He further claimed that the subject?s hair ?stuck out? with skin exposed between the hairs somewhat like an elephant has sparse coverage. The witness estimated the height of the subject as roughly five and one-half feet. Because of the sparse hair coverage and size of the individual, the witness speculated that what he saw was a juvenile or young sasquatch.
The witness attempted to replicate the vocalization that he heard upon his return to the site the next day. The sound as explained by the witness was an expulsion of air: ?WHHAAA?? It was a sound that has been similarly described by other witnesses.
The witness lamented that he and his friends did not look for prints. He realized later that impressions would likely have been left by the subject because of the soft sand.
The witness claimed that he lost all contact with the other witnesses. He claimed that he never told his father that he felt he saw a bigfoot, rather, he had felt a large animal was on the property and he wanted to have his father investigate.
The only prior incidents on the property were occasional "spooky" sounds that would cause him and his mother to go back to their house and leave the beach area when they were alone in the area.
The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy has investigated reports from the area of the lake in Hunt County since 2001. NAWAC investigators discovered large tracks near the lake in 2002. The strength of the witness and a history of similar observations in the area suggest to me that this report is feasible and that it is possible the report is based on an observation of a transient individual.
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Rains County near Lake Tawakoni in 1986.
The witness is a helicopter pilot. It had been over two decades and he decided to report his experience to the NAWAC after learning that others may have had similar experiences in the same general area. The witness and I discussed the incident at length. He seemed reasonable, sensible and reliable. I could detect no signs of deception and I believe that the witness told the truth; he believes that he saw an animal that falls within the physical parameters for a young sasquatch.
The individual first explained that his family owned land in East Tawakoni by the lakeside. He went on to tell me that at the time of the incident, he and his friends were making quite a bit of noise during their campout. I asked the witness about the possibility of someone attempting to hoax him, but the witness countered that a hoax was highly unlikely. He described the subject as extremely muscled with thin hair covering its body and he believed that someone would have to go to extraordinary lengths to fake this.
The witness stated that he believed that he got a fairly good look at the subject because it was between him and a large campfire. The witness stated that the subject came out of his tent and was silhouetted against the large campfire. He described it as having no obvious neck and standing in a posture that appeared stooped or ?hunched over.? Its arms appeared longer than would be expected from a human. The witness said the subject moved extremely fast. As he recalled, the subject did not look at him; he only saw the profile of the right side of its head. He further claimed that the subject?s hair ?stuck out? with skin exposed between the hairs somewhat like an elephant has sparse coverage. The witness estimated the height of the subject as roughly five and one-half feet. Because of the sparse hair coverage and size of the individual, the witness speculated that what he saw was a juvenile or young sasquatch.
The witness attempted to replicate the vocalization that he heard upon his return to the site the next day. The sound as explained by the witness was an expulsion of air: ?WHHAAA?? It was a sound that has been similarly described by other witnesses.
The witness lamented that he and his friends did not look for prints. He realized later that impressions would likely have been left by the subject because of the soft sand.
The witness claimed that he lost all contact with the other witnesses. He claimed that he never told his father that he felt he saw a bigfoot, rather, he had felt a large animal was on the property and he wanted to have his father investigate.
The only prior incidents on the property were occasional "spooky" sounds that would cause him and his mother to go back to their house and leave the beach area when they were alone in the area.
The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy has investigated reports from the area of the lake in Hunt County since 2001. NAWAC investigators discovered large tracks near the lake in 2002. The strength of the witness and a history of similar observations in the area suggest to me that this report is feasible and that it is possible the report is based on an observation of a transient individual.
