Class 3b Encounter Report in Auberry, CA, Case #21011001

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: 21011001

Wood Knocks Heard and Tracks Found

Report Details

Occurrence date: February/2011
Location: County, CA
Nearby/Vicinity: Auberry
Time / Conditions: 01:00 — Fog with drizzle. Visibility was very low-maybe 200 feet.
# of Witnesses: 1

Witness Account:
Was at home working on my computer. Had just logged off when I heard a very loud wood knock. Not sure what it was, I dismissed it. Then it happened again. A minute or so later, there was another. This happened two more times, then it stopped.

The next morning, I called my mother, who lived in a ranch house next door (and where I live now after her passing), and she said she had heard nothing-and my stepdad would have gone out with a firearm to see if there was anything if either one of them had heard anything unusual. They left later that morning on an RV trip, and I went to check a creek than runs behind the house and runs on the ranch for some length. I found impressions in wet grass (it had been foggy with drizzle that night) with a 4-ft. stride between them. The impressions were about 15-16" long. I followed the impressions to a rocky area where there is a pad for an old RR bridge-the RR was taken out in 1937-and nothing else was found. Since it was late afternoon, and beginning to get dark, and with only a fire-fighting axe/scraper to defend myself, I did what anyone else would do: I went back the way I came!

Hand/foot prints:
The impressions were not footprints, but showed that something or someone had been walking there. They were about 15-16" long and maybe 6" wide (just a guess as I had no ruler or tape measure).

Sounds:
none

Additional observations:
No smell or anything unusual found.

Investigator's Observations

Investigator(s): Lawrence Burns

Report Summary: Witness heard 5 wood knocks and the next day observed tracks left in grass.

I interviewed the reporting party, Matt Wiser, via phone call on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 1715.

The witness seemed very credible. He was very knowledgeable about the local area including the terrain, roads, and human population. The witness submitted his report to the NAWAC and the BFRO and at the time of the interview the BFRO had not contacted the witness. The witness was certain of the month (February) and the year (2011) of the incident, but could not recall the exact date. The information gathered during the interview matched the report given precisely.

Information gained from the interview not included in the original report:

- There was a total of five wood knocks, each about one minute apart. They were very loud and sounded like wood striking wood. The next day the witness looked for trees with marks or bark knocked off, but could not locate any. The witness also tried numerous methods to duplicate the sound, the closest being striking a board against a tree as hard as he could. The sound was very similar, but not as loud.

- There were no accurate measurements or pictures taken of the tracks. The witness was confident the tracks were from a large bipedal animal. The witness stated that it took two of his strides to cover one stride of the tracks. The witness followed the tracks to pad for an old railroad bridge where the tracks stopped. The witness theorized that whatever made the tracks either jumped into or over the creek. The creek was about two feet wide at the time.

- An episode of Finding Bigfoot was filmed in the town and when they asked a gathering of the population if any of them had had "experiences". The witness said about 15 people raised their hands.

- A friend of the witness had a night time visual encounter 1-2 weeks before, but had not told the witness about it until after the witness told the friend about the wood knocks and tracks.

- The subject seems to be talked about often in this small town. He pointed out that he hasn't heard about anyone having encounters since the creek fire that lasted from September to December of 2020.