- 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: 22121201
Class 3aHikers have an encounter in a remote area in Trinity County
Report Details
Occurrence date: June/2020
Location: Trinity County, CA
Time / Conditions: 10:00 — About 10 AM. Sunny with clear skies.
# of Witnesses: 2
Location: Trinity County, CA
Time / Conditions: 10:00 — About 10 AM. Sunny with clear skies.
# of Witnesses: 2
Witness Account:
Until this happened, I did not believe or accept the existence of a large bipedal animal. My husband and I are long-distance hikers and have twice spent six months sleeping in the wilderness in a tent hiking from Mexico to Canada.
This day we were hiking in an uninhabited Trinity County, California area. We both heard an unfamiliar animal or bird calling. I was the only one who saw anything when I looked for the source of the sound and saw an animal licking water from the opposite bank of the creek. (20 feet below me and about 30 feet away). No ears were visible, just a round black head. The animal sensed me and looked up.
When this animal saw me, its eyes widened in fear, and its call changed to one of fear. It began running on all fours - on hands and feet with knees bent - up the steep hill, trying to stay low and hide. Running first to the left, then doubling back towards the right, kind of like a ‘Z’. I am in shock but still hiking while trying to catch a glimpse and figure out what I am seeing running on the opposite bank and mountainside. My view is partially obstructed by fir trees and debris. Suddenly, it turns uphill, goes upright on two legs, and is running quickly straight up the mountainside. I kept walking and now had a clear, unobstructed view of its back. It had short black hair, tall and skinny. The legs were about 4 feet long and thin, not touching the crotch. No penis or testicles were visible. Round head, no visible ears. Ran like a human, fast and swinging arms all the while fearfully calling out to another one I couldn’t see. This occurred about 1.5 miles from my home. The next two nights, I was awakened at night by a foul smell.
I know what I didn’t see. This was not a bear, deer, or elk, all of which are common to the area. I spend a tremendous amount of time hiking to stay in shape and am presently training to hike the AT in 2023. We are familiar with local wildlife and had never heard this animal before or since. After a great deal of thought, I am of the opinion that it was a young female being given the opportunity to go alone to get a drink. She was calling out her location when we heard her calls (about 6 of them). When she saw me, she was terrified and ran back to her parents crying out the way any child would (I am a mother and instinctively recognized the cry). Her parents tracked us to our home to investigate the threat we posed to their offspring. This animal exhibited both human behaviors /emotions but looked like an animal. The area where this occurred is located between Hwy 299 to the north and Hayfork, CA to the south. This area is basically 175 miles of uninhabited forest, steep terrain, some meadows, and streams with elevations from 500 ft to above 6,000ft.
Follow-up in July 2022: I was awakened by a foul smell, as was my sister-in-law in another nearby residence. Where I live consists of seasonally (rarely) used homes. The trail we were hiking on is private, one we maintain, and is only used by us. Usually, we are gone in the summer months, but in 2020 we were home (COVID).
Sounds:
Unfamiliar calls (about 6) followed by urgent calling (about 10)
Additional observations:
The two nights following the incident I was awakened by a fouls odor. This occurred again in July 2022
Investigator's Observations
Investigator(s): Bob Strain and Kathy Strain
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Trinity County, California, in June 2020. NAWAC Investigators Bob and Kathy Strain interviewed the primary witness via telephone on December 28, 2022.
These additional details can be added:
• The reported sighting occurred at approximately 10:00 AM on 20 June 2020 in a great area of superior habitat.
• The witness is adamant that the subject was licking water from the creek and was not using its hands to assist in drinking.
• When the subject saw her, its eyes got very large, and she was able to see the whites of the eyes and black pupils. She described the face as "more human-like than ape-like" and dark in color.
• As the subject ran up the hill, it was on all fours. She could not see the hands because it was behind a fallen log, and therefore she could not tell how much the hands were helping it get up the slope.
• The witness recalled that its knees were bent, but its rear end was not higher than the shoulders.
• The hair was a matte finish and not shiny at all.
• When it stood up, she estimated its height to be six feet tall.
• That night, she smelled an odor coming in through the open window. It smelled like a very foul human body odor. She looked outside but did not see anything.
Post-publishing addendum:
The smell was the only indication of visitation to her residence those two nights. She reported no sounds or visuals. She said that it was warm weather and that she slept with her bedroom window open whenever possible. She described the odor as similar to when she and her husband encountered a hiker on a trail that had not recently bathed or washed.
As for the "parents following her home," she surmised this after reading up on the subject of "bigfoot," which became an obsession for her following these occurrences. The witness surmised that the animals tracked her by her scent because she had stopped along the trail home to urinate. We told her they probably followed her home while watching her and that they may well have been familiar with the small group of homes where she lived and were just curious.
The vocals she initially heard are reminiscent of the so-called "Tahoe Scream," which included two individuals calling back and forth. She thought it was some kind of bird that she was hearing. We could not get her to try to mimic the call or even describe it any further other than to say it sounded frantic as it ran off. (We believe the target species is much more vocal in the Pacific Northwest than in the North American Interior Highlands.)
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Trinity County, California, in June 2020. NAWAC Investigators Bob and Kathy Strain interviewed the primary witness via telephone on December 28, 2022.
These additional details can be added:
• The reported sighting occurred at approximately 10:00 AM on 20 June 2020 in a great area of superior habitat.
• The witness is adamant that the subject was licking water from the creek and was not using its hands to assist in drinking.
• When the subject saw her, its eyes got very large, and she was able to see the whites of the eyes and black pupils. She described the face as "more human-like than ape-like" and dark in color.
• As the subject ran up the hill, it was on all fours. She could not see the hands because it was behind a fallen log, and therefore she could not tell how much the hands were helping it get up the slope.
• The witness recalled that its knees were bent, but its rear end was not higher than the shoulders.
• The hair was a matte finish and not shiny at all.
• When it stood up, she estimated its height to be six feet tall.
• That night, she smelled an odor coming in through the open window. It smelled like a very foul human body odor. She looked outside but did not see anything.
Post-publishing addendum:
The smell was the only indication of visitation to her residence those two nights. She reported no sounds or visuals. She said that it was warm weather and that she slept with her bedroom window open whenever possible. She described the odor as similar to when she and her husband encountered a hiker on a trail that had not recently bathed or washed.
As for the "parents following her home," she surmised this after reading up on the subject of "bigfoot," which became an obsession for her following these occurrences. The witness surmised that the animals tracked her by her scent because she had stopped along the trail home to urinate. We told her they probably followed her home while watching her and that they may well have been familiar with the small group of homes where she lived and were just curious.
The vocals she initially heard are reminiscent of the so-called "Tahoe Scream," which included two individuals calling back and forth. She thought it was some kind of bird that she was hearing. We could not get her to try to mimic the call or even describe it any further other than to say it sounded frantic as it ran off. (We believe the target species is much more vocal in the Pacific Northwest than in the North American Interior Highlands.)
