- 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: 23012601
Class 3aWoman reports an encounter with leaping "man-like ape" as she drives down her driveway
Report Details
Occurrence date: January/2023
Location: Austin County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Austin County
Time / Conditions: 17:30 — It was still light out, clear weather, although the weather in the past 24 hours was remarkably bad - tornado warnings, hail, 100 mph winds, flooding, trees down - unusually disruptive.
# of Witnesses: 1
Location: Austin County, TX
Nearby/Vicinity: Austin County
Time / Conditions: 17:30 — It was still light out, clear weather, although the weather in the past 24 hours was remarkably bad - tornado warnings, hail, 100 mph winds, flooding, trees down - unusually disruptive.
# of Witnesses: 1
Witness Account:
I live on a wooded multi-acre property with a pond. Leaving my house and beginning up my driveway, I saw a bipedal man-like ape "leap" across the drive in ONE "step" and immediately disappear into the woods. It went from the left side to the right and disappeared into the woods. It appeared very tall, but the moment I saw it, it was literally in the air, crossing. I've lived here for several years and am very familiar with wildlife. The only larger animals are deer, hogs, and an occasional wayward cow. This was more than twice the height of any of those. It was shaped like a huge man/ape, definitely upright, definitely no clothes, and very deep black hair covering its body. I was absolutely caught off guard and confused, and keep driving up the drive but did not see it again.
About 2 years back, two times in the middle of the night, I heard a "whooping" sound from various directions of the woods. We wondered what it was because it sounded more like an ape than anything else. Definitely not a boar or cattle. People who lived all their lives here seemed to think it was a "normal" sound, but that was going by my imitation, and I felt like they thought it was hilarious that I was questioning animal sounds, so I just never brought it up again. Then today, this man-like ape leaps across my path and literally was gone in seconds. I'm still sort of processing it, but I wanted to look up a way to report it before I felt too foolish and changed my mind about reporting it, so here we are.
Sounds:
None directly associated, but see sound references above.
Additional observations:
Actually, I did not register this until I reached this question, but walking out to the car there was a sort of foul odor that seemed organic and just - foul.
Investigator's Observations
Investigator(s): Daryl Colyer and Rich Howard
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Austin County, Texas, on the early evening of January 25, 2023. The approximate time of the incident was 5:30 PM CST. NAWAC Investigators Daryl Colyer and Rich Howard interviewed the witness at length, first by phone and then in person at the site of the putative encounter. The precise location of the alleged encounter and other details have been sanitized to protect the privacy and security of the observer.
I [Daryl Colyer] interviewed the witness by telephone the following morning after the reported incident. The witness was still trying to process the incident; she was excited, confused, and stunned. I believe she had a mild form of PTSD. The witness told me that she had just gotten in her car to leave. She was on the phone with a friend when she noted movement ahead of her off the left side of her long gravel driveway, ~100 meters away. She loudly exclaimed to her friend, “WHAT IS THAT?!” as she saw a large upright figure in a small clearing ahead leaping forward through the air toward the driveway. Its color was uniformly black; it was covered with hair and appeared like a long jumper as it leaped. She said its upper body leaned into the jump, and when it landed, it became upright; then it disappeared into the woods just off the driveway. It never looked at her; it just looked straight ahead as if it was on a mission. She said it was “taller than Kareem Abdul-Jabar” but much thicker and more robust. She said it appeared as though it was “a group of barrels all connected”; the chest was barrel-like, as were the shoulders, arms, legs, and glutes. She said it was “just massive.” The head was pointed, and there was no snout on the face. She slowed down as she arrived at where the subject had leaped across the driveway. The witness looked into the thick woods but could see no movement or signs of the subject. She was deeply puzzled and amazed by what she saw.
When she talked to me the next morning, she said she was trying to talk herself out of it. I asked the witness, “Well, are you prone to delusions? Were you under the influence of any substances? Do you normally see things that aren’t there?” She answered just as straightforwardly that she is not delusional, does not do drugs, does not drink alcohol, and has no history of seeing imaginary things.
We concluded the phone call with arrangements for an onsite investigation.
On the afternoon of January 28, 2023, NAWAC Investigator Rich Howard joined me for a property survey and further inquiry into the matter face-to-face with the witness.
When we arrived at 4:00, the witness greeted us in front of her house. She immediately thanked us for coming and explained in person what she had seen just a few days before our onsite visit. The physical characteristics of the site immediately struck us. It is a multi-acre property with substantial forestation—lots of hardwoods, mature cedar, and occasional loblolly pine—as well as a large pond and many thin but running little creeks, draws, and branches snaking all through the surrounding woods. It had rained almost every night since the reported incident; however, there was abundant wildlife sign (though much degraded due to the nearly constant rains since the observation). We searched the property for any corroborating sign and found nothing that we could reasonably connect to the reported encounter. The only thing we can say with confidence is that the site lends to the plausibility and credibility of the encounter. There is a history of other reported sightings in the area, with both Lake Somerville to the north and Sam Houston National Forest to the northeast having accounts of reported encounters with the target species.
The witness told us in person that she and her husband have sometimes heard loud, conspicuous percussive impact sounds from the woods behind their house, and they wondered what the sounds might be. She said she learned on the NAWAC website that the sounds were likely “wood knock” sounds. She said one sound in particular on one night was close and just behind the house. She said the sound was explosive in nature. Other nights, she said she and her husband have heard “whoop” vocalizations from several individuals behind the house in the dense woods.
Conclusion: We found the witness, the report, and the site to be credible and plausible.
This investigation was conducted as a result of an incident that allegedly occurred in Austin County, Texas, on the early evening of January 25, 2023. The approximate time of the incident was 5:30 PM CST. NAWAC Investigators Daryl Colyer and Rich Howard interviewed the witness at length, first by phone and then in person at the site of the putative encounter. The precise location of the alleged encounter and other details have been sanitized to protect the privacy and security of the observer.
I [Daryl Colyer] interviewed the witness by telephone the following morning after the reported incident. The witness was still trying to process the incident; she was excited, confused, and stunned. I believe she had a mild form of PTSD. The witness told me that she had just gotten in her car to leave. She was on the phone with a friend when she noted movement ahead of her off the left side of her long gravel driveway, ~100 meters away. She loudly exclaimed to her friend, “WHAT IS THAT?!” as she saw a large upright figure in a small clearing ahead leaping forward through the air toward the driveway. Its color was uniformly black; it was covered with hair and appeared like a long jumper as it leaped. She said its upper body leaned into the jump, and when it landed, it became upright; then it disappeared into the woods just off the driveway. It never looked at her; it just looked straight ahead as if it was on a mission. She said it was “taller than Kareem Abdul-Jabar” but much thicker and more robust. She said it appeared as though it was “a group of barrels all connected”; the chest was barrel-like, as were the shoulders, arms, legs, and glutes. She said it was “just massive.” The head was pointed, and there was no snout on the face. She slowed down as she arrived at where the subject had leaped across the driveway. The witness looked into the thick woods but could see no movement or signs of the subject. She was deeply puzzled and amazed by what she saw.
When she talked to me the next morning, she said she was trying to talk herself out of it. I asked the witness, “Well, are you prone to delusions? Were you under the influence of any substances? Do you normally see things that aren’t there?” She answered just as straightforwardly that she is not delusional, does not do drugs, does not drink alcohol, and has no history of seeing imaginary things.
We concluded the phone call with arrangements for an onsite investigation.
On the afternoon of January 28, 2023, NAWAC Investigator Rich Howard joined me for a property survey and further inquiry into the matter face-to-face with the witness.
When we arrived at 4:00, the witness greeted us in front of her house. She immediately thanked us for coming and explained in person what she had seen just a few days before our onsite visit. The physical characteristics of the site immediately struck us. It is a multi-acre property with substantial forestation—lots of hardwoods, mature cedar, and occasional loblolly pine—as well as a large pond and many thin but running little creeks, draws, and branches snaking all through the surrounding woods. It had rained almost every night since the reported incident; however, there was abundant wildlife sign (though much degraded due to the nearly constant rains since the observation). We searched the property for any corroborating sign and found nothing that we could reasonably connect to the reported encounter. The only thing we can say with confidence is that the site lends to the plausibility and credibility of the encounter. There is a history of other reported sightings in the area, with both Lake Somerville to the north and Sam Houston National Forest to the northeast having accounts of reported encounters with the target species.
The witness told us in person that she and her husband have sometimes heard loud, conspicuous percussive impact sounds from the woods behind their house, and they wondered what the sounds might be. She said she learned on the NAWAC website that the sounds were likely “wood knock” sounds. She said one sound in particular on one night was close and just behind the house. She said the sound was explosive in nature. Other nights, she said she and her husband have heard “whoop” vocalizations from several individuals behind the house in the dense woods.
Conclusion: We found the witness, the report, and the site to be credible and plausible.
Photos
