Date Report Submitted to the RFPRP: February 15, 2007

Date of Encounter: During the 2nd week of November, 1995.

Time of Incident: Late afternoon.

Weather Conditions: Clear & cool.

State: Arkansas.

County: Johnson.

Nearest City or Town: Between Low Gap and Harmony. Location: Southern end of McConnel Ridge.

Nearest highway or road: NFR #1427.

General Land Use Description: Ozark National Forest.

General Terrain Description: The area is in the southernmost part of the Ozark National Forest and consists of steep & rugged mountains.

Nearest Lakes or Streams: The incident occurred on the west side of McConnel Ridge and to the east of the East Fork of Horsehead Creek.

Witness Profile: The primary witness is the wife of the secondary witness. Both are long time residents of the area. They have two boys. Their residence is in a rural area and not far from the encounter location. The family members are avid hunters and very familiar with the native wild life. The secondary witness and his oldest son have heard, and seen evidence from, animals they could not identify.

Activities of Witness Prior to Encounter/Incident: The primary witness was riding on an ATV being operated by her husband. They were deer hunting and had ridden to the top of McConnel Ridge on an old, un-maintained road that winds its way from the creek valley floor to the crown of the ridge below the ridge’s highest point. After reaching the ridge crest, and hunting for a while, they began the drive back down the same road.

Details of Encounter / Incident: As they reached the side of a large draw about 3/4 way down the ridge, the road turned back up-slope to circle the head of a rough ravine. At that point the passenger looked across the ravine and above the road on that side. In the timber above the road she saw a very large grey form walking briskly up the side of the hill. She watched for a second or two, then told her husband to look on the hillside above the ravine. He quickly stopped the four-wheeler, and grabbed his rifle thinking his wife had seen a deer. At the time, he had no scope on his rifle and as soon as he saw that it was not a deer he put the gun down and stared at the figure as it disappeared into the timber. Although the creature was at least 400 yards from them when she first saw it, she stated she knew instantly that it was a "Sasquatch", and not a human or a known native animal. Even though she knew what she had seen, she asked her husband what he had seen. He told her he had not seen the animal long enough to be sure what it was, but that whatever it was, it was very big and it was a dirty grey color. He told her it might have been horse that had gotten loose. (The woman knew that it was not a horse because she had seen the animal clearly, but she thought her husband might have told her that to keep from alarming her. ) The man told the writer that he really could not say what he had seen for sure, but it would have been very unusual to see a horse roaming free it this remote area. Description of Animal: The primary witness stated that when she first saw the animal it appeared to be "as tall as the trees it was walking through". She said she could not estimate its height but that it appeared to be huge, even though it was a long way from her. She said she was certain the animal was walking upright like a man, and that it was covered in hair which was a dirty grey color. She stated the animal was walking briskly when she first saw it, and when her husband stopped the vehicle, it began walking faster. As far as she knew, the animal never turned to look at them but appeared intent on getting out of their sight.

Photos or Drawings Made?: None.

Description of Related Sounds: None heard.

Description of Related Scents / Odors: None.

Historical Notes & Comments: Many of the area residents who hunt in the hollows off the southern front of the Ozark Mountains in Johnson and adjoining counties have for years reported encounters with large hirsute human-like creatures. Other have found collections of animal bones and skulls and large piles of feces in certain distinct areas in the upper and most inaccessible parts of the hollows. These areas are bounded by steep sandstone bluffs, some of which are undercut by erosion. The ledges below many of the larger overhangs contain abundant physical evidence and artifacts to show the locations have been used as shelters for both animals and Indians. Very few hunters enter the upper reaches of the hollows because of the ruggedness of the terrain. On the tops of some of the ridges, the land is privately owned and there are several homes and cattle ranches and poultry farms. Older residents are very aware there are "strange critters" that inhabit the area, but most are not sure what kind of "critters" they are. It has been interesting to the writer to hear the older residents and some of the younger hunters describe things they have seen, heard and smelled that they simply cannot explain. Those accounts typically describe certain secondary hollows that contain hard-to-reach areas that consistently contain obnoxious, overpowering and sickening animal odors both day and night. In those areas at night, racoon hunters and their dogs are sometimes encouraged to leave by hearing very loud and aggressive human-like screams which are sometimes accompanied by the sounds of dead trees falling and tree limbs being broken.

 

********************************************************************************************
Report received and recorded by: Tal H. Branco, Field Researcher/Investigator, The RFP Research Project.