Gila County, Eastern
Arizona.
Payson Mogollon Rim Country
1998, Autumn 11:00am
Payson, AZ. Up on the Mogollon Rim, possibly Tonto National Forest. Remote
area and was surrounded by three different lakes.
It was about three years ago during the summer at around 11:00 a.m., in
the morning when the sighting occurred. We were up past the Payson, Arizona
area. Up on Mogollon Rim in what I think is the Tonto National Forest
(I could be wrong on the forest name though, very high elevation). The
area of the forest was remote, and surrounded by three different lakes.
It was hot and I don't remember any wind. We were going camping and decided
to leave the populated camping areas and go farther into the woods. We
drove and drove and finally ran out of road. I wasn't just in the forest
when I saw it, but at least 15 miles further back off the beaten path.
Truly "no man's land" and obviously, HIS land.
We decided to turn around, but I wanted to walk our dog for a few minutes
and enjoy the scenery. I spotted something heading my direction, only
walking at an angle to my right (meaning we would have to cross paths).
It was about half of a football field away from me and all I could see
were the legs because it was so tall and the tree limbs were so low. You
would picture a Bigfoot as dark brown or black, but this was the most
beautiful light caramel color. I remember immediately thinking, "What
a beautiful palomino horse!" Then I suddenly realized that a horse
has four legs and all I could see were two very long legs taking long
strides.
I stopped walking and tried to rationalize where the back legs of this
horse were and eventually realized that it had only two legs no matter
how hard I stared at it. Your mind does funny things and I kept trying
to think of a two-legged animal that would have legs that long. An elk
will hop when fighting on its back legs, but again this was striding (like
a human). A bear can walk on its hind legs, but their legs are not long
and lean and again wouldn't have such long smooth strides. I can think
of nothing and the first thought that did come to mind and stuck with
me….stuck so hard that I lost my breath was a Sasquatch. I felt very
uneasy (remember this has all taken place in a matter of less then thirty
seconds) and this thing is getting closer, so I turned around and started
walking/jogging for my truck. I noticed the creature a good thirty seconds
before my dog did. I remember that because I kept thinking, "Oh no.
If she's sees this, she'll chase it." At that time I turned, my female
lab (Chelsea) came to a full stop and lifted her head and growled. I could
see her nose move and at that moment, I could still see it walking to
my right (at diagonal direction) and it hadn't slowed or paused. If it
saw us, it gave no indication at all. Chelsea barked, turned and ran like
heck towards it. I believe she could see it at this point. As scared,
as I was, all I could think was, "It'll kill my dog." Whether
it would have or not, I don't know. There was also a thought in my mind
that if my dog caught up to it, then it may catch up to me if it felt
like it. That's when I knelt and used my "playful" voice to
call to my dog. She loves that voice and when I saw I had her attention
I yelled "Come get mommy!" (sounds dumb I know) and I started
running again. She hesitated before choosing to chase me instead….
but in the end she did come after me.
I didn't smell anything like my dog did, (maybe I was close enough?) but
I was so scared, that the air around me seemed electric. The thing I can't
stress enough was how beautiful its fur was. The caramel/blonde tone was
so rich that I'm sure that's how I spotted it. Had it been dark, it would
have blended more with the surroundings and I may have not noticed it.
It walked twice as fast as any man. Again, that's what originally prompted
me to originally think I was seeing a horse. And as I stated, that thought
left the minute I realized there were only two legs. I can't imagine it
didn't see or hear us. If a dog can sense it, I'm sure it sensed us right
back…but it never slowed, never changed pace, never paused or stopped.
It didn't change direction either. I can't remember ever being that scared.
I got to my truck and screamed at my husband to get in. We drove off quickly
while I told him the story. He didn't believe me, and he can't tell me
what it "actually was", but yet doesn't believe me anyway. I
didn't see the full thing, but judging from its legs and from the height
of the lowest branches on the tress, that it would have been seven to
eight feet tall. I have no idea how tall these things are supposed to
be, I have no other explanation of what it could have been.
Follow-up Investigation
by Research Investigator Dave Sidoti, Florida.
Mrs. S contacted me through my E-mail address about her encounter. I have
conducted an on going conversation with her about her encounter and find
that she seems very credible in her story. Mrs. S was taking her dog for
a walk when she encountered something walking on two legs, and first thought
that it was a horse. Mrs. S has told me that she lived in Oregon her entire
life and had never come across anything like this there, yet heard stories
when younger, never older. She said when she had her encounter, it was
the first and only thought she had on the subject since she was young.
Mrs. S said that after she told her husband what she saw, she tried to
tell herself that she saw something else…something more reasonable,
but couldn't. Mrs. S also told me on other occasions when they were camping
she's heard horrible screams/yells at night and when I panic, my husband
just says, "It's probably elk or mating season." She said that
she's heard elk and elk don't sound like a woman who's being killed. She
said this had a female high pitch sound. I believe that Mrs. S had seen
what might have been a Sasquatch when out walking.
Report Submitted by witness Mrs. S. on May 22, 2001 to researcher Dave
Sidoti, Florida
Posted to the_Sasquatch_list Wednesday, September 25, 2002 9:37 PM
http://www.geocities.com/bigfootsearcher68/BigfootSearcher.html
|
