General Terrain Description: Part of the Ouachita Mountains. Rolling hills with heavily wooded areas which slope steeply into small creeks and branches which feed the forks of a prominent river. At the time of the encounter the immediate area contained extensive areas of old growth native timber - primarily various types of oak - with isolated tracts of land that had been cleared at various times and replanted in commercial pine plantations.

Witness Profile: A mature married male who had recently purchased a few acres of land nearby and who was in the process of building a second home on that property.20He is an experienced hunter.

Activities of the Witness Prior to the Encounter: The witness had been working on the roof of the home he was building. Because of the heat and his work, he was tired. He decided to make himself a mug of iced tea and drive one of the old logging roads northwest of his recently acquired property. He had previously driven a particular road which was, at that time, not much more than a seldom used trail that was not maintained. The road was so narrow that in most places the roadside vegetation brushed both sides of his pickup truck. The witness knew there was one relatively wide place where the road was bordered by large native timber and that the elevation at that point offered a scenic view of the hills surrounding his property. Further up the mountain ridge the road ended at a spot that could be used to turn a vehicle around. When he reached the wide spot in the road he parked in the shade to enjoy the view and his mug of iced tea. The windows of his truck were rolled down.

Description of the Encounter/Incident: He had been sitting in the truck about 10 minutes when he suddenly heard the sounds of something running swiftly through the dry brush and leaves above the road and behind the truck on the driver’s side. He quickly turned to look over his left shoulder but saw nothing. As he turned his head back to look along the road beside the truck he was startled to see a large hair-covered, human-like creature walking quickly across the narrow road only eight or ten feet from the front of his truck. As the creature stepped across the road it walked fully erect and looked straight ahead. When it creature reached the opposite side of the road it stopped beside a large sweet gum tree, turned and looked at the truck a split second. It then lunged off the road and down the very steep, boulder and rock strewn hillside.

As the creature raced down the hillside the witness could see that it was at times completely bent over with its hands touching the rocks and dead limbs and logs on the ground. The witness was particularly amazed that during the creatures flight down the hillside it was either kicking or throwing large rocks and logs from its path. The witness stated that some of the rocks were 12” or more in diameter, and that when they were thrown or kicked they struck the other rocks and boulders on the hillside. He said that the sounds of the rocks colliding were like the sounds of small bore rifles being fired. He also said that some of the dead tree logs that were being displaced during the creature’s passage were very large, but were moved as if they were nothing.

Before the creature got out of sight of the witness down the hillside, he quickly grabbed a .30-.30 caliber carbine from the gun rack inside the truck, and ran to the large sweet gum tree. He saw that the creature had stopped in the open woods at the head of a small creek in the draw (ravine) below him. He said that at that time the creature was turned and facing him at a distance of about 150 yards. He said the creature was calm and appeared to be looking at him in curiosity rather than in anger or fear. The witness stated, “It was looking at me as if to ask, what the h--- are you doing here?” The man and creature stared at each other for a few seconds before it wheeled and crossed the rock and boulder covered creek bed and disappeared into the woods on the other side of the draw. The witness stated that the creature ran at an amazing speed and with surprising agility across large boulders and rocks in, and alongside the creek. The witness said he knew of no human that could have performed those feats.

Although the witness had the rifle in his hands, he never seriously considered shooting the creature because of its obvious human-like features.

Description of Creature: When asked about the height of the creature, the witness hesitated and became somewhat flustered. He then said, “I’ll just say that it was at least 7-½ feet tall.” I then asked him why he worded his answer as he did. The witness laughed and said that if he told me how tall the animal actually appeared to be, I would probably think he was crazy or lying. I assured him that I only wanted to know what he actually thought the creature’s height might be. He then said he figured the animal was over eight feet tall. (Others that have seen two different such creatures in this same general area have said the creatures they saw (both males) were close to nine feet tall.)
The witness stated that the creature was covered in “tawny brown” hair that was clean and looked to be about six inches long. He said that the hair was not matted. He said that its head was shaped like that of a man, and that some portions of its face were hairless. Although his only good view of the creature’s face was from a distance of about 150 yards, he said the face somewhat resembled that of an orangutan‘s, and that the exposed skin on its face appeared to be only slightly darker than a human’s.

He said the creature’s torso was “square shaped”, and not noticeably tapered to the waist. He said that as the creature passed in front of his truck (eight or ten feet from him), he saw no breasts nor any genitalia, but had the distinct impression that what he saw was a male creature of some kind. He said that as it passed in front of his truck, its arms appeared to be noticeably longer in proportion to it height than that of a human’s.

After the creature had left the area, the witness looked for its tracks on the rock-covered road, and on the steep slope that it had traversed, but he saw no distinct tracks. The only evidence of its passage was the displaced rocks and logs.

Investigator’s Comments: Historical Notes: After listening to the witness’s account of his encounter it is obvious that the creature intentionally showed itself in close proximity to the witness’s truck. What is not known is why it did so. Within the last month or so, there have been reports from other area residents which indicate this and other such creatures are for some unknown, and unnecessary reasons, making themselves known during daylight hours. These unusual occurrences are the subject of much discussion in the general area, and are being investigated by the writer and other field investigators.

Residents of this general area have reported sightings of the these animals for many years. While the area of this sighting is on private land, it adjoins the Ouachita National Forest which continues to routinely generate sightings of, and encounters with, such creatures.

Tal H. Branco - The RFP Research Project
Report prepared and submitted by: CF & JS, Area Field Researchers/Investigators, The RFP Research Project.

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