DATE:               1987
 

TIME:                 Very Early Morning
 

LOCATION:       Closest town, Fruitvale Texas,  Van Zandt county
 

TERRAIN:          Wooded with a creek and some swampy areas,
                    clearing
 
 

OBSERVED:      Myself and my best friend were camping out on a small hill
in a large mostly clear valley that had a heavily wooded creek going
through on the Eastern side of the valley, running North to South. The
valley is surrounded on all sides by woods. There are other patches of
trees in the valley itself.

I had recently joined the Texas Army Nat'l. Guard and had not yet gone to
basic training. However, I had been issued equipment. This is part of the
reason we decide to go camping, as the Army had just supplied me with the
equipment to do so.

We scouted around the valley first and located a good spot on the side,
near the top of a small hill. We then dropped our heavy packs and went
looking around, hunting really, as we prefered not to bring the added
weight of food and to live off the land.

As it got on towards evening, we returned to camp and started a fire and
cleaned, cooked and ate the rabbit and assorted birds we had managed to bag.

We stayed up for several hours after dark talking and late that night, we
laid down to go to sleep on our sleeping bags.

Several hours later, I awoke. I don't know why. I was laying with my head
uphill and my friend was a few yards down from me. Or so I thought. As I
awoke, I turned my head up and thought I saw my friend on the top of the
hill above me, walking across the top of the hill. My friend is/was not a
small man and by the bulk of the figure I assumed it was him, maybe going
to relieve himself.  I put no further thought into it and went back to sleep.

The following morning, I remembered what had happened and asked my friend
why he was up last night. He said he had not been up at all. So, I thought
nothing more of it.

We packed our things up and talked awhile and just hung around. A while
later my friend got up to relieve himself or whatever and called me over to
the top of the hill.
I walked over and he showed me a footprint, still fresh. It was in the soft
sandy dirt of a mole hill.
Right away, accusations flew back and forth until we both swore that
neither of us was the culprit.
We had a camera along and we took some photos. The camera was a little 110
and the photos came out somewhat blurry. I have lost track of them, but
possibly my friend still has some.
My friend, I believe wears a 10-10 1/2 boot and I wear a size 9. He placed
his boot beside the print and the print was still about two inches or so
longer.
 

ACTIVITIES OF WITNESS(ES):    We were sleeping.
 

DESCRIPTION OF CREATURE:   Large torso. Was silhouetted against the night sky.
 

OTHER NOTES:
 

OTHER OTHER NOTES:
 

OTHER SIGHTINGS IN THIS AREA?: