DATE:    March 23, 2002

TIME:   11:40 A.M. - 2:30 P.M.

LOCATION:   West Virginia, Pocahontas County

TERRAIN:    National forest

OBSERVED:    I I arrived at the location around 11:30 AM with the purpose of looking for fossils along a road cut on RT XXX.  After arriving I got my gear out of my truck and was sitting on the tailgate changing shoes when I heard what sounded like a very deep cough like noise come from the other side of the road in the woods appoximately 100 yards from where I was sitting.  I thought this was odd since  it is a pretty remote area and I hadn't seen any other vehicles stopped near my location.

After changing my shoes I decided to investigate the noise. I proceeded up  the road along the side that I heard the noise. Upon reaching the spot along the road that I felt was nearest to where the noise had originated I stopped and tried to locate its source. After several minutes ,aproximately 2-3, of standing there looking the animal made a noise again that was very similar to the first noise I heard.  The best I can describe it was a deep breathy sounding cough/huffing noise. At this point I was able to precisely locate where it was coming from - it was about 30 yrds away just inside the dense woods in a group of very thick shrubs and evergreens.  Even though I now knew where the sound was coming from I was unable to see anything in the area.  I then heard something large moving down the hill and slightly away from where I was. It sounded very large and it didn't seem to be running away but merely backing slowly down the hill below where I could see what it was.  At this time I was somewhat startled by the noise the animal had made since it was very unfamiliar to me, so I turned to walk back towards my truck. Upon turning away there was a great commotion in the woods coming from the original location of the noise, this sounded like a somewhat smaller sounding, still not small, animal running quickly from the spot I had just been observing. In addition this animal let out a higher pitch noise as it went - this sound was totally bizzare sounding - kind of like squealing/jibberish.  This made me stop in my tracks and quickly spin back around. All noise ceased immediately once I turned.

After standing quietly for another five minutes staring down the hill into the forest I heard and saw nothing. It seemed to me that whatever had run had stopped once I spun around. I still could see nothing.  I once again started back towards my truck along the shoulder of the road still looking towards the source of the sound. At this point I could hear something large down the hill just out of sight slowly walking in the same direction as I was walking kind of parallelling my path along the road.  I then returned to my truck and gathered up my fossil collecting tools, and I went over to the road-cut to try to look for fossils although by this time I have to say I was somewhat spooked. Something I can't say has happened to me before in the woods let alone standing on a road.  So I tried to begin look for fossils but I still had an unshakable feeling that I was being watch by the unseen animal on the other side of the road.

 I then heard the cough/huff noise several more times but not from its original location but now directly across the road and just down the hill. By now I was becoming quite alarmed. I had stopped even trying to look for fossils and was totally focused on listening for sounds of this animal/animals.  Next the wood knocking began. I have read that people have associated wood knocking with bigfoot and this is when it first hit me that this maybe what I was dealing with.  There was a great deal of knocking over the next twenty minutes, usually two knocks close by from the same general area I had heard the other noises - and then many,  I would say as many as four answering knocks from different locations on the surrounding hillsides and down in the valley below.  Now let me say I have had run-ins with bears and other animals in the past while hiking and these events may have startled me but I don't scare easily,  I have aways been able to keep my wits about me and deal with the situation.

But I now had the distinct feeling that I was being stalked by this animal and  I had now become down right frightened - more frightened than I  have been since I was a small child. In the midst of all the knocking I heard a hooting sound also, not like the hooting of an owl but more like the noise monkeys make on TV or in the zoo. These noises seemed to be much further away down in the valley below. Then as I stood there about to gather up my stuff and get the hell out of there the cough/huff noise was repeated only louder and up the road slightly kind of in-between me and where my truck was. This was very disturbing since I was now going to have to get closer to the source of this sound before I could get to the safety of my vehicle.  I mustarded up every ounce of courage that I could and started up the road towards my truck. About half way there once again I heard the huff/cough noise even louder and more breathy and threatening sounding than before. I then stopped and took my pick-axe for fossil collecting and using the hammer side I struck the metal guard rail as hard as I could, thinking this loud noise might startle this animal and make it back off, but nothing flinched . I then proceeded back to my truck quickly looking back over my shoulder many times.

Once in my truck I drove about ten miles down the road to a scenic overlook and I got out and tried to calm down and tried to make sense of what I had just heard.  I knew that the only animals that should be in the area that are large enough to make the noises I heard would be a large buck, a bear or a boar, but I really couldn't make any of them fit into the scenario.  After sitting at the overlook  awhile I took out my lunch and ate it and I noticed about ten more wood knocks coming from the valley and hills around me although none of them were close at all , it still made me feel uneasy.

Let me state that at this point I had collected no fossils and I had driven for four and a half hours to reach this location just so I could collect some so I was still determined to go back the roadcut for one last try.  It had been about two hours since I left the roadcut the first time and it had gotten warmer and much of the 3" inches of snow that had been on the ground had melted, and upon returning to the site I felt much better, I no longer had the feeling of being watched and I heard no noises except ravens calling and small birds chirping and fluttering about.

Upon returning I tried to make myself go over to were I had heard the noises coming from because I figured that if an animal had been there I should find tracks in the remaining snowfall. But I couldn't get the nerve up to go down into the thick woods. So I proceeded back to my fossil collecting and everything went fine for about 45 minutes.  Then the woodknocking started again and the far away hooting  seemed to be coming closer. These noises were joined by a new noise that was like the clucking noise that you make by flicking you tongue against the roof of your mouth. This sound was much closer and came from near where I had originally  heard the first sound. This was followed about five minutes later by a return of the animal that made the cough/huff noise. It was once again back just about opposite of me down that hill just inside the wood line. At this point I packed up the few fossils I had found and quickly made my way back to my truck and left.  So I don't know what I heard or what was watching me from in those woods and I never saw anything but it still sends shivers up my spine just writing about this.

ACTIVITIES OF WITNESS(ES):   Searching for fossils

DESCRIPTION OF CREATURE:  N/A

OTHER NOTES:  N/A

FOLLOW UPS:   N/A

OTHER SIGHTINGS IN THIS AREA:   Not to my knowledge