BIGFOOT Sightings #2-Shawnee Pond Lick Area"
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Believe it or not!
The Portsmouth Daily times wrote on June 17, 1999 that “the legend of Bigfoot has been told for centuries, but some local residents have come forward to say it is more than a legend in Scioto County. Some residents claim to have seen Bigfoot, smelled Bigfoot and even been lifted off the ground by Bigfoot!”
The Ohio Bigfoot Research Team says it has investigated eyewitness accounts of reported encounters with Bigfoot like creatures in Shawnee State and Wayne National Forest lands in Scioto County. Shawnee State and Wayne National Forests represent a vast tract of wilderness land that together totals over 280,000 acres in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains that borders the Ohio River.The national forest lands stretch into several counties across Southern Ohio, including Gallia, Lawrence, Scioto and Vinton Counties. Bigfoot reports have been generated within these localities for a number of years, dating back to an unusual instance in 1869, in which a father and daughter pair encountered a frightening, gorilla-like "wild-man" near Gallipolis, Ohio.
These are the stories of The Ohio Bigfoot Research Team.
Report #2 – Former CCC Camp/Picnic Point Area off SR 125
Shawnee Forest -Scioto County, Ohio
This report is from the date of September 2000
Witness remains of secret Identification
Report told to Richard Etterling (O.b.f.r.t.)
"I was squirrel hunting on the hills below picnic point last October,I had noticed that there wasn't any birds where I was hunting, Squirrel cuttings were everywhere, but obviously no squirrels. As I rounded a dense thicket I smelt something rotten, almost like dead road kill. As I approached this bad smelling area, a tree suddenly began falling uphill behind me. Standing by the trees stump, stood a huge creature nearly 8 feet tall. The creature's legs were Very strongly built legs with hair covering the entire body, which had very huge arms and big chest. The eyes of this creature were nearly black. The face had really fine hair; it was completely covered with hair. The whole creature was coal black. Then I left very quickly as the creature began swinging his arms with a grunting sound.”
Report #2 - Same General Area
YEAR: 1982
SEASON: Summer
LOCATION DETAILS: Picnic Point, off State Route 125, near the (Former) Riffe 3C Camp
NEAREST TOWN: Portsmouth
NEAREST ROAD: Picnic Point near State Route 125
OBSERVED: "My then girlfriend, and eventual ex wife were bowling in a mixed bowling league that ended around 7 PM. We chatted with some teammates and friends for a few moments then left. I had two beers during the three games, along with several cans of pop. Melody was in a mood and she wanted to go out to the forest and relax. We stopped by the local Jim Dandy and picked up two specials, (a burger and very small drink) and headed to the Shawnee Forest. I suggested Picnic Point and that is where we went. Our car was a VW bug that she drove.
I had finished my burger and drink and she gave me her drink, she drank like a bird, and never finished anything. We got to the point, drove around the circle so the car was pointing back out the way we came. We got out of the car, I placed the drink on the roof of the passenger side, while she was getting the blanket I trotted over to a nice tree, just over the lip of the hill to release some of the liquids I had consumed. I had just began to relieve myself when it started. I had commented as we got out of the car how quiet it was, no birds, no sounds of any kind.
As I began to do my thing there were three loud crashes, down the hill in front of me, coming straight up. Now, these crashes, were strides, you could tell something big and heavy was striding up the hillside. The strides stopped, I looked up, Melody asked if I heard that, I nodded and put my free finger to my lips, indicating quiet, I was trying to fix the exact location. Then several more strides and it stopped again. Ok, I was zipped and ready to move and slowly backing towards the car, eyes fixed on the direction of the sound. Mel asked me if I had any idea what that was, as I said, the sounds were obviously strides, not a deer crashing through the brush. I answered I did not know. Then there was a low sound, almost like a growl, and what ever it was, it was coming up the hill now, very hard and very fast.
We both said "let's get the h*** out of here." As we jumped in the car, I, out of habit, grabbed the cup off the roof and placed it between my legs. Let pause the narration for a moment, for a personal description. I am a very curious fellow, I am not one to turn tail and run, but that part of my nature took hold for a second and I suggested since we were in the car, let's wait and see what pops up over the hillside.Melody would have none of that, she was driving and we were leaving, period. As I looked at her to argue the point, there was a thump on the car, she had already started it, she popped the clutch and the car lurched. There was a flash of something that went by my window, she screamed, I told her to drive it was just my cup falling off the roof. Yes, the same cup I secured between my legs. We sped back into town and went to the local Moose Lodge where I was a member. There were several reasons, one, I wlll try to explain later, I was shaking uncontrollably,two we had friends there, and three they had the best set of floodlights in the city, I wanted to see the car.
We got to the lodge, I got out and looked at the car. The car was very dusty and dirty. On the top of the car was an enormous hand print, very obvious it was a hand, fingers, not claws. One the right rear side quarter panel was another hand print. Whatever it was had been looking in that small window that all Beetles had. On the door on my side, in the dust, you can see where fingers had slid down the side. The only thing I could think of was is reached for the door as we lurched away, that was the flash and the second thump. Several friends saw this, we went back out later that night, but were turned away by the Rangers, forest closed after dark.
Far and away the scariest part of all this was when we were in the car and heard the first thump, I turned in my seat and looked in the direction of that thump, that meant I looked out that little window.I must have looked it straight in the eyes. I say must because I don't remember, I remember turning to look, turning back and urging her to drive, but I cannot tell you what I saw that night. It just happened so quickly! I have not had a good night sleep since. I used to be at home in the woods, and I still have fun, until the sun begins to go down, or I get "a feeling"."
Follow-up investigation report:
Investigated by Ohio BFRO investigator Marc D.
"The witness has been baffled for over 20 years over what exactly he saw that night. It's one of those encounters that he'll never forget. The hand prints on the car were enormous in size. The fingers were particularly long. He mentioned how the locals in the area have the tendency to "not talk" about what lives in Shawnee State Forest even though they know it's there.
From an Investigator viewpoint I will add that Shawnee State Forest is some of the roughest terrain in Ohio. I have spent countless weekends hiking the creek beds and have seen some strange things that even I can't explain. There are many other sighting reports form this area that is not in our database that I've investigated and found to be very credible. Shawnee State Forest is well over 60,000 acres and is known as Ohio's "Smokey Mountains"."
There have been numerous accounts of Bigfoot Sightings in Southern Ohio on internet sites such as ‘The American Bigfoot Society”, “The Ohio Bigfoot Research Team Website”, and “The Sasquatch Sightings Database”. They say Bigfoot reports from areas of Southern Ohio represents a legitimate mystery worthy of serious scientific scrutiny. The reports and witnesses, sometimes very credible, are not taken seriously by the appropriate wildlife officers and scientific communities.
Bigfoot researchers admit that many aspects of the ongoing accounts regarding a Bigfoot-type creature in the Shawnee State and Wayne National Forest areas remain unsubstantiated. The stories are largely relegated to 'rumor and hearsay,' although some of the reports have been documented and investigated by researchers. The researchers say that no substantial evidence is known to support the eyewitness data. Thus, the mystery continues.
Believe it or not!
This series of geocaches will bring their stories to light and take you to the locations sightings were reported. Whether you believe it or not is up to you!
Cache is a camouflaged large pill bottle with a log book. Bring a pen and your imagination. Cache is located approximately 200’ from the parking lot area of the 5.4 acre Pond Lick Lake.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Whfg vagb gur jbbqf arne gur qnz. Pebbxrq gerr.