BFRO #35270: City planner sees large upright animal while touring property near Punta Gorda

📍 Location

📝 Description

In the spring of 2006 several members of the county�s development review team (planners, engineers and legal) were invited to tour a 90,000 acre ranch that was proposed for development. The intent was to give the reviewers a �base-line� as to existing conditions, identify areas to be developed and areas proposed to be established as a nature preserve. The developer provided a �swamp buggy� for the tour. It was an old, modified (top removed) school bus with large tires. It maneuvered around the ranch, much of which was swamp, for a little more than two hours. The ranch extremely active with wildlife � the fields and pastures with deer and wild pigs; the swamp with large birds and dozens of gators. Although the ranch was laced with timber and crop roads, many were flooded from a very wet winter / spring and therefore the swamp buggy was forced to take routes not often traveled. Near the end of the tour about two miles from the ranch�s bunk houses and barns, the driver had to tap his breaks to avoid a family of wild hogs (2 large and 3 small). The guide, who was also the ranch manager, mentioned the wildlife was much more active than usual, offering that it was because of the heavy rains and flooded areas � joking that �we even brought out the three little pigs for you.� I was sitting next to where the guide was standing and I said �yeah, you even provided a gorilla�. He looked down at me but said nothing as I pointed out of the bus across a flooded area to a small rise, maybe 150 yards away. He said nothing so I let it drop.A few days later a member of the legal staff that had taken the tour came to me and asked what did I mean when I mentioned a �gorilla� on the tour. I explained while others were watching the hogs run to the left of the bus I was looking at the flooded pasture to the right and had seen a large bipedal standing slightly over the rise. I described what I saw and she said �you need to talk with Rich (county attorney) � he saw it too. We saw exactly the same thing � a very large bipedal (7� or more) standing just over the rise (could see it from knees up) with it�s back to us. It was covered with very dark hair, no neck � what I would call bullet shaped and was from 125 to 150 yards away. It was only visible for maybe 5 seconds because as the bus kept moving heavy growth blocked the view � but for those 5 seconds it was an unobstructed view. As the bus passed, the creature turned, assumingly to see what the engine noise was � but the entire upper body turned from the waist. As it turned, it appeared to be holding something in its arms.

🔍 Circumstances

2 witnesses. we were on a tour of an area proposed for development ... riding in a swamp buggy (converted school bus)

🌤️ Weather Conditions

It was around 4:30 PM on a bright, sunny day.

ℹ️ Additional Details

It was around 4:30 PM on a bright, sunny day.

🔗 Sources (1)

👥 Community Contributions

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