BFRO #12959: Sightings by two hunters in tree stands outside Elkwater

📍 Location

📝 Description

It happened in 1989 on a hunting trip in the middle region of West Virginia. We were on our yearly deer-hunting trip in the remote mountainous area of Randolph County. I was about 24 years old and was in on leave from the military on the family-hunting trip. My family and friends have hunted this area for many years and I was very comfortable and familiar with the area. The road back had not been traveled for years and was very washed out and overgrows with brush. It was about 7-8 miles back before we came to the impassable areas of the road and it was then that we geared up and proceeded on foot. I would estimate we had gone about another 2-3 miles on foot before we reached the crest of the mountain and decided to find our hunting spots. The light had just begun to peek over the mountaintop when I cleared my spot and settled in. I had worked up a pretty good sweat on the steady pace up the mountain so it was not too long after setting and listening to the first morning light waking up the rest of the forest, I began to nod off to sleep. After going in and out a few times I decided to get up and move around a little to try to wake myself up. After about 20 minutes of walking around I stumbled on a very old wooden tree stand. Although I could tell it had been there for many years, I remember thinking it was in the best spot overlooking the very visible and open woods just under the crest of the hilltop. Not too long after I ate the apples and oranges I had brought. After a while the warm morning sun took its toll on me and I nodded off again. A bad smell woke me right up. The forest was completely quiet around me and all I could think of is what the hell that awful smell is? As I became more alert, I could hear the slight rustling below me and what I thought was some faint grunts and whines. I decided it was time to lean over and get a visual on it. It was about 25 feet below me on the slope and directly in front of the stand. It was not aware of my presence above it. It was about 5 feet tall with long dark, reddish-brown hair. The hair from its head down its body was of equal length, about 2-3 inches long. The hair went down its arms and hands as well as its feet. I could barley see fingernails and toe nails. Not claws but nails like a human. Most of its hair was tangled and matted in spots as if it had wallowed the ground or a tree or something. I watched it smelling the orange peels and apple core then tasting them. It looked around at one point as if to wonder where they may have come from. I wondered how long it would be before it became aware of my presence and what it would do when it did.Then I heard the rustling coming down from the top of the hill, loud rustling, and I could tell something was coming at a pretty rapid speed. I saw the one below me turn and look in the direction of the noise. It froze for a few seconds and looked almost like a statue. I could not see at this point what was coming down the hill. I was leaning to my right and looking down. I tried to move my eyes to the left but my view was blocked by the trees that was holding up my stand and partially by the full-brim hat I was wearing. I kept my eyes moving between the one below me and the direction of the disturbance coming down the hill.As it moved toward our position it began to make noises like I have never heard before. I would ordinarily not be able to describe the noise but I have read where other people have described it as a record being played backward. I would have to say that is a very close description. It is as if it were speaking a language but nothing like I have ever heard before. The one below me sprang to its feet and then moved about 15-20 feet to the right of me. It moved very rapidly, kind of between a run and a leap, all on its feet though. It did not use its arms. It then started to bellow back at the one coming down the hill and it sounded almost like they were arguing. That is the impression that it left me with anyway. It wasn't until the one above me came into clear view that I started to feeling very scared. As it came into my immediate area it moved toward the first one and began to slow to what seemed to be very cautious movements. Its attention seemed to move between the first creature and its surrounding area. I felt at this moment that it was alert to my presence. This second one was much larger than the first and it seemed very irritated. The bigger one was covered in very dark hair, almost black. It was very muscular and its arms were noticeably long. It stood with a slight bend but an upright posture. I had to be about 8-9 feet tall. It was much larger than a human. As these two creatures squabbled (communicated?) back and forth their gestures were extremely human-like. I was under the impression that the larger of the two was scolding the smaller one. They moved about 40-50 feet to the right of me. At this point the larger one had its back to me I could make out facial features of the smaller o

🔍 Circumstances

2 witnesses. Hunting.

🌤️ Weather Conditions

9:00 am. Slight overcast but clear weather.

ℹ️ Additional Details

9:00 am. Slight overcast but clear weather.

🔗 Sources (1)

👥 Community Contributions

Help improve this case by adding notes, observations, theories, or tags. Your contributions help the community understand patterns and connections.