A retired Texas law enforcement officer recalls two unusual encounters that occurred years apart while bowhunting in north-central Texas. The first involved eerie screams and stacked stones on a remote Young County ranch in 1991. The second, near Seymour, Texas, in 2003, placed the witness within only a few feet of a massive, hair-covered humanoid during a violent thunderstorm.

CASE FILE:

Date: October 1991 and late October 2003

Time: Around midnight in the first incident; before daylight during the second incident

Location: Young County, Texas, and approximately 13 miles south of Seymour, Texas

Setting: Remote ranchland, bowhunting stands, mesquite flats, fence-line timber

Witness: 71-year-old retired police officer

Reported By: The eyewitness

Phenomenon: Possible Bigfoot, Sasquatch, wood ape encounter, anomalous screams, stacked stones

Environmental Conditions: Remote ranch setting in 1991; intense thunderstorm, lightning, cold front, rain, and mid-30s Fahrenheit temperatures in 2003

WITNESS REPORT

"I am a 71-year-old retired police officer. During my career, I was trained to observe people, details, and surroundings, then relay those observations as accurately as possible.

My first encounter happened in October 1991. A group of friends and I had leased a 4,800-acre ranch in Young County, Texas. I was the only bowhunter in the group, which allowed me to start deer hunting a month earlier than the others.

The night before the October 1st bow season opener, I was asleep in my tent when I was awakened around midnight by a loud screaming noise. I heard a series of three or four evenly spaced screams. It sounded exactly like a woman in distress.

At the time, the nearest house was more than 10 miles away. After I calmed down, I tried to make sense of it and eventually wrote the screams off as a mountain lion. I got up at 0300 hours and was in my stand well before daylight.

When I climbed into my ladder stand, I found three rocks stacked exactly where I would sit. After the morning hunt, I left an apple beside the stacked rocks. I had five bow stands on that ranch so I could hunt according to wind direction. Later, I found three stacked stones in all of them.

I never heard those screams again, and I never had any further problems during the next 20 years I hunted that place.

The next major encounter happened in 2003. I was hunting on a ranch about 13 miles south of Seymour, Texas, in late October. I had gone into my ladder stand well before daylight. The stand was set in timber running along a fence line that bordered a huge mesquite tree flat.

A cold front I had been waiting for arrived about half an hour before daylight. Then an intense thunderstorm broke out. Since the nearest shelter was about three miles away, I decided to stay where I was. I had my rain gear on, and it was comfortable enough that I actually fell asleep.

I was sitting about 15 feet above the ground when a loud crash of thunder woke me. It came right after a series of lightning bolts that lit up the sky as bright as day.

I glanced to my right. Standing no more than five feet from me, and about five feet lower than my position, was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

It was a very tall, very muscular, human-like creature covered in hair. It stood at least 10 feet tall and was covered in light brown to silver hair. It had a huge head set on massive, powerful shoulders. There appeared to be no neck. It had a heavy brow ridge and a defined, human-like nose.

Its eyes were deep-set, with dark rings beneath them. It had heavy, dark eyebrows. The whites of its eyes were coffee-colored or bloodshot. The irises were yellowish-green, and the pupils were extremely dilated.

Its face was human-like and covered with a full beard, though it had little or no mustache. Its lips were darker than the skin of its face and appeared normal-sized in proportion to the rest of the face. The facial skin was medium brown.

Its arms were longer than a human’s arms. It had thick, muscular legs, and I estimate it weighed at least 700 pounds. I have no idea whether it was male or female.

When it exhaled, I could see its breath in the cold air. The temperature had just dropped into the mid-30s Fahrenheit. The longer hair on its body was dripping with rainwater.

I do not know how long it had been standing there watching me. The odd thing is that I felt no fear. I only felt a sense of wonder at being in the presence of this amazing creature. If it had wanted me, it could have taken my life with no trouble at all.

After the next flash of lightning, I looked back in its direction, and it was gone.

I never saw it again.

Later, I left another apple on the seat of my ladder stand. The next time I returned to that stand, the apple was gone.

One other detail stands out. As the sun rose that morning, I could see that the tree I was sitting in was covered with monarch butterflies. As more light came in, I realized that every tree I could see for at least half a mile down the fence line was covered in them.

They left in waves, tens of thousands at a time, until the last of them departed around 0930 hours. It was a wonderful experience."

COMMENTARY

This is an unusually detailed report, and the witness’s professional background is noteworthy. A retired police officer would likely be familiar with observation, memory retention, threat assessment, physical description, and the importance of separating facts from assumptions. That does not prove the creature's identity, but it does make the structure and specificity of the testimony especially valuable.

The 1991 incident contains two elements often associated with Sasquatch and wood ape reports: strange vocalizations and arranged objects. The “woman screaming” description is commonly attributed to mountain lions, foxes, or other animals, but the placement of stacked stones in multiple hunting stands adds an anomalous behavioral element. Whether prank, animal activity, human trespasser, or something else, the witness found the repetition unusual enough to remember it decades later.

The 2003 encounter is the stronger of the two accounts. The setting is important: remote ranchland, mesquite flats, a fence-line travel corridor, bad weather, poor visibility, and a hunter positioned above the ground before daylight. Severe weather could explain why the creature, if biological, did not immediately notice the witness, or why normal sounds of movement were masked by thunder, rain, and wind.

The physical description is consistent with many North American Bigfoot reports: extreme height, massive shoulders, no visible neck, heavy brow, deep-set eyes, long arms, muscular legs, hair-covered body, and a human-like face. The light brown-silver hair is also interesting, as witnesses in Texas and the southern Plains have occasionally described lighter, reddish, gray, or sun-faded hair rather than the dark brown or black coloration more often associated with forested regions.

The lack of fear is another important detail. Many close-range encounters include panic, dread, or a flight response. In this case, the witness describes awe rather than terror. That reaction may have been influenced by shock, professional composure, the creature’s non-aggressive posture, or the surreal circumstances of seeing it only during flashes of lightning.

The monarch butterfly detail gives the report a striking environmental frame. Late October in Texas can coincide with monarch migration, and the witness’s description of trees covered with butterflies during a cold front is plausible within that seasonal context. It also adds a powerful atmospheric element to the encounter, making the event feel less like a simple “monster sighting” and more like a rare convergence of weather, wildlife, and unexplained observation.

CASE NOTES

• The witness is a retired police officer and emphasizes his training in observation and accurate reporting.
• The first incident occurred in October 1991 on a 4,800-acre leased ranch in Young County, Texas.
• The witness heard three or four evenly spaced screams around midnight, which he initially rationalized as a mountain lion.
• Three stacked stones were later found in multiple bowhunting stands.
• The witness left an apple near the stones, suggesting an early attempt at nonverbal interaction or curiosity.
• The second encounter occurred in late October 2003, approximately 13 miles south of Seymour, Texas.
• The witness was in a ladder stand during an intense thunderstorm as a cold front moved through.
• The creature was observed at extremely close range, approximately five feet away and slightly below the witness’s position.
• The reported creature stood at least 10 feet tall and was covered in light brown to silver hair.
• The witness noted specific facial features: heavy brow, defined nose, human-like face, full beard, dark eyebrows, bloodshot or coffee-colored eye whites, yellowish-green irises, and dilated pupils.
• The witness estimated the creature’s weight at approximately 700 pounds.
• The creature disappeared after a flash of lightning.
• The witness later left an apple on the stand seat, and it was gone when he returned.
• The monarch butterfly migration detail places the encounter within a vivid seasonal and environmental context.

For readers interested in similar first-person accounts, explore other Phantoms & Monsters reports involving Texas Bigfoot sightings, bowhunter Sasquatch encounters, stacked stone anomalies, strange screams in remote ranch country, and close-range cryptid encounters during severe weather. These cases often reveal repeated patterns involving isolated witnesses, hunting stands, fence lines, creek bottoms, mesquite flats, unexplained vocalizations, and sudden appearances during low-light conditions. Lon

FAQ

Could the screams in the 1991 incident have been a mountain lion?

Yes. Mountain lions can produce screams that sound disturbingly human. However, that explanation does not account for the stacked stones found in multiple bow stands.

Could the 2003 creature have been a bear?

A bear would be a conventional possibility in some regions, but the witness described a distinctly human-like face, a massive upright posture, very long arms, no visible neck, and a height of at least 10 feet. Those details do not comfortably match a typical bear observation.

Why is the bowhunting setting important?

Bowhunters often enter stands before daylight, remain still for long periods, and observe wildlife quietly from concealed positions. That makes them more likely than casual hikers to witness unusual animal behavior or unexpected movement.

What makes this report stand out?

The close range, the witness’s law-enforcement background, the detailed anatomical description, the severe-weather setting, the lack of fear, and the monarch butterfly migration detail all make this a particularly memorable account.

NOTICE: Witnesses Sought for Upcoming TV and Film Project

If you have ever seen a winged humanoid in Chicago or the surrounding region, including the O’Hare corridor, nearby suburbs, forest preserves, Lake Michigan shoreline, or northwestern Indiana, I would like to hear from you.

I am currently assisting with an upcoming television and film project focused on the ongoing Chicago Winged Humanoid phenomenon and am seeking credible eyewitnesses, both past and recent, who may be willing to share their experiences.

If you have previously contacted me or are a new witness who has not yet come forward, please consider reaching out. All serious inquiries will be treated with respect and discretion.

If you would like to discuss your sighting, you can reach me through the 'CONTACT' link at the top of the page.

Your account may help document an important part of this continuing mystery. Thanks. Lon Strickler