I asked permission to come out to the sighting location to interview those involved, and search the area for evidence. I packed up my gear, and my wife Debbie and I responded immediately to the area. The incidents took place in Derry Township in Westmoreland County. It took some time to reach the location which was remote, and was made up of many acres of dense woods. We were greeted by the family who were very cordial, and my wife and I spent most of the afternoon questioning the observers, and looking over the sighting locations. Debbie assisted me with video taping and photographing the sites.

We learned that the first incident had occurred about two weeks before. The teenage son was the first to have an encounter with the strange animal. The event took place on or about Wednesday, September 11, 2002, at around 6 P.M.

The young man appeared to be a very serious individual, and carefully revealed the details of what occurred. The sighting took place just as the sun was going down. He was riding his bicycle on the family property when he heard crashing sounds originating from a wooded area. There were sounds as though something was hitting a log, and branches breaking.

He stopped to listen, when his attention was drawn towards a fence and tree line about 300 feet away where he saw "a big brown human looking thing but very tall." The creature was moving along the area, and there were some clearings where the creature could be observed at times. The fellow described the creature as generally man-like, about 8 feet tall, and covered with dark brown hair. The creature was broad shouldered, had very long arms, and the head was not perfectly round, but somewhat cone shaped. The creature which took very long steps, was occasionally swinging its arms as it moved, and was slightly bent forward as it walked. "It leaned over when it walked." The observation lasted about 30 seconds.

The boy hurried home to tell his father about what he had seen. They both went back to the location, but nothing more was observed.

Then on Friday, September 27, 2002, at about 2 P.M., the wife of the caller was driving up a road near the wooded area where the first sighting had taken place. She heard a sound like limbs and trees breaking coming from her left, and she stopped. There is a lot of deer in those woods, and she was concerned that some deer were about to run across the road and could hit her vehicle. She was talking to her husband on the cell phone at the time. Suddenly about 45 yards away she was startled to see a creature emerge from a clearing in the woods.

She said that what she saw was tall and man-like, and was estimated at about 8 feet tall. It was covered all over with long brown hair which looked to be about 12 inches in length. The creature's arms hung to the knees, and long hair was hanging down from the arms. The creature had "big shoulders." The witness watched as the creature moved from the wood line, and crossed a field for a distance of about 100 feet. The creature which was slightly hunched as it moved, took big steps and quickly covered a lot of distance. The creature did not swing its arms as it moved across the field.

At the end of the field was a barbed wire fence. What amazed the witness was that the creature never slowed down or hesitated as it approached the fence line. It crossed the fence without breaking stride. The witness watched as the creature just raised its leg over the fence. "It just walked over the fence." When I measured the height of the barbed wire where the creature crossed, it was 44 inches off the ground. The creature never looked towards the vehicle. The woman was describing to her husband via the cell phone what she was seeing. She said that suddenly she became scared, and felt the need to "leave quickly."

In neither case was any odor detected. We searched the nearby woods and field for any signs of footprints or other evidence, but the hard and leaf covered terrain revealed nothing unusual. The boy and other family members are avid hunters, and know the woods well. They are familiar with the local wildlife. They know there are bear in the local woods. The witnesses are certain that what they saw was not a bear. The boy mentioned that in the last week or so, they have noticed that they are not seeing many deer, which is unusual. It is my opinion that these people are sincere, and concerned about these recent encounters. They wish no publicity, but would like to know more about what these creatures are. They have heard tales of similar Bigfoot sightings which have occurred in past years from various locations around this area.

Researcher's note:

As I approached the vicinity of the sighting location, I reflected back on many memories. I had made many trips in this general area during 1973, when a major outbreak of Bigfoot sightings was occurring. Not far away is the Chestnut Ridge.

Historically numerous alleged Bigfoot sightings have occurred in locations near the ridge which extends from Preston County, WV through Westmoreland, Indiana, and Fayette Counties in Pennsylvania.

Stan Gordon