POTTER COUNTY | 9.28.2024

On the weekend of September 28th, 2024, Sean and Matt hosted a Town Hall in Potter County, Pennsylvania, for any Bigfoot reports in that area. Before the town hall, a resident came to them to report unexplained activity near his property in the rugged mountainous country. 

This resident did not want to be named nor be subjected to being identified during the town hall event itself.  He told them that wildlife had been seen less and less near his property over the last few weeks.  He claimed that before the last few weeks, he would be expected to see elk, deer, turkeys, and other large mammals and birds on his property. He said the deer and the elk had moved to different areas away from his property and the surrounding woods. He added that he had not seen a wild turkey on his property since the other wildlife had moved on. He said this was very suspicious, mainly since this was the early fall, and the wildlife should have been feeding on the abundant wild foods in the surrounding woods.

He later claimed he had heard weird noises and calls from the woods and nearby mountains during the evening and late night hours.  He has lived in these mountains for most of his life and knows the sounds and calls from nearly all the wildlife.  He said that these calls were unlike any he had heard before. At the end of the conversation, he told us about an area where he had seen tracks in the snow.  He said these tracks he saw were crossing the trail at an area ordinarily inaccessible by vehicles other than snowmobiles.  He stated again that his knowledge of tracks found in the mountains led him to think that these were not bear tracks.

Later that evening, Sean and Matt explored the area in question.  Finding a small dirt road along the forest road, the two drive up the narrow trail until the end, where there are gated trails and a turnaround.  The truck was parked, and Matt got out to verify the trails.  After ascertaining the trails and the location, Matt looked at the ground.  The turnaround area was mainly gravel with an occasional pocket of mud throughout.  Matt saw something and immediately called out for Sean to verify.

Sean exited the truck and approached Matt’s location, not knowing what he was to see.  Sean looked down and said, “That’s a footprint!” Matt had found a 14-inch footprint in the mud along the outer edge of the circle.  Upon further examination, they were able to view toe impressions.  The impression was different than a barefoot human print, particularly in the arch of the print.  In addition, this impression was broader and more prolonged than either Matt's or Sean’s foot.

After documenting the track using photography and LIDAR technology, Sean and Matt left that area to explore another road that was adjacent to this area.  Sean and Matt traveled about 20 miles roundtrip but had only other encounters or evidence once they returned to where the footprint was found.

After a relatively quiet drive on the mountain roads, they both returned to that location. Sean had previously noted that he felt slightly uncomfortable in that area, almost like someone was watching them.

Matt decided to exit the truck.  After allowing the woods to settle after their arrival, he decided to try a few calls to see if there would be any response.  Sean positioned himself on the truck's passenger side while Matt remained on the driver's side. Matt did a shortened “whoop” call.  After doing the call, the two remained quiet.  From a distance of about a half mile, both Sean and Matt heard a scream.  This reply seemed to be on the side where Matt was standing.  Both Sean and Matt were perplexed by the return call.  It did not sound similar to any other animal or bird calls.  

Sean immediately researched several standard calls for creatures in that area while on site. Neither of them was able to find any calls that were close to what was heard. This included bobcats and foxes, who are known to have screaming-like calls. The call sounded similar to a trumpet sound, along with a scream.  The initial call and return vocalization were not recorded. However, Sean decided to utilize his interview microphones to record any future sounds or calls. After several minutes, no further noises were heard from that direction. 

Matt decided to try another set of calls, directing the vocalizations towards a large valley.  The calls made in that direction echoed for miles.  After the second call, a possible vocalization was heard several miles to the north.  This sounded very similar to the familiar “Ohio howl.”  However, there were no other return vocalizations listened to that evening.

It is noted that to the north, where the second vocalizations came from, there are no buildings other than seasonal camps for approximately 10 miles until there is a 2-lane state roadway.

The weather at the time of this incident was light rain, with winds from the east-northeast at 5 miles per hour and a temperature of 65 degrees. The sunset was at 6:55 p.m., and the moon phase was waning crescent.