I received the following report a few days ago:
I just subscribed to your newsletter. I'm writing about a Bigfoot encounter I had when I was younger.
When I was in high school, my uncle and I would hunt deer and turkey in eastern Kansas. In 1999 we were near the Marais Des Cygnes Refuge bow hunting for deer in a swampy woodland area. We had been in the same location before and familiar with the layout. Both of us had portable tree stands overlooking the bottom land.
We had been in our stands for about an hour, it was early morning but I don't remember the time. My uncle was to the right of me about 50 yards, so we could both see anything moving below. I heard splashing from his direction and notice him waving at me. The splashing was getting louder. I first thought it may be a small herd of deer moving my way. As I looked through the thickets, I noticed something tall and bulky standing beside a tree. I then saw something similar a few feet away from the other figure. I looked over at my uncle. He was crouched down and still. The two figures started to move towards me. Then one worked it's way into a clearing and I was able to get a good look. It was definitely a Bigfoot and it was huge. It was around 8 ft tall and covered head to toe in matted muddy dark hair. It was reaching into the water and putting whatever it found in it's mouth. I didn't see the other Bigfoot. It must have moved off in the other direction.
I was as still as possible, though I was shaking. This Bigfoot was no more than 100 ft from me though I was 12 foot in the tree. I must have watched it for 10 minutes or so as it waded through the water eating whatever it pulled out. It eventually walked away from us towards the woods on the opposite rise. My uncle and I looked at each other, but didn't make a sound. I was ready to get out of there but he remained in his stand holding his hand palm out to let me know to hang on. I wasn't even thinking about hunting deer any further that day.
About 15-20 minutes had gone by. My uncle started moving off his stand. I did the same, dropping the ladder and climbing down. We walked towards each other and agreed to come back for the stands later. In fact, I didn't go back. That afternoon, my dad and grandfather went back with my uncle to look around and retrieve the stands. Both of them believed we saw the Bigfoot. My grandfather said he believes they were eating freshwater mussels and snails.
I never went back to that area, though I still hunt. That was the only time I have ever seen anything like that. I'd be interested to know of other witness sightings in eastern Kansas and western Missouri. I've heard many stories but nothing recent. Chad
NOTE: I made contact with Chad this morning. His story seemed credible and he agreed to let me publish it. He no longer lives in Kansas, but has gone back to hunt for deer and turkey. I believe this may have been the first report I have received from Kansas, though I have read other accounts over the years. Lon
Encounters: True Stories of the North American Bigfoot
Bigfoot in Kansas (Cryptid Casebook Book 6)
Bigfoot Across America
Bigfoot Casebook updated: Sightings And Encounters from 1818 to 2004
