Florida IBS Sighting Reports

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IBS Report #: 1333

Location: COLLIER county, FL. United States

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +026˚ 07' N
Longitude: 080˚ 08' W
Day:
Month: END AUG
Year: 1977
Time:
Elevation: 8

Data Source: TR16
Credibility: 2
Locality: ALLIGATOR ALLEY, OUTSKIRTS OF FORT LAUDERDALE
Researcher: STEVE WIGGINS
Witness: UNCLE LOWELL

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: POLICE CAR HITS BF, ODOR, HAIR AND BLOOD ON CAR

Sighting Text:
Tr16* Steve Wiggins was in the shop and had a tale about his uncle Lowell in Florida. The tale was apparently told in the Miami Herald, but will repeat what was said. Uncle Lowell was a police corporal with 17 years experience, and was cruising Alligator Alley, a strip of road on the outskirts of Fort Lauderdale towards Fort Meyers. At the end of August, 1977, Lowell hit a skunk ape, and did considerable damage to the car. The thing towered over the car he maintained, and lost his job and pension for his trouble (rehired later in Ft. Meyers). The ape-like, man-like creature had a bad smell, and left hair and blood on the car. It was compared with 100 other samples and found to not conform to any. TO this day (talked to him 4 years ago), uncle Lowell says it was a skunk ape he hit. You have to admire someone like this that sticks to their guns...he could have as easily said he hit a bear or something.
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IBS Report #: 550

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 54' N
Longitude: 081˚ 18' W
Day: 16
Month: JUL
Year: 1997
Time: 2 PM
Elevation: 6

Data Source: TR71
Credibility: 0
Locality: OCHOPEE, TURNER ROAD
Researcher: Steve Goodbread
Witness: Steve Goodbread

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7 FT BROWN SKUNK APE SEEN, ROCKING BACK AND FORTH, SHAKING BUSHES

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#71 The Skunk Ape Through the years, several reports have come from Florida in swamps and on beaches, and just this past July, the wave of sightings that occurred was not only interesting to Bigfoot enthusiasts, but to the media world as well. The location, Ochopee, is in the Southwest peninsula of Florida, 35 miles southeast of Naples. Ochopee (O-Choppy) is located in the Big Cypress Nature Preserve, north of the Everglades National Park. The recent sightings began on July 16th, and soon became the talk of the town... of the state for that matter, even gaining national attention eventually, when INSIDE EDITION traveled to the area to shoot a segment on the skunk ape for their show. I think UNSOLVED MYSTERIES was also interested in the events, but whatever came of that, I’m not sure. On July 16th, around 2:00 PM, Steve Goodbread, a tour guide for Pelican Tours, was driving a tour bus with a group of tourists along Turner Road. The bus arrived at an area where there is a burned out wooden bridge across the canal on the east side of the road. The guide and the tourists spotted a large brownish colored creature behind some brush near the bridge. The creature continually stood upright on two legs, was about 7' tall, had hair covering it's entire body (except for the face) and was rocking back & forth. The guide stated that the creature resembled a gorilla, and said that the creature was shaking the bushes and appeared to be irritated by their presence. The creature was approximately 70 to 80 yards away. The witnesses continued to watch the creature for about 15 minutes, while the guide repeatedly eased the tour bus forward and backward so as to allow visibility of the creature to everyone on the bus. The guide attempted to get one of the tourists to exit the bus and take photographs of the creature, but nobody would get off the bus. They eventually drove away, leaving the creature at this location. The tour guide later returned to the area and found a road where he could drive into the swamp, but, he did not locate the creature again. The guide feels that the creature might have been a hoax but states that it would be nearly impossible for a human to withstand the heat at that time of day in a suit. This is also an area that is heavily populated by alligators. Mr.. Goodbread is in a state of disbelief about what he saw, although he believes in the possible existence of the skunk ape, but prefers not to associate the creature with his tours.
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IBS Report #: 551

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 49' N
Longitude: 081˚ 20' W
Day: 17
Month: JUL
Year: 1997
Time: 2:30 PM
Elevation:

Data Source: TR71
Credibility: 0
Locality: TURNER ROAD, OCHOPEE
Researcher: SHEALY
Witness: Dow Roland,

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7 FT BROWN SKUNK APE

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#71 On July 17th, around 2:30 PM, Dow Roland, a tour guide for Everglades Day Safari, was driving a tour bus with a group of tourists, along the same road that two days before, Steve Goodbread had spotted the skunk ape. Roland saw a brownish colored bipedal creature about 300' west of the road, at the edge of the brush. Roland described the creature as being approximately 7' tall, long brown hair, standing upright when walking or running, having a smooth face and resembling a gorilla. Rowland's observation of the creature was brief before it ran into the brush. His initial thought was that it was someone in a gorilla suit playing a prank. He was on his return trip at the time of this sighting. A few minutes later he returned to the same area, on Turner Road, with another group of tourists. Rowland was near the area where he had first observed the creature. He again observed the creature on the west side of Turner road. This time the creature was approximately 150' from the road and again the observation was brief before the creature ran into the brush. The creature appeared to act nervous. Rowland believed this to be the same creature that he had previously observed. He indicated that he was still shocked and in disbelief that this could be a real creature. He finished the tour without observing the creature again. After completing the tour, he retrieved his camera and returned to the sighting area on Turner Road. He drove up & down Turner Road but was unable to again locate the creature. He then drove south and was near the area of his other sightings, he was preparing to give up his search, when he observed a white convertible driving north. The convertible passed him and continued north bound. He looked in his rear view mirror and observed the convertible stop suddenly then drive off. In an instant he observed the creature appear at the west edge of Turner Road, approximately where the convertible had stopped. He quickly turned around but the creature had again disappeared into the brush. Mr. Rowland was unable to locate the creature again. The next day, on Saturday 7-19-97, Rowland told David Shealy of his observations. David Shealy is the owner/operator of the Florida Panther Gift Shop located on Highway U. S. 41, one mile west of Turner Road.
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IBS Report #: 552

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 54' N
Longitude: 081˚ 18' W
Day: 21
Month: JUL
Year: 1997
Time: 7:45 AM
Elevation:

Data Source: TR71
Credibility: 2
Locality: BURNS ROAD, NEAR OCHOPEE
Researcher: Jan Brock,
Witness: Jan Brock,

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7 FT BROWN SKUNK APE CROSSES ROAD

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#71 On July 21st, Jan Brock, a Collier county Realtor who lives in the area of Ochopee, was traveling south on Burns road, sometime just prior to 7:45 am, in route to work. She was approximately 2 miles north of U. S. 41 when she observed a creature, that she indicated was approximately 1000 feet in front of her car, cross the road. Brock first observed the creature at the west edge of the road. The creature crossed the road, heading east, and disappeared into the thick brush and trees on the east side of Burns road. Brock described the creature as about 7' tall, covered with a furry coat of thick dark brown hair and what appeared to be a patch of off-white or light colored hair on it's chest. Brock explained that she has often times traveled the roads, observed the wildlife, and has seen numerous animals in the Everglades. Brock compared the light colored chest patch, on the creature, to similar coloration that she has observed on bears that have been laying on the local limestone roads. Brock further explained that this creature was definitely not a bear...that it's legs were too long to be a bear’s and that it walked upright the entire time of her observation. Brock recalls that she noticed that the creature looked in her direction but she was too far away to view the physical characteristics or any facial features. She drove to where the creature had crossed, and stopped her car. She then rolled her window down part way but did not exit her vehicle. She looked around for the creature and for signs of any footprints. She was unable to find any further signs of the creature. Brock's family has owned property, in this area, for many years and she used to bring her children, when they were young and before they built a house there, to the area for picnics and weekend camping trips. This would have been in the late 1960s. She explained that her children would often claim that they saw Bigfoot creatures around their property and in the swamps. Brock advised that her family has never been bothered by the creatures. She does believe that he creatures exist and does not fear them.
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IBS Report #: 553

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: + 255404
Longitude: 081˚ 18' W
Day: 21
Month: JUL
Year: 1997
Time: 8 AM
Elevation: 6

Data Source: TR71
Credibility: 2
Locality: HWY 41, NEAR OCHOPEE
Researcher: PETER BYRNE
Witness: Vince Doerr

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7 FT REDDISH DARK BROWN SKUNK APE CROSS ROAD, PHOTO TKEN

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#71 On the same day as Mrs. Brock’s sighting, JULY 21, around 8:00 AM, Vince Doerr, Ochopee fire chief , was driving south from his home toward U.S. highway 41 in route to work. He saw a Skunk Ape cross the road approximately 600' to 800' in front of him. The creature was moving from east to west at a slow pace. The witness arrived at the crossing site, exited his vehicle and took a photograph of the creature, approx. 80 yards away in the swamp. The picture is of the rear and upper torso of the creature. The creature was approximately 7' tall, bulky, reddish dark brown in color and continuously walked upright.
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IBS Report #: 554

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 49' N
Longitude: 081˚ 20' W
Day: 24
Month: JUL
Year: 1997
Time:
Elevation:

Data Source: TR71
Credibility: 0
Locality: TURNER ROAD, NEAR OCHOPEE
Researcher: Shealy
Witness: Vince Doerr

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: BROWN HAIR ON BUSH, 13.5 IN TRACKS

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#71 David Shealy learned of fire chief Vince Doerr's sighting, and associated it with what Dow Roland had told him earlier. On Thursday 7-24-97 Shealy went to the area, on Turner Road, where the creature had been observed. Shealy is a long time resident of the area and is familiar with the swamp. Shealy began searching the area. He found, what he believed to be, hair on some brush next to a path. The hair was brown in color and approximately three inches in length. He also located several large tracks in the area. Shealy was able to take plaster casts of two of the tracks. The footprints measured approximately 13.5" in length, approximately 6" in width at the toes and approximately 3" in width at the heel. Days later, Shealy stated he was visited at night by two men, stating they wanted the see the casts and the hair, upon seeing the hair, on man placed it in his pocket and told Shealy it would be examined and returned, Shealy then told them that the casts weren’t with him, the two men left and Shealy never saw them again.
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IBS Report #: 868

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +027˚ 14' N
Longitude: 080˚ 49' W
Day:
Month: AUG
Year: 1997
Time: DAYLIGHT
Elevation: 29

Data Source: TR85
Credibility: 2
Locality: south of Lake Okeechobee
Researcher: Jim McMullen
Witness: Jim McMullen

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7 FT 500# BF SEEN

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1997 TR#85 * Jim McMullen came across a 7 foot Bigfoot in daylight, August, 1997, in the Everglades of Florida. The 500 pound creature was seen in the area south of Lake Okeechobee and north of Ten Thousand Islands, for 30 seconds. This is only a few miles from the supposed Shealy Skunk Ape sightings at Trail Lakes campground on US 41 east of Ochopee, FL(Most seem to think that these were hoaxes to aid his business).
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IBS Report #: 879

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 2

Latitude: +025˚ 54' N
Longitude: 081˚ 18' W
Day: 14
Month: NOV
Year: 1998
Time: 2:25 AM
Elevation: 6

Data Source: TR85
Credibility: 1
Locality: OCHOPEE AREA
Researcher: Chris Kraska
Witness: TOM

Sighting Type: 2
Summary: Bigfoot kills pig, HEAD TWISTED OFF, 14 IN TRACK

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1999 TR#85 * Chris Kraska, Bigfoot kills pig, Mar 16, 1999. From: chriskraska@hotmail.com (Chris Kraska) Nov 14, 1998, proceeded to the Panther Gift Shop, FL, to drop in on David Shealy. I chatted with David for a few minutes and when I was getting ready to leave he said that I should check in with Tom who lives about 1/4 mile away.... because he had had some weird stuff going on over at his house. I drove over to Tom's place (a small house where he lives and grows Bougainvillea’s) and found him outside feeding his Pot Bellied Pigs. Tom is in his 70s and retired.... being a former charter plane pilot. He seems level-headed and welcomed me, telling me that two of his pigs had disappeared recently and he thought a bear had taken them. Here are his recollections of the events which he gave to me during our interview: "Sunday morning at about 2:25 AM, I heard some squealing outside. I got some clothes on and went out back to count my pigs and there were only 6 instead of 8." (Tom's Pot Bellied Pigs range from 90 to over 200 pounds, apparently being overfed by Tom who displays great affection for them.) "The two which disappeared included one that was about 150 pounds and one that was around 200 pounds. I went back to bed and got up at dawn. When I went outside I realized that something had come through the woods at the left rear edge of the property. (The back edge of the property borders on swamp with water averaging 26 inches in depth.) There was a path (quite high) that had been pushed through the bushes. I didn't see any tracks." (Tom said he didn't call anybody because "what could they do?" He did tell some neighbors, including David Shealy, who immediately indicated the Skunk Ape was the perpetrator.) "Early Tuesday morning at 1:30 AM I heard a pig squealing back in the swamp. I went outside to check on his pigs and all 6 were there. I wondered if it was one of the pigs which had disappeared nearly 48 hours earlier. Why would it still be alive? There aren't any feral pigs around here so I didn't think it was anything else other than one of mine." "On Tuesday at 11 AM this guy stopped by from the nursery to deliver some stuff. He's a nice guy, about 21 years old. He does a lot of hunting and fishing. I told him what happened and he walked around the property. He came back and told me that he had found the tracks of a 500 pound bear on the west back corner, coming out of the woods." (Tom did not see the tracks himself, so he could not describe them to me. It must be noted that a 500 black bear is a rarity, if not an impossibility in South Florida these days.) Another one of the local guys stopped by that afternoon and tried to go back into the swamp but came out... said it was too rough going. "That night (1:30 am Wednesday) I heard something big going from the house to the woods. It crashed through the woods when I came out... it must've been really big. I took three shots with my .22 rifle into the air and it kept on going. It was too dark for me to see anything. Since then nothing else has happened." What the investigator found: I asked Tom if he would mind me going into the woods behind his house and he said "Knock yourself out!" I made my way through the trail on the east corner of the property, the one presumably made during the first visit by the animal. The water was cold, dark, and above my knees. Many of the overhanging branches had been pushed aside to make a path in which to walk, it appeared. After making my way approximately 75 feet in this muck I came upon a small rise of ground. In the center of this muddy spot lay the body of one of Tom's pigs. What struck me immediately was the fact that the animal's head had been twisted or pulled off of its body and was facing the opposite direction with just a small piece of skin connecting it to the body. I examined the body carefully for marks and could find none. No claw or teeth marks were present and the animals gut was intact. In short, the only thing wrong with the animal was the fact that it had been decapitated. Looking back on it now I remember maggots both in the ground and in the pig. There was no blood evident on the ground under the animal that I could see. At this point I had a rather unnerving experience. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was covered with goose-bumps. I immediately began scanning the surrounding swamp because ofan overwhelming feeling that I was being watched. As I had no camera on me to photograph the pig and had left my gun in the car I beat a hasty retreat back to Tom's property and told him what I had found. He was shocked that the head had been pulled off... I went to the car and retrieved my sidearm and slipped my camera into my bellows pocket. I went back out into the swamp via the other "path," making my way into the swamp then turning east when I believed I wouldn't find anything in that area. I came back to the rise after a while and photographed the body of the pig. Then I went back to Tom's property and had him photograph me with one of his similar sized pigs for a comparison. Here are the points about the investigation which struck me:Bears are primarily diurnal (active during the day) rather than nocturnal. A bear would typically kill a pig on the spot or drag it off a ways screaming, causing teeth and probably claw marks to be in evidence. How could a black bear drag a 200 pound pig 75 feet through debris choked water nearly 30 inches deep without significant marks on the body? Why was this pig killed so long after it disappeared? (Assuming the squealing was from this pig.) There are many more questions which could be posed regarding this particular series of events. Tom was kind enough to tell me he would call if anything strange happened again. He also said that I could spend the night in his back yard any time I wanted to. He was also almost disappointed that I would not give him my "professional opinion" as he put it, as to what it was that had taken his pigs. I told him that all I would say at the moment was that I did not believe it was a bear. Richard Greenwell of the International Society of Cryptozoology visited the site approximately one week after I did and concluded, based on tracks around the carcass, that a bear had been responsible. I disagreed. I believe the bear may well have been attracted by the stench of the carcass but when I visited the site the week prior there were no bear pugs in evidence. I continue to remain open minded. Note: Some 14 days later I visited the site again and discovered a 14" footprint in crushed coral coming out of the swamp.The track was very rough and on an incline and before I could even attempt to cast it, rain started pouring.
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IBS Report #: 1147

Location: COLLIER county, FL. United States

Sighting Type: 2

Latitude: +026˚ 15' N
Longitude: 081˚ 16' W
Day: 18
Month: OCT
Year: 1998
Time:
Elevation: 15

Data Source: TR96
Credibility: 1
Locality: BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE
Researcher: CRC
Witness: MAN AND BROTHER

Sighting Type: 2
Summary: 14 IN TRACKS SEEN, COCALIZATION, POSSIBLE 2 BF

Sighting Text:
FL 1998 TR96 ELV 15 261510N 0811652W BIG CYPRESS PRESERVE It took me 13 months later October 18, 1998 -- I came on seven tracks near a water line -- big guys. But the problem was they were full of water and heavily deteriorated, but you could clearly see that something had walked along the water's edge. WAS THERE THREE TOES? I got five toes. Five toes. So, what I did was take the best of the seven prints and got as much water out of it as I could and took a plaster cast of that one. You can see the 5 toes and I got the length and width. The length is roughly over 14 inches and the width--I think because it's so deteriorated and spread out -- I got 8 inches across. So, it makes for a big foot. HAVE YOU, OR HAS ANYONE YOU KNOW, RECORDED ANY SOUNDS OF WHAT THEY SAY ARE THESE CREATURES? I had my brother with me one night and we got sounds. But when I say we got sounds -- we didn't have tape recorders. We went into this area and all of a sudden to the right hand side, we heard this very high pitched screech. And it was the longest screech I have ever heard. I've never heard that sound in the Everglades -- mainly because of how long it was. I know basically all the sounds of the panther in the Everglades. And this was not a panther. And it was maybe like 75 yards away and in the tree line. My brother heard it and jumped in the van and shut the door. And as I was opening the door to get into the van, to the left hand side over a water line -- and another 80 yards away -- there was another screech, almost identical to the screech we heard in the tree line to the right. And I got in the van and shut the door and we both looked at each other and said it at the same time, "Bigfoot!" Wait a minute-- two of them.
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IBS Report #: 887

Location: COLLIER county, FL. UNITED STATES

Sighting Type: 1

Latitude: +025˚ 52' N
Longitude: 081˚ 13' W
Day: 17
Month: APR
Year: 1999
Time:
Elevation:

Data Source: TR86
Credibility: 3
Locality: TAMIAMI TRAIL HWY 41
Researcher: George Cybersquatch
Witness: Janet S.

Sighting Type: 1
Summary: 7+ FT BROWN BF CROSSES ROAD, MOVING AWAY FROM FIRE SMOKE , ODOR

Sighting Text:
FL COLLIER 1999 TR#86 * Relayed by George Cybersquatch. Janet S. was on Alligator Alley, Hy 75, Apr. 17, 1999, south Florida. She could not proceed due to heavy smoke from nearby fires, so she turned down Hy 41, the Tamiami Trail, headed toward Miami. “Just as I was passing by a Florida Panther crossing sign, an enormous creature ran across the road further down the road. It was tall (over 7') and it was covered with brown fur. I slowed and watched it disappear into the wooded area along the roadway. It seemed to be moving away from the smoke (as it was extremely smoky in that direction). I didn't have a camera (that won't ever happen again) and I was by myself. I did notice that it had a really heavy sweaty,cheesy smell when I passed by the place it had crossed. I was blown away”
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Precip: MIAMI 2.1 2.2 1.9 2.3 5.7 7.1 3.9 4.6 6.4 4.6 2.8 1.6 45.3
Temp: MIAMI 68.0 68.4 71.6 74.7 77.9 80.8 82.6 82.8 81.7 78.4 73.9 69.8 75.9
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Ecology: Missing