WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:03.680 If you'd like to be able to listen to the show without ads and have 2 00:00:03.759 --> 00:00:08.119 full access to bonus content, that's an option. To find out how, 3 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:15.560 please go to Bigfootyewitness dot com Forward Slash Podcast. My name is David Aldridge. 4 00:00:16.039 --> 00:00:20.519 I'm fifty four. I grew up in Venice, Florida, Nicomas, 5 00:00:20.519 --> 00:00:24.760 Florida. I'm a contractor living in Naples currently. I have married, I 6 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:31.120 have three daughters. I had two encounters back in fall of ninety two in 7 00:00:31.199 --> 00:00:35.640 winter of ninety three, and I'll tell you a little bit about that to 8 00:00:35.799 --> 00:00:39.520 set this up a little bit. Why I was traveling. This happened to 9 00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:42.960 night in night. I was headed to Miami. I was a divemaster, 10 00:00:43.079 --> 00:00:46.759 and I did a lot of diving back then in between college and grad school. 11 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.079 And I was heading to Miami, and I did a lot of night 12 00:00:50.119 --> 00:00:55.719 driving on the interstate, and that is where these sightings took place. So 13 00:00:55.759 --> 00:01:00.280 I had two sightings, both within a mile of each other, and up 14 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.479 as I said in Venice, Florida, this took place in Sarasota County. 15 00:01:03.880 --> 00:01:06.280 I'm going to date myself here a little bit. So back in the day, 16 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:10.879 the interstate used to be different wasn't the mileage. It's just straight digits 17 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:15.439 for the exits. So the first encounter took place at Exit thirty five, 18 00:01:17.079 --> 00:01:21.760 which was the Venice on ramp at the time, and the Interstate was much 19 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:26.519 different than than it is now. There was only two lanes in a half 20 00:01:26.519 --> 00:01:30.040 of the lane when you had a bad tire or something to be able to 21 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:34.280 sit in the grass. So it wasn't as why the mediums were huge and 22 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:38.640 the on ramps were very short back then. They've changed that. So I'm 23 00:01:38.680 --> 00:01:42.480 just trying to set this up so you have an understanding of what I experienced, 24 00:01:42.560 --> 00:01:46.599 because doing it today you would not have the same feeling. Exit thirty 25 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:53.439 five is about one mile west of the Mayaka River on the Interstate outside of 26 00:01:53.519 --> 00:01:57.040 Venice in Sarasota County. So I was getting on the Interstate at around ten 27 00:01:57.040 --> 00:02:01.239 o'clock at night, headed to Miami to go diving, and it was very 28 00:02:01.319 --> 00:02:05.000 very late. It was a Thursday night that I remember because I I just 29 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:09.400 started grad school, and when I was getting on the Interstate it I was 30 00:02:09.439 --> 00:02:14.520 getting on to go southbound and I looked over to my left and there was 31 00:02:14.560 --> 00:02:19.840 a car in the left outer lane and it was a very short on ramp 32 00:02:20.560 --> 00:02:23.599 and I went back to look forward, and that's where I hit something. 33 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:30.800 And my hitting this at the time, I thought it was a person until 34 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:37.000 I really analyzed what I had hit. It was a flash. It happened 35 00:02:37.080 --> 00:02:40.560 very fast. But when I looked back to look forward across my hood, 36 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:46.319 I had something almost leaping across the front of my car with its right hand 37 00:02:46.400 --> 00:02:50.080 on my hood. I was probably going about forty five fifty miles prior at 38 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:54.159 the time. Whenever I hit I'm assuming it was a Flota skunk cape and 39 00:02:54.159 --> 00:02:58.639 I'll go into the description of it. It hit my bumper as well, 40 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:04.360 and there was a big growl at the impact. So as I was accelerating 41 00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.479 to get on the Interstate and I looked back, I saw this big It 42 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:13.240 was hair. It was to describe it. The hair moved in one in 43 00:03:13.280 --> 00:03:17.400 a very methodical pattern. It was red, more of a khaki and red 44 00:03:17.479 --> 00:03:23.800 color. And the hand. I was in a four THUNDERB super Cooper, 45 00:03:23.159 --> 00:03:27.840 so I was very low to the ground, so I could see the hand 46 00:03:28.360 --> 00:03:30.479 come through the light onto the front of my car, which was black. 47 00:03:30.520 --> 00:03:37.919 The hand was completely black, the hair was completely khaki with it as it 48 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:42.680 swirled. It had a red hint to it, so I'll never forget that 49 00:03:42.680 --> 00:03:46.240 that was the swirl was what something was very distinct. But what was really 50 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:52.639 distinct was the muscular definition of the forearm. You could see part of the 51 00:03:52.680 --> 00:03:55.319 back a little bit, and the right leg I'm sorry, the right leg 52 00:03:55.400 --> 00:04:00.159 was leaping over, so you could see the right capital an upper leg muscle 53 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:05.000 on the right leg. The left leg hit the bumper, And when I 54 00:04:05.039 --> 00:04:09.280 got to where I was in Miami, I used a flashlight on my bumper 55 00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:13.360 and my front bumper had an indentation. It was an old plastic that some 56 00:04:13.560 --> 00:04:16.639 thunderbirds had the plastic bumper, and I had a dent in my hood from 57 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:21.040 where the hand was. I wish I would have gotten foot prints of it 58 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:25.600 at the time, but at the time I wasn't thinking that. So let 59 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:29.040 me finish with how this transpired. So I pulled my car off the side 60 00:04:29.079 --> 00:04:30.480 of the road. As I said, I was going on a dive trip. 61 00:04:30.480 --> 00:04:36.160 Behind my seat, I always carried a five hundred thousand candlelight Pelican dive 62 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:41.120 leg and it lit everything up, and I pulled my car over lit it 63 00:04:41.199 --> 00:04:44.279 up, thinking I hit a person. I really, I'm still. You 64 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:46.560 know, I knew what I saw, I saw the hair, I saw 65 00:04:46.600 --> 00:04:49.000 everything, but I still would my gut was I thought I had a person, 66 00:04:49.480 --> 00:04:54.879 and I immediately stopped. I lit up the side of the interstate with 67 00:04:54.920 --> 00:04:57.959 my light. It was about forty feet to the fence. After that, 68 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:00.360 about fifty feet into the pasture. It was a horse pasture and actually had 69 00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:02.560 a history here. I used to trail ride in that when I was a 70 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:06.680 kid, so I knew this property. And there was a big what we 71 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:12.959 call Brazilian pepper tree, which is invasive to Florida, and that was about 72 00:05:12.959 --> 00:05:15.759 fifty feet in there. So there was nothing. There was no body. 73 00:05:16.279 --> 00:05:20.120 There was nothing. So when I lit that up, I couldn't believe it. 74 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:24.279 I thought, you know, I went back, I looked, thinking 75 00:05:24.319 --> 00:05:28.480 maybe someone was in the grass. Because when I made impact, the growl 76 00:05:28.639 --> 00:05:31.759 was just deep. It was one of the deepest growls I've ever heard. 77 00:05:32.240 --> 00:05:35.000 And it wasn't human. It wasn't like you know, if you hit a 78 00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:42.279 person they screamed. This was a deep, deep growl and you could almost 79 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:46.040 feel it. It was on the impact. So when I pulled off, 80 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:47.800 I had a cell phone in my car at the time. Remember this was 81 00:05:47.920 --> 00:05:51.519 nineteen ninety two, so this is a brick. My father was a surgeon 82 00:05:51.519 --> 00:05:55.839 that he let me use his phone when I traveled across the state at night, 83 00:05:55.920 --> 00:05:58.560 just for safety. So this was one of the old bell bricks. 84 00:05:59.079 --> 00:06:03.199 So I powered it up and the old star at HP. It was probably 85 00:06:03.240 --> 00:06:06.959 that when it first started in Florida. Got a hold of Fluorida Highway Patrol, 86 00:06:08.120 --> 00:06:12.480 introduced myself and there was a lady that took the call and she told 87 00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:15.240 me to calm down and explain exactly what happened. And I told her exactly 88 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.120 what happened. I said, I think I hit somebody, but I can't 89 00:06:18.160 --> 00:06:23.439 find any person. I said. It was very hairy. It leaped across 90 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:25.639 my car. It wasn't a deer, it wasn't a bear, it was 91 00:06:25.680 --> 00:06:29.079 nothing like that. And I told her, I said this was not a 92 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:32.000 person. I said, I've never seen anything like this before. So the 93 00:06:32.079 --> 00:06:36.160 lady dispatcher from Fota Highway Patrol said, I'm going to tell you something. 94 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:41.439 I don't think you hit a person. You're in between exit thirty four and 95 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:45.959 thirty five on seventy five, and I said that's correct, and she said 96 00:06:46.040 --> 00:06:48.439 I get calls like this all the time in this area, and she said 97 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:51.720 anything around that. I said, to the river there, and she said 98 00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:55.079 anything around this river. I get these type of calls all the time. 99 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.800 And she said, I can't tell you what you hit, but I'm willing 100 00:06:57.839 --> 00:07:00.439 to bet what you hit was not a person. So she said, you 101 00:07:00.439 --> 00:07:02.800 did the right thing. Thank you for calling us. I have your name, 102 00:07:02.800 --> 00:07:05.519 I have your address, I have all your information and in case anything 103 00:07:05.560 --> 00:07:10.480 gets reported of an injured animal or a person. But she said you did 104 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.000 the right thing. And she then came back and said where are you And 105 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:15.959 I said, I'm in my car, the doors locked, and she said, 106 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:16.839 good, are you armed? I said no, I'm not armed. 107 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:19.240 I said, I just have the cell phone here. And she said, 108 00:07:19.240 --> 00:07:24.800 I want you to proceed down the interstate and don't stay there without having anything 109 00:07:24.800 --> 00:07:27.120 to protect yourself. She said, I can't tell you what you hit, 110 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:29.800 but if you had, you already looked for it, and it's not there. 111 00:07:29.920 --> 00:07:31.279 It's well moved on, but I don't want it to come back to 112 00:07:31.279 --> 00:07:39.600 your car. And that was the end of that first encounter. A few 113 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:43.519 months later, I had a second encounter in the same strip of road. 114 00:07:44.120 --> 00:07:46.199 This was closer to the River and I was southbound. I'd already gotten on 115 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:53.600 the interstate. This would have been around March of ninety three, so it 116 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.480 was late winter, early spring. Florida has this time of year. We 117 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:03.519 have low rolling fog along the grass on the interstate, and sometimes it's heavy 118 00:08:03.560 --> 00:08:07.519 sometimes this night it wasn't too heavy, but it's kind of in the median 119 00:08:07.680 --> 00:08:11.879 where you'll see it. So I was going down the road in my car, 120 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:15.360 same car, and there was a car to the right of me that 121 00:08:15.519 --> 00:08:20.279 was an American white station wagon that was probably a late eighties model, and 122 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:26.600 I had my windows down, and the gentleman next to me had his windows 123 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:31.360 down too, which I found out in a moment. So I was going 124 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:35.720 down the road and we're coming across this one section where it was it was 125 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:41.120 a very large median and there was an overpass that you go under, and 126 00:08:41.279 --> 00:08:46.600 the cars were coming. Obviously I was going north southbound, so the northbound 127 00:08:46.600 --> 00:08:52.600 cars were coming and you could see them. One car started to break and 128 00:08:52.960 --> 00:08:54.519 the lights were coming and the cars were slowing down, and I looked over 129 00:08:54.519 --> 00:09:00.360 and it looked like something was running in front of the cars in the median 130 00:09:00.679 --> 00:09:05.399 across the median, which would eventually come across my lanes. So I slowed 131 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:07.080 down. The car next to me slowed down. He saw it too, 132 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:11.799 and I had an experienced years ago with a deer and going across my car. 133 00:09:11.960 --> 00:09:18.039 So it's something you never don't want to ever go through if you get 134 00:09:18.039 --> 00:09:20.960 a deer going across your hood. So I was breaking and then I saw 135 00:09:22.279 --> 00:09:26.360 what was running and it wasn't a deer. It was very human like and 136 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:31.960 it was sprinting. And this is what's so distinct about this. This time 137 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:37.039 I had a chance to really see the movement and the legs were almost horizontal. 138 00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:41.559 The sprinting was the legs were the one foot was out and the other 139 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:46.279 one was all the way back. It was like a sprinter and I've never 140 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:50.519 seen it like it before. The hair, when in the headlights you could 141 00:09:50.519 --> 00:09:52.639 see the hair, it was the same color hair. It was a khaki, 142 00:09:52.879 --> 00:09:56.759 real deep khaki color. And as it moved, the swirl of the 143 00:09:56.799 --> 00:10:03.480 hair was very methodical. If you remember the movie Monsters, Inc. Scully, 144 00:10:03.559 --> 00:10:07.519 that one character when it was they were all walking and they when they 145 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:11.639 tell you how they did the scene with there's a computer program, I guess 146 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:16.080 code for each hair that's kind of what I looked at. It was very 147 00:10:16.440 --> 00:10:20.480 and remember this is back in ninety three, ninety two. The hair moved 148 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:24.639 in a swirling pattern as it moved. It wasn't all knotted or anything like 149 00:10:24.679 --> 00:10:30.159 that. There was there was a distinct movement to the hair when this thing 150 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.679 was running. What was really unique about it. You could see the muscular 151 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:39.080 definition again. And the head never moved. It didn't move up and down 152 00:10:39.120 --> 00:10:41.840 at all. And I can't tell you about the neck. I was scared 153 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:46.360 kind of watching the whole thing. But the hair on the head was a 154 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:52.679 little more okay red than khaki. The arms were swinging, but not as 155 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:56.720 fast as the legs were moving. When it crossed the road. It crossed 156 00:10:56.759 --> 00:11:00.840 the road in two the one foot second foot, and it cleared it. 157 00:11:01.480 --> 00:11:05.159 I've never seen anything clear a road like that in a sprint. And when 158 00:11:05.159 --> 00:11:09.480 I saw it, two legs running, the arms swaying. The arms were 159 00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:13.519 a little bit longer, but the arms weren't moving as fast. When it 160 00:11:13.559 --> 00:11:18.039 went off to the right side of the road my lights. At this point 161 00:11:18.080 --> 00:11:20.039 it was beyond my lights the car to my right. It was in midstead 162 00:11:20.120 --> 00:11:24.519 lights and it turned a little bit to the left and you could see the 163 00:11:24.559 --> 00:11:28.360 definition of the back. I guess it was a trap psia. It was 164 00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:33.840 just the definition and the back as it moved was so distinct. And I 165 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:39.039 go back to where I saw the first encounter with the arms and the legs, 166 00:11:39.080 --> 00:11:43.559 the muscular distinction through the hair. I'll never forget that. It's something 167 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:48.080 that I can't figure out on this whole matter. I've never seen anything like 168 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:50.279 it. It was. It was no way anyone could ever do a costume 169 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.279 like that or anything like that. So the car next to me, we 170 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:56.440 both had our windows down, and he looked over at me and he said, 171 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:01.679 that wasn't a freaking gear. It wasn't a freaking bear. That was 172 00:12:01.720 --> 00:12:05.279 a freaking big foot. And he's yelling at me, and I'm yelling back 173 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.759 at him, and I said, what did we just see? And he 174 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:11.039 and he we both shook our heads and he said, he said we saw, 175 00:12:11.360 --> 00:12:15.000 yells back at me. And remember we're going at this point about forty 176 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.480 five miles per hour. He yells back at me and says, we just 177 00:12:16.559 --> 00:12:20.679 experienced something that we'll never see again in our lives. It gives me a 178 00:12:20.720 --> 00:12:22.559 thumb up, And I gave him a thumb up. And we proceeded on 179 00:12:22.600 --> 00:12:26.480 and put our windows up. But that was kind of a confirmation to me 180 00:12:26.679 --> 00:12:30.360 that I had seen something that I was trying to get my head around. 181 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:35.879 And to this day, I still see this as vividly as it did back 182 00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:39.200 at ninety two and ninety three. It's life changing when you experienced something like 183 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:43.519 that because you can't put reason to it, and it was you saw something 184 00:12:43.559 --> 00:12:48.000 that you couldn't really understand what you saw at the time. And to this 185 00:12:48.080 --> 00:12:50.120 day, here I am, all these years later, and I never I've 186 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:52.799 only told a few people about this. Very few people know about it. 187 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.840 I never wanted to tell this story because I was always just a little uncomfortable 188 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:03.159 to the story. And I was asked about it not too long ago, 189 00:13:03.240 --> 00:13:05.200 and I said, you know what, I'll go ahead and tell the story 190 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:09.759 because it's something that really has impacted me in my life. It's you always, 191 00:13:09.000 --> 00:13:11.320 you can't go in the woods without thinking about this anymore, not in 192 00:13:11.360 --> 00:13:16.279 Florida, and the hair, the way the hair moved in the distinctive of 193 00:13:16.320 --> 00:13:20.480 the muscles. It's just something that I'd never been able to get out of 194 00:13:20.519 --> 00:13:26.720 my mind. So it's one of those sightings that hope helped someone figure out 195 00:13:26.759 --> 00:13:31.679 what we're seeing in the swamps of Florida. It's truly life changing when you 196 00:13:31.679 --> 00:13:33.919 see something like that, and for me to have, you know, I 197 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:37.759 always thought about, what are the odds for me to have two experiences like 198 00:13:37.799 --> 00:13:41.720 that, And I think it's a It's a nice reinforcement to have in the 199 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:46.519 same stretch of road because it was either the same animal or it was probably 200 00:13:46.559 --> 00:13:48.080 related to the other. But I can't tell you if it was the same 201 00:13:48.159 --> 00:13:54.879 or not. But the second time for me was just a life changing confirmation 202 00:13:54.919 --> 00:13:56.600 because now I know what I had seen go across the foot of my car, 203 00:13:58.320 --> 00:14:03.120 and I know I didn't hit a person after my second experience for that 204 00:14:03.159 --> 00:14:05.440 reason, right there, I'm glad you had that second sighting. Then that's 205 00:14:05.480 --> 00:14:11.080 great me too. And maybe he was running when he had that second sighting 206 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:16.840 because he saw you coming and thought, oh no, not again. I 207 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.240 always thought, why would something like this move across And the only thing I 208 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:22.480 can think of is lake with deer, no deer, they stop in the 209 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:26.679 headlights, and maybe at night, whatever this is he could see well with 210 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:31.360 the headlights. I have no idea, but the first time it definitely missed 211 00:14:31.360 --> 00:14:35.399 the timing of going across with two cars coming that first time my car and 212 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:39.159 there was a car to the Leftomy this should not have crossed the road even 213 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:41.759 was a person, there was just no way to make the timing you get 214 00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:46.440 across the road. So I've always wondered if there's an issue with their eyes 215 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:52.960 at night to be able to figure this out crossing roads. They have incredible 216 00:14:52.080 --> 00:14:56.279 night vision, and it's a given that they don't like lighting at night, 217 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:01.399 So maybe you just blinded it and compromised it to the point where that's why 218 00:15:01.440 --> 00:15:05.600 you hit it. How remote was that on ramp where you hit it, 219 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:11.120 Dave. Back in the day, there wasn't much there that was before anything 220 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:16.159 was at that interchange. I mean there was to come from the main road 221 00:15:16.440 --> 00:15:18.840 up the road, and now you have McDonald's and blah blah and all that 222 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:22.360 sort of stuff there, so you really don't get the feeling of what it 223 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:26.759 was like back then. The lighting on the interstate was poor, so if 224 00:15:26.759 --> 00:15:30.000 they had put him into we didn't have the bright lights back then to light 225 00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:35.240 up that interchange at where this was, So it was pretty dark, just 226 00:15:35.440 --> 00:15:37.960 to say the least, and there was nothing around. There were new homes 227 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:41.039 there. Now there's all commercial, there's a lot of high rise or mid 228 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:45.480 rises and stuff like that around multi family, and there wasn't anything. This 229 00:15:45.600 --> 00:15:50.320 was just horse pasture, cal pasture all the way down to East Venas Avenue. 230 00:15:50.360 --> 00:15:54.759 There was absolutely nothing there back then, perfect habitat for a sasquatch. 231 00:15:54.759 --> 00:15:58.080 So though yeah, no one d is there. If you go back and 232 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:03.240 look up the River Road sightings, there's a lot of sightings over the years 233 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:07.639 on river Road and at my second sighting, but my second where I was 234 00:16:07.679 --> 00:16:11.919 further south by the river road is more than a thousand feet from there, 235 00:16:12.519 --> 00:16:18.080 So there were a lot of sightings over the years that have been recorded on 236 00:16:18.200 --> 00:16:21.919 River Road in that area. And that's if you follow that up. And 237 00:16:22.000 --> 00:16:26.840 you know, there's researchers that go into the Mayaca State Park, which is 238 00:16:26.320 --> 00:16:30.440 I believe about twenty miles up the river, and back in the day it 239 00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:33.960 was just horse farms, cow far pastures all the way up, just very 240 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:37.480 few homes on the river, so it would have been very easy for something 241 00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:41.120 to move, to migrate up and down that river bank at any time of 242 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:45.519 the year. You told us about how it put his black hand on your 243 00:16:45.519 --> 00:16:48.679 hood when you hit it. Yes, how big would you say its hand 244 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:52.360 was? It was about the size of my hand. It wasn't anything I 245 00:16:52.440 --> 00:16:56.720 remember when I remember this was very fast. It was a flash, but 246 00:16:56.799 --> 00:17:00.879 the hand did not look abnormally large. The foot, I remember when I 247 00:17:00.919 --> 00:17:06.160 saw this. I could see the left foot which was dragging through the headlight 248 00:17:06.519 --> 00:17:10.119 and that's where it made impact on the knee or the calf, I can't 249 00:17:10.160 --> 00:17:12.200 tell you. And that would have been on my if that would have been 250 00:17:12.279 --> 00:17:15.480 the passenger side of my car, on that side of the bumper, so 251 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:19.480 I could see the foot as it came across and came down to my passenger 252 00:17:19.519 --> 00:17:23.279 side. The foot was black, black as night, just like the hand. 253 00:17:23.319 --> 00:17:30.319 They both looked black. No reddish or human coloration whatsoever. It's just 254 00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.240 black as night, almost like if you were to have shoe polish on the 255 00:17:34.240 --> 00:17:38.319 hand and on the foot, that's all dark. The skin was, yeah, 256 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.079 that is pretty dark, and it glistened to it had a had a 257 00:17:42.240 --> 00:17:45.799 had a sheen to it. On the hand and the foot, you could 258 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:51.720 see that. But that remember, this was almost as simultaneous where there was 259 00:17:51.720 --> 00:17:56.599 an impact and there the growl that this thing emitted was so deep and loud, 260 00:17:57.319 --> 00:18:00.920 and I had my windows cracked. I didn't have him down all the 261 00:18:00.920 --> 00:18:04.799 way and there's just cracked. And I'll never forget. You could feel the 262 00:18:04.880 --> 00:18:11.200 growl through the cars as when it happened. It was a true impact on 263 00:18:11.240 --> 00:18:14.839 the car. So I mean, you know, you know you hit something. 264 00:18:14.880 --> 00:18:17.519 And the first thing through my head was, oh my god, I 265 00:18:17.559 --> 00:18:19.960 hit a person. I hit a homeless guy going across the road. Back 266 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:22.119 then, you had, you know, some people every now and then on 267 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:26.359 the Interstate, but nothing like today. There was just nothing there. There 268 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:29.720 was nothing at the exit. There was no reason for anything or anyone to 269 00:18:29.799 --> 00:18:33.319 cross the Interstate. There is just there's nothing there back in the day. 270 00:18:33.400 --> 00:18:36.720 Now you have a couple of commercial parks right there, but back in the 271 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:41.000 day that was just cows for as far as you could see. Yeah, 272 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:45.279 like I said, perfect happened. Dat you said the windows were cracked. 273 00:18:45.559 --> 00:18:49.000 Did you ever spell anything? No, not this time. I didn't. 274 00:18:49.240 --> 00:18:53.240 There was no distinct smell or anything like that. I would have remembered that 275 00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:57.720 too, But it happened. You remember, I was going about forty five 276 00:18:57.799 --> 00:19:03.519 miles per hour and celebrating. So when I pulled onto the Interstate, it 277 00:19:03.640 --> 00:19:07.240 was you know, I was down a few hundred feet now. I hit 278 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.240 my brakes very quickly and pulled off the road under the grass, and then 279 00:19:11.279 --> 00:19:15.240 I grabbed my Pelican light that I had always kept it behind my seat when 280 00:19:15.279 --> 00:19:18.799 I was traveling at night in case ever had any issues. And when I 281 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:19.680 lit it up, there was just stuff in there, and I didn't smell 282 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:23.119 anything either, and I would remember the smell. Yeah, it was probably 283 00:19:23.200 --> 00:19:27.240 recovering in the ditch the best it could. That had hurt getting hit at 284 00:19:27.240 --> 00:19:33.720 forty five miles an hour had to My bumper had an indentation in it, 285 00:19:33.960 --> 00:19:37.200 and they end of ford ended up heating the bumper and it popped out. 286 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:41.960 But it would have been right around our knee hype, maybe just a slightly 287 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:45.640 above our knee hype because it was a it was a low car. Yeah, 288 00:19:45.680 --> 00:19:49.359 those supercups are not high. So that really had to hurt. I 289 00:19:49.480 --> 00:19:52.759 had to have had to have. But the growl, I'll never forget the 290 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:56.039 growl. The growl is what just sold it to me that I had made 291 00:19:56.079 --> 00:20:00.480 impact. Yeah, I think it would have done something worse than at He 292 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:04.039 said it growled when you hit it, and also that you found that dent 293 00:20:04.200 --> 00:20:07.839 in the bumper when you got out and examined the car. But did you 294 00:20:07.880 --> 00:20:12.160 find blood anywhere on your car? No blood, no hair, no blood, 295 00:20:12.640 --> 00:20:18.400 just an indentation on the hood where the hand was and that popped right 296 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:21.960 back out. But there was no I could I look for a handprint and 297 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:25.039 I didn't see any prints on it like that. I was hoping to see 298 00:20:25.039 --> 00:20:29.519 a handprint, and it was smudge. It was definitely smudge, but it 299 00:20:29.599 --> 00:20:33.920 was nothing that was there that the next day when the sunlight was out there 300 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:37.799 to say, hey, I have proof, nothing like that. And I'll 301 00:20:37.839 --> 00:20:41.920 be honest with you. Back then, I wasn't looking for proof because the 302 00:20:42.000 --> 00:20:45.759 last thing I wanted to find out is I hit somebody, and I hit 303 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:51.279 a person because I was so young, you know, at twenty two years 304 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:56.759 old, and I didn't want a record for a hit and run. And 305 00:20:56.839 --> 00:20:59.039 I'm sitting there, you know, and I was really, I'll be honest, 306 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:02.799 I was very when this happened. I was so shaken. I was 307 00:21:02.839 --> 00:21:04.920 glad I called the photo Harward Patrol. I'm glad I had the ability to 308 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:08.839 do that. That call, That probably three minute call to Porto Harward Patrol, 309 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:12.400 you know, probably cost thirty dollars back then. But I'm glad I 310 00:21:12.480 --> 00:21:18.640 did that because I will tell you this emotionally really turned me up. I 311 00:21:18.720 --> 00:21:21.680 was really scared. So when I was in Miami looking at my car the 312 00:21:21.720 --> 00:21:25.200 next day and I saw the dead on the hood, and I saw the 313 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:26.960 dent on the front, and I saw that, but there was no blood. 314 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:32.000 But whatever I hit it was, it had to have hurt. Oh 315 00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:36.559 that I'm sure it did. He told us that his hands looked to me 316 00:21:36.559 --> 00:21:40.279 about the same size as yours. Did you ever see anything that might have 317 00:21:40.400 --> 00:21:45.160 hinted towards the fact it could have been a female. No, I couldn't 318 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:48.440 see the chest, and I saw the side of it that I didn't see 319 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:52.000 anything like that. And the one I saw running across the median, I 320 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:57.119 didn't see breasts or anything like that. I saw hair swirl, and if 321 00:21:57.119 --> 00:22:00.200 there were breast, I think I would have noticed it. But I didn't 322 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.519 see anything to distinct the sex of it. But I will tell you this, 323 00:22:04.200 --> 00:22:10.039 the size of it wasn't much more than a maybe a six foot person, 324 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:12.960 maybe five eight. I mean, remember it was sprinting at the time, 325 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:17.640 and it was solid muscle. But the one I saw running across the 326 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:18.880 interstate. Remember, I was in a car that was a little low. 327 00:22:19.440 --> 00:22:23.480 The head of it wasn't much higher than where my head was in my car, 328 00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:29.880 so it couldn't have been more than six foot tall from what I saw, 329 00:22:30.240 --> 00:22:33.599 So we're not talking about a really big creature here. So the hands 330 00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:37.079 on it, the hand, the feet, all I could see was the 331 00:22:37.240 --> 00:22:38.240 I can't tell you, I mean toes. All I saw was the top 332 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:42.799 of the foot, and the top of the foot was black as night shiny. 333 00:22:44.039 --> 00:22:51.160 It was like having using black shoe polish to bring up a really big 334 00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:53.599 shine. But you could see the skin to skin reput you know. And 335 00:22:53.640 --> 00:22:57.960 then in the hand when the hand went across my car on that I saw 336 00:22:57.960 --> 00:23:00.799 it break the headlights. So I saw the hand, and the hand did 337 00:23:00.839 --> 00:23:04.559 not look abnormally big, So I would say, this is pretty much close 338 00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:07.480 to the size of the human would be. Yeah, that had to be 339 00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:14.799 a juvenile, had to have been, had to have been. Definitely before 340 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:18.359 you call the FHP, did you have any fears about what the fallout might 341 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:21.200 have been from hitting what you did, even if it wasn't a person. 342 00:23:22.039 --> 00:23:25.960 I did, actually, you know, and I thought it was the right 343 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.000 thing to do. At the time, I felt safer calling the FHP, 344 00:23:29.960 --> 00:23:33.759 not knowing if it was a person or not. I had had an experience 345 00:23:33.839 --> 00:23:37.319 a few years before, not far from there, going down the road and 346 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:42.839 a drunk driver had veered off into a ditch and the driver had gotten out 347 00:23:42.839 --> 00:23:48.279 of the car and wandered seven hundred feet and passed out. And I remember 348 00:23:48.279 --> 00:23:52.599 the you know, getting interviewed by that for the Sheriff's department at the time, 349 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:56.319 and they end up finding the person and they arrested him but ended up 350 00:23:56.319 --> 00:24:00.519 having to take him to the hospital. So I had that back up my 351 00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:03.799 head too, So I just didn't know what I was dealing with. I 352 00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:07.839 wasn't worried about getting arrested or something like that for hitting some sort of dangered 353 00:24:07.079 --> 00:24:11.759 species or something like that. That never crossed my mind. I was more 354 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:15.160 concerned if it was a human. But if it wasn't human, here's the 355 00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:19.680 victor. There's no way it could have cleared about forty foot of grass a 356 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:23.839 four foot fence that was for cattle, so probably I believe it had a 357 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:27.960 piece of barbed wire across the top, and then to clear another fifty feet 358 00:24:27.960 --> 00:24:33.480 to get hide. There's just no way there's absolutely no way. So if 359 00:24:33.519 --> 00:24:37.400 it was anything other than a person, it was in full sprint, so 360 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:41.440 it had to have cleared the fence in a sprint to get to where it 361 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:47.119 was going. And what I saw on the second time when that thing cleared 362 00:24:47.160 --> 00:24:49.960 the road and then I can't remember, I think it's one or two times 363 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:55.519 it was in the grass and then it went up again and it cleared the 364 00:24:55.559 --> 00:24:57.960 fence, which was all over forty eight inches. It didn't even try, 365 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:03.759 it just leaped over it. Once I saw that kind of clarified what I 366 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:07.880 had happened to me, you know, four months before, and I was 367 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.599 able to let me reason with it. They can do amazing things. I 368 00:25:11.640 --> 00:25:15.640 can only imagine what it must have been like to watch all that play out. 369 00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:19.279 Holy gal, Yeah, it was interesting. It's It's one of those 370 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:25.680 things that I still see in my at night. It was so distinctive on 371 00:25:25.799 --> 00:25:27.559 what I saw. I mean, you just when you see the hair squirrel 372 00:25:27.640 --> 00:25:32.240 and the distinction of the muscle. It's something I can't get out of my 373 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:34.319 head. And it took me a long time to ever talk about this. 374 00:25:34.880 --> 00:25:37.880 I never wanted recognition around like that. Just that's not me. I just 375 00:25:37.960 --> 00:25:41.519 but I when I saw this. To this day, I've never seen another 376 00:25:42.359 --> 00:25:48.279 reporting in Florida with the details that I saw, And that's always kind of 377 00:25:48.279 --> 00:25:52.279 bothered me. Why I'm the only one I unless it's out there, I 378 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:56.559 haven't seen those reports. I've seen hair, I've seen reddish hair, dark 379 00:25:56.599 --> 00:26:00.640 hair, gnarled hair, but nothing. I've never heard anyone described hair flow 380 00:26:00.759 --> 00:26:04.400 like what I saw. It was so distinct that I'm surprised, to be 381 00:26:04.440 --> 00:26:07.559 honest with you. Yeah, I'm sure that's a site you never will get 382 00:26:07.599 --> 00:26:12.079 out of your head either. No, no, you can't reason with it. 383 00:26:12.720 --> 00:26:15.960 I'm glad I experienced it, and it may be an instant believer. 384 00:26:17.400 --> 00:26:19.640 On the second one, I knew exactly what I saw. I don't know 385 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:22.759 exactly what it is, but I do know whatever it was, it was 386 00:26:22.759 --> 00:26:26.079 not a person. Ye. It's crazy to think it just might have been 387 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:30.160 the same one you saw the second time. But when it comes down to 388 00:26:30.240 --> 00:26:32.559 it, it just might have been the same one. Hard to say. 389 00:26:33.400 --> 00:26:36.680 Hard to say, but you know, when you go back and you look 390 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.880 at you know, I've done a lot of research over the years, and 391 00:26:37.920 --> 00:26:44.119 you look at like the Patterson film and you see the distincts of the muscles. 392 00:26:44.240 --> 00:26:47.960 That's interesting because that was something that I did see, But the way 393 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:52.200 the hair flowed there was much different than what I saw. But then again, 394 00:26:52.240 --> 00:26:56.599 what I saw was it in full sprint both times, so it was 395 00:26:56.599 --> 00:27:00.240 a flow. It wasn't you know, if it was a fake hair, 396 00:27:00.440 --> 00:27:03.759 I wouldn't think it would flow like I saw flow and that changed the color 397 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:08.240 as the light struck the hair. That was just I would even know how 398 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:11.759 you back in the day, how you'd make a constant to do that. 399 00:27:11.400 --> 00:27:17.200 So once I started really putting this together in my mind, it solidified what 400 00:27:17.279 --> 00:27:19.559 I saw, and I'm still this day, I'm still as I said the 401 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:25.960 moment ago, I'm surprised I haven't seen or heard of any other sightings with 402 00:27:26.160 --> 00:27:30.640 that hair flow. I think I've heard about sightings with hair flow like that. 403 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:33.400 Yeah, I don't think it's limited to just your sighting there, even 404 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.960 in that area. I think it's a fairly commonly reported thing. I didn't 405 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:41.039 know that. Well, that's good. That makes me feel a little better 406 00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:45.480 to be honest with you. Oh, definitely, Now I understand. Do 407 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.039 you have any resentment towards the FHP for knowing that there was a problem on 408 00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:53.000 that stretch of highway and not doing anything about it. You know, I 409 00:27:53.160 --> 00:27:57.680 never thought of it that way before what I saw. You know, I 410 00:27:57.759 --> 00:28:03.440 still thinks it's a one million sighting. I'm surprised they don't report more of 411 00:28:03.480 --> 00:28:07.640 this, and they probably don't do it because they don't want to be shunned 412 00:28:07.960 --> 00:28:12.920 or stereotyped as reporting a sasquatch or a skunk cape sighting or something like that. 413 00:28:12.920 --> 00:28:17.359 That angers me a little bit because that puts a little bit more on 414 00:28:17.440 --> 00:28:22.599 my soldiers here they come forward and report this. But I have to tell 415 00:28:22.599 --> 00:28:26.319 you, the dispatcher was gracious. I appreciate her telling me that it put 416 00:28:26.319 --> 00:28:30.480 me at ease. I don't think she would have said something like that if 417 00:28:30.480 --> 00:28:34.160 it wasn't a thousand percent true. It made me feel better that I didn't 418 00:28:34.240 --> 00:28:37.240 hit a person, and that was my fear. I mean, I was 419 00:28:37.880 --> 00:28:41.920 vic I was sweating bullets when I was in the car. I was hyperventilating 420 00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:44.759 a little bit. I was really scared that I had hit a person, 421 00:28:45.079 --> 00:28:49.400 and I'm I don't drink at zero and so to this day it's always bothered 422 00:28:49.440 --> 00:28:53.720 me of having that fear. And it was a huge fear. You know, 423 00:28:53.759 --> 00:28:56.480 I was a doctor's son too, And that's the last thing you need 424 00:28:56.519 --> 00:29:00.839 to find out is that you hit somebody you know on the interstate right next 425 00:29:00.839 --> 00:29:04.400 to where you live. And I didn't want that as well. So I 426 00:29:04.440 --> 00:29:08.559 am grateful, gracious, I guess to the Photo High Patrol for telling me 427 00:29:08.680 --> 00:29:12.599 that I haven't had any resentment. But you know, if there's other reports 428 00:29:12.599 --> 00:29:18.720 like this, I wish there was some sort of public disclosure on that because 429 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:22.599 it would help a lot of us understand what we saw. It would be 430 00:29:22.720 --> 00:29:26.839 nice if there's some sort of a public disclosure, But like you said, 431 00:29:26.200 --> 00:29:30.400 that's never going to happen. The government's never going to allow the secret out 432 00:29:30.400 --> 00:29:33.160 of the bag. So people like you who wind up hitting these things, 433 00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:37.559 seeing these things, you're always going to be left in the dark thinking it's 434 00:29:37.640 --> 00:29:41.720 just you. For the most part, I think you're right. Unfortunately, 435 00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:47.400 Yeah, that's how it is. But having said that, Dave, I 436 00:29:47.440 --> 00:29:49.240 want to thank you so much for coming on and sharing the details of those 437 00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:53.559 experiences with us. I really appreciate it. Vick, thank you for having 438 00:29:53.559 --> 00:29:57.440 me on. I appreciate it. Oh you know, you're welcome. Thanks 439 00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:10.160 again so much. Great night. That's it for another episode of Bigfoot Eyewitness 440 00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:15.119 Radio with Vic Candiff. If you've had a sasquatch encounter and would like to 441 00:30:15.160 --> 00:30:18.880 be a guest on the show, please go to Bigfoot eyewitness dot com and 442 00:30:18.000 --> 00:30:22.880 submit a report. We'd love to hear from you. Thanks for listening, 443 00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:25.680 have a great night.