WEBVTT 1 00:00:06.559 --> 00:00:08.839 My name is Bill, and the stories I'm going to 2 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:13.000 relate can be considered a twofer. One is a UFO 3 00:00:13.160 --> 00:00:16.480 story and the other is well, I don't know what 4 00:00:16.600 --> 00:00:19.600 to call it. I have allowed myself to think it 5 00:00:19.640 --> 00:00:22.480 was a screech owl or a bobcat, but my best 6 00:00:22.519 --> 00:00:26.920 instinct says that it was something else, maybe a bigfoot. 7 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:31.120 We owned property in southwest Arkansas that has been in 8 00:00:31.160 --> 00:00:35.079 the family since the eighteen fifties. It was farmed until 9 00:00:35.079 --> 00:00:40.119 my grandfather retired around nineteen sixty eight. After his death 10 00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.399 in nineteen seventy two, my grandmother moved into town to 11 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:46.840 be near her children, but the farmhouse and the acreage 12 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:51.560 remained intact in the family. Half of the total acreage 13 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:55.560 is planted with pine trees, thanks to the USDA incentives 14 00:00:55.640 --> 00:00:59.520 offered at the time. However, as the property is located 15 00:00:59.520 --> 00:01:02.679 along the Gulf Coastal Plain, which marked the edge of 16 00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:07.040 the Gulf Coast in prehistoric times, the sandy lone quality 17 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:10.239 of the soil is unfit to grow anything but cedar trees. 18 00:01:10.920 --> 00:01:14.480 In fact, for many years, families from our area harvested 19 00:01:14.480 --> 00:01:18.519 their Christmas trees from our property. Now I say all 20 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:20.959 this because I spent much of my time growing up 21 00:01:21.000 --> 00:01:24.719 on this land, and I know it well. Some years ago, 22 00:01:24.840 --> 00:01:27.840 I had decided to camp in this cedar covered area 23 00:01:27.879 --> 00:01:31.200 over several weeks to determine the feasibility of building an 24 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.760 off dred cabin. The site was way off the main 25 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:39.079 road and way out of sight. This event occurred on 26 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:42.879 the first night that I camped there. It was in 27 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:47.599 April of two thousand and sixteen. Sometime after three am. 28 00:01:47.680 --> 00:01:50.040 I woke for no apparent reason, and I sat up 29 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.159 in my cot. I looked around the tent, and I 30 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:56.159 saw that everything was in order, and then I heard 31 00:01:56.200 --> 00:01:59.680 four heavy wax or thuds on the ground very near 32 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:03.079 the Imagine the sound if you hit the earth with 33 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:06.079 a baseball bat as hard as you could, only it 34 00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:10.319 was much louder than that. Next there came a scream 35 00:02:10.439 --> 00:02:13.919 unlike anything I've ever heard. Not only was it so 36 00:02:14.199 --> 00:02:17.199 loud that it made my ear drums distort, but it 37 00:02:17.319 --> 00:02:20.560 generated an immediate fear in me that I can only 38 00:02:20.599 --> 00:02:24.520 describe as primal. It wasn't like I felt like I 39 00:02:24.639 --> 00:02:28.360 was in danger, but rather the scream produced an authentic 40 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:33.240 fear that I have never known. I imagined a banshee mask. 41 00:02:33.360 --> 00:02:35.599 I made in the third grade during a study of 42 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:39.960 myths and legends, The phrase she screamed like a banshee 43 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:45.599 came to mind. Had I heard a banshee? Immediately after? 44 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:49.199 I heard what could only be described as bipedal steps 45 00:02:49.280 --> 00:02:52.319 running away from the ridge, and in an effort to 46 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.719 rationalize it all, I assumed it was a screech owl 47 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:59.199 that produced the scream, and the flappings of its large 48 00:02:59.240 --> 00:03:04.240 wingspan was what produced the sound of rapid footsteps. But 49 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:07.639 that explanation provides an no rationale for what was thumping 50 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:11.400 the ground. Now, bobcats can scream, for sure, but that 51 00:03:11.439 --> 00:03:15.120 doesn't fit with the other things I heard. I have 52 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:18.199 come to terms with the fact that whatever I experienced 53 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:20.639 that night was meant to inform me that I wasn't 54 00:03:20.680 --> 00:03:26.280 welcome there. Now I understand territorial mentality, but that's my 55 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:29.840 family's land, so if I decide to build there, we'll 56 00:03:29.879 --> 00:03:32.680 have to learn to coexist with whatever that thing is. 57 00:03:34.120 --> 00:03:36.159 I know I can gladly go the rest of my 58 00:03:36.319 --> 00:03:40.520 life without having to hear that scream again. Though. Next 59 00:03:40.759 --> 00:03:44.159 is UFO related, and it happened around the year two 60 00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:48.520 thousand on this same property. Like many families who share 61 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:51.199 land out in the sticks. We would often gather over 62 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:54.479 a weekend of fish and cook out and mow grass, 63 00:03:54.639 --> 00:03:58.599 or just sit around a bonfire and hang out. The 64 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.080 farmhouse could get a little when bedtime rolled around, so 65 00:04:02.199 --> 00:04:05.159 my crew would pitch a large tent in the back pasture. 66 00:04:06.599 --> 00:04:09.479 On this night, I was snoozing inside the tent with 67 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:12.759 my middle school daughter when we both awoke to a 68 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:18.399 fairly loud sound. It was vaguely mechanical, like a turbocharger 69 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:21.560 on a semi pulling a load up hill, but big 70 00:04:21.639 --> 00:04:26.680 rigs don't travel on our highway. Feeling a heavy drowsiness, 71 00:04:26.800 --> 00:04:28.959 I went back to sleep, but when I woke again, 72 00:04:29.040 --> 00:04:32.160 the sound was still there. My daughter was standing at 73 00:04:32.160 --> 00:04:34.639 the door of the tent and she said, Dad, you 74 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.800 need to come see this. But I couldn't rouse myself 75 00:04:37.839 --> 00:04:42.480 from my cozy dream state. You fathers who have daughters 76 00:04:42.519 --> 00:04:46.600 will understand this. As a dad, there's absolutely nothing you 77 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:50.480 won't do for your daughter. On reflection, this should have 78 00:04:50.519 --> 00:04:54.240 been my first indicator that something was going on. Why 79 00:04:54.279 --> 00:04:56.560 did I not get up out of that sleeping bag 80 00:04:56.600 --> 00:04:59.199 and go look at what my daughter wanted me to see? 81 00:05:00.240 --> 00:05:04.680 It almost felt like the twilight sensation during an anesthesia procedure, 82 00:05:05.120 --> 00:05:07.759 just before the doctor tells you to count backwards from 83 00:05:07.800 --> 00:05:12.000 one hundred. When I woke the next morning, my daughter 84 00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:15.759 was safely tucked inside her sleeping bag. All was well 85 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:19.439 with the world. But later that day she said, Dad, 86 00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:21.680 you really should have seen that thing over the pond 87 00:05:21.759 --> 00:05:25.040 last night. Well what did you see? I asked her. 88 00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:29.560 My daughter is very observational and painted a vivid picture 89 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:31.879 of what drew her attention while I was dead to 90 00:05:31.959 --> 00:05:35.360 the world. The sound we heard was coming from this 91 00:05:35.480 --> 00:05:38.839 thing that was really moving slowly over our pond at 92 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:42.680 about treetop level. She said. I couldn't really make out 93 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:45.000 the shape of it, but it had two big red 94 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:48.360 round lights at the back of it. It moved over 95 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:51.040 the pond and kept going toward the north over the highway. 96 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:55.639 As a point of reference, the pine is fifty yards 97 00:05:55.639 --> 00:05:58.839 from the farmhouse and where we were sleeping that night. 98 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:03.000 Wondered if that sound we heard had the hypnotic effect 99 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.279 of neutralizing me, Yet it didn't seem to affect my 100 00:06:06.399 --> 00:06:10.639 daughter in the same way. I've heard of abduction stories, 101 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:13.519 but she had no recollection of anything other than watching 102 00:06:13.560 --> 00:06:17.360 the craft ease its way to the north. She remembers 103 00:06:17.399 --> 00:06:20.639 getting back in her sleeping bag and dozing off, but 104 00:06:20.720 --> 00:06:25.120 no one in the house heard or saw anything unusual. Well, 105 00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:28.399 those are my stories, and they're probably too long to use, 106 00:06:28.480 --> 00:06:30.879 but I feel better for having written them down while 107 00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:34.000 the details are still fresh in my mind. And I 108 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.560 think it's important to share our experiences in a safe environment. 109 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.959 It's not only therapeutic, but it builds a community that 110 00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:48.040 we all desperately need during these strange times. I live 111 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.199 in the mid South, in a suburban neighborhood close to 112 00:06:51.279 --> 00:06:56.120 metropolitan Memphis. I went to school in Oxford, Mississippi at 113 00:06:56.160 --> 00:06:59.079 ol Miss and I married a Mississippi girl I met 114 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:03.519 on campus. Life has been generous to us over the years. 115 00:07:04.079 --> 00:07:06.439 We are now in our seventies and we both have 116 00:07:06.560 --> 00:07:10.079 good health. We raised a family and all of our 117 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:13.120 children have done well, and we are fortunate to have 118 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:17.360 a lot of grandchildren who visit often. But there was 119 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.199 one incident that changed our lives forever. Neither my wife 120 00:07:21.279 --> 00:07:25.680 nor myself have ever told this to anyone before I die, 121 00:07:25.959 --> 00:07:29.240 and the story is lost forever. It needs to be told. 122 00:07:30.439 --> 00:07:35.040 Every word I'm about to write is true. My wife 123 00:07:35.120 --> 00:07:38.480 and I graduated in the spring of nineteen sixty five 124 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.519 and were married soon after. I landed a job back 125 00:07:42.560 --> 00:07:45.560 in my hometown of Memphis, and we rented a small 126 00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:50.199 duplex in the Berclaire area. I was making a decent living, 127 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:53.399 my wife was making new friends in her new city. 128 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.560 Things were great, and the sky was the limit as 129 00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.639 far as we could see. By nineteen sixty nine, we 130 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:04.319 had two children, two of the most beautiful little girls 131 00:08:04.360 --> 00:08:08.079 God ever created. They were my life and I spent 132 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:14.519 every waking minute with them. My wife's family lived in Smithville, Mississippi, 133 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:17.639 and she would travel there with the children on occasion, 134 00:08:18.199 --> 00:08:22.079 sometimes staying two weeks at a time. I was happy 135 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:24.680 she was close enough to her family that she could, 136 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:27.639 in just a short trip, be back in her hometown 137 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:32.159 to visit and stay. It certainly helped whenever she was homesick. 138 00:08:32.799 --> 00:08:37.240 Her parents loved the children as much as we did. Usually, 139 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:40.360 on the last weekend of her stay, I would drive 140 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.960 down after work on Friday afternoon to spend the weekend 141 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:47.679 with all of them. On Sunday afternoon, we would return 142 00:08:47.759 --> 00:08:52.200 home in two cars. I must interject that in those days, 143 00:08:52.240 --> 00:08:55.399 it was unusual for a young family to have two cars. 144 00:08:56.039 --> 00:08:58.440 Our family car was a gift from my father in 145 00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:01.360 law to us on our wedding Dad, and the car 146 00:09:01.440 --> 00:09:04.399 I drove was a company car my employer allowed me 147 00:09:04.480 --> 00:09:07.480 to use as long as I compensated them for the 148 00:09:07.559 --> 00:09:11.320 mileage I put on the vehicle. My company car was 149 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:14.440 usually packed with items for my job, so the girls 150 00:09:14.519 --> 00:09:17.279 always rode home with my wife, with me right in 151 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:20.159 front of them or behind them all the way home. 152 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.480 On a spring night in nineteen seventy one, we were 153 00:09:24.519 --> 00:09:28.840 leaving Smithville after spending the Easter weekend with my in laws. 154 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:33.440 The weather had been good all weekend, but on Sunday afternoon, 155 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:36.320 one of those violent fronts began to roll through the 156 00:09:36.360 --> 00:09:39.919 midst south just as we left for home. It would 157 00:09:39.960 --> 00:09:43.000 be a rough drive back to Memphis on a stormy night. 158 00:09:44.279 --> 00:09:47.120 We pulled out of the drive around five pm, not 159 00:09:47.320 --> 00:09:50.919 knowing the storms were so close. The first four or 160 00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:54.360 five miles down the gravel road were pleasant. The sun 161 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:57.240 was beginning to set in the west. I could see 162 00:09:57.279 --> 00:10:00.960 those ominous purple storm clouds moving toward towards us quickly, 163 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:04.480 but I didn't think too much of it. My wife 164 00:10:04.519 --> 00:10:06.840 is still a good driver today, and I knew my 165 00:10:06.960 --> 00:10:11.320 girls were in good hands. Before the rain began to fall, 166 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:14.639 the wind picked up quickly. There was a steady blow 167 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:19.360 with violent gusts often. It was not long before I 168 00:10:19.399 --> 00:10:23.600 suspected this system could produce tornadoes. My wife was a 169 00:10:23.679 --> 00:10:26.200 quarter mile ahead of me and I could not see 170 00:10:26.200 --> 00:10:30.399 her tail lights. She was creeping along the gravel road 171 00:10:30.440 --> 00:10:33.720 with her vision obscured. As the sheets of rain pelted 172 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:38.039 the windshield. The wipers were not keeping up. She considered 173 00:10:38.120 --> 00:10:41.080 stopping and waiting the rain out, but making it to 174 00:10:41.120 --> 00:10:43.799 the main highway was her goal and would have given 175 00:10:43.840 --> 00:10:46.879 her a bit of confidence feeling the smooth black top 176 00:10:47.039 --> 00:10:52.519 surface under her tires, so she continued on. Normally, at 177 00:10:52.519 --> 00:10:54.639 this time of day, there would have been a hint 178 00:10:54.639 --> 00:10:58.159 of light in the western horizon, but the storm clouds 179 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.399 in the thick forest lining the road blocked any light. 180 00:11:02.320 --> 00:11:05.720 My wife was struggling and certainly scared for her children. 181 00:11:06.639 --> 00:11:08.879 I could still not see her tail lights, which in 182 00:11:08.919 --> 00:11:11.360 my view was a good thing. That meant she was 183 00:11:11.399 --> 00:11:17.159 still moving ahead. My right rear tire went flat. I 184 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:20.000 had flats on this car and was quick at making 185 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:23.000 a change, but of all days to have a flat, 186 00:11:23.320 --> 00:11:27.120 it had to happen on this night with no rain gear. 187 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:31.240 I quickly jumped back to the trunk and extracted the flashlight, 188 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:34.480 the jack, and the spare, and went quickly to work 189 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:38.360 in the freezing rain. In another circumstance, I would have 190 00:11:38.399 --> 00:11:40.679 waited for the rain to ease up a bit, but 191 00:11:40.759 --> 00:11:43.519 I needed to catch back up with my wife if 192 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.840 that was even possible. I went to work raising the 193 00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:51.600 rear end of the car. Approximately one mile ahead. My 194 00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:54.919 wife entered the worst of the storm. To this day, 195 00:11:55.000 --> 00:11:58.279 we believe a small tornado touched down a short distance 196 00:11:58.320 --> 00:12:01.440 away from her and then moved directly over her car, 197 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:04.240 but the weather service back then had no way to 198 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:08.639 confirm this. In those days, a tornado was confirmed after 199 00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:12.679 the storm had passed and damage was assessed. There were 200 00:12:12.720 --> 00:12:16.559 no warnings. She was only three miles from the main 201 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:20.960 highway when the rain stopped abruptly. Naturally. She thought she 202 00:12:21.000 --> 00:12:23.639 had made it through the storm, but within a few 203 00:12:23.679 --> 00:12:27.159 seconds her car was hammered by large hail. The front 204 00:12:27.159 --> 00:12:29.759 windshield was laying in her lap and all over my 205 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.000 three year old daughter, in chunks and in slivers. The 206 00:12:34.080 --> 00:12:37.639 wind was blowing straight into what was once a solid windshield. 207 00:12:38.159 --> 00:12:41.320 And then the wind picked up. Immediately, the trees on 208 00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:44.159 her left were breaking loose at the trunks and blowing 209 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.679 across the gravel road in front of her. She mashed 210 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:49.840 her brakes and was coming to a stop when a 211 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.720 tree hit the car's left side, violently throwing the car 212 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:56.360 into a deep ditch on the right side of the road. 213 00:12:57.240 --> 00:12:59.440 Due to the spring rains and the rain that had 214 00:12:59.480 --> 00:13:03.519 fallen that afternoon, the ditch was full of water. When 215 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:06.559 the car finally stopped moving, my wife was on her 216 00:13:06.639 --> 00:13:10.720 right side against the right passenger door, crushing my three 217 00:13:10.799 --> 00:13:16.120 year old little girl, and they were both underwater. I 218 00:13:16.159 --> 00:13:18.799 heard the roar of that wind ahead of me. I 219 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:21.240 was tightening down the first lug and I picked up 220 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.679 the pace even more. Finally, the tire was secure, and 221 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.399 I ran back to the driver's side door, leaving the 222 00:13:27.440 --> 00:13:30.360 old tire and jack laying in the middle of the road. 223 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:33.960 My tires dug into the gravel and I was in motion, 224 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:37.279 working my way through the gears as fast as possible, 225 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:41.320 and I gained speed. I have no idea how fast 226 00:13:41.360 --> 00:13:43.440 I was going. When I hit the first tree that 227 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:47.080 had been blown across the road. My body slammed into 228 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:49.840 the steering wheel as the car lurched up over a 229 00:13:50.000 --> 00:13:53.279 large pine tree. When I came to a stop, I 230 00:13:53.320 --> 00:13:56.879 could not see anything through the windshield. It was covered 231 00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.600 with pine needles, and the rain fell in thick white sheets. 232 00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:03.960 I gathered my wits about me and threw the car 233 00:14:04.080 --> 00:14:07.240 in reverse to try and get off of the tree. 234 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:10.759 The car would not budge. I kept on the gas, 235 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:13.519 hoping my rear tires would grip something and free me 236 00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:17.080 from this tree. But it was no use. I got 237 00:14:17.080 --> 00:14:19.440 out of the car and jumped three feet to the 238 00:14:19.480 --> 00:14:22.919 ground through the mass of pine tree limbs. The car 239 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.879 was off the ground, with the rear tires barely touching 240 00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:29.159 the gravel. I needed weight on the back of the car, 241 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:31.639 but where would I get it, and there was nothing 242 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.120 I could do. I was filled with rage. My three 243 00:14:35.200 --> 00:14:37.799 girls were in trouble and I could not get to them. 244 00:14:39.320 --> 00:14:42.720 My wife suddenly realized what was happening. She had raised 245 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.320 her head above the water and caught a breath of air. 246 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:49.240 She was alive, and her thoughts became clear and sharp. 247 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:52.960 Mothers are that way when their children are in danger. 248 00:14:53.600 --> 00:14:57.559 There is something primal, almost animal like, that comes over 249 00:14:57.639 --> 00:15:01.159 a mother of any species that causes her to become 250 00:15:01.279 --> 00:15:05.440 crafty and clever in the most extreme conditions in order 251 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:09.440 to do anything required to keep her children safe. My 252 00:15:09.559 --> 00:15:12.679 wife could feel our daughter under her, kicking and clawing 253 00:15:12.759 --> 00:15:16.279 for air. She had reached below her and pulled her 254 00:15:16.360 --> 00:15:20.799 daughter to freedom beside her. Suddenly able to take in air, 255 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:23.840 our daughter began to cough and spit water she had 256 00:15:23.879 --> 00:15:27.639 swallowed and inhaled. It is not like the movies when 257 00:15:27.639 --> 00:15:30.639 a drowning person is pulled from the water and someone 258 00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:34.320 does chest compressions causing the victim to spit water up, 259 00:15:34.840 --> 00:15:38.039 and then the victim smiles and all is good. Know, 260 00:15:38.840 --> 00:15:42.799 when a human inhales water, it is very painful. Even 261 00:15:42.879 --> 00:15:45.600 more painful for the body to expel all the water 262 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:48.799 from their lungs and throat. It takes a long time 263 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.399 before they can fully breathe again. So our daughter suffered 264 00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:55.600 through the agony of expelling muddy ditch water from her 265 00:15:55.679 --> 00:15:59.799 lungs for days after this event. But as she coughed 266 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.799 and vomited, my wife pushed her towards the driver's side door, 267 00:16:04.080 --> 00:16:07.080 which was above them. Now she reached to roll the 268 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:10.840 window down successfully and finally sent our daughter into the 269 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:14.600 falling rain outside, where she held on to the window 270 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:17.600 edge to keep from sliding off into the ditch again. 271 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:20.960 But there was another child in the back seat who 272 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.480 had been asleep. It was our nine month old little girl. 273 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:27.200 She had been laying in a baby seat in the 274 00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.679 middle of the bench back seat. My wife looked over 275 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:33.919 into the back seat and saw her feet kicking, making 276 00:16:34.000 --> 00:16:37.080 small splashes in the water that filled the right side 277 00:16:37.120 --> 00:16:41.559 of the car. Still today, my wife has nightmares of 278 00:16:41.600 --> 00:16:46.120 those tiny feet wiggling in the water back at my car. 279 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:50.159 My rage heightened at my predicament. In a fit, I 280 00:16:50.240 --> 00:16:53.200 jumped back onto the threshold of the door and climbed 281 00:16:53.240 --> 00:16:55.919 over onto the hood of the car, hoping to look 282 00:16:55.960 --> 00:16:59.519 ahead and see my wife's car. But the rain continued 283 00:16:59.559 --> 00:17:03.279 to fall. I did not see any other trees ahead 284 00:17:03.279 --> 00:17:05.559 of me. I knew if I could just get free 285 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:08.519 from this tree and get past it, I might have 286 00:17:08.559 --> 00:17:12.720 a chance to keep moving. I began to curse and 287 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:15.599 jump on the hood of the car. I was very 288 00:17:15.640 --> 00:17:18.319 angry to be stuck here. I noticed the front of 289 00:17:18.359 --> 00:17:21.440 the car began to rock forward, and I kept jumping, 290 00:17:21.920 --> 00:17:25.240 causing the car to tilt or see saw back and forth. 291 00:17:25.839 --> 00:17:30.160 Then a loud pop, and the car settled onto the tree. 292 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:33.240 A branch had broken, and the car fell some distance. 293 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.119 I jumped back off and saw that the rear tires 294 00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:39.759 were now firmly on solid gravel. I started the car, 295 00:17:39.920 --> 00:17:42.279 and this time I put the car in forward gear 296 00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:46.599 and mashed the accelerator to the floor. The car lurched 297 00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:49.960 forward a foot or two, and then it stopped. I 298 00:17:50.039 --> 00:17:53.920 punched the gas again, and I was moving inch by inch. 299 00:17:54.640 --> 00:17:58.480 Please keep moving, Please keep moving, I whispered to myself, 300 00:17:58.559 --> 00:18:01.440 over and over until I was free of the tree 301 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:05.559 and rolling down the road again. My wife tried to 302 00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:08.279 crawl back into the back seat to save our baby, 303 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:11.160 but she could not get over the seat. The muddy 304 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:14.480 water made the vinyl seat cover slippery, and she was 305 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.359 in a bad position to work her body over the seat. 306 00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:20.960 She reached and could feel our daughter's sock covered foot, 307 00:18:21.000 --> 00:18:23.680 but could not pull her free because she was strapped 308 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.559 into the baby seat, which was loosely held in place 309 00:18:26.759 --> 00:18:30.400 by the old seat belts of those days. She began 310 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:33.279 to panic and screamed at the top of her loans 311 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:36.000 as she cried out to God to help her save 312 00:18:36.079 --> 00:18:41.519 her baby. The car moved. In her panic and agony, 313 00:18:41.720 --> 00:18:45.680 my wife felt the car move, then move again. She 314 00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:48.759 looked up at our oldest holding on to the car door, 315 00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:51.240 and saw her looking towards the back of the car. 316 00:18:51.880 --> 00:18:54.599 She had stopped coughing and her eyes were wide open, 317 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:59.279 almost in a trance. As my wife looked upwards through 318 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:04.160 the driver's word, a large, dark figure hovered above our oldest. 319 00:19:05.160 --> 00:19:08.319 Oh God, what now, my wife thought, and my oldest 320 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:13.039 disappeared from view. Within seconds, a large hand reached into 321 00:19:13.079 --> 00:19:17.240 the driver's window and wrenched onto my wife's shoulder. She 322 00:19:17.400 --> 00:19:21.160 remembers it being very painful. She was lifted out of 323 00:19:21.200 --> 00:19:24.279 the car and gently set onto the muddy gravel on 324 00:19:24.359 --> 00:19:28.200 the road. It was a huge beet standing in front 325 00:19:28.240 --> 00:19:31.759 of and over the two women. Astonished at what she 326 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:35.119 was looking at, and at a loss for words, she 327 00:19:35.279 --> 00:19:38.240 remembered our youngest and screamed at the creature that there 328 00:19:38.319 --> 00:19:41.880 was another child in the car. The creature cocked its 329 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:44.799 head like a dog does when it hears a strange sound. 330 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:48.200 My wife got up and ran towards the car, pointing 331 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.000 at the back seat window. She then ran off down 332 00:19:52.079 --> 00:19:55.200 into the water and began to claw at the undercarriage 333 00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:59.160 of the car, grabbing mufflers, exhaust pipes, anything she could 334 00:19:59.240 --> 00:20:01.640 reach to get up to the side of the car. 335 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.240 She fell back into the water, came back up on 336 00:20:05.279 --> 00:20:09.000 her feet, and tried again. She could not climb to 337 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:13.519 gain access to her baby. I was moving at at 338 00:20:13.599 --> 00:20:16.880 least sixty miles per hour when in my headlights I 339 00:20:16.920 --> 00:20:19.680 saw a car lying on its side in the ditch. 340 00:20:20.359 --> 00:20:22.759 I could see figures standing on the road next to 341 00:20:22.799 --> 00:20:25.880 the car. Oh God, let it be someone else, I 342 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:30.680 whispered to myself. The rain fell straight down, the wind 343 00:20:30.839 --> 00:20:34.119 was gone. I punched the gas pedal, and then I 344 00:20:34.160 --> 00:20:37.119 saw a large figure in the distance jump onto the 345 00:20:37.160 --> 00:20:40.400 side of the car. The car sank deeper into the 346 00:20:40.480 --> 00:20:43.640 ditch from the weight of this thing. I was closer 347 00:20:43.640 --> 00:20:47.240 now and I could see clearly what was happening. I slowed. 348 00:20:47.839 --> 00:20:50.640 The dark figure lifted its leg and broke the glass 349 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:53.599 of the window. It laid flat on the side of 350 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:56.359 the car and was fishing with its arm for something 351 00:20:56.480 --> 00:21:00.160 in the back seat. I could see my oldest daughter now, 352 00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:04.160 and this confirmed my worst nightmare. This was my family. 353 00:21:04.960 --> 00:21:07.400 I came to a complete stop and jumped from the 354 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.519 car and started running I could see my wife now 355 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.119 in the water, clinging to the underside of the overturned car. 356 00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:19.279 She was crying and screaming at this thing on the car. 357 00:21:20.079 --> 00:21:22.880 I hit the ditch at a full run and climbed 358 00:21:22.960 --> 00:21:26.839 up the rear bumper, slipping and falling several times until 359 00:21:26.839 --> 00:21:28.839 I made it on to the side of the car. 360 00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:31.720 I was about to jump onto the creature that was 361 00:21:31.759 --> 00:21:35.240 reaching into the car, when suddenly its body lifted upright 362 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:39.119 in a quick motion. There was a wet yellow blanket 363 00:21:39.200 --> 00:21:43.160 in its huge left hand, my daughter. It had my 364 00:21:43.240 --> 00:21:46.720 little girl. I started to lunge and try to pull 365 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:49.559 her from its hand, but the creature reached over me, 366 00:21:49.720 --> 00:21:52.960 clinching down on the back of my leg. It lifted 367 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:56.799 me straight up, upside down and jumped with my daughter 368 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.519 in one hand in me and the other to the road. 369 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.039 It gently laid me onto the gravel. It then moved 370 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:06.640 to the ditch and moved my wife out onto the 371 00:22:06.720 --> 00:22:10.640 road beside me. If this was not strange enough, it 372 00:22:10.720 --> 00:22:14.039 lifted its left hand to see what it had removed 373 00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:18.960 from the car. My daughter's legs hung limp between the 374 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:23.279 creature's fingers. There was no life there. My wife began 375 00:22:23.359 --> 00:22:26.359 to cry and moan and begged the creature to hand 376 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:29.200 my daughter to her. But the beast just looked at 377 00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:33.119 the baby in its hands. It clearly knew it held 378 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:36.039 a baby, and I saw a gentle posture come over 379 00:22:36.119 --> 00:22:40.519 its whole being, taking a deep breath with a long exhale, 380 00:22:41.039 --> 00:22:45.000 the massive right hand moved over my daughter's body, and 381 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:50.079 one large index finger gently pressed on my daughter's tiny chest. 382 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:54.960 My wife went silent. All I can remember was silence 383 00:22:55.119 --> 00:22:59.079 and rain, And in the glow of those headlights, I 384 00:22:59.119 --> 00:23:03.839 watched a female sisquatch gently pushed water from my daughter's lungs. 385 00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:08.359 One small amount of water spit above her little mouth, 386 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:13.000 and then another, and then another, and then she coughed, 387 00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:17.279 and then she cried, and we all cried, and the 388 00:23:17.319 --> 00:23:20.319 beast looked at us and smiled in a strange way. 389 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:24.599 She lowered herself on to one knee and handed our 390 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:28.839 daughter to my wife. Then she stood up. She arched 391 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:32.039 her back as if to say this was a good day. 392 00:23:33.200 --> 00:23:37.119 She inhaled a massive amount of air and expelled it 393 00:23:37.200 --> 00:23:41.559 with a loud moan. It sounded like a thousand pound wolf. 394 00:23:42.480 --> 00:23:46.079 I heard others inside the trees. She stepped into the 395 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.759 flooded ditch and came up on the other side. She 396 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:54.839 looked aback once and then she was gone. Headlights from 397 00:23:54.839 --> 00:23:57.640 a tractor broke us from our trance. It was my 398 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.400 father in law. He had no idea what was happening 399 00:24:01.680 --> 00:24:03.880 and had thought to patrol the road to make sure 400 00:24:03.920 --> 00:24:07.359 no one needed any help after that storm. He didn't 401 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:10.039