SC EP:1170 Bears Don't Throw Rocks

Sean writes "I'm a 51 year old clinical social worker, love the woods, and have had a few interesting experiences myself but we're writing today because my 13 year old, Bennett, came back from a week long Scout camp in Mississippi in which he AND his friend Dylan experienced the following: The two boys were hanging out by themselves in an area somewhat isolated, waiting on the other boy's dad to meet them. Bennett suggested they had time to walk up a nearby trail and look around. Shortly after starting out they hear footsteps in the woods to their left. And yes, when they stopped the footsteps would stop. The boys knew there was another nearby trail and called out, "Hello"? No answer. They walked again and again hear the footsteps. They stop again. Then, as Bennett tells it, they're looking in the direction of where the steps were coming from. He said the woods are not thick at all and they can see pretty well at 50' plus into the woods. He said they both see this clear mass from behind a tree that looks like it's "on delay". He then named a movie trying to describe what it looked like and I asked if it was like the Predator movie and he said yes. He said it looked to be a little taller than me so about 6' and the "top part" of it would lean out from the tree. Although I've heard of these experiences before, Bennett had not, which makes this awfully awfully strange in my book! We would love to get your feedback and experience about this "encounter"(?)! We will also be speaking with Seth, Seth writes "I found your pod cast last year and I've been hooked ever since. I'm a farmer and Hunter and everything outdoors guy and I had a short experience while mushroom hunting with my ex girlfriend and our son 2019. I've wanted to share with my friends but I haven't told anybody because like many others I don't want the you're crazy label. I'd love to talk to you and see what you think cause I'm still a skeptic on the whole Sasquatch thing but now I'm about 60%-40% that there's something out there after what happened to us. I used to make fun of people who brought it up and now I actually feel bad cause I believe something is out there now and I'd like youre take?"

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:03Speaker 00

  It looked like somebody was bent over and had their head in the window of the deer blind and it either heard me or smelt me and he pulled his head out of the tent and stood straight up and that, that shocked me. They don't make people that, that big.

• 0:31Speaker 01

  The way it moved, almost as if it was gliding across the beach. I've never seen anything move like that in my life.

• 0:45Speaker 01

  They were screaming at each other in gibberish.

• 0:49Speaker 01

  It sounded like a language and they were chuntering away, back and forwards, back and forwards, back and forwards.

• 0:57Speaker 01

  I know what a bear looks like and there is no way on this planet that what I saw bears.

• 1:14Speaker 02

  911, what are you reporting? Jesus Christ, you better... Karen, see ya! Hello? Get somebody out here! What's going on now, sir? That son of a bitch is about six foot nine, I don't know. Do you see him now, sir? Yes, I'm looking right at him. Uh-oh.

• 1:33Speaker 03

  This is Nenka from Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada. You are listening to, in my opinion, the best place to share your encounter stories, Sasquatch Chronicles.

• 2:09Wes Germer?

  Welcome to the show, everyone. Thanks for being here tonight. Got a great show planned for you. We'll be chatting with Sean and his son Bennett. And Bennett is 13 years old. He was at a scout camp in Mississippi, and this is a very recent encounter where he was followed out of this area in the woods, him and a friend of his, by this very large creature. And I'll kind of let Bennett go into it. We're also going to be chatting with Seth. And Seth comes to us from Washington State. And back in 2019, he had a very strange experience when he was

• 2:49Wes Germer?

  out with his family. Sean is a self-described skeptic and doesn't believe in Bigfoot. But I suspect some of that will change after his experience. If you've had an encounter and you'd like to be on the show, shoot me an email. My email address is [email protected]. And if you get a chance, check out sasquatchchronicles.com. You can become a member and get additional shows. Let's jump into it tonight. I want to welcome Seth to the show. Seth, thanks for coming on.

• 3:25Speaker 05

  You're welcome. Thank you.

• 3:26Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I appreciate you being here. Now, you had this incident in 2019 in Washington. If you would, just start from the very beginning. What were you doing? And what happened?

• 3:40Speaker 05

  All right, on May 9, 2019, my ex-girlfriend and I and our little boy, we decided to go up to Rimrock Lake and do some mushroom hunting. So we left about 8 o'clock here, and we got up there about 9:30. And there was a lot of people hunting mushrooms. So we hunted around for a little bit, weren't finding anything. And then we found this Forest Service road that cut off to the backside of the mountain. So I decided to take it. And uh, we drove as far as we possibly could. It came to a dead end and we stopped and we were just looking around.

• 4:25Speaker 05

  I thought, well, let's walk through the woods a little ways and let's see how it looks. So we did and uh, my little boy was all excited. He loved being out in the woods. We walked about a mile and a half from the truck and we came across this meadow with this runoff pond or little lake. That was in the bowl of this meadow. And instantly, when we got down there in the marshy spots, we were finding mushrooms like crazy. We weren't paying, we got so excited. We weren't paying any attention to the surroundings, to anything. And the wood line to this pond was about thirty yards, fifty yards away. And we started digging mushrooms.

• 5:11Speaker 05

  I was about twenty feet, twenty-five feet from my girlfriend at the time and my little boy was right beside me. And we, we hunted there for about an hour and we were just cleaning house, mushrooms everywhere. We started walking around the pond about twenty minutes of walking around the pond. We, I was bent over, my little boy was beside me. And uh, I heard this like whoosh. I kinda stood up and before I could see anything, I heard a big splash right beside me or behind me.

• 5:52Speaker 05

  And I turned around real quick and when I turned around, it was the kinda splash where a very heavy, heavy object. Hit the bottom and then the mud and water came up and then rained down. And I'm like, well, that was weird. So I sat there and looked at it and all of a sudden this log comes floating up to the top. And this log or tree limb, whatever you wanna call it, was about four and a half, five feet long. And probably anywhere from thirteen to fifteen inches in diameter.

• 6:28Speaker 05

  And I sat there for a second. We were, all three of us were stunned. I had no idea what it was. And me being the logical one, I said, well, it just rolled off the hills. You know, it rolled out of the tree line. Cause I didn't believe in Sasquatch. I don't believe in, I didn't believe in any of that. We sat there for a little bit, looked around. It was quiet, no birds, nothing. The frogs quit, quit, uh, making noise. I mean, there was, there was millions of frogs in these ponds. We went back to picking. And when we went back to, we kept walking around this pond and we were digging mushrooms. And about a half hour later,

• 7:10Speaker 05

  I heard something coming through the tree line. And I looked, I caught a little black object out of the corner of my eye. And this rock landed right beside me on my left side,

• 7:25Speaker 05

  uh, beside me and my little boy. And it splashed mud all over, all over me. And this rock was probably

• 7:35Speaker 05

  twenty, maybe twenty plus inches in diameter is like a sixteen pound bowling ball. And it hit with such force that it was about three quarters of the way covered in this mud marsh at the edge of this lake or pond. I looked at my girlfriend at the time, or ex-girlfriend at the time, I looked at her and she had drawn her nine millimeter and was aiming it toward the tree line. So instinctively, I grabbed mine, my forty-five, and I'm aiming it at the same tree line. I'm, I'm looking at her and I'm pointing and I'm like, did you, did you see anything? She said, no.

• 8:15Speaker 05

  So we sat there and my little boy's eyes are the biggest soccer balls. My heart's pounding. I started to walk toward the, the tree line a little ways. And out of nowhere, something took off through these baby fir and pine and tamarack trees that were on the edge of this tree line. These things were maybe. Twenty feet, thirty feet tall and maybe three, four inches in diameter.

• 8:47Speaker 05

  And I noticed that the tops of them were shaking so hard that they were hitting each other. And you could see where something was tearing off around this tree line, going through those young trees. Cause you could follow it by the tops of the trees shaking and hitting each other.

• 9:08Speaker 05

  We didn't hear any grunts. We didn't hear any noises. We didn't smell anything. But uh, when we saw that, uh, I'm like, okay, you know, we, we need to go cause I can't explain this. I have no idea what's going on. Cause bears are out that time of year. They're coming out of hibernation. They're hungry. And my first instinct was it was a big black bear. But as we're walking out and we're heading back toward the truck. Realistically, I'm thinking there's no way a black bear is gonna throw a rock or a log.

• 9:45Speaker 05

  You know, twenty, twenty-five yards from the tree line. There's just no way. And uh, we found this trail that I thought was the one that we came in on. So we're high tailing it out there. I've got my AR in hand. My uh, ex-girlfriend's got her nine millimeter in hand.

• 10:06Speaker 05

  And again, there's not a noise. That whole side of the mountain is just dead quiet.

• 10:14Speaker 05

  And we're, we're taking off. We're leaving. We're heading toward the truck.

• 10:19Speaker 05

  But it was about halfway up when I realized that we were not on the same trail that we came in on. Cause there was little, you know, rock shelves that we crawled over and there's little tiny uh, caves that we went by. And we didn't see any of that. So we knew we were on the wrong trail. So we stopped for a minute. We started looking around. And then uh, she walked over to me. She goes, do you smell that? I go, no. I go, my allergies are kinda bothering me. I go, I can't smell anything. And she goes, something smells dead.

• 10:53Speaker 05

  And I'm like, well, it's probably just a dead deer or something like that. So we turned around, we started looking for this trail that we came in on, then I smelled it. I'm like, that's, that's something big. That's something that's dead, something big. So then we started looking for it. Why we started looking for it, I don't know, because we were so scared. There was no way that we should have stuck around. But we walked around and then she found it. She found some fur. And it was a, uh, it was a little spiked elk. And this thing wasn't poached.

• 11:33Speaker 05

  The, the, the fur on the one side was, was literally ripped off. It just looked like somebody peeled a banana. The rib cage was licked clean. I mean, the bones were white. The kill was maybe

• 11:52Speaker 05

  three, four days old. The blood on the, on the ribs were, it was still sticky. It was still red. It was just starting to smell. We looked at it. She noticed, she goes, look at this. And she pointed down. And the one, the left hind leg of that elk, the femur was literally snapped in half. Like not cut, not with the saw, nothing. It was snapped. It was splintered. And I started looking at the other one. I kind of grabbed it and pulled the leg over and that one was broke. It was still had skin on it. But right at the mid femur, it was broke.

• 12:34Speaker 05

  You could wiggle it around. And, uh, I grabbed Hunter. He, he was kind of oblivious. I mean, he's only six years old. I grabbed him and I said, okay, I go, we gotta, we're, we're, we're leaving. We're out of here. So we started walking around and I found the trail. And my ex-girlfriend was about thirty yards from me because we were looking for this trail, whoever found it first, you know? So we, I found it. I waved to her and we took off. This was about five in the afternoon. And that time of year, five in the afternoon, it starts to get dark, especially when you're in the woods.

• 13:13Speaker 05

  And got on the trail, we found the truck, we disarmed, we climbed in the truck. And we, I started it and I sat there for about five minutes and we just looked at each other and I'm like, what happened? What was that? And we went through every scenario that we could think of. And there was no way that was any four-legged animal that could do anything like that. There just, there's no way. And as I still don't believe in Sasquatch, but I cannot explain that. We didn't see anything. We didn't see a body. We didn't see any color and any fur. But whatever it was, whatever took off through that tree line,

• 13:59Speaker 05

  it made a, it made a mess.

• 14:02Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I think when you take Bigfoot out of the equation, it's kind of hard to explain what happened. Um, I don't see a man shaking those trees. I mean, I realize you're describing them as baby trees, but 20 foot tall pine or fir is still a pretty, pretty sturdy tree to shake or even take down. How far away were those trees when they were shaking?

• 14:26Speaker 05

  I was about 25 yards, roughly, roughly about 25 yards. Whatever it was, just followed the edge of the, the edge of the tree line right as the, as the pond is, it just kind of followed it around.

• 14:40Wes Germer?

  Yeah, and I know that you're skeptical of Sasquatch, but let's kind of go down the list of what it could be. I know those baby trees you're talking about, I've seen them many times and I can tell you they're pretty sturdy. I mean, it's a pretty hardy, both pine and fir are pretty hardy trees and I'm a big guy. I don't know that I could shake them on my way out, but I mean, what else do you think it could have been?

• 15:06Speaker 05

  That's the thing, Wes. I don't know what it could have been. I honestly don't. The only thing that comes to mind, the biggest animal out there is a bear. And our black bears aren't that big out here. Once in a great while, you'll see one that tops maybe 400 pounds, but most of the time they're two, 250. They're not that big.

• 15:27Wes Germer?

  Yeah, the, the black bears in the Pacific Northwest really aren't that big. I mean, I wouldn't go toe to toe with one, but they're not on the grand scheme of life. They're not very big and they also don't throw rocks.

• 15:42Speaker 05

  Yeah, they don't throw rocks. They don't throw a five foot log or tree limb, whatever you want to call it.

• 15:47Wes Germer?

  Let me ask you, how would it change your reality if you saw one of these creatures and you were reflecting back on this moment?

• 15:56Speaker 05

  If, if I could see some hundred percent proof that they're out there, I would, I would come back and say that that's probably what it was. But I can't say it's not. I can't say it is because I'm still somewhat of a skeptic, but out of, out of everybody I've listened to on your podcast, there's been many of them, many of the other

• 16:26Speaker 05

  encounters that are just like mine. Some people have seen them, some haven't. And I just, I haven't.

• 16:34Wes Germer?

  Have you ever looked into this subject as far as what evidence is actually there?

• 16:40Speaker 05

  I have after the, I always, you know, watched things on Sasquatch when I was little, you know, I, it was just something that kind of intrigued me. I've been looking into it and I've seen some things, some pictures and some evidence that I'm like, you know, hey, that's pretty good. You know, that's, that could be, but uh, in the back of my mind, I'm like, well, no one's seen it. I mean, there's no hundred percent proof. There's not one dead in some laboratory somewhere. So I just can't quite get on board. But the more I think about it and the more I hear other people's encounters and the way mine went, I'm getting to the point where I do believe that something could be out there. I just don't know what.

• 17:26Wes Germer?

  Outside of actually seeing one, what would it take to convince you that these things are out there?

• 17:33Speaker 05

  If someone could, if someone had an encounter like I did and was able to get a good picture of a, of an actual figure and a video of some, some sounds or something like that, that would, that would help a lot. But in just my way of thinking, there's too many people that want to be the first one to see it and the first one to have evidence. So they do anything they can to make it look like there is something out there and there's just not like I fall, I watch a lot of these Bigfoot shows on TV, like mountain monsters

• 18:14Speaker 05

  and stuff like that. And there's just, it's too hokey. There's no way. And like Finding Bigfoot or whatever, I'm in the same camp as Renee Holland is. I mean, I, these guys hear a twig snap and all of a sudden it's Sasquatch. Well, that could be a squirrel. It could be a bird. It could be anything. And that right there is what ruins it for me. That make, that keeps me a skeptic because every time there's a sound out in the woods, it's automatically Sasquatch. And there's a million animals out there. It could be.

• 18:47Wes Germer?

  Yeah, but you have to remember all of these TV shows, Mountain Monsters, Finding Bigfoot, Expedition Bigfoot, they are built on entertainment. They're not built on trying to convince a world that this thing is out there. I think out of all of them, probably Finding Bigfoot did the best job at that. But even at the end of the day, Finding Bigfoot is still entertainment. As far as videos go, what's your take on the Patterson Gimlin film?

• 19:18Speaker 05

  I've seen it. I've watched it. I can't, I just, I don't know. The thing moves pretty natural. It's not, it doesn't move like a person in a suit. But that is probably the best evidence I have yet to see. But I just can't quite get on board with it. And I don't know why. Cause I mean, that's the best proof I've seen.

• 19:42Wes Germer?

  Seth, have you ever looked at um Track Cast or gotten copies of Track Casts and just kind of looked at them or ever heard Dr. Meldrum speak about these footprints?

• 19:56Speaker 05

  Yeah, and I've listened to Bob Gimlin. I've listened to uh, oh, what's the guy from Idaho State University that does all the Bigfoot stuff?

• 20:11Wes Germer?

  Yeah, Dr. Meldrum, the professor of autonomy and anthropology.

• 20:16Speaker 05

  Is that him? Yeah, I've seen his tracks that he has and I think there was an episode of uh, oh, I can't remember the name of that show, but it laid out all of his footprints and stuff he's seen, he's got and where it came from. And that's some pretty good evidence also.

• 20:36Wes Germer?

  You know, a couple of years ago, I bought a bunch of these casts of these tracks that were made from all over the United States and you can buy them online. They were really relatively cheap at the time. And I even know that Cliff Brockman with the North American Bigfoot Center, his museum up there, he makes copies of these, these tracks and you can buy the casts from the track. And I had them all laid out at my desk one time and I was sitting there looking at them. And you can tell just by looking at them, this was made by a living, something living made this. And Cliff's a good guy to go to because I mean, that guy

• 21:18Wes Germer?

  really knows his, his different trackways and different casts. And he even showed me like fake ones and was pointing out like 50 different things, how you can tell this is a fake compared to a real one. And you being skeptical, I would even encourage you to go down to the North American Bigfoot Center. I've been in this for a long time. It feels like forever at this point, but I, I learned a lot walking away from Cliff's museum. I mean, I really, there was a lot of evidence that I was shocked by that's out there. I didn't even think about. So that's one thing that I'd recommend is go check out that, that museum that he has. It's outside of Gresham.

• 22:02Wes Germer?

  You had mentioned audio, you know, if you heard good audio, what's your take on the Ohio how? Or that Samurai chatter that gets reported?

• 22:13Speaker 05

  The Samurai chatter, what they, that's what they call it. I, I have no clue what, what that is. I, I couldn't even begin to speculate what that is. But I've heard a lot of these screams and stuff that people have been putting out there and stuff like that. And most of them to me sound like a bobcat in heat or a cougar, a small cougar. Uh, looking for a mate or its mom. I've done a lot of big game hunting in my life and I've seen and heard a lot of cats. And to me, a lot of those screams sound like a big feline, a cougar or a big bobcat.

• 22:58Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I agree with you. I think sometimes people are capturing, uh, felines, whether it be like a mountain lion or a bobcat or some of those screams I will agree with you on. Not all of them, but some of them I will agree with you on. You know, we talk about the Ohio how a lot. It was captured back in 1994 by Matt Money Maker in Ohio. Uh, man, you know, that particular vocal is a very strange one, but that's not the only one that was captured. Um, I wish I had the one from California queued up. I don't have it. Uh, this one's from Maine in 2012.

• 24:16Wes Germer?

  And here's the Ohio howl I talked about from 1994.

• 24:46Wes Germer?

  Kind of a weird vocal. It's been described many times as like an air raid siren. And I actually had one from California. And I know I have one from Washington. I don't have queued up. But I've spoke with a few eyewitnesses that I've actually seen them do this vocalization. Uh, but you know, if you don't believe in Bigfoot, I, I don't know what else, uh, in my mind, I mean, what other animal could make a sound like that?

• 25:12Speaker 05

  All the times I spin out in the woods, hunting stuff like that, that one does not sound familiar, familiar to me at all. I couldn't, that one's odd. That one I, I couldn't, I couldn't tell you what that was even close to.

• 25:27Wes Germer?

  You know, one thing I wanted to ask you is, you know, we here in the United States and in North America in general, we have, uh, the Sasquatch or the Bigfoot. Uh, you get down to Australia and they have the Yaois. You go over to Russia, they have the Almas. You go over to China and Tibet, they have the Yiren and the Yeti. Um, when you get into Vietnam, the soldiers called them rock apes. So all around the world, everyone is seeing this creature and we're all basically describing the same thing, even though we're giving it a different name. Um, even the Native Americans, when they were here,

• 26:10Wes Germer?

  thousands of years before us, they had a name for it. Well, what do you make of this thing being seen all around the world?

• 26:18Speaker 05

  That, that's something that I, uh,

• 26:22Speaker 05

  That's something that I, I can't explain. I mean, that's,

• 26:27Speaker 05

  that's what gets, that's what puts me on right there on the line of believing and not believing is that every country has one just under a different name. And the, like you said, they describe it the same way. Its tactics are the same thing. It does everything the same.

• 26:44Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I can appreciate your skeptical point of view for sure. I like skeptics. A lot of their questions they ask are very fair questions that I don't have an answer for, and I don't think anyone else does either. Um, and I do think that you ran into a Sasquatch because I can't think of anything else that it just as behavior alone, it makes me think it was a Sasquatch, even though you didn't see it. Um, have you ever gone back to this area?

• 27:12Speaker 05

  No, I have not been back to that area. We've gone, uh, my current girlfriend now, um, my little boy, we've gone mushroom hunting in that around Rimrock, but I've never gone back to that spot.

• 27:25Wes Germer?

  Have you not returned because of the encounter or just kind of a lack of time?

• 27:30Speaker 05

  Uh, kind of both. It's a long walk. It's a long ways back there. And I mean, if your truck ever broke down or you ever needed help, it's not there. It was probably pretty stupid to go that, that far out the first time.

• 27:47Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I would encourage you to keep searching for answers, you know, outside of people's encounters. Look at the hard evidence. Look at some of the evidence that's put forth and make up your own mind. You know what I mean?

• 28:01Speaker 05

  I will, I plan on it. And I think the other reason that this thing hasn't been proven a hundred percent is because once it is proven, it's going to take someone to shoot one and someone to put it in a lab. But if someone did find one and find legit evidence of one and make it known, that would destroy all of this state's timber industry. Just like they, they did with the spotted owl when they saw the spotted owl, it shut down timber, uh, farming for a lot of places. And if this thing ever comes out as being real, the timber's gone. You won't be able to hunt and fish hardly at all anymore.

• 28:44Speaker 05

  They're going to close down everything. They're going to make it, you know, a natural habitat and sanctuaries. And that's going to take a big chunk of money out of the state's income and everything else.

• 28:56Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I would disagree with you on that. And I can give 20 different arguments why I would disagree with you on that. But from, very briefly, from eyewitness testimony, they seem to be very nomadic. They seem to be on the move a lot. Generally speaking, they don't hang around in an area for too long. There was, I remember back, I've talked about it many times, but there was one creature here in Washington that many people were seeing. And I know it was the same creature because everyone described the scar across his chest. But depending on the time of year, I can almost tell you exactly where that creature is at.

• 29:38Wes Germer?

  What it was doing is it was making a loop from Mount St. Helens all the way down the Columbia River and all the way back up. But it never hung around in an area for too long. And again, they're not only seen in forested areas. You could make that argument if Sasquatch was only found in the Pacific Northwest, but they're found in areas where even for me, it shocks me. There's a long history. I know you know where Central Oregon is at. There's a long history of it running through that area. You get south of Bend and it's a desert. There is nothing out there.

• 30:17Wes Germer?

  Yet reports come in from Madras and they come, come in from around, I know you know where Canita is at.

• 30:25Speaker 05

  That's about as desert as you can get for this area.

• 30:28Wes Germer?

  Yeah, there really is nothing out there. Yet there is a ton of reports. They come in from Madras. There's nothing in Madras, but you get reports of Sasquatch. The Native Americans talked about them being out in the area of Canita. And even south of Bend, I've had eyewitnesses come forward and they run into these creatures. And I'm sitting there thinking like, where are they coming from? Where are these creatures coming from that people are seeing them? Cause there's not a lot of places to hide.

• 30:59Speaker 05

  I've been wanting to ask you, I don't know if you know much about the Yakima Indian Tribe, but my girlfriend found a thing about a legend and supposedly it's buried. And there's a monument, but they call it the what?

• 31:20Speaker 05

  The Giant Lady.

• 31:23Speaker 05

  And it's from way, way back. And they, I've heard different claims of where she's eight foot tall, nine, 12 feet tall. And over six, 700 pounds. And there's a spot where supposedly it's actually buried, she's actually buried. And there's, people leave offerings and stuff like that to this day. And I was talking to one of my friends who's a tribal member. And he said that his grandpa told him that she watched over the animals.

• 32:04Speaker 05

  And watched over them, you know, in the 1800s, 1900s. And that's how far that story goes back.

• 32:12Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I haven't heard that account, but Yakima's another one. There's nothing out there in Yakima. You're in, you know, eastern Washington at this point. You're in the desert and there's nowhere to hide, yet report after report after report come from that area. And for a long time, the Native Americans have talked about them being in that area. Um, I, I definitely would encourage you to keep searching for answers and, but I really appreciate you taking the time to come on and, and share what happened to you.

• 32:45Speaker 05

  Hey, thank you very much. And I've listened to, it's taken me two years, but I've listened to every one of your episodes on your podcast and I just finished the last one like a month ago.

• 32:55Wes Germer?

  Oh, I appreciate that very much, Seth. Thank you so much for listening.

• 33:00Speaker 05

  Yeah, you're welcome. Thank you and be safe out there.

• 33:19Wes Germer?

  Next up on the show, I want to welcome Sean. Sean, welcome to the show.

• 33:24Speaker 06

  Thank you, sir. Thank you, Wes. Nice to talk with you.

• 33:28Wes Germer?

  Yeah, it's a real pleasure to chat with you. And I know mainly, we were going to chat about your son's encounter that happened at Scout Camp in Mississippi about a month ago. But before we bring Bennett on, you had mentioned when we were off air, a couple weird things happened to you. Tell me about those.

• 33:49Speaker 06

  Okay, I guess there's a couple that come to mind. I just like camping, Wes, you know, so I go camping time to time. There have been phases in my life where I had more opportunity. And so anyway, the first, the first incident, I guess that comes to mind is my older son, Jacob and I were on a trip that for some reason Bennett couldn't get to. And we were heading towards,

• 34:21Speaker 06

  I was thinking about this earlier, dang it, now it's slipping my mind, Wes, we were going up towards the ultimate goal was that spot. What is it called? Land Between the Lakes? I think Kumbho and those guys are familiar with it, right? But um, but in the, but before we got there, we stopped this place. I want to say it's called Oak Mountain State Park. It's in Alabama. And I stopped there because before we went, we were going, I was, we were going under the auspices of these places have had, or you know, have Bigfoot, those kinds of stories. So we were just gonna take this vacation and just go camping and just, it wasn't that serious.

• 35:06Speaker 06

  But I, we were going to these places with, with that idea in mind. So at Oak Ridge, that was our, that was our first stop. That was the first stop of the trip. Um, I I keep saying Oak Ridge, it might or Oak Mountain. I think it's Oak Mountain State Park. But we stopped and we set up the tent and and uh it got dark and it was around. It was, you know, I know, I don't, it was cold, so so I, the sun went down earlier. And but it was it was around nine o'clock when we decided to go on a walk. And just away from where our tents were set up. Uh, there was a, you know, it was a campground. And so we took the the asphalt road.

• 35:52Speaker 06

  Back up the way we had driven in and up there just. Probably not two hundred yards from the campground itself is a is the entrance to a main trail. It's even got a uh. What do they call it? Just something you walk under, you know, that just marking the entrance, probably two poles and a pole on top running horizontally. Just marking the entrance. Um, but it's dark. It's it's dark. There's there's no real moon to speak of, nothing that was giving us any light. But it's a, it was a, it was a wide, again, real commonly used, uh, just like a nature trail. But um, again, it was, it wasn't one of these narrow ones where you can't.

• 36:35Speaker 06

  You know, where you don't have any, we could walk side by side. But we got about not far fifty yards in. To this, and again, it's pitch black and all we, I don't even think we have our flashlights on at this point because. The path is much lighter in color. I I don't remember if it was kind of just sandy gravel or what, but. You could see the path because it was a lighter, probably, you know, sand or some sandy gravel. But otherwise, we didn't have, there was no light. Uh, you just couldn't see much, but we were just walking the walk. And about fifty yards in. Uh, we we startled something. We moved something off, not something, some things like.

• 37:19Speaker 06

  It sounded like, I don't know, yeah, four, five, or six, or seven.

• 37:27Speaker 06

  Wes, we couldn't tell what it was. I couldn't tell what it was, but whatever it was, it moved on. It, it, they, they moved forward away from us. My best guess, middle Alabama. Man, I don't know. I, I can't, this is one thing I've wanted to run by you is what the heck was this? Because, like I said, we, we walked in on them, whatever it was. They were mostly to the right of the trail up at our, if the trails, we're walking the trail and, you know, walking forward is noon. They were at one and two o'clock and they moved forward away from us.

• 38:07Speaker 06

  And then got quiet second. And so we kept walking, whatever it was, we're bigger, we're, you know, they, they moved away. No big whoop. So we walk, I don't know, just a few, not far, a few more steps. And Wes, these, these things, we, I'm detecting, Jacob was 14 at the time. He's 19 now, so it's about five years ago. Um, these things start. They not only stop, but they start coming back. What, whatever it was, starts moving back our way. And, uh,

• 38:43Speaker 06

  I mean, if somebody told me that, I'd, I'm automatically stumped as to what would, what would be startled by your presence like anything would and go off. But then stop and come back or start heading, heading back. And Wes, I don't know how many, and this is five years ago, but it's, it, it seemed like at least four or five something or other. Were move, well, they definitely were coming back our way. They moved back our way. And not only that, um, and by that, by now we're shining our lights. In fact, probably when we move, when we moved them off, we probably turned on our flashlights.

• 39:24Speaker 06

  But I got these, just these dinky little flashlights that are as long as your finger and they amounted to absolutely nothing in that dark. They didn't light up five foot away. We, they, they were, they were not helpful at all. So these things start, whatever it is, is moving back and it's not like footstep, footstep, footstep. It's not like obvious kind of bipedal. It wasn't like that, but.

• 39:50Speaker 06

  Wes, if it were dogs, we would have heard breathing, huffing, you know, just panting. And if anything, like any kind of canine would have been milling around more than these were. These were kind of grad- not gradually, but I'll just say intentionally creeping back, moving back our way. And Wes here, why I said creeping is because these jokers, when they were one at two o'clock, at our one and two earlier, now they're turning, coming out to 10, 11 and 10. On the other side of the trail, they were on our right side and easing up to the three and the four as we're moving backwards. And it's like, what?

• 40:33Speaker 06

  What is, what? And please, somebody tell me, what? What do you spook off and then decide, you know what? Let's go check this out. Let's go check. Nothing that I can, nothing that I can think of. I've thought of armadillos because armadillos can be just kind of, just not dumb, but just don't care that you're right there and they'll do whatever they want to do. I've seen them do that. But this, these things were moving around us is absolutely what it felt like. And Wes, you know what? I pulled my pistol. And I got, I got Jacob's kind of to my back and we just kept, we weren't that, like I said,

• 41:16Speaker 06

  we weren't that deep into this thing. And we just, but I got, I got, I mean, I didn't put my, my finger on the trigger or anything like that. It wasn't quite like that, but I had my hackles up because I felt like these things were coming around on, on all sides of us. And if they kept coming, they were going to be between us in the entrance. And so we just kept moving back. I kept, Jacob kept slinging his light. He did so well, even though they weren't doing anything. We never, I never saw a thing. Never saw a thing. All we, we just heard the movement. And again, the thing is, one or the other by themselves is, I don't

• 41:59Speaker 06

  know, but when you spook something off and then it comes, or you think something kind of moves off and then says, nah, I'm gonna come back. That's, I don't know what that is.

• 42:08Wes Germer?

  Yeah, it's kind of hard to say without, you know, not being there.

• 42:12Speaker 06

  I know, but that's why I've been, I've just been mystified and why I've wanted to talk to you. I was like, name the animal, Wes. Name the animal that would do that and I'll, I'll, I'll sleep. But I, I can't come up with it. The way this was, these were moving. It just seemed intentional. It seemed, they were doing, armadillos aren't going to pay attention to us and move volitiony because, you know, try, much less try to surround us or anything like that. It wasn't random like armadillos. It really seemed like, well, I know we moved them off and then they came back. That's what happened. And what comes back?

• 42:52Speaker 06

  Man, it was at least four of whatever. And I know that sounds like, well, there weren't four. So and then you did, you know, I don't know. I'm not saying it is, but I got spooked because I still can't, I can still, nobody has yet told me, hey, no, that's what, that's what peacocks do or something, you know?

• 43:11Wes Germer?

  Yeah, again, it's, it's really hard to say what it is. Most animals, you're right, aren't going to get spooked and go off and then come back. Usually when they go, they, they're gone. Um, what was the other incident?

• 43:25Speaker 06

  Okay, this one is, uh, this one, my sons were there too. We, my dad had got some property in a place called Brantley, Alabama. And it's rural, but, uh, we were running chainsaws and starting to take down a few trees and try to get some ideas of where he might want to put something, whatever. And, um, but we were camping in tents. So we were just off this trail. I, everybody, my, I think my youngest son was probably in a tent with my dad. I think Jacob was, uh, I think he was in a hammock. And I was in a tent and I had got out to relieve myself. It was about, I, I've always said it was about 12:30

• 44:11Speaker 06

  a.m. And, um, it's dark out there too. I stepped out just, you know, a few steps away from where we were all kind of scattered and, um, To relieve myself just out towards this, it's not barren because there's a bunch of pines, but it's low, it's lower, it's a little bit wet, uh, because there's another, there's a manmade pond on the other side of this stretch I'm talking about. But anyway, um, I, I, I go to pee out there and, um, I don't remember at what point I might've been done. Um, I guess I was probably done or something,

• 44:49Speaker 06

  but I'm still standing there. I heard bam, bam, bam, not bam bam bam, uh, because I immediately

• 44:59Speaker 06

  tried to think of what it sounded like and it sounded like somebody had doubled up a, a whip, like a bull whip, like Indiana Jones whip, doubled it up where, you know, you gotta got kinda cuddle that thick section, uh, as the, as something you could hit somebody with. And it sounded like that being swung against a real solid 10, 12 inch pine tree. Just, just whap, whap, whap. Okay. I hear that and then I hear steps for about maybe eight or 10 seconds of, of steps. And then same thing, whack, whack, whack. And Wes, when it was going on, it felt like this whacking

• 45:40Speaker 06

  was at me. Like it was, I'm just telling you what it felt like. It felt like what, whatever's out there, it's, this is, I got its attention or it's, I don't know. And, uh, I stood there for a minute. I don't remember anything else. I, I, it certainly did not hit anything or no other sound occurred. Um, and I stood, I don't know how much longer I stood there, not that long. Um, and I, I just got back in my tent, laid down and I guess eventually I slept, but I have racked my brain about that too, because there is a pond over there. I'm thinking, is there, uh, an otter or a beaver,

• 46:24Speaker 06

  beaver over there? Um, cause that's well within reason that there could be a beaver or something around, but.

• 46:31Speaker 06

  That's not what it sounded like. It didn't sound like it was hitting water, you know, for example. I made a mental note. It sounded just like what I said, like some like, you know, just like leather on a tree, but, but wow, wow, wow. Not that fast, but. And Wes, that's, that's, that's all there, that's all there was to that. That was, it, it's, it sounded as if maybe that striking was going on about, I don't know, maybe forty yards away. Something like that. Thirty to thirty, thirty-five, forty yards away. I'm calling it a tree knock. I'm, there's a describing it like whack, but I'm, I'm,

• 47:13Speaker 06

  but it wasn't knocky. It like if there, if we can distinguish, it wasn't knocky. It was more wacky. How, how you like that?

• 47:25Wes Germer?

  Yeah, again, it's kind of hard to, hard to say, you know, without being there. Um, so you're kind of into Bigfoot. What did you think when your son Bennett came to you and he told you about what happened to him at the scout camp?

• 47:40Speaker 06

  Uh, it was the last, uh, person that, that I know of in my life that would have come to me with something like this has been it. He's, he's heard Sasquatch Chronicles. Like I, I've gone through phases where I've listened to the show just, you know, show after show, um, but, uh, but not in a while. Like I said in the little letter I wrote, I, I hadn't, I hadn't in a little while. But, uh, but anyway, yeah, he, and he, he, he just, as a matter of fact, in fact, his, his, his brother was in the truck with me. His brother doesn't, Jacob is gonna live with me anymore, but we were all together and he. He told the story.

• 48:23Wes Germer?

  Well, if you would, um, is Bennett there?

• 48:27Speaker 06

  Yeah, yeah, he's right here. Um, okay, I'm gonna put him on.

• 48:31Speaker 07

  Hello?

• 48:32Wes Germer?

  Hey Bennett, welcome to the show.

• 48:34Speaker 07

  Thank you.

• 48:36Wes Germer?

  Yeah, and you had this encounter about a month ago. Uh, you were in Mississippi at a Boy Scout camp. Uh, if you would, just kind of start from the very beginning. What were you guys doing and what happened?

• 48:49Speaker 07

  So we were like forty, I just checked, like forty-five minutes south of Jackson. Every year we have a summer camp and it's a week long. You know, you go sleep in tents for a week or whatever, do, you sign up for classes, do certain merit badges and it's very fun every year. And it was right after fishing class, which was my last class. It was, it ended at four every day and me and my friend for the first

• 49:29Speaker 07

  four days, three days, we would go fishing and we'd stay fishing for the next hour at least. And his dad was like Wednesday, we were supposed to go back and get him and and on Thursday, we were supposed to go back and I was like, nah, I don't want to fish because Wednesday, I believe, which would have been the fourth, I think, was when

• 50:02Speaker 07

  we, we were fishing until like five thirty and our friend in his patrol, so like his age group, which was a year younger than me, him and his cousin, he's from like Tampa, right outside of Tampa, and his dad went to this spot a couple minutes away and caught a fish. So we were

• 50:30Speaker 07

  And there was another trail that we thought would lead there. So we were going down that trail. And we hear, I hear my footsteps, his footsteps. And a third pair of footsteps, which I thought were his dad's because his dad's, his dad was supposed to meet us down there. We call his name because we don't see him. And there's another trail. That you we used to get down there, but usually nobody comes down there. At least nobody had the first couple of days. So we thought it was somebody there and we kept. Calling like, hello, hello, is anybody there? And nobody was responding. And we stop and.

• 51:14Speaker 07

  We hear the third pair of footsteps stop shortly after. And we're still saying like, hello, hello, is there anybody there? And I see.

• 51:24Speaker 07

  This thing like twenty.

• 51:29Speaker 07

  Twenty yards, fifteen yards away. It, it was a blob hiding, it was really thin tree. And it was kind of peeking out behind that. And it was just a blurry blob. It, it kinda like it had a, a figure of. Like it looked like a blob, but it was like a, it kinda, you know, was the size. Like if you drew a circle around a person, like if you drew a person and they drew a circle around them. It was, it would be kind of the size of that. It was a little bit taller. It was like.

• 52:14Speaker 07

  Six feet, somewhere around there. And.

• 52:20Speaker 07

  I'm like, yeah, I let's go and we get our stuff and shortly after we leave. And I talked to him and he's, he said, I asked him, like, did you see some weird blob? Thing and, and he said, yeah, that's basically what I saw too. And

• 52:45Speaker 07

  we didn't, I didn't speak to anybody. I didn't, I didn't ask any questions more than that. That was all I asked. And then I told it to my dad and he, he said, some people have had similar experiences.

• 53:03Wes Germer?

  Do you think the thing was following you out?

• 53:06Speaker 07

  We have no idea. We were like, we were not that far in. We had just started going. And that was the only time we would have been close to the trail. So if we would have heard it

• 53:21Speaker 07

  farther than and hadn't seen anybody, but it, as far as I could tell, the, the footsteps were walking along with us. And if it was walking towards us and I didn't see anything, I think I would have

• 53:38Speaker 07

  run, but I thought I was just being paranoid and seeing stuff. At, at first and he saw it too, when I asked him. So I had no idea what it was. And I didn't want to go back down there the rest of the time. So I didn't, I didn't go back down there the whole trip besides like with,

• 54:02Speaker 07

  you know, the class when we were fishing down there. Now we're not having fun because we're paranoid. And that's, that's just kind of how it felt.

• 54:14Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I could understand the way you feel. I think I'd feel the same way. And you know, this sort of behavior you hear a lot. You'll hear where people are walking in the woods and something is matching them step for step. And it's only when they stop, they realize, oh yeah, something is pacing me. Because these creatures, a lot of times they'll take that extra step or two. When you stop. And I'm almost wondering if there was two of them in your situation, but when you looked back, how far away from you was this blob figure that you saw peeking around a tree? I mean, how many school buses away would you say it was?

• 54:58Speaker 07

  Maybe like, maybe two school buses, but like, I mean, 50 feet, maybe. So like somewhere around that, like 50 to like 50, 55.

• 55:14Wes Germer?

  So you guys were pretty close. And it does make me think it was one of these creatures. I almost think there was two of them. But you know, I don't know one way or another. But it does sound like one of these creatures because you know, if it would have been a person, the normal human reaction would have been, hey, guys, I'm over here, you know, or something like that.

• 55:35Speaker 07

  Yeah, we were the only, me and him were the only people down there and we were fishing and the people at the waterfront, they had like slides and stuff and it was at that time from 3:30 to 5:30, there was like lake activities, you could swim, you could go on the slides for like everybody. I didn't go, but my friends went every day and I guess at that time they had either just left or leaving because I think it was 5:15, maybe around that time. So we had already been down there for like an hour. So we were the only people and nobody was going to swim over to us.

• 56:20Speaker 07

  They would have to like get out and it was, you know, so like actual like draw a straight line wise, we were probably like 500 feet away from somebody, but trail wise, probably like. A thousand feet if they were taking the trail. So I don't think there was anybody at the pavilion where they have all of the activities because I think usually the counselors just after the last class go, go and do whatever, hang out.

• 56:53Wes Germer?

  Yeah, it's very unnerving when they do this sort of behavior. I don't think I've ever talked to an eyewitness that was super comfortable recounting this, this pacing of, you know, them trying to get you out of an area or kind of following along where you're going. The weird part is you'll hear in a lot of encounters to where they'll do this behavior, they'll pace you usually from the side. Rarely does anyone ever see them doing this, but a lot of people come forward and talk about it. And usually when you clear the wood line, they'll stop, they won't follow you anymore. Before I ask you what you think Sasquatch is, what was kind of your take on the whole subject before this ever happened to you?

• 57:39Speaker 07

  I, I mean, I always thought there was a genuine possibility like aliens. And, you know, there's species discovered every, I mean, I'm sure there's people that see new species every day, but they just don't know. And so I'm sure like, yeah, I had thought about it and, you know, it's a possibility, but before that I hadn't really thought about it, like about it being real, but I, you know, I could consider it. I would just need more evidence. All there

• 58:19Speaker 07

  is is like footprints and stuff and all the pictures, but like, you know, wait until there's a, a body. Although I have no idea, maybe there is, you'd know more about it than I would, obviously.

• 58:36Wes Germer?

  What are you trying to blow my cover with the government or what? I'm just joking. Um, what do you, what do you think Sasquatch is?

• 58:45Speaker 07

  Like, you know, from the dinosaur era, whatever that is, there was like big monkeys and stuff. Could be that could be, you know, just feral people that I think that's like not, you're not going to find that. You're not going to find feral people in Mississippi, probably. I'm sure there are, but not around a camp with a bunch of kids.

• 59:12Wes Germer?

  Yeah, it's hard to say what this thing is. Do you, do you think it's more of a man? Or do you think it's more of an animal?

• 59:19Speaker 07

  I think it's, I'd say it's more, I, it's probably like 50 50. Like right in between animal and human.

• 59:32Wes Germer?

  Yeah, a lot of people say that Bennett, a lot of people say that. Do you have any plans on, um, going back? I know this happened to you about a month ago.

• 59:42Speaker 07

  I don't know, because we went to this place in Georgia, Burt Adams, for like three years in a row. And we put it to a vote and not as many people wanted to go back. So we chose there, but I'm sure we'll go somewhere else next year. But there's people who will go every year.

• 1:00:03Wes Germer?

  Yeah, well, I really appreciate you coming on and sharing what happened to you, Bennett. Really enjoyed chatting with you.

• 1:00:11Speaker 07

  Thank you for having me on.

• 1:00:14Wes Germer?

  Yeah. And is your dad around?

• 1:00:17Speaker 07

  Uh, yes.

• 1:00:19Wes Germer?

  Hey Wes. Hey Sean. Yeah, Bennett did a great job at describing what happened and what he saw. And I do think he ran into one of these things. Uh, and I asked him, what do you think Sasquatch is? And I was curious on your opinion, what do you think that they are?

• 1:00:36Speaker 06

  Oh, I, you know, with this stuff, you know, he had never, I want to make this clear. He hadn't, you know, all my Bigfoot, you know, looking into and reading, I got a ton of books. I got to meet Bob Gamlin. He had never heard this kind of story before. I suspect you have, and I have with the whole, I think her name is Barbara Shoup. They, you know, there's some footage or whatever. And, um, I hadn't looked too deeply into it, but with, you know, if this is the same thing, I, I, I don't know, you know, I, I, I, it's like I think about, um, octopus that can, you know, just morph so slow, so incredibly.

• 1:01:20Speaker 06

  It's like, well, I, you know, why can't a land animal do, you know, why, I mean, is it conceivable that with the fur and a shimmer of the fur of the hair or whatever, it can kind of make some tripped out looking, you know, I don't know. So what it is, I don't know. It, you know, I don't know, but our senses only pick up so much. I am realizing that. So it, it's an aspect of life that we just, we can't pick up on much, you know, uh, some biological entity that we're just not able to, uh, pick up on as much. I guess, you know, according to its whims, uh, that, that's my final answer, Wes.

• 1:02:02Wes Germer?

  Yeah, I don't get the impression what Bennett saw is what Barb Shoup, um, has seen and filmed. Um, and if people don't know what we're talking about, they can go YouTube it, but I don't get the impression that's what he saw. You know, in Mississippi, when you're under that tree canopy, it's a lot like Washington State. I could see being a distance away from one of these things, having it peek around the corner and describing it like a blob, you know, with the big shoulders and the head seems to sit right on it. Um, and, and you know, you hear this sort of encounter many, many times in and around these Boy Scout camps.

• 1:02:43Speaker 06

  Right. That's why I was, that's what pushed me over the edge. Like all these draft emails I've, you know, drafted to send to you, but never sent. This was like, okay, bud, if you wanna, you know, cause he, I didn't know he had an interest. He's just cause he's, he's listened to, I've made him listen to this junk in the truck. He never acted like he cared or anything, much less believed. He never acted like that. Neither of them have. Um, you know, you know how that goes. I mean, just cause I like him doesn't mean my kids care at all. So, yeah, I, and you know, I know my son and he just, he's not the one to, the type to come back and make some junk up like that. And I thought he did great in the interview from what I was hearing. So I hope, I hope he got, I hope it was all right.

• 1:03:29Wes Germer?

  Yeah, Bennett did a great job. I, I wish I was as well spoken as he is.

• 1:03:35Wes Germer?

  Uh, but I really appreciate you coming on, Sean, and bringing Bennett. Um, I enjoyed chatting with, uh, both of you guys. Thank you so much.

• 1:03:45Speaker 06

  Yes, sir. Thanks. Thanks a lot for having us, Wes. We appreciate the, uh, the opportunity.

• 1:03:51Wes Germer?

  Thank you again. And that's it for tonight, everyone. Remember, if you've had an encounter, shoot me an email. My email address is [email protected]. And if you get a chance, check out sasquatchchronicles.com. You can become a member and get additional shows. Until next time, everyone.

• 1:05:00Speaker 08

  Mindlessly drinking, not tasting, just thinking

• 1:05:08Speaker 08

  About limitless infinite life She is my thunder No wonder I'll go under The intoxicating danger I like Save me from myself, let me drown in my ballet Let me float away Save me from myself, let me drown in my ballet

• 1:05:47Speaker 08

  Beauty is a ballet, let me sail away

• 1:05:59Speaker 08

  Beauty is a ballet, let me sail away Yeah, yeah, yeah

• 1:06:34Speaker 08

  Darkness approaches The water keeps flowing It inhales me in a stormy tide Endless emotion A doggone devotion An epiphany, bring the shore to life Save me from myself, let me drown in my ballet

• 1:07:05Speaker 08

  Let me float away

• 1:07:10Speaker 08

  Save me from myself, let me drown in my black

• 1:07:18Speaker 08

  Yeah, yeah, yeah

• 1:07:22Speaker 08

  Beauty is a plague, let me sail away

• 1:07:33Speaker 08

  Beauty is a plague, let me sail away Yeah, yeah, yeah