The Other Bigfoot Reports: A County-by-County Guide to North Carolina’s Strangest Sightings

Looking for the complete collection? Visit our North Carolina Bigfoot hub for every Foothills Digest investigation organized by county, links to all the original sightings, historical images, and our interactive magazine feature. This article is the companion roundup of additional reports.

There's an extraordinary amount of Bigfoot lore tucked into North Carolina's back roads. Not just the famous stories from Casar, but reports from the Linville River, Lake James, the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Uwharrie woods, old Appalachian campsites, coastal swamps and even military training grounds.

We've devoted full stories to Knobby, Tim Peeler's 911 call, the five-second Rutherford County video, two Taylorsville-area encounters, the 1978 Wilkes cornfield, the 2025 Highlands highway sighting, and the 2017 Bigfoot 911 / raccoon-fur-suit controversy. This is the companion guide: additional accounts that haven't received their own full Foothills Digest article.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization's North Carolina index currently shows 107 listings. That number is a count of entries in a private reporting database, not 107 confirmed sightings. Some entries involve possible tracks, screams, knocks or other indirect clues; some recollections were written decades after the supposed encounter. This guide highlights the most interesting original case files, and near the bottom you'll find the county-by-county links for browsing the remaining reports yourself.

How to read this: Each entry gives the reported event year, location, what the witness says happened, and a direct link to the original file. “Class A” and “Class B” are the BFRO's internal assessments, not independent scientific findings. No report in this guide establishes that Bigfoot exists.

Burke County · June 2013 — After a night fishing trip near Lake James, a driver claimed he briefly saw reddish-brown head and shoulders rise above a guardrail along Frank Whisnant Road. He also recalled an earlier glimpse of a dark figure entering the lake at the Linville Access Area. His aunt was riding with him, but the investigator wrote that she did not see the creature. Original report #41506 →
Evidence: brief roadside testimony, a separate possible water sighting and an investigator's phone interview.

Caldwell County · September 1998 — A father and his seven-year-old son trout fishing at Wilson Creek found what the father believed was an enormous footprint in wet sand near the water. He compared it with his size 10½ boot and estimated a much larger, wider impression. The published case includes no photograph or authenticated cast. Original report #3331 →
Evidence: reported impression; no animal witnessed and no preserved cast.

Wilkes County · November 2019 — Del Kerly reported watching a tree shake from his deer stand near Wilkesboro. Through his rifle scope he said he saw an exceptionally tall, dark-haired figure swaying in the trees. He also described large tracks, odd stick structures and a trail-camera image, but the public report doesn't reproduce conclusive evidence of an unidentified animal. Original report #67749 →
Evidence: hunter testimony, reported tracks and an undescribed trail-camera image.

Rutherford County · March 1991 — Two relatives fishing in the Broad River near Bat Cave reported a tall, gray-brown, hair-covered figure standing across the water. They said it turned, walked up a steep slope and disappeared into rhododendron. The report was filed fifteen years later, in 2006. Original report #14801 →
Evidence: two people said to have observed the figure; delayed reporting.

McDowell County · September 2009 — Around 2 a.m., motorists returning toward Marion from Spruce Pine reported a reddish-brown, long-armed figure moving sideways across a rural road before disappearing into grass. The BFRO investigator separately interviewed one occupant in 2011. No image or physical trace is supplied. Original report #30757 →
Evidence: two reported vehicle witnesses, one published follow-up interview.

Avery County · November 2010 — A resort worker familiar with local bears said he spotted a chestnut-colored, upright figure standing in the Linville River, seen from a bridge. It allegedly turned toward him before he lost sight of it. The investigator noted a later correction placing the encounter in Avery County. Original report #29024 →
Evidence: short daylight sighting from a moving vehicle.

Yancey County · August 2011 — A camper walking alone in the woods near Black Mountain Campground said he came within a short distance of a huge, dark-haired, long-armed figure. He reported unusual calls the previous evening, and a friend said he had seen something moving near the campsite. Original report #30860 →
Evidence: firsthand account plus a separately reported, poorly documented nighttime glimpse.

Ashe County · March 1987 — A Glendale Springs resident said tracks 12 to 16 inches long appeared through deep snow near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The report claims local residents and park rangers saw the impressions and that a resident photographed them. No surviving prints or independently authenticated images appear in the public case file. Original report #2149 →
Evidence: recollected footprints and uncorroborated claims of additional observers.

Two more nearby reports involve sounds rather than identifiable figures: Burke County, October 2001: experienced campers near Table Rock heard repeated, unfamiliar screams and a yodel-like call while watching the Brown Mountain Lights (#3270). Avery County, June 2010: vacationers at Linville Falls described a pattern of whooping calls around their campground (#28381). No animal was photographed or visually identified in either case.

Macon County · June 1985 — A boy exploring an old logging road above a family's cabin near Franklin said he rounded a corner and found a large, brown-haired figure crouching beside a creek, possibly collecting something from the water. He ran back downhill blowing his emergency whistle. His recollection wasn't submitted until 2014. Original report #44354 →
Evidence: childhood memory reported almost three decades later.

Macon County · June 2015 — A BFRO field investigator driving at night along Highway 64 near Franklin said his truck lights briefly illuminated a broad-backed, reddish-brown upright figure just beyond a guardrail. He later returned to examine the roadside and described making a sketch. The published report includes his interpretation but no verified animal specimen. Original report #50721 →
Evidence: investigator's personal brief roadside sighting and later site inspection.

Haywood County · May 2021 — After sunset at an overlook near the Masonic monument on the Blue Ridge Parkway, a parent and son said they watched a large, dark, human-shaped figure run across the road into foggy woods. The witness described the moment as intensely frightening. Original report #69269 →
Evidence: reported parent-and-son sighting at dusk and in fog.

Buncombe County · June 2016 — An irrigation contractor working near Arden said he heard crashes and saw three mature trees shake violently, one after another, behind a gated mountain development. He never saw what moved the trees, so this is a possible activity report—not an animal sighting. Original report #69464 →
Evidence: unexplained tree movement and sound; no visual identification.

Henderson County · July 2009 — A teenager walking to a friend's house near Mills River said he saw a tall, dark silhouette beside pines. He reported that the shape turned, screamed and ran off on two legs. The investigator later visited the reported site with the boy and his father. Original report #31994 →
Evidence: single nighttime witness and an in-person location follow-up.

Henderson County · April 1983 — A motorist driving near Hendersonville at 2–3 a.m. said a small, shaggy, pointed-headed figure dashed in front of the car, causing him to skid. His two companions had been asleep and did not see it. He filed the account in 2000. Original report #3332 →
Evidence: single split-second roadside glimpse recalled seventeen years later.

Transylvania County · September 2011 — A mother and her daughter at Davidson River Campground near Brevard said they saw an approximately nine-foot, completely white-haired figure beside a tree when they stepped out of their tent late at night. They reported it years later, and an investigator interviewed the mother. Original report #58022 →
Evidence: two witnesses claimed; 2017 report of a 2011 event; no footprints found.

Swain County · January–February 2020 — Denise and Tony Galindo said they saw a huge dark figure beside Needmore Road and the Little Tennessee River while driving near Bryson City at dusk. They turned around and reported watching it again from a distance. They returned later to photograph the riverbank; those are real location photographs, not images of the alleged creature. Original report #64024 →
Evidence: two reported eyewitnesses, investigator interview and later location photographs.

The Swain County case is especially useful because the couple went back and documented where they said the encounter took place. Here's an actual image from that follow-up, preserved in the original report rather than a generic Bigfoot illustration:

Location photograph from BFRO report #64024, showing the river-gauge area along the Little Tennessee River as photographed after the alleged sighting. No creature is visible. Original image hosted in Foothills Digest's media library for commentary on the case; underlying image rights remain with the source owner.

Other mountain reports to explore: hikers reporting tracks or howls near Franklin (Macon County); possible calls and recurring incidents around Hot Springs (Madison County); reported vocalizations in the Smokies and wood knocks near the Parkway's Masonic monument (Haywood County); accounts from near the Green River Game Lands (Polk County); and further sound-only cases in Jackson, Mitchell, and Swain counties. For indirect evidence, the identity of the actual source of a sound is often impossible to establish.

The rolling Piedmont woods of the Uwharrie National Forest have their own long history of accounts. The BFRO's Montgomery County archive includes reports of road crossings, alleged tree knocks, strange calls, rocks thrown near campers, and other unusual encounters. Here are three of the most concrete visual claims.

Montgomery County · June 2004 — A father and son leaving a campsite for breakfast said a huge upright figure walked across the road near Badin Lake, briefly blocking a roadside sign. An investigator later visited the site, measured the sign and estimated its height at more than seven feet, but no animal was photographed. Original report #8983 →
Evidence: two reported witnesses and a documented follow-up visit with physical measurements.

Montgomery County · June 2020 — A passenger on Highway 109 just north of Mount Gilead claimed a black-haired, roughly eight-foot figure crossed the road in two bounds and disappeared toward railroad tracks. Her husband was looking in a mirror at the time and did not report seeing it. Original report #65677 →
Evidence: single witness during a brief daylight roadside crossing.

Montgomery County · June 1990 — A motorist reported an upright figure crossing Highway 220 north of Candor. The case is one of the older purported road-crossing accounts attached to the Uwharrie area. Original report #15492 →
Evidence: retrospective driver testimony; no independently verified remains.

Not all the Montgomery County entries describe a creature being seen. Other reports mention campers frightened out of a hammock in 2015, odd nighttime sounds, activity near gold-panning sites in 2014, and unexplained footsteps near campsites in 2011. You can read them individually through the full county case index.

Onslow County · February 2005 — A Marine participating in a field-training exercise near Camp Lejeune said a tall, dark-haired figure calmly walked between defensive positions. He reported several fellow Marines were present, but the file does not contain independent statements from those other service members. Original report #24334 →
Evidence: one published interview describing several purported witnesses.

Onslow County · July 1987 — A driver claimed a shaggy, reddish-brown figure struck or brushed his car at dusk, then pursued him down a road near Hampstead. He also claimed vehicle damage and hair on a panel. No repair documents, photographs, or testable hair sample were supplied with the report, which he submitted in 1998. Original report #3334 →
Evidence: dramatic single-witness account recorded eleven years after the event.

Onslow County · July 1999 — A motorist reported a large, upright figure shaking a pecan tree near Camp Lejeune. The unusual setting is part of the public BFRO case file, but it is not supported by a confirmed animal image. Original report #9750 →
Evidence: reported motorist sighting.

Duplin County · July 2009 — A hunter near Rose Hill said a large, foul-smelling figure was sitting at a corn bait pile, then stood and walked off into dense woods. He claimed an encounter lasting about a minute and also told the investigator a much less certain story about a smaller upright shape among deer months earlier. Original report #26299 →
Evidence: one hunter's testimony without a camera or independent trace.

Duplin County · November 2011 — A law-enforcement officer hunting near the Northeast Cape Fear River said he watched a large, reddish-haired upright figure by the opposite bank, apparently drinking or reaching toward the water, before it stood and disappeared. The report was filed in 2013 and followed up by telephone. Original report #42999 →
Evidence: single reported witness, recorded about two years after the event.

Duplin County · May 2026 — One of the newest cases in the statewide index: Ron Houston said he was scouting deer-stand locations in Goshen Swamp when he heard a splash and saw a massive ape-like figure running into the trees, grunting. He filed his report in July 2026 and noted another uncertain sighting years earlier. Original report #81362 →
Evidence: single hunter's account; no photograph, recording or independent physical evidence.

Also in the coastal and eastern counties: Onslow has additional reports from 1965, 1983 and 2010; Pender, Sampson, Robeson, Carteret, Bertie and Pasquotank also have archived accounts. These locations matter because they complicate the assumption that every reported Bigfoot encounter happened in the western mountains.

Alleghany County · June 2023 — A father and his 12-year-old son fishing in the New River near Sparta reported a startling, sustained chorus of screams somewhere in the surrounding valley. They did not see an animal, and the source was never independently identified. Original report #76970 →
Evidence: two people heard an unexplained sound; no creature sighted.

Burke County · October 2001 — Campers near Table Rock said an unfamiliar scream repeatedly broke into a yodel-like call after dark. They had been watching lights on Brown Mountain and later moved campsites. The report documents their experience of a sound, not its source. Original report #3270 →
Evidence: two auditory witnesses.

Avery County · June 2010 — Campers at Linville Falls reported whooping calls on two separate nights. The witness said his daughter heard similar sounds, but there is no recording in the report. Original report #28381 →
Evidence: auditory reports with no identifiable animal.

Caldwell County · September 1998 — The Wilson Creek impression reported by a fisherman and his son is also worth viewing as a footprint case rather than a creature sighting. In the public record it remains a claimed track, not an authenticated cast. Original report #3331 →
Evidence: unverified footprint report.

Ashe County · March 1987 — The Glendale Springs snow impressions were said to cover a considerable area near the Parkway. The witness claimed park rangers and multiple residents observed them, but the published file doesn't include those people's direct testimonies or the reportedly taken photographs. Original report #2149 →
Evidence: secondhand references to witnesses and photos; no authenticated specimen.

There are many more cases like these in the wider statewide archive, including reported knocks, strange tree arrangements, movements behind tents and unidentified howls. They're important to a folklore record, but much weaker as evidence of a particular species. A fox, owl, bobcat, deer, bear, person, vehicle, or moving tree can make a surprising noise under the right conditions.

If you want to go deeper, here are links to all the North Carolina county pages with BFRO entries shown in the statewide index at the time of writing. They contain additional cases beyond the selection above. Counties with no reports in the database aren't listed; that doesn't mean nobody there has ever told a Bigfoot story.

Foothills and High Country: Alexander · Alleghany · Ashe · Avery · Burke · Caldwell · Cleveland · Iredell · McDowell · Mitchell · Rutherford · Surry · Wilkes · Yadkin · Yancey.

Mountain counties: Buncombe · Haywood · Henderson · Jackson · Macon · Madison · Polk · Swain · Transylvania.

Piedmont and central North Carolina: Chatham · Davidson · Davie · Johnston · Montgomery · Nash · Orange · Person · Randolph · Richmond · Stanly · Stokes · Warren.

Eastern and coastal North Carolina: Bertie · Carteret · Cumberland · Duplin · Greene · Hoke · Onslow · Pasquotank · Pender · Robeson · Sampson.

Master archive: BFRO — North Carolina report listing. The database is updated over time; its numbers and available reports may change.

Long before this series of online stories, we put together a Bigfoot feature for Foothills Digest Issue #23, Ghosties, Witches, Haints & Spirits (Fall 2023). It begins on page 10. Here's the actual magazine spread—click to open the full issue at the correct page.

Blue Ridge Parkway landscape by Wes Hicks/Unsplash, included to illustrate the region. This is not a verified Bigfoot encounter location.

More stories are always interesting. But some kinds of documentation would tell us far more: an original photograph or video with verifiable date and location; a complete, unedited recording rather than a cropped screenshot; an independently collected biological sample; a well-preserved set of footprints with scale and chain of custody; a second witness willing to tell their story separately; or police or park records that can actually be obtained and checked.

One pattern jumped out while reading these: the details tend to be remarkably specific, but the physical evidence often disappears. People remember the smell, the angle of a shoulder, a startled animal crossing the road or a shaking tree, but don't have an image or sample that lets someone else evaluate what they saw. Sometimes that's because a sighting lasted seconds; other times the account wasn't made until years later.

We can't turn a person's belief into proof. But we can preserve their words accurately, check the place and time when possible, keep independent evidence separate from interpretations, and give readers enough links to evaluate the reports themselves. That seems like a much more interesting way to explore North Carolina's stranger history.

Do you remember a Bigfoot report from your hometown that isn't here? Did you witness anything unusual yourself? We'd especially like original photographs, dated newspaper clippings, track casts, audio or firsthand contact with witnesses—not just the version that got passed around for twenty years. The next chapter of this archive may come from somebody reading this right now.

The source for the individual case summaries is the BFRO geographic archive; each case links directly to its original first-person report, where one exists, and any published investigator follow-up. BFRO's Class A/B classification system expresses its own evaluation of reported clarity and reliability, not a validated scientific finding. Local newspaper articles listed under county indices are additional background and may not be available at their original links.

Editorial note, October 2026: The reports summarized here are claims, not confirmed observations of an unknown primate. Place names, dates, interpretations, and eyewitness counts are presented as the archive records them, with any notable limitations stated. The 2020 Little Tennessee River location photo is from the BFRO archive, reproduced to show the reported setting rather than an animal. Underlying copyright has not been independently cleared. Featured Appalachian mountain photo by Amanda Selby/Unsplash. This is a curated guide to additional reports, not a claim that every one of the 107 entries is a separate, verified Bigfoot sighting.