Cryptomundo is reporting a bigfoot (or dogman-type creature) sighting the occurred in western Pennsylvania on July 10.
The report should say “Jumonville” not Jammonville. This area east of Uniontown is rugged and heavily wooded.
I won’t bother commenting on Cryptomundo anymore because my words get edited or might not even appear. But, I noticed, as usual, the Cryptomundo commentators are impressed with the witness and her report. They find her believable. Yet, they easily slip into paranormal mode – Bigfoot can have pointy ears, the odd traits mentioned make it more believable, etc.
I see several problems with the report. At 6PM, the alleged time of sighting when the woman was driving, it was not dark. She reports she was going 35 MPH. That’s not very fast – something approaching the car would either look human (bipedal) or not (quadruped). How did it run away? On two feet? Did it run like a human? The report doesn’t say.
I don’t understand how it managed to “leap across the trunk”. How did it get behind the car? Apparently, she did not hit it but successfully avoided it. There are scratches shown on the car. (So what – lots of people scratch their cars up.) There are several details left out. Then investigators from the PA Bigfoot research group followed up on the report. They took pictures.
The pictures are what got me a bit flabbergasted. THIS IS A RESIDENTIAL AREA. It’s not the wilds as was suggested. Why was no one else around at 6PM on a Friday night?! The thing apparently ran from a school yard area through the parking lot of a convenient store. I have a harder time believing that there weren’t people around the store getting a pack of smokes, buying beer, picking up a pizza, hanging out. This makes no sense whatsoever.
The PA Bigfoot group has a closed forum and I am not currently intent on registering to listen in on speculation. This closed community aspect makes this type of forum nice for participants but excludes it from being scientific. The same can be said for Cryptomundo – a closed community ends up with warped thinking. No new input is incorporated. Mistakes are propagated, not corrected. They make little progress.
As a PA resident, I can tell you that bears are apparently all over the place right now. Did the witness see a bear? I can’t say. I think it’s more likely she almost hit a person. Having this close and unexpected an encounter with any living thing (except maybe a bug) is upsetting. If it was me, I would think that I would have chased after it, yelling to get people’s attention or at least go back and check to see if anyone else saw it. I’m sympathetic to this witness because she may think she saw something quite scary. I could and would not tell her she was crazy or wrong. This event was a matter of interpretation. So, nothing personal towards her, but the researchers’ intent is to consider this sighting as a real occurrence – outside of personal interpretation.
I’m not sure if that’s possible. There is no corroborating evidence. It ends up only as a personal experience. I’m confounded about such reports. Because they make no sense and can’t be followed up, they actually have little value. Eyewitness evidence is weak and totally prone to error due to environmental conditions, physical constraints of the witness, emotional interference and the like. So, anecdotes can guide you where to look but can’t be used to support a claim such as this. If researchers really think there are big, unknown, physically implausible animals running into town on a Friday night, the Bigfoot organization needs to follow up better on this. I wish them well and I hope they find something better than a story.
Im one of the gentlemen who investigated this report. And yes at this point that is all it is, a report. A story as you call it. We did not find any conclusive evidence. Believe me, I searched as did a few fellow investigators. I too am baffled at the area it took place and find it difficult to believe that this actually took place. But I do believe the woman did see something. What, I don’t know. It is puzzling to me why no one else saw anything. I talked to the store manager and clerk, and no one said anything to them or reported anything to them. Nor did they see anything. Could she have seen a person, certainly! The witness is insistent that what she saw was not human, and she never did call it a Bigfoot. I was not there, I can not say what she did see. I can say that based on my interview with her both on the phone and face to face, her report did not change, and her emotions and body language led me to believe that she was telling the truth, or at least what she felt was the truth. Did she see a creature? I can not say. I was not there. Logic would stand to say that with as populated an area this was, and as many people who were out that evening, someone should have or may have seen something. Perhaps they are just not talking….yet. Time will tell. Until then you are correct on one thing. All this report is, is another report. Oh and by the way…the forum on our website is closed to keep out spammers and people with ignorant comments. Anyone who remains civil and polite are welcome to join. Everyone is welcome to his or her own opinion, we just ask that you do not attack or flame someone for having their own.
Regards
Eric Altman
Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society
Thank you, Eric for visiting and commenting. I’m glad you agree that it is puzzling. It’s very easy for us all to speculate on what was a very unnerving experience for this witness. I’m finding it hard to swallow. I hope more info can be brought forth on this. This is a very interesting point that no matter what people REALLY saw (and we may never know), it’s what they BELIEVE they saw that truly affects them.
I also understand why the forum is closed. But, a closed forum is an insulated forum. However, I suspect you do let polite posters of a skeptical bent in. I was more irritated at other sites.
Thanks again. (I enjoyed your interview a while back on the Skeptic’s guide to the universe.)
You are welcome any time on our forum. And we encourage critical thinking. You may be surprised to find that although I do believe something is out there, I am not 100% certain of it. Thats what motivtes me to continue to look. Either to prove or disprove. Thanks for the kind words about the interview. People seem to be surprised when they find out that I am an objective investigator and try to remain as objective in my research as possible. On thing I can say is after all my years of being out there and having a possible encounter myself almost a year ago, I still have my doubts that what I experienced was a Bigfoot creature and my fellow associates and friends in the field find it humorous that I even doubt what I experienced.
My best,
Eric Altman
As a resident of the area who travels down Connellsville street in Uniontown everyday…in fact am taking my daughters friend home who lives a block from that school in a little while.–I can tell you for a plain fact that that particular area is very low on activity any evening-including a friday night.—This is not an endorsement of the sighting…just to let you know that having no one else about at that particular time in that area or store parking lot(which I am still confused how they stay in business) is NOT a surprise.The only time you see much sustained activity there is when school is starting or leaving out–at around 3 pm.
Mike: Thanks for supplying a local’s point of view.
I’m still VERY confused over this sighting. It IS still a populated area and there are no physical traces or regular reports of these creatures. If they are intelligent and can stay so well hidden, WHY would one venture into a populated area? What would be the purpose? It wasn’t dark, there was no report of it looking for food. I suppose that along with the dearth of physical evidence, we lack plausibility as well.
By the way–the initial newspaper account if i remember correctly said it was Pittsburgh Street rt 51—–it IS NOT —that is Lafayaette School on old connelsville street that runs onto the george c marshall parkway a bit further out of town and that street pararllels the jumonville area and the summit mountain ridge for miles —all the way to Connelsville —-12 miles distant to the northwest.
Thoise woods behind the school lead to a rr track and more woods that stretch to the mn river in Brownsville or depending which angle you take –to a number of other heavily wooded areas thatstretch for miles.——immediately at the bottom of the hill to the north of the school if you veer off the highway to the east ,and avoid backroads,you enter miles of woods stretching nearly to Gerogia -as you start immediately climbing into chestnut ridge which is the westernmost face of the mountain ridges of the eastern united states.Many roads and communites scattered to be sure–but easy to avoid—if one were carteful and with a small amount of intelligence.In short–It’s nowhere near as urban as you think.from that school in either direction one could be into the woods very quickly.
I suppose it was kinda dumb to get caught out like that if it was truly a bigfoot—-but I think I and likely you–both smarter I wager than the average animal–have done dumb things and been seen doing them.
Have been a number of reports in the village of Phillips -just north of town on the rt 51 Pittsburgh rt —which woods behind the patch run a diagonal line straight to that area behind the school….as well as the aerea of Liesenring .
The tracks are woodlined for quite a few miles as well heading toward the southern end of the mountain range….and people aren’t all that observant of whats outside walking past,especially within a woodline.—Ah but who knows–i know a few nuts around here who may risk being shot in a monkey suit lolol.
hi just wanted report an occurance that happened a week or so ago ——downtown Uniontown streets blocked off –throngs of people ,
music -noise –ITALIAN heritage festival—A bear wandered downtown lol.–very close to the festivities.
Mmm. Sausage & peppers, pizza, porketta… I’d wander over too. đŸ™‚
there have ben a number of sightings of a tall hair coverd animal around brush creek park as of late. most at nite.(around ellwood city pa) tho i have never seen a big foot. a close friend of mine(who lives just outside the park) just had a run in with something that could have ben a bigfoot in december 2011