Westerly man says he encountered eight-foot-tall creature in Voluntown

Voluntown — A Westerly man says he had just crossed a bridge over the Pachaug River in the early morning of July 5 when he had to stop his car because he saw an eight-foot-tall upright creature cross in front of him. The next day the driver, Kevin Klimas, reported the incident to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization — an organization dedicated to investigating Bigfoot sightings across the United States. The organization was founded in 1995 by Matt Moneymaker, a Bigfoot researcher and television personality who is best known for his appearances on the popular Animal Planet show "Finding Bigfoot." Klimas wrote in his report that about 1:45 a.m. he had just pulled his car out of the driveway of a cabin his friend had rented off Wylie School Road near Beach Pond. As he reached the bridge, in a dark and thickly-wooded area, Klimas opened Google Maps on his phone. As he crossed over the bridge onto Wylie School Road at 15 to 20 miles an hour, with one eye on the road and the other on the phone app, he said he saw something jump into the road from his right and quickly head into the woods to his left. Klimas slammed on his brakes. Klimas told investigators that the creature had "coarse, matted and greasy looking brown hair" covering every part of its body. He said that it had legs shorter than its torso, and arms that hung down to around its knees. He estimated it would have an eight- to nine-foot wingspan if it stretched out its arms. He described its "extremely broad" shoulders — more than four feet wide — as being thick with muscle. "It never stopped nor did it turn to look at me," he wrote in his report to the BFRO. "I was only able to see a side profile of its head and face." Klimas wrote that the creature's had a cone-shaped head, minimal hair on its face and walked like a human. The creature crossed the road in just two steps, and with its third, was in the woods. "I was and remain dumbstruck," he wrote. "Make no mistake. This was not a bear. This was a cryptid. I'm no longer a skeptic. I'm certain of that." After receiving Klimas' report, BFRO launched an investigation. Klimas could not be reached Friday. "It was terrifying," Klimas said in his video interview with BFRO. "It was the craziest experience of my life. I've got a lot of people who believe me and a lot of detractors at work who are saying 'Oh, you must have been messed up.' I don't drink. I don't party in any way. Not in 15 years." BFRO investigates Klimas was interviewed by BFRO's Connecticut Investigator Mike Young — who met Klimas at the spot on Forge Hill Road where he saw the creature — and by Moneymaker himself. Both deemed Klimas' report as credible. "Part of my job is to make sure these people are legit," said Young, who has performed somewhere between 25 and 40 investigations spanning nearly a decade as the state's first ever BFRO investigator. "And we do it by the description of — if there's any evidence. The person's background. Are they trustworthy?" "But also, there's certain things that only we know about how the Bigfoots are," he added. "The shape of their head. It's got a cone-shaped head. And a lot of people don't know that. And Kevin said that immediately." Young described other things Klimas said about what he saw which he said brought credibility to his story. Young also measured the road about 18 feet wide. "And it crossed the road in two steps," he said. "A human really couldn't do that." Young noted that 26,477-acre Pachaug State Forest is very close to the location where Klimas saw the creature, and next to the Pachaug River. "So it might have been looking for something to drink," he said. Moneymaker, in the BFRO report, proposed a theory about the sighting. "Why did this sighting occur at this location on this evening? My informed guess: I would bet the sasquatch was attracted to Beach Pond that evening because of the 4th of July fireworks. The sasquatch may have been a few miles deep into Pachuag State Forest but would have heard the explosions of the fireworks around Beach Pond, which may have sounded like gun shots in the distance. We know of a handful of incidents across the country where people deep in the woods were approached at night while setting off bottle rockets." Moneymaker said footprints were not visible due to thick layers of pine needles covering the sides of the road. Young, whose investigations have usually involved sightings from people in cars, hunters in tree stands and the occasional person walking in the woods, noted that Klimas had said the creature did not look at him as it passed. He said that's typical of other sightings. Young said BFRO considers Klimas' sighting a "Class A" report, meaning he actually saw the creature. Not the first sighting near Pachaug Young said that not far from Klimas' sighting, a man and his aunt were driving their car down a dirt road in Pachaug State Forest in Griswold in October of 2019 when they saw a creature walk across the road. They watched it walk for about 40 yards. They said the creature had an eight- to nine-foot stride, was dark brown, darker on the head and shoulders and had a flat face and dark skin. They reported that its hair was shorter on its face, and that it had no visible neck, massive shoulders and that they could see the whites of its eyes. "This description is almost identical to what Kevin told me," Young said. "Built like a male. Looked like a male. No genitalia visible. V-taper. Well built trapezius. The witness said it was very healthy. Long arms. Gentle swing. Elbow was always bent when he swung its arms. Thick thighs." Young encouraged people who have a sighting to make note of it. "Please report it to BFRO. We've love to talk to you. But also, Bigfoot are wild animals. Do not chase them. No animal likes to be chased," he said. "If you find a footprint, take a picture of it. Your phone is a great device. If you see something that's hiding behind a bush or something, take your phone out and record it. You might catch it getting up and walking away." d.drainville@theday.com