BFRO #36702: Memory told of a possible sighting at dawn by a hunter in his tree stand southeast of Pontiac
π Location
Rural Livingston County, Illinois near Township Road south of McDowell Road, Pontiac, IL
Specific Location: Near Fairbury Blacktop (County Highway 6), off Township Road (old Smith Iron Bridge road) south of McDowell Road
Coordinates: 40.88023, -88.68457
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40.8802Β°, -88.6846Β°
π Description
I had been bow hunting with my best friend for about 4 years. His Dad leased a new area that was only accessible through a locked gated field. We scouted the area for roughly a month and put up 2 deer stands 400 yards apart where there was a lot of activity. My stand was 10' high in an old oak tree. I couldn't get further back off the bean field as it was heavily covered in 6' tall sycamore trees that I could not maneuver through even during the day.We arrived about 50 minutes before sunrise opening day. He stopped to let me out. We had the radio cranked up on WLS an old AM station. While I was stringing my re-curved bow and putting on my coveralls we were laughing and cutting up who was going to get the bigger deer as usual. I finally climbed up in my stand and watched as he drove off. I decided to light up a cigarette and take in the beautiful morning scenery while listening to the McDowell elevator churning that morning.About 2 minutes later I heard something walking parallel behind me from the South. I kept listening and thought that it was unusual since I couldn't walk through there period, even during the daylight. It kept getting closer until I saw it 20 yards behind me. It was standing a good 2 1/2' above the sycamore saplings and was covered in hair. He looked like a damn big linebacker with shoulder pads with no neck.I said, who are you and it didn't answer. My friend and myself were the only ones who had a key to this big farm with a lot of timber. We stared at each other for about 4 minutes. I put my cigarette out and got to my knees because it could of easily snatched me out of the stand. I was looking for branches to start climbing higher when it started to just walk off.As soon as the sun fully lit the area and I couldn't hear him anymore I ran to the other end of the field and jumped into my buddy's vehicle and locked the doors. I never went back after that.I told my friend what happened and he could tell by my looks that I was scared.
π Circumstances
Just me
π€οΈ Weather Conditions
It was roughly 15 minutes before sunrise with the sun coming up behind me. Clear morning.
βΉοΈ Additional Details
It was roughly 15 minutes before sunrise with the sun coming up behind me. Clear morning.
π Sources (1)
π₯ Community Contributions
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Case Information
- Case ID
- cmiym8vfs01b38fysdz0u9xdd
- Primary Source
- BFRO
- Added to Map
- December 9, 2025
- Last Updated
- December 10, 2025