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Ohio has recently witnessed an unusual spike in Bigfoot sightings, with eight incidents reported over a mere four-day span—a phenomenon not seen in the area for nearly half a century.
Jeremiah Byron, who hosts the Bigfoot Society podcast, suggests that Ohio might be experiencing a ‘flap,’ which refers to a sudden increase in Sasquatch sightings within a limited timeframe.
The individuals who reported these sightings are locals well-acquainted with the wildlife of rural Ohio. They consistently described encountering large, black-haired creatures with extended arms, walking upright while emitting ‘grunting noises.’
Byron expressed his enthusiasm to Newsweek, stating, “For those of us passionate about Bigfoot, this is a first-time experience of such a concentrated sighting event, and we’re hopeful for significant evidence to emerge.”
Despite the excitement, there remains an absence of physical proof, as all accounts are based solely on eyewitness testimonies. No new photographs or videos have surfaced yet, though sightings have been logged in Mantua, Garrettsville, Streetsboro, Windham, Newton Township, and Lake Milton.
‘I do have a local Bigfoot researcher, Glenn Adkins, and his research group, Ohio Sasquatch Project, following up on reports, and hopefully there will be something found eventually, such as tracks,’ he added.
In a podcast episode released Tuesday, Byron said the first sightings across northeast Ohio appear to have begun on the afternoon of March 6.
Shortly before 12.30pm, in Mantua, a researcher with the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) said they saw a ‘9ft brown male Sasquatch in broad daylight.’
Bigfoot as seen in the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Film, which depicts a suspected Sasquatch that was spotted in Bluff Creek, California
Each witness described similar sightings: large, black-haired creatures with long arms, walking upright and making ‘grunting noises’ (stock photo)
The researcher, who reported the sighting to the Bigfoot Mapping Project, said he was hiking when he spotted the large creature standing about 120 yards away – and that the beast appeared to know he was there.
He shared: ‘It started moving away. It left fast and I left just as fast.’
Byron stressed that Ohio’s surge in Bigfoot reports owes much to Scott Tompkins of the Bigfoot Mapping Project, designed to centralize reported sightings instead of leaving data scattered online.
‘His database captured the initial Bigfoot report on March 6, which made me aware of the area more,’ he explained.
On March 7, in the same village, an individual identifying himself as Dylan Obney reported seeing an 8ft tall brown figure just before 11pm in the forest.
He contacted the podcast host through Tiktok, sharing an account in which he heard heavy, unhuman-like footsteps and deep, vibrating grunts nearby.
While walking along a trail near the edge of the woods, Obney said heavy footsteps deep in the trees caught his attention – something he initially thought was a deer or another person hiking.
‘But the steps were slow, spaced out, and much heavier than anything I’ve ever heard out there before,’ he said.
In this photo shared by Jeff Meldrum, Bigfoot expert and author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, a trail of 35-45 clear pristine footprints in Washington from 1996 are seen
In an image shared by Meldrum, intricate, detailed nesting areas discovered on expeditions and believed to have been made by Bigfoot are seen
Minutes later, Obney said he noticed movement roughly 40 to 50 yards away – a ‘tall’ figure stepping between two trees.
The creature, he said, was easily 7ft to 8ft tall, covered in dark brown hair, with long arms dangling low at its sides.
Obney said that, much like the previous day’s sighting, the creature moved upright and slowly turned its head toward him as he lay motionless on the trail, seemingly aware of his presence.
‘The craziest part was the sound it made, a deep grunt that echoed through the woods before it stepped back behind the trees and disappeared after that,’ he said.
Within seconds, he said, the woods fell completely silent again, and he decided to investigate the area where he may have glimpsed Bigfoot.
He said he noticed ‘several large footprints pressed into the muddy ground,’ each far bigger than a normal boot could make.
‘I’m not saying 100 percent what it was, but whatever I saw definitely wasn’t a person, definitely wasn’t a deer,’ Obney shared.
On March 9, the focus shifted east to Garrettsville, where two ‘intense’ sightings caught the attention of villagers – including the sheriff, according to WOIO News.
An image captured by Maine resident Stephen Bartlett last February showed footprints in the snow on his York County property, which he believes were made by Bigfoot
‘Everyone is talking about it,’ chiropractor Dr John Barnosky told the outlet. ‘Everyone is asking, “Have you seen Bigfoot, where is he going?”‘
Byron spoke with two individuals over the phone – one choosing to remain anonymous and another named Jacob Taylor – who recounted their encounter while hiking Headwaters Trail.
The anonymous witness said that while hiking a wooded trail at around 11.47am, he and Taylor saw movement in trees about 30ft ahead.
Covered in black hair and around 8ft to 10ft tall, the figure – similar to the others – stood for several seconds while they looked on in awe.
The witness said the figure had broad shoulders and ‘unusually long’ arms, and walked upright on two legs with such weight that the ground shook slightly as it passed between the trees.
‘We also noticed a strong, musky smell in the air,’ the witness said. ‘It turned its head toward us, let out a deep, grunt-like noise, and then quickly stepped back into the trees.
‘We were both pretty shaken up and didn’t approach the area any closer,’ the hiker added. ‘It all happened so quick.’
During the phone call, the witness – whom Byron said appeared genuine and visibly shaken – said the beast could only turn its neck by rotating its shoulders, describing its movement as like that of someone on ‘stilts.’
Jeremiah Byron, host of podcast the Bigfoot Society, said: ‘The current generation of Bigfoot enthusiasts, including myself, have never lived through a sighting flap like this’ (stock photo)
Sheriff Bruce Zuchowski of Portage County said he’d heard about the town’s commotion, but the Garrettsville Police Department reported receiving no related calls, according to WOIO.
‘Ten individual people were like, “yeah, I was walking my dog when I saw a big creature with a musty odor and suddenly it ran,’” he told the outlet.
Around 6pm, in Windham, an older woman saw something unusual run from the woods onto her neighbor’s property while looking out her living room window.
She recalled seeing a 6ft figure, completely brown and moving with a long stride, in an encounter that lasted barely six seconds.
Byron spoke with the woman and her daughter – both skeptics – who said she had a side view of Bigfoot running the entire time.
The woman’s quote was simply: ‘I know what I saw, but I don’t know what I saw.’
Byron also spoke with a man, described as ‘very emotional about what happened to him,’ who reported an alleged encounter in Newton Township on March 10.
Reaching out to the Bigfoot Society via email, the man said he went to let his German Shepherd out at about 4am, only for the dog to start ‘freaking out’ and lunge toward some trees.
An image shared last year by Amy Bue, co-founder of Project Zoobook, shows Bigfoot hunters searching wilderness areas in Washington
Bigfoot expert and author Jeff Meldrum last year captured potential Sasquatch footprint evidence
He reported seeing a large black shadow crashing through the woods and dismissed the idea that it could have been a bear, which frequently visits his property.
‘One individual has bears on their property but replied to me that none of those bear are 9ft to 10ft tall,’ Byron told Newsweek.
On Tuesday’s podcast, Byron said the man finally brought his dog inside, but to his surprise, the large dog was ‘shaking,’ which was unlike its usual behavior.
With reports on the rise, the host said he must tread carefully. Byron explained that a growing number of reports and photos are AI-generated – some created years ago, others more recently – and that he attempts to screen each person before engaging further.
Once the submission passes screening, he conducts a phone interview while coordinating with a local Ohio researcher to follow up and investigate possible physical evidence.