Bigfoot Sighting on Highway
101
[From “The Willits News”. 2008]
By Linda Williams/TWN Staff Writer
During the height of the smoke from Mendocino Lightning
Complex fires, a Laytonville man had an encounter with an apelike creature
while driving north of Willits on Highway 101 near
"This animal stepped onto the southbound lane near
where the guardrail stops," says LoPinto.
"It was very smoky and incredibly hot, at least 100 degrees but still
daylight. It ran really fast, directly into the path of a small truck, which
had pulled out to pass me, after the lanes had expanded from two lanes to four.
"The creature was completely black and looked all
freaked out. I pointed at it so the other driver could see it and hit my
brakes, hard. I didn't think I could stop in time and was sure I was going to
hit it. Miraculously the passing truck missed the creature and sped out of
sight.
"As the creature ran toward me, I saw it was least
seven feet tall. The animal never slowed down as it ran on its hind legs like a
man.
"I thought, 'it looks like a guy in a gorilla suit.'
When it got to middle of the freeway, I could see it clearly. Its whole head
was covered in black hair. I couldn't see any ears. As I was braking hard to
make a panic stop the creature put its arms down and started running on four
legs, bounding across the freeway. It had giant arms; they were very long and
covered with fur.
"When my car finally stopped, I looked out the
windshield and it stopped about 25 feet in front of me at the edge of the road.
It was at eye level with me as I sat in the car.
"I had no idea what it was. It was covered with hair
down to the ground. I looked at its face and it was completely flat without a
nose. It turned his whole body toward me-its neck was stiff. We made eye
contact. Its face was yellow or gold like a ripe banana. It had holes for its
nostrils and a smooth and shiny forehead with ridges instead of eyebrows. It
had a simian face.
"I saw a red glow coming back from its eyes; it may
have been a reflection from my headlights. Its mouth was closed and it had thin
lips, it didn't show any teeth and made no sound, at all. Then it turned and
leapt down into the ditch and up the hillside. I was freaked out."
At first, Chris LoPinto had no
idea what he had seen; he thought it might have been an escaped zoo or circus
animal. He called the Department of Fish and Game biologist and found there
were no apelike animals native to
After finding no help from official sources, LoPinto began researching the internet to find answers and
found groups devoted to tracking big foot.
He contacted a Bigfoot Society group to report his sighting
and was contacted by a Bigfoot field researcher Tom Yamarone.
"I've interviewed 40 eyewitnesses and spoken with at
least a dozen others," says Yamarone.
"Chris' account is consistent with other reports, and it was spotted in a
likely area. The red glowing eyes are also consistent with others'
observations. The unique aspects of Chris' account are the close proximity to
the creature, that he had a good look the face and eyes and that the creature
propelled itself with its front arms."
LoPinto still doesn't know what he
saw, but he is sure of the details. He also thinks, whatever the creature was,
it was obviously disturbed by the heavy smoke and fires throughout the area.
There have been a number of Bigfoot sightings in Mendocino
and Humboldt counties according to various Bigfoot sighting lists.
A "paranormal" observer in December 2007 reported
seeing a large animal standing on two legs at her car. She reported it patted
the window of her car several times before running away at high speed.
In May 2004, a group of six hikers north of Highway 162 near
In 1961 and 1962, a series of Bigfoot tracks were reported
by a Bob Titmus northeast of Covelo. In 1962 in a
remote area near
A neighbor in the house tries to close the door to prevent the creature from getting in. Bigfoot then runs off leaving a large muddy "handprint" on the door.
WCSRO
2008.