October 20, 2014
Reported auditory event
The witness described noises during an evening hike; no sighting was reported.
Witness · firsthand source review · November 12, 2026
Berkshire County hiker (name withheld) — Massachusetts
A hiker reports hearing strong knocking sounds and a prolonged low howl near October Mountain State Forest in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, on October 20, 2014. Two barred owls were also calling; no animal was seen or independently identified.
Developing Witness Record
Research record
At a glance
- Reported encounter
- October 20, 2014, about 5 p.m.
- General location
- Berkshire County, Massachusetts (generalized)
- Source
- BFRO Report 46973, original published first-person report (Class B)
- BFRO submission
- 2014-11-06 (not the event date)
- Observation modality
- Auditory report: loud knocks and sustained low howl; no animal seen
- Independent corroboration
- Not established
Firsthand observation
What the witness reports
The original BFRO witness account describes loud knocking sounds and a sustained, low-pitched howl while two barred owls called nearby on an October 2014 hike. The reporter interpreted the howl as unlike a coyote. The source lists two witnesses present but does not provide a separate verbatim statement from the companion. No animal was visually observed.
Attribution is not authentication
BFRO's Class B designation and the existence of a written report do not establish the identity of an unseen source or demonstrate the existence of Sasquatch.
Research boundaries
Interpretations and alternatives
Witness interpretation: The reporter regarded the sounds as possible Sasquatch activity. BFRO assigned Class B, a publisher classification rather than a species determination.
Conventional alternatives and missing evidence: Barred owls and other wildlife calls, people in the broader forest, acoustic propagation and ordinary branch or woodfall sounds remain possible. No source recording or independently identified sound producer was recovered.
Companion evidence: Two people were reportedly hiking together; an independent original account from the companion was not recovered. Presence is not equivalent to independent corroboration.
Research note: Jonathan Wilk later reported conversations with the witness; his knowledge of the area and other reports does not independently identify the cause of the sounds.
Event and source dates
Chronology
November 6, 2014
Original BFRO submission
The public source identifies this as the submission date, not the date of the event.
Original source provenance
Read and verify the original account
Read BFRO Report 46973 at the original publisher ↗
- OBSERVED: knocks, low howl, and overlapping barred owl calls
- OTHER WITNESSES: two people hiking; no second verbatim statement
- TIME AND CONDITIONS: about 5 p.m., clear, near sundown
- Jonathan Wilk BFRO follow-up: later investigator commentary, not an independent encounter witness
Research checked November 12, 2026. Only a short, attributed and copyright-safe summary is hosted here. The publisher retains original report text and media. Precise private locations are withheld.
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