Source document
existing public record source
Source document connected to this witness record. It is presented as documentation, not as independent authentication of the reported event.
Open original source ↗Historical Witness · Research Profile
Bobby Ford
Historical witness profile documenting a reported encounter in Arkansas during 1971, with source provenance and connected research records.
Arkansas1971Provisional research profile
Location archiveArkansas
Media & documentation
Featured media & source material
Recovered media is placed here for direct inspection of the source record. A video, photograph, document or interview is not treated as evidence merely because it appears on this page.
Overview
At a glance
Encounter period1971
RegionArkansas
Direct visualYes
Repeat / ongoingRepeat activity around house reported
Co-witness / corroborationYes – brother and hunting companion; wife separate
Primary sourceEncyclopedia of Arkansas / contemporary press
Exact locators1
Media / transcript records0
Summary
~7 ft man-like hairy creature; rapid movement; physical confrontation claimed
Background & context
Rural resident / hunter context; outdoor experience: Moderate. The profile preserves what the entered sources document and does not infer missing biographical or encounter details.
Only public, encounter-relevant context is shown. Private contact details and precise residential information are not published.
Events
Encounter record
1971-05-02 · Fouke, Arkansas
Fouke 1971
Household and companion reports that became the Fouke Monster case, with contemporary press and law-enforcement response.
source-linked / evidence audit open
Open case →Reported observations
LOC-0007
Source-linked observations — LOC-0007
- ~7 ft
- ~3 ft chest width
- upright locomotion
- very fast movement
Media & source material
Watch, listen & read
Interviews, reports and transcripts are gathered at the research layer and displayed here when the source and rights state permit it. The original provider is always preserved.
No dedicated media record is currently registered.
The source chronology remains available below. New audio, video, transcripts and documents will appear here when recovered.
Indexed source passages
Concise research summaries point to exact source locations when available; long third-party transcript passages are not reproduced.
LOC-0007
Texarkana Gazette original story reproduced in The Fouke Monster: A look at the media
Ford described the reported creature as about 7 ft tall and about 3 ft across the chest, moving upright and very fast.
Provenance
Source history
A chronological record of where this testimony appears. Media above is presented for reading or playback; this timeline preserves source order and provenance.
1971
Reported encounter period
Arkansas. ~7 ft man-like hairy creature; rapid movement; physical confrontation claimed
Open source/record →1971-05-03
Recovered source
Firsthand/source record
2001 retrospective journalism
Recovered source
Firsthand/source record
Consistency & changes over time
Stable / recurrent
- Multiple source layers are present; source-by-source comparison should remain chronological.
Added later
None coded in the current record.
Changed / contradicted
None coded in the current record.
Unresolved
None coded in the current record.
Controls
Corroboration & evidence
Yes – brother and hunting companion; wife separate. This is not coded as independent testimony unless the co-witness's own source is recovered.
Hospital treatment; sheriff search; tracks/scratches reported. Evidence authenticity and testimony are evaluated separately.
Research assessment
Documentary strengths
- Already qualified for the Observatory's public baseline witness corpus.
- Recoverable source URL is preserved.
- 1 exact source locator record(s) currently recovered.
- Multiple source layers are available for chronology comparison.
- The source matrix codes a reported direct visual.
Limitations / controls
- Reported co-witness information is not automatically independent corroboration.
What would improve the record
- Recover the co-witness's own statement where possible.
Research graph
Connections
Related reporting & research
No witness-specific analytical publication is linked yet.
This does not mean the witness is absent from future cross-era or trait analysis.
Public record reference
Record identifier
- Witness ID
- WIT-PUB-0007
This stable identifier helps readers and researchers cite the same Observatory witness record over time.