Historical Witness

Bobby Ford

Arkansas1971
Location archiveArkansas
Profile 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
Encounter & observations

The encounter

Context

Rural resident / hunter context; outdoor experience: Moderate.

1971-05-02 · Fouke, Arkansas

Fouke 1971

Household and companion reports that became the Fouke Monster case, with contemporary press and law-enforcement response.

Open case →

What the witness reported

LOC-0007

Source-linked observations — LOC-0007

  • ~7 ft
  • ~3 ft chest width
  • upright locomotion
  • very fast movement

Original source ↗ Open locator →

Sources & changes

Key source passages

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.

Exact locator → Original source ↗

Source chronology

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

Changes over time

Stable / recurrent

  • Multiple source layers are present; source-by-source comparison should remain chronological.
Research assessment

Research assessment

Corroboration & evidence

Reported co-witness / corroboration

Yes – brother and hunting companion; wife separate. This is not coded as independent testimony unless the co-witness's own source is recovered.

Evidence mentioned in source matrix

Hospital treatment; sheriff search; tracks/scratches reported. Evidence authenticity and testimony are evaluated separately.

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.