Date: 08/11/01 Time: Approx. 1:00P.M. State: Ohio County: Miami Nearest town: Tipp City Weather conditions: Cloudy and Humid. T-storms forecasted. Lunar Phase: First quarter Areas of water nearby? Yes Two bog type ponds, bordered by The Great Miami River. Railroad tracks nearby? Yes Approx. 200yds. to the West Emotional feeling at time: Curious. Slightly apprehensive. At one point Witnesses became very frightened. Witnesses present? Yes. 1 Relationship: group member
Sighting: No Vocalizations: No Whistles when we first arrived. Odors: No Traveling sounds: No Knocking sounds: No Frequency of Human presence: Park area Observed one other person.
Returned to the area to do an extensive search. We walked the perimeter of the preserve first, finding several broken small trees and the all too familiar " log in the trees" marker. We searched through the heavily wooded area, finding evidence that a small herd of Deer have moved in since my last visit. We then started on the focus of the search, to find the shotgun shell casing belonging to the wad found on the previous visit. We searched the possible Den area and approx. 50 ft. around it. We were unable to locate the casing. We did however find buckshot embedded in a tree near the center of the den area, proving someone had fired a shot into this area. We believe they wee standing on the main path when they fired. This is based on the direction the was was facing, and the location of the shot pattern in the tree. The question remains as to why someone was shooting inside the Nature preserve. Also notable is the fact That Local Police investigated the actual sighting moments after it ocurred. Most Law Enforcement Agencies carry 12 guage Shotguns. We examined the tree the witnesses believe the creature was in. One limb extending over the pond was broken off. The area of the break is approx. 6-7 inches in diameter. There is a strip of bark ripped down the remaining limb, approx. 6 inches wide and extending down over 10 ft. This is called "hinging" Hinging occurs when a limb is cut or broken part of the way through and the weight of the limbtakes over. Because both pieces contain live tissue surrounded with live bark, The bark is ripped down the limb to a weak spot where it tears loose. Tree climbers use this to slow down the fall of a limb. The branch in question is clearly snapped. At the North end of the pond is a limb sticking out of the water consistent with this tree. There are no missing limbs in any of the trees at the North end. And there is no indication of storm damage to any trees around this pond. In my opinion, Based on my experience working in trees, the limb was broken due to excessive weight placed to far from the trunk, and it is my gut feeling the limb in the water belongs to this tree. Also note that the limb in the water is over 100 ft. from the tree, and could not possibly have fallen into that area. This further substantiates the witnessess' claim that the creature fell out of the tree and into the water. More support for this comes from the fact when asked one witness claimed the creature "was covered in green slime". As mentioned in the previous report from this area, the pond is completely covered in Duckweed. If you dip your hand in, it comes out green.
Investigated on: 08/26/01 Not Submitted Comments: There is no doubt something ocurred here. Was excited to see that Deer had moved through the area. Witness credibility is HIGH The fear they experience when discussing this is real. will continue to monitor this area as fall approaches. Update:01/25/07 Have re-visited this area several times the past 3 years and have found nothing new or reportable.