By Briar Keathley

Pictured above is a plaster cast of the footprint that was found where the sighting occurred.

They claim they know what they saw. They even swear to it. “It’s the God’s honest truth,” said Cory Hamilton. “I saw Bigfoot; people say it’s a myth but it ain’t.” Hamilton and Tanner Lytle, both Dixie County natives, caught a glimpse last Friday of what they believe to be a hominid (ape-like) cryptid (a creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically), often referred to as Bigfoot, Sasquatch or, as it is called in Florida, a Skunk Ape. The two men were driving home from work, traveling south on a dirt road known as the Storm Mainline near County Road 358 at about 8:15 p.m., when a large, 7 to 9-foot tall, dark, long-haired creature stepped out from the wooded swamp approximately 35 feet in front of them. Most likely frightened by the vehicle’s headlights, the bipedal creature turned around and ran back into the woods. Tanner and Hamilton were able to locate a track several yards off the side of the road. They covered the track to protect it from the weather and contacted the Dixie County Times. “I asked (Tanner), ‘D-d-d-d-id you see that?’” Hamilton told the Times in a recorded interview. “‘Yeah, I s-s-s-seen it,’” Tanner said of his response to Hamilton. Both claim that what they saw is exactly what Dave Shealy, owner of the Skunk Ape Research Headquarters in Ochopee, Fla., believes could be a Skunk Ape.

According to Shealy, who has been studying the elusive Skunk Ape nearly his entire life, the Skunk Ape is a large, hairy mammal, similar in appearance to an orangutan or gorilla. Large adult males are said to weigh in excess of 450 lbs and stand about 7 feet tall. Females are considerably smaller, standing 5 to 6 feet tall and weigh 180 to 250 pounds. Both male and female are covered with reddishbrown fur. Although Shealy said most Skunk Apes inhabit the Florida Everglades (he believes about seven or nine call the ‘Glades home), they have been spotted as far north as Tallahassee. Several years ago, he said, a Steinhatchee resident informed him of a Skunk Ape sighting in the area, so it is possible Tanner and Hamilton may have seen one as well. What really convinced Shealy, though, that there could be a Skunk Ape living in Dixie County, is that a plaster cast of the track, made on Sunday morning by Robert Lytle, revealed a 13-inch long, 8-inch wide foot with just four toes. Skunk Apes are known to have large feet and only four toes, Shealy said. “I don’t know what people are seeing but they are seeing something,” said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Spokesman Henry Cabbage.

FWC occasionally receives reports from people claiming to have spotted a Skunk Ape. A fi le is kept of all the reports, according to Cabbage, who said the last report of a sighting in Dixie County was made several years ago when a woman thought she saw a small skunk ape eating road kill on the side of State Road 349, a few miles north of Old Town. Apparently, there have been more recent sightings, the Times learned. However, those sightings have not been reported to FWC. Just two days before Tanner and Hamilton spotted a “Bigfoot” or “Skunk Ape,” their friend, David Ellison, and his wife, Melinda, believe they may have seen the same thing coming home from Cross City as they were driving toward Steinhatchee on CR 358. They didn’t tell Tanner and Hamilton about what they saw until after the men had their encounter with the Skunk Ape on Friday night. According to Mr. Ellison, it was about 10:15 p.m. when the couple said they witnessed a tall, hairy, ape-like creature cross the highway about a half-mile south of Dixie County Commissioner James Valentine’s house. of what he saw, Ellison knows it was not a bear or a cow… “It definitely wasn’t no cow walking on two legs,” he said.

His wife is certain of what she saw also, claiming to have possibly seen the silhouette of the creature crossing the road in the same vicinity a few weeks prior. Mrs. Ellison said that, like her husband, she chose not to tell anyone because she feared no one would believe her. Ask Dixie County Commissioner James Valentine if he believes her story, and he’ll tell you, “I sure do.” Valentine said, he too, has seen a similar creature in the same area. And, not just recently. A few years ago, Valentine saw what he described as “Bigfoot,” but did not tell anyone. “It’s real, whatever it is,” he said. Cabbage said most reported sightings come from credible people—even from FWC officers—and the reports come in clusters. When one report is made, others are usually made soon after that, he explained. “People are seeing something that is really there, but we can’t scientifically document that it is a Skunk Ape,” he said.

The Times sent photographs of the plaster cast to FWC biologists for their analysis and opinion but, as of press time, had not received a response. Think you may have seen a Skunk Ape? Let us know. We’re curious to know what could be roaming the woods around County Road 358.