Deer feeder where the incident took place.
Deer blind where the witness was setup to hunt, vocals came from the area around the feeder and from behind this deer blind.
Date: 11-04-2006
Weather: Clear, cool, dry
Time: 5:30AM
Nearest City: Cross Roads
State: Texas
Highway: FM 753
Nearby water source: Yes, a creek runs through and there is a small lake on the property as well
What happened: I arrived at the site on the opening day of deer season at about 4:30 a.m. I parked my truck about 1/4 mile from the deerstand. At about 5:30 a.m. I left the truck and walked to the deerstand with my rifle and backpack which contained my supplies. It was still dark and there was no moon. I used a light on my cap to light the way and I had the light on a green tint. On arriving at the stand, I entered the back of the stand and climbed into it I rested my rifle in a corner of the stand and took a seat and began to sort through my backpack to get my ammunition and knife and to put my light away. I was at this point that I heard the first sound. It sounded like squirrel chatter but was stronger and louder tone. I stopped moving and noticed that it seemed to come from the direction of the deer feeder. I listened and the sound stopped. I then heard the same type of "chatter" coming from behind my stand and in the woods. This seemed to elicit another response from the source at the deer feeder. I took a night vision, starlight scope (first generation) and tried to see if I could get a glimpse of the source by the deer feeder. I had not checked the battery in the scope and found that it was weak and I could not get an image. This chatter went on for about 5 minutes and it then stopped. Again the source at the deer feeder sounded less mature and had a higher tone than the one behind me which sounded deeper.
It really seemed as if they were communicating with each other. I have hunted small and large game all my life and have never heard these sounds in the woods. I hunt alone, most of the time, and have no trepidation in hunting in deep woods or in areas where others might not attempt to hunt. I always have a rifle, a large caliber revolver, and a hunting knife and feel that I can handle almost any situation. I have had some unusual experiences while hunting but this is the strangest. I feel chills when I heard these sounds especially when it seemed that the two sources were in communication with each other.
Terrain: Wooded Private Property
Activities: Deer hunting on a friends property.
Any Prior Sightings: None that I know of, however, the property owner has shared some odd things that have happened.
Any sound: Yes, the chatter that was described above.
Odors: None detected.
Any farms nearby: The location is very remote, ranches and farming are in adjacent areas, very rural.
Witness provided evidence, photos or drawings: None provided by the witness for this incident, however, the TexLa team will be able to visit the property in a couple of months to inspect the site thoroughly.
I met with the witness on Saturday October 24th. We sat and had breakfast at a local diner where he related the story of his encounter. We then drove to the home of the property owner where the encounter took place. As we sat and talked, the land owner related some other strange things that have happened on this property.
The Property itself has a creek running through it that is a tributary of the Trinity River, which is approx. 7 miles away. There is also a small lake that is teaming with fish, very wooded, and remote. The Property owner has several Tri-Pod deer feeders in this area, (for those of you who do not know, these deer feeders stand about 10-12 ft. off of the ground and have a battery operated feed spreader attached to the bottom of the 50 gallon barrel sitting on the top of the tri-pod). The land owner told of having filled one of these and placing the lid back on and locking it in place, noticed that the battery was dead. He returned the next day with a new battery and someone or something had un-locked the lid, tossed it about 20 yards away and ate about half to 3/4 of the deer feed inside. He then re-filled it and locked the lid on again and replaced his battery. The next week he returned to find that the whole tri-pod, barrel and all, had been knocked over and the lid removed and taken and never found. At a different location on the property at a different deer feeder the full 50 gallon barrel of the feeder was missing completely and never found. The land owner also said that one of his game cameras that had been messed with and taken apart near one of the trails. Coupled with what the witness described as a conversation between two creatures of some kind and visiting the location myself ....this raises several red flags that indicate further investigation of the area is warranted.
I also took a CD of the raw tracks from the Sierra Sounds (copyright - Ron Morehead) and played them for the witness who sat with jaw in hand as he listened to several of the tracks and stated that what he heard sounded similar, but not as aggressive in nature as some of the Sierra Sound tracks do. What the witness stated was that he heard a casual conversation, one with a higher pitched voice and one with a lower pitched voice, and that this lasted for about 15-20 minutes, just before sunrise. Both the witness and the land owner have un-impeachable backgrounds in both their professional and personal lives and I find them both as the most creditable witnesses one could have. We have permission from the land owner to visit the property after deer season closes, updates will be appended to this report.