White Pine County, Nevada
Ely November 2001

I phoned the witness at home. Here is what I learned... The young man in question, Mr. James Stroud, 22, a cashier at a gas station in Ely, Nevada was with his unnamed friend motorcycle riding on a dirt road, about ten miles off the main paved Highway 93.

The two stopped to rest and drink some water when, as Mr. Stroud wrote, "we smelled something really stinky, like rotten garbage smell. And then we heard some weird howls. It was like nothing I've heard before - scared me. I've heard elk and other animals but nothing like this." He later indicated to me the sounds he heard must be coming from a known animal, mountain lion or something similar. For about ten minutes, according to James Stroud, the two listened to the howl with a high pitch and mimicked the vocalization, but they were not able to see what was responding to their calls. The area in question is rocky and mountainous with pine trees and sagebrush, the weather was cool and there was snow on the ground. The time was between 4:30 and 5 p.m., close to getting dark. "So we got a little scared and decided to go home," James writes. As the two were leaving, James caught something out of the corner of his eye, something moving away from them "into the thick trees," about 70 yards distant at Closest approach. - What they saw, as Mr. Stroud says, Telegraph Summit, near Ely, Nevada, where James Stroud, 22, and an unnamed friend claimed to have seen Bigfoot in early November (4th?), 2001 can only be described as "Bigfoot." When I asked, could this possible be a man in a costume, his polite response was "I don't think so." The Bigfoot was estimated to be 7 feet tall, based on Mr. Stroud's height of six feet. His friend estimated 8 feet.

The subject was last seen at about 100 yards distant or thereabouts, for a total view time of what was estimated at about 15 seconds. James told me he got the impression the subject was "trying to get away from us," as it walked "kitty corner" from the two observers. The walking speed was described as "medium pace." As the two flabbergasted young men watched this unexpected animal, they sort of said to one another, "what the heck is that," having never seen anything even remotely close to what they were presently viewing. They described this being as big with a manlike build and "brownish colored hair with blondish highlights," When I asked for an explanation of the hair color; he stated tips of the hair appeared to be "dishwater blond." The body build was described to me as ''medium," and in the written report 350 pounds was the estimate.

When I asked if the animal appeared manlike or apelike the response was "apelike." As for sex, the witness stated it had "no breasts on it," and speculated it "was probably male." Foot tracks about 14 inches in length were later found, described as "wide" but not deeply sunken in the ground. When I asked to estimate the distance from track to track (a step), James told me his guess would be about 4 feet six inches, larger than his step for a six-foot man. The tracks headed up the mountainside, when the two got back to town the first notified was the mother of Mr. Stroud and later they went to the Internet to report this sighting.

Perhaps the most startling aspect of this report is no one had bothered to follow up on the sighting, as Mr. Stroud told me I was the first to call to find out more information. I told him he should go back with his camera as soon as time permits.

And there is where the mystery continues to linger, on the edge of reality, but not quite. It's such a fantastic that most people find Bigfoot to be a laughable idea. And only a few hundred miles north of Las Vegas! The city folk there, knowing almost nothing about Bigfoot, would think you were mad at the very mention of the "B" word.

Report received by Bigfoot Encounters Webform Submit a Sighting by Bobbie Short Monday, November 05, 2001 7:20 PM from James Stroud (Contact information withheld) REMOTE_HOST: 216-101-5-40.netxxpress.net

Report investigated by Daniel Perez Norwalk, California