Bigfoot sightings can be found all over United States, but one of the more uncanny places is Nebraska. Nebraska is made up of mostly prairie land with a population of approximately 2 million people with fewer than 3,000 of those people living in 89 per cent of the towns. Although not known for forested areas, Nebraska does have areas of dense foliage along the Missouri River where the majority of this state’s Bigfoot sightings have been recorded.

One of the earliest recorded Bigfoot sightings occurred in 1957 near Valentine, Nebraska where two young girls met a big hairy beast walking erect and making loud noises in an alleyway. The terrifying figure sent the girls fleeing in terror and was corroborated by a school teacher who lived nearby and heard the inhuman sounds it was making.

A large amount of Bigfoot sightings can be found in the 70’s. In 1974, near Blue Springs, Nebraska, a passing motorist encountered a very large bi-pedal creature when it crossed the road in front of him in two huge strides. Another vehicle was approaching the area at the same time and slowed down upon seeing the creature. When asked, they also had seen the inhuman creature they described as 7-8 feet in height and estimated to be around 600-700 pounds. The legendary beast was covered in hair with the exception of its face.

Later that same year, a hunter spied a large gorilla looking creature in a ravine along the Niobrara River while hunting. Although the creature was covered in 3-4 inch coal colored hair, he described its face as more human than ape. It moved on two legs and turned towards him with its whole body as it didn’t appear to have a neck. After looking at the hunter for a couple of seconds, the creature swiftly moved up the other side of ravine and out of sight.

In the summer of 1979, there was a multiple witness sighting near Mead, Nebraska. While enjoying their 4^th of July festivities, eight adult family members all witnessed the same large creature walking in a nearby bean field. Although the moon was full and bright that night, the creature was too far away to see much but the sheer size of it. They described its movement as it walked with upper body hunched forward and long arms swinging by its sides. Although a couple of the family members decided to make chase for a closer look, they later decided against this path after seeing the damage done to a barb wired fence along the creatures trail.

Many sightings have been recorded throughout Nebraska’s history, with the most recent being in 2013 on a country road that parallels the Platte River. Although this sighting could not be corroborated, law enforcement was called and hair was found at the scene. The witness was a young boy who the sheriff said he had no reason to believe would perpetuate such a hoax. Although the young boy’s story of a huge hairy creature passing the road in front of him could not be corroborated, two hikers in Chadron State Park in 2006 could be.

Although there were three hikers on the lookout trail in Chadron State Park, only two of them saw the figure standing atop a limestone ridge about 300-400 yards away. Even from a distance, they noticed its unusual features as it was abnormally tall and covered from head to foot in black hair. They watched the figure sway back and forth for about five minutes before it disappeared behind an outcrop and the forest beyond. This is only one of many sightings on the Pine Ridge Ogallala Sioux Reservation near Chadron in recent years.

Strangely, some Bigfoot witnesses have more than one encounter with these beasts while others will go their entire life without a glimpse. Is it simply because of the area both the eyewitness and the Bigfoot reside, or could it be that seeing is believing, and after such a sighting a person’s more open to seeing what at first isn’t apparent.

Like a good number of us, sightings of the unnatural and otherworldly go untold simply for fear that others will belittle and poke fun at what is not yet understood. But like all things, it is only unnatural or otherworldly until it is discovered with material evidence for others to see and finally believe.