Creeping deep into the dark woods at 3 a.m. was old hat for Mark Hudak, 45, of Clinton, Ohio.
An avid bow hunter, Hudak often began hunting long before daylight. So 11 years ago, when Hudak got an opportunity to hunt on more than 2,000 acres of private land with his brother and two friends near Barnesville, he was ecstatic. Little did Hudak know, but he and his hunting partners were about to experience a frightening encounter they would never forget.
"It started out that we heard some owls hooting at us. Well, that is normal, so we didn't think nothing of it," said Hudak.
SOSBI member John Veal photographs and investigates a giant tree that has been split down the center and arranged symmetrically around the base. Strange tree formations, many of which display signs of symmetry and would have required super human strength to create, are often seen as physical evidence of bigfoot’s existence.
JASMINE ROGERS The Marietta Times
But as the men continued walking, they noticed that the owl sounds emanating from both sides of them were getting closer. Not only that, but every time the group stopped, so did the hoots.
"We continued down the ridge, and one of these critters screamed at us," said Hudak.
Then a low growl started and crescendoed louder and louder.
Story continues below
The Southeastern Ohio Society for Bigfoot Investigation, or SOSBI, meets every other month at the Crossroads Branch of the Guernsey County Public Library and attempts to have three or four campouts a year.
The next SOSPI meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 3.
The society's mission is to give people a forum to share their experiences and talk freely without fear of judgment.
The group's last camp out took place over the weekend of Oct. 5 at Salt Fork State Park, where many bigfoot sightings have been reported.
More information on the group can be found at the Southeastern Ohio Society for Bigfoot Investigation Facebook page.
"We finally noticed that something else was not right. Not a single other animal was making noise anymore. No nighttime sounds. Now if you're a hunter, you'll know how weird that it," said Hudak.
With the absence of nighttime sounds, Hudak and his partners could finally hear what they had not yet noticed - footsteps. It became very apparent that Hudak and his companions were not dealing with owls. But whatever they were dealing with was most certainly following the hunters.
"I would almost compare them to a Navy Seal team the way they flanked us," he added.
Too scared to flee back to the car or to hunt, Hudak and his team waited out the night in the woods. It was not until 11 a.m. that morning that the birds began chirping and the noises of the forest restarted.
Though he and his comrades never saw the creatures, Hudak said he knew they had just encountered creatures popularly known as bigfoot.
The legend of bigfoot stretches far back into folklore, and tales of its existence are told in every continent except Antarctica. Described as a mix between a human and a gorilla, most accounts put bigfoot somewhere upwards of seven feet tall and likely weighing more than 500 pounds. The name bigfoot derives from the large footprints that have been attributed to the creature, which can measure up to 24 inches long.
Though he had been interested in bigfoot as a child, Hudak thought bigfoot sightings were confined to the Pacific Northwest. However, bigfoot sighting are actually spread throughout the U.S., with a large concentration occurring in Ohio. Since his encounter with the Ohio bigfoots, Hudak has been in search of answers.
However, when Hudak started explaining his encounter to others, they began to ridicule him.
"I learned to be really picky about who I talk to about it," said Hudak.
That is why Hudak got involved with the Southeastern Ohio Society for Bigfoot Investigation, or SOSBI.
"The group has no requirements, no membership fee. We provide a venue to come and open up," said SOSBI co-founder Doug Waller, 61, of Cambridge.
It is a venue that has provided a haven for Hudak and many others.
SOSBI members shared those stories and many others as they gathered at Salt Fork State Park this month for a weekend campout. Salt Fork State Park is a hot spot for bigfoot sightings, explained Waller.
The park even has a camp sight named for the cryptid (a mysterious or unproven creature) and the Salt Fork Lodge hosts a well-attended annual Bigfoot Conference.
Aside from sharing stories, members also share evidence they have collected or photographed.
Waller has collected physical evidence of bigfoot's existence for years, including photographs of several tracks, both in the park and on private property.
At the campout, Waller proudly displayed a cast of a 2-foot long footprint, which was donated to SOSBI by prominent bigfoot researcher Walter Tippie. The track was also evaluated and authenticated by Jeff Meldrum, a professor of Biological Sciences at Idaho State University.
The idea that SOSBI encourages a judgment-free atmosphere is one of the things, John Veal, 44, of Johnstown, likes so well about the group.
"They are very friendly. They are very welcoming to newcomers," said Veal.
Veal became interested in bigfooting as a child in England. When he eventually transplanted to Ohio in 2003, he met Waller at Salt Fork's annual Bigfoot Conference and has been a SOSBI member ever since.
Veal was interested in using the weekend to explore the woods for physical evidence, like tree formation and footprints. Strange tree formations, such as branches being knotted or large trees being twisted apart, are thought to be evidence of bigfoot activity.
One tree that the group found during the last campout had been cracked high up, and its branches had been arranged into a tepee formation. Although it is possible a storm damaged the tree, it is unlikely because of the strange, perfectly symmetrical formation its debris shaped, said Veal.
SOSBI member Tim Stover, 46, of Canton, is of the few members who says he has seen bigfoot with his own eyes.The experience, said Stover, changed his perspective forever.
"Before this, I was the kind of person where I would have laughed at you if you said you had a bigfoot sighting," he said.
Stover, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his sighting this month, was bow hunting in Salt Fork in the wee hours of the morning when one of the creatures came out of the woods, he said.
Just 30 yards away, the creature stared directly at Stover for several seconds before turning and disappearing into the woods. Even 12 feet high in a tree stand, Stover was scared of the creature who he estimated to be eight feet tall.
"What really freaked me out was when he walked away, you could just see the muscles in his back rippling," he said.
Stover said he gave up game hunting right then and there. Instead, he picked up bigfoot investigating in its place.
Many of the bigfoot sightings inside of Salt Fork are by hunters. In fact, Stover estimated 90 percent of people who have a sighting are not expecting one.
Dave Nowakowski, 52, of Garfield Heights said he never steps foot in Salt Fork without experiencing some sort of strange activity. Nowakowski picked up his friend, 19-year-old Mike Fonte, of Akron on his way to the weekend campout. The two trekked into the woods that Friday afternoon to set up a deer camera in hopes of catching a bigfoot on camera.
"A lot of mythical creatures have been proven to exist," said Fonte, pointing to the giant squid as an example.
Like many bigfoot investigators, Fonte and Nowakowski think it is only a matter of time before bigfoot can be proven conclusively to exist.
"You've got all kinds of technology today that you never had before," said Nowakowski.
Like many modern bigfooters, Nowakowski chronicles many of his investigative outings on film. The internet has made sharing films and information about sightings much faster and more widely available.
As the popularity of bigfoot investigation has risen, some of the stigma associated with believing in the creature has dissipated, said SOSBI co-founder Shawna Parks, 37, of Caldwell.
"I think the TV program is encouraging more people to come forward with their experiences," she said.
Parks is referring to the Animal Planet show "Finding Bigfoot" on which Stover's encounter was featured.
Parks also brought her 13-year-old nephew, Cody, to the campout. Though new to bigfoot investigation, Cody said he was hopeful he would find something convincing.
"With all the dense forests like in West Virginia and Ohio, it is possible something could stay hidden for a very long time," he said.
Marietta resident Robert Schaffer, 64, read about the SOSBI outing in the paper.
"I am an outdoors man. I want to prove to myself whether or not it is real," he said.
In fact, most SOSBI members are not out to debate and change minds. Many of the investigations are personal missions.
"For me, I am not trying to convince anybody that this exists. I am just trying to see it for myself," said Veal.