Bigfoot Sightings in Price County, Wisconsin: 8 BFRO Reports and the Phillips Hunting Guide Who Caught Thermal Footage

Price County has eight documented Bigfoot reports in the BFRO database. Five of them are visual encounters. That’s more than most Wisconsin counties, and it’s the kind of number that makes you wonder what’s going on in the Northwoods.

Quick Answer: Price County has 8 BFRO-documented Bigfoot reports (5 Class A visual sightings, 3 Class B tracks/vocalizations), concentrated near Phillips, Lugerville, and Park Falls. The most notable case involves Don Young, a Phillips hunting guide who obtained thermal footage in 2008, confirmed by BFRO founder Matthew Moneymaker.

What the BFRO Data Actually Shows

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization maintains the most comprehensive sighting database in North America. Wisconsin has 107 listings total. Price County accounts for eight of them, with five classified as Class A (visual sightings) and three as Class B (tracks, vocalizations, or indirect evidence).

For context, neighboring counties tell a different story. Sawyer County has 4 reports, Oneida has 7, Vilas has 6, Lincoln has 1, and Taylor has zero. Price County’s count isn’t just high for northern Wisconsin. It’s high for the entire state.

Here’s how BFRO classification works: Class A reports involve visual sightings where the witness saw the creature clearly enough to describe it. Class B reports involve secondary evidence like footprints, vocalizations, or sounds without a clear visual. The distinction matters because Class A reports are harder to dismiss.

The Don Young Story: A Hunting Guide’s Encounters

Don Young isn’t a weekend hiker with an overactive imagination. He’s a professional hunting guide from Phillips who hand-crafts fishing lures for a living. He’s spent more time in Price County’s deep woods than most people will spend in a lifetime. Between 2002 and 2008, Young had multiple encounters that would shape the course of BFRO research.

In September 2003, Young was in the deep woods near Lugerville when something started following him. For an hour, the creature played what Young described as “cat and mouse,” peeking at him through uprooted tree roots from about 30 yards away. He described dark brown hair with blackish streaks, a brindle pattern, standing 6 to 6.5 feet tall. A BFRO investigator hiked the site afterward and found an odd, man-like track pressed into a gravel road.

That wasn’t Young’s first encounter. In November 2002, a hunter near Hwy 13 outside Phillips watched a reddish-brown figure walking upright through his rifle scope at 200 yards. The creature leaped a 12-foot water gap into an al swamp. The hunter noted the creature’s hands had no hair, and the skin was dark gray. The surrounding area contains roughly 1,500 to 2,000 acres of swampland with almost no development.

But Young’s most significant contribution came in July 2008. During a solo five-day camp near Lugerville, Young obtained what BFRO describes as the first-ever thermal footage of a Sasquatch. The creature peeked over brush, then ran on two legs in a hunched posture. Brush thrashing on both sides of Young’s position suggested multiple individuals were present. BFRO founder Matthew Moneymaker reviewed and confirmed the footage.

The story gained momentum beyond BFRO circles. Doug Hajicek, producer of the History Channel’s “Monsterquest” series, provided Young with trail cameras. Wally Hersom, BFRO’s main financial sponsor, was impressed enough by Young’s outdoors skills to feature him in organized expeditions starting in 2006.

Seven Feet Tall on Highway 182

Not every sighting came from deep woods. In April 2002, two motorists driving Hwy 182, five miles east of Park Falls, spotted something crossing the road at 1 PM in broad daylight. They described a 7-foot tall, 700-pound creature that crossed the road in three or four long strides, moving with what they called a “graceful glide.” Brown hair about a foot long covered its body. No neck was visible, and the hands weren’t paws. The location sits between the Forest Rapids river and Blockhouse Lake.

Then there’s the June 2018 report that reads like something from a police blotter. A retired police officer was driving Hwy 13, two miles south of Park Falls, at 9:45 PM when he nearly hit a large brown animal on all fours. He estimated it at 7 feet 6 inches tall even while crouched. The witness described thick hind legs, long uneven hair 2 to 3 inches long, and a rear end higher than the head. BFRO investigator B. Breedlove confirmed the witness’s credibility, noting: “As a recently retired police officer he was trained in making accurate observations.”

Why Price County?

The geographic explanation is straightforward. Price County covers 1,253 square miles, much of it heavily forested. The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest extends into the county, and the Flambeau River system carves through it. Cedar and tamarack swamps dot the landscape, particularly around Lugerville and Phillips, where most sightings cluster.

The county also has remarkably low human population density, meaning large stretches of forest go undisturbed for long periods. Timms Hill, at 1,951 feet, is Wisconsin’s highest point and sits in this region. The terrain mixes ridges, ravines, mature forest, and dense swamp, which is exactly the kind of habitat that could support something large and elusive, if such a creature exists.

November is firearm deer season in Wisconsin. Hunters sit in tree stands for hours, alone, in silence, watching trails they’ve scouted for weeks. It’s no coincidence that several Price County sightings occurred during hunting season. A person in a tree stand at dawn, motionless and alert, is more likely to notice something unusual than a hiker on a well-traveled trail.

The Taverns and the TV Show

Spend enough time in Price County taverns and you’ll hear stories that never made it into any database. The Northwoods bar scene works as an informal reporting network. Hunters, loggers, and locals share accounts over beers that they’d never submit to a national organization. Some are probably tall tales. Others might be genuine encounters from people who don’t want the attention.

The mainstream media noticed too. Animal Planet’s “Finding Bigfoot” filmed a Wisconsin episode titled “Beer, Brats & Bigfoot” that included Price County in its investigation. The BFRO organized expeditions in the area in 2006, 2014, and 2015, bringing researchers from across the country to comb the woods around Phillips and Lugerville.

The November 1997 Tree Stand Report

One of the earliest documented sightings in the BFRO database for Price County dates to November 1997. A hunter in a tree stand off a fire lane near Hwy F, close to Lugerville, watched a dark figure walking a ridge at 100 yards. The creature’s arms swung high, hands open “as if marching,” and it appeared larger than a man. Loud branch-breaking sounds accompanied the sighting. The area borders the Chequamegon National Forest, which connects to thousands of acres of uninterrupted woodland.

Another Class B report from December 2004 near Park Falls involved a woman who heard growling, screaming sounds at midnight. The sounds moved from a field across the road to a field behind her house. The next day, she found large bipedal footprints with a long stride. BFRO investigator Stan Courtney interviewed the witness and documented the tracks.

What to Make of It All

Eight reports over two decades isn’t a lot. But five visual sightings from a county with fewer than 14,000 residents is disproportionate. The witnesses include a retired police officer, professional hunting guides, fishermen driving to a tournament, and hunters peering through rifle scopes. These aren’t people who typically confuse bears for apes.

The BFRO doesn’t claim proof. They classify reports, investigate them, and publish what they find. Some investigators have spent years in the field and remain convinced. Others are more cautious. The data from Price County, though, stands out for its consistency: multiple witnesses describe a large, bipedal, hair-covered creature in the same general area, over many years, often during hunting season.

Whether that points to something real or something else is a conclusion each reader has to draw independently. The reports are there. The witnesses put their names behind them. And Price County’s woods are deep enough that whatever’s in there doesn’t have to show itself to anyone.

Related Reading

• Things to Do in Park Falls, WI — Outdoor activities near several sighting locations
• Where to Eat in Price County — The taverns and supper clubs where locals share stories
• Price County Snowmobile Trails — 500 miles of trails through the same forests
• Gold Panning on County Forest Land — Exploring the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest
• Swimming Holes in Price County — Remote waterways near sighting areas

Frequently Asked Questions