Too Close For Comfort In Oklahoma
An Interview With Bigfooter Randy
Harrington
By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher
Chickasaw National Park |
I’m constantly
intrigued by the little things people tell me about their bigfooting
experiences. So many details come to light that help us all put the pieces
together about how they live and interact with each other. Like the things that
were revealed when I was talking to Randy Harrington about his encounter with a
couple of them while bigfooting at an Oklahoma campground. While trying to get
pictures of the elusive creature, he found himself a little too close for
comfort.
Dorraine:
When was the encounter, Randy?
Randy: February of 2006.
Dorraine:
And where did this happen?
Randy: South central Oklahoma, Chickasaw National
Park, Rock Creek Campgrounds.
Dorraine: Okay, describe the terrain there. What kind of
area is it?
Randy: It’s
alongside a spring-fed creek running into Arbuckle Lake. Mostly pine tree's and
some hardwoods filtered throughout the camp areas and surrounding wooded
area's.
Dorraine: Describe
the events.
Randy: When
I pulled into the camp area, I noticed right off the bat that there was no camp
host at the front area, and as I pulled through the park there was nobody else
in the park. I was alone there. The park has a history of sightings with camp
sites visited by bigfoot there. So I was trying to make my campsite appear
abandoned. I had a tent and a table full of food set up as bait. I was in the
cab of my truck with blankets blocking all the windows. I had a parabolic
microphone taped to the outside roof of my truck with the ear phone cord
running through my driver door to my headset for listening. After a couple
hours of nothing, I started hearing something walking through leaves somewhere
in the park. I also heard trash can lids being taken off of the cans and then
being replaced back on the cans from other area's of the park. I heard a stick
or club being drug through the gravel pathways in the park as whatever was
walking had a stick with it. Then I heard a metal post get tapped then several
seconds later another post was struck..It sounded like the metal lantern posts
that is found at each camp site being hit.
And the cadence would suggest hitting the posts at different camp sites
as it strolled through the park. Eventually, whatever was coming through the
park came in behind my truck under cover of the tree's and stopped. I would
then hear it move slightly, then stop...then move slightly again. I was
straining and looking through a crack in my blankets and viewing down the
driver side of my truck to try to find where it was. Then I saw something
behind my truck 30 feet or so in the woods step out alongside the tree it was
[standing]behind with both hands holding the tree, and then step back behind
the tree. So now I knew where it was, and it looked like a person.
Dorraine:
You could see it clearly?
Randy: It
was cold that night, and there was a full moon that was very bright. Visibility
was excellent for the time of night it was (about 10 [o’clock] or so).
Dorraine:
Did you see that it was carrying something?
Randy: I never saw a stick or club in it's hand, but
I heard a loud tree knock at this point I am assuming it came from the
bigfoot. I was watching behind my truck.
Dorraine:
Did you hear anything else?
Randy: As soon as the tree was hit, I heard
something sloshing across rock creek about 30 to 50 feet behind the bigfoot
which was 30 foot or so behind my truck.
Dorraine: What
do you think was going on there?
Randy: Even
though I can only tell you what I heard, it seems the tree knock signaled
another one to join the bigfoot behind my truck because I was watching shadowy
movement in the tree's where I saw the first one.
Dorraine:
Were you hearing anything more at that point?
Randy: I heard the loudest owl call I have ever
heard from somewhere back there. Then a few seconds later another call exactly
the same with a warble at the end. There was a total of 15 to 17 calls every 10
seconds or so within a 3 minute period. They seemed to be getting louder and
louder from beginning until the last one. At that point, two creatures broke from the tree line
directly behind my truck. A large one was
in front with a smaller one just to his right flank but they were hustling to
get to the back corner of my truck. They were bumping into each other as they
approached, the big one was stooped over with arms swinging slightly side to
side with the smaller one just racing to get to my tailgate. The big one
stopped at the back driver’s side corner of my truck and grabbed my ladder
racks and stood straight up. This was the first time I had a size reference,
and he was huge. he was a head taller than my racks, and they measure 7 ft from
the ground. So this male was about 8 1/2 feet tall.
Randy showing and comparing height of the creature |