It was never called 'bigfoot' by any of the witnesses, denied by all but the witnesses, this creature terrorized Butler for one week back in 1978.

The story appears to start on July 8 around 11 pm, when two teens Eugene Kline and Ken O'Neil were walking along the railroad tracks. They heard a strange noise in the brush, an unusual growling sound. They both turned in that direction to see a 7-foot-tall creature with a large head and red eyes the size of golf balls. Ken turned and ran while Eugene stood frozen in place. After what seemed like minutes, he finally turned and ran after Ken. When they spoke to investigators later, neither could recall any details about the face, hair, hands, or feet.

A carload of Mansfield teens claimed to have seen the creature on July 10. The car approached a railroad crossing and saw a "huge black apparition with red eyes" slumped down next to the tracks. The names were withheld (available apparently through police reports) but all gave the Bellvile police the same story and all seemed to be frightened by what they saw.

The next sighting was on July 12.  Lavena Kline,  (or perhaps Theresa as the story differs in different accounts. One story also states "and several others", while this story claims just two people) and her father Roger were pitching hay from their barn. There was a slow freight train approaching which began to blow its horn. As it continued to blow the horn, her father returned to the house. Theresa (Lavena?) was curious about the train's unusual whistle blasts and decided to check it out. Taking a few steps she encountered a crouching silhouette with glowing red-orange eyes. It made a sound like a cat, only much deeper. She turned and ran for home.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department investigated the claims and said they found no physical evidence of such a creature.  They remained skeptical of the reports and some even mocked the story.

Butler police chief Phil Stortz said the Klines were probably seeing a wild animal from Mohican State Park, He also expressed the view that he could not see how a bigfoot could exist in Ohio. Later a newspaper printed that Stortz claimed footprints and unusual hair were found on the Kline's property. When asked about the article, Stortz denied the statements printed and said he had been misquoted.

Eugene was familiar with both domestic and wild animals from the area. It was usual for him to observe the local wildlife as they visited a nearby creek. He remarked that during the time this creature was around, he did not see much of the usual activity. Further, the neighborhood dogs barked constantly and the cattle were spooked.

Throughout all this, none of the witnesses ever referred to the creature as a 'bigfoot'. Only the Butler police chief ever used that term. However, one thought did come to me, that perhaps the two boys in their fright were not able to see that the creature perhaps had little to no neck, which in turn might have made them think the creature had a larger head than what might be considered "normal".