Too Close For Comfort In Oklahoma

An Interview With Bigfooter Randy Harrington

By TCC Team Member Dorraine Fisher

          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.