A witness says he and two friends heard a knock in the woods near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on August 23, 2026, before he later saw a dark, hairy figure in his spotlight. The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) published his account as a reported encounter; the available record does not independently establish that the figure was Bigfoot.
Where and when the reported encounter happened
BFRO Report #82512 identifies the witness as Clayton Sims and places the event at about 10 p.m. on August 23, 2026. The location is River Road, a small public gravel road off Howardstown Road near Hodgenville in Larue County, Kentucky, not far from Rolling Fork Wildlife Management Area. Sims says he and two friends had visited the lookout before. Read the BFRO report.
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What Sims says happened in the woods
Sims’s written account says the group heard what sounded like a distant knock, then waited silently for about 20 seconds. One friend suggested whistling or howling because it “could be a Bigfoot.” Sims says he whistled and heard a response that sounded like sticks or saplings breaking.
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The group got back into their vehicles, drove farther down the road to turn around, and stopped at the lookout on the way back. Sims stayed in the truck and shone a spotlight into the woods. He wrote: “I shined a spotlight into the woods and was just looking.”
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Sims says he saw a black, hairy figure about 40 yards from the truck. He estimated it was 7–8 feet tall and described it as initially facing away before turning slightly toward the group. He reported an ape-like face outline, a cone-shaped head, and yellowish-green eye-shine. The group left immediately.
Why the accounts give different distances
Sims’s written report estimates the figure was around 40 yards away. In a follow-up assessment, BFRO investigator Charlie Raymond gives the distance as about 50–60 yards and describes the light as a bright hunting light. Raymond also summarizes the figure as very bulky, with broad shoulders, a thick chest, a short neck, and long black hair; he says the visual encounter lasted about five seconds. The two distance estimates differ, so they are best treated as separate reported estimates rather than a single measured distance. See the follow-up assessment.
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What the BFRO investigation establishes—and what it does not
Raymond says he interviewed Sims by Zoom and found him credible because the account remained consistent across the written submission, text messages, an initial phone call, and the video interview. Raymond’s statement, “I found the witness credible,” is his judgment about Sims and the consistency of his account. It is not independent confirmation of what the figure was.
The BFRO classifies the report as Class B, but that organizational label does not identify the figure independently. The sources provide no photograph or video of it and no physical evidence establishing its identity. The account documents what Sims says he saw; it does not verify that the sighting was Bigfoot.
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Local stories are not corroboration of this sighting
Sims also relays secondhand local stories about coon hunters’ dogs disappearing and tracking collars being found in trees. Those stories are hearsay in this report and do not independently corroborate the August 23 encounter.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Coverage of the account
OutKick published a story about the report on October 5, 2026, drawing on the BFRO account and quoting Raymond’s assessment. Read the OutKick coverage.
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