Incident #991702
Apopka, Valusia Cty, Florida
Oct 1977
Account
Donnie Hall said he was checking a noise in some tall plants in John's Nursery at 2 a.m. when he was grabbed from behind by an apelike animal twice his height, covered with long hair and smelling like a goat. He broke away, with scratches on his shoulder and back, and fired at the creature with a shotgun, hitting it twice. It hunched over and moaned, he turned a flashlight on it and "in three steps it was out the door. Hair was brownish red except white and grey framing the face. Hall said he had seen it before, two nights earlier, trying to break down the door to the nursery. Sheriff's staff found footprints, but Robert Johnson, Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish dept. said they appeared to be fakes. No size given.
When
- Observation Date
- OCT 03 1977
- Month
- Oct
- Year
- 1977
- Season
- fall
- Time of Day
- before 3 a.m.
- Duration
- considerable
Where
- State / province
- Florida
- County
- Valusia Cty
- Nearest Town
- Apopka
- Latitude
- 2841
- Longitude
- 8131
What was seen
- Individuals
- one large, sex unknown
- Total Individuals
- 1
- First Seen
- in
- Terrain Object
- occupied building
- Shot Hit
- Yes
Witnesses
- No. of Witnesses
- 1
- Witness(es) Sex
- Male
- No. of Track Witnesses
- several
Source
- Source
- Apopka, FL, Chief, Oct. 7, 1977, quoting Donnie Hall, Plymouth, FL, night watchman at John's Nursery. Also Orlando, FL, Sentinel Star, Oct. 5, 1977.
Creature description
- Hair Covered
- yes
- Height
- 10 ft
- Posture
- erect
- Hair Length
- long
- Hair Colour
- red brown
- Movement
- other
- Later Movement
- handled something
- Movement re observer
- towards observer
- Aggressive To
- person
- Arms Used
- hanging onto something
- Object Handled
- person
- Odour
- strong
- Human Contact
- attack
- Reaction
- fled from
- Second Colour
- light
- Additional Movement
- left building
- Position when first seen
- erect
Witness
- Witness Saw with
- naked eye
- Observer Was
- inside building
- Closest horizontal distance
- contact
- Action on sighting
- shot