Sasquatch Chronicles – Episode 1176: “It Was Six Feet From My Van”

Date: August 2, 2025
Host: Wes
Guest: Linda (Bigfoot witness and field researcher, Michigan)

Episode Overview

This episode welcomes back Linda, an experienced field researcher from Michigan, whose harrowing recent Bigfoot encounter in April 2025 left her shaken. The conversation retraces Linda’s childhood sighting, explores her ongoing investigations, and dives into the details and aftermath of her close call at a remote campground. Themes of Bigfoot’s elusive and possibly supernatural abilities are discussed, along with the challenges and oddities of researching these creatures.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Linda’s Foundational Encounter (Childhood Sighting)

• Location: Northeast Midland County, Michigan, at age 14.
• Incident: Linda and her cousin Kathy, while on a mini bike, spotted a large, nonhuman face through bushes at close range.
• Both girls had a visceral fear reaction, with Kathy shaken to tears and retreating inside.
• Linda’s description emphasizes distinct, inhuman facial features: oversized, round, dark-set eyes, broad nose, long hair, smooth cheeks, and a wide lip line.
• Family corroboration: Years later, cousin Lori confirmed seeing either the same or another creature and a large hairy hand pressed against a bedroom window.
• Quote:

  “It had bit, like, smooth, smooth cheeks. It was very dark, complected…great big, huge round eyes...a real long lip line...a big nose...more like a human, but big and flat.”
  — Linda (06:57)

2. April 2025 Encounter: “It Was Six Feet From My Van”

• Setting: Isolated, rustic horse campground in Highland Recreation Area, Southeast Michigan (site 17).
• Conditions: Arrival just before a severe storm; Linda is alone except for one unclear camper vehicle.
• The Event:
  • Unusual deer behavior: Several deer charged towards her from the field, seeming desperate to escape something.
  • Linda shined her flashlight and noticed large, widely-spaced glowing eyes about 7 or 8 feet off the ground, stationary in the wood line, watching her.
  • She called out, “I see you,” but the being did not react, only blinked.
  • As Linda retreated to her van for safety and closed the door, an aggressive, menacing growl erupted from what felt like just five or six feet away.
• Immediate Aftermath:
  • Linda, unnerved, locked up in total darkness as the storm raged, later hearing odd howls and coyote activity.
  • Quote:

    "As soon as I hit my key fob...there was this really loud growl. And it sounded like it was five feet from my van...I have no doubt that if it had got a hold of me, I would be dead. Like, it sounded like it wanted to kill me."
    — Linda (19:34)

• Analysis with Research Partner:
  • The next day, Linda and friend Gabe looked for an explanation, considering if the being had come from the wood line or if there was more than one—given the impossibility of crossing the field so quickly.
  • They found odd, possible Bigfoot footprints and a clump of hair, later pondering if it was horse hair.

3. Research Area and Other Encounters

• Linda is part of a network of regular, multi-year researchers in several Michigan sites, where tracks, vocals, and even visible sightings are not uncommon.
• Local traditions refer to the creatures as “wild people of the woods.”

  "She said, they're Bigfoots, but they just...they don't call them bigfoots. The older generation...just call them the wild people of the woods."
  — Linda (36:34)

• Thermal Incident:
  • On another solo midnight research trip, Linda recorded five large heat signatures in trees via her thermal camera. These beings dropped from the trees, crossed a field and road, and then a deer was audibly killed nearby.
  • Linda experienced an unexplained blackout or ‘missing time’ while waiting in her vehicle. Later review revealed multiple figures on her thermal, estimated at massive size (shoulders 3-4ft wide, standing at least 2ft taller than an adult man).
  • Technological expert Robert Kreider later confirmed the thermal showed real Bigfoots despite incorrect settings on the device.

    "I've been after these things for, I think he said, over 20 years…I'm going to tell you right now, he said, that's a Bigfoot."
    — Linda on Robert Kreider (52:07)

4. The Supernatural & Unusual Effects

• Linda’s Perspective: Traditionally a flesh-and-blood researcher, but she now feels compelled to acknowledge possible supernatural elements—e.g., inhuman speed, “mind speak”, missing time.
• She describes “mind speak” or a telepathic voice warning her to leave the area, which didn’t feel like her own.

  "I can't explain that...It didn't feel like it was my own voice. So I don't...maybe it was my guardian angel...or was it these things telling me, you need to leave the area now? Because they didn't want me there because they had just killed a deer..."
  — Linda (53:39)

• Host Wes echoes similar researcher frustrations:

  “A lot of researchers will just skip over that part because it sounds too crazy to even talk about...For me, I just feel like something more is going on here than what we realize.”
  — Host Wes (59:20)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On inhuman movement and size:

"They don't make people that...that big. The way it moved almost as if it was gliding...I've never seen anything move like that in my life."
— Linda recalling early encounter (00:24)

On the campground incident:

“...I'm thinking, whatever this thing is, it's quite a ways up off the ground...It's got the, you know, the forward facing eyes...I'm thinking, okay, if this is a bear, it's standing up on its back legs for a long time for a black bear…that’s not normal…”
— Linda (16:14)

On alleged Bigfoot ‘invisibility’ or speed:

"I told Gabe...I don't understand how that thing could have came all the way across that field...and been right up to my van like that. Like, I just missed getting grabbed by this thing."
— Linda (29:20)

On missing/altered time:

“All of a sudden I just, like, blacked out…I can't explain it...That’s what I felt like, but it didn’t make sense...The only thing I can think of is they hit me with infrasound and put me out so they could come out of the woods…”
— Linda (57:08)

On the taboo of sharing ‘weird’ experiences in Bigfoot research:

“Somewhere, a lot of these bigfoot researchers think that when this creature becomes public...talking about anything weird might mess that up...For me, I just feel like there's something more going on here than what we realize.”
— Host Wes (55:53, 59:20)

Important Timestamps

• 00:03–03:56 — Linda’s formative childhood Bigfoot sighting in Michigan.
• 11:30–27:00 — Detailed April 2025 campground encounter, including “it was six feet from my van.”
• 29:20–31:50 — Discussion of how quickly the creature could have closed the distance; possibility of multiple beings.
• 36:00–50:00 — Linda’s patterns of research, local lore, and detailed breakdown of the mass thermal incident (five-in-tree, deer kill, missing time).
• 51:17–53:21 — Consulting technology expert Robert Kreider about thermal evidence.
• 53:39–59:47 — Deep dive into mind speak, missing time, and the supernatural facets of encounters.
• 60:00–61:00 — Closing cautions, Linda’s reflections, and appreciation.

Summary

Linda’s testimony provides a vivid, credible, and nuanced account of multiple Bigfoot encounters in Michigan, culminating in a recent close encounter that left her shaken and questioning accepted research boundaries. The incident’s convergence of physical evidence, animal panic, aggressive vocalizations, and possible supernatural elements (inexplicable speed, mind speak, blackouts) underscore the complexity and strangeness of the Bigfoot phenomenon. Both host and guest, while rooted in evidence-based research, do not shy away from the “weirdness factor,” emphasizing honesty and open-mindedness in the Bigfoot investigation community.

**For listeners—**this episode offers both the chills of a genuine “creature outside my van” story and thoughtful reflection on the limits and challenges of understanding Bigfoot.

For further resources (photos, thermal images, research updates), visit: SasquatchChronicles.com
Follow Linda and other Michigan researchers for updates and field investigations.