During the 1970s there was a series of apparent sightings of bigfoot in the Whitemarsh area northeast of Baltimore. These took place in the swamps around the Byrd River. Here are a few of those reports.

Richard and Elva Stewart were out cutting brush near a grove of trees when they heard breaking branches. As they stopped to listen, they grew aware of a 'swamp gas' like odor. That was when they saw the Creature. It stood about 8 ft. tall and had big red eyes. When it saw them looking at him, it ran away.

On May 31, 1973, the Sykesville Herald published a Police report on an encounter by Anthony Dorsey. Mr. Dorsey, on the night of May 29th, went outside to discover what could be upsetting his dog. By the light of his flashlight beam, he saw two large glowing eyes 7 feet off the ground. He called the police and they responded. Although the officer never saw anything himself, he was witness to the sounds of something big moving around in the dark in the underbrush. The next day Police Chief Omar Herbert joined in a search party which found a 13-inch footprint and two partial prints showing a 6 ft stride.

Then, on that Sunday, three people reported that they had seen something moving in a thicket. The creature had short fur-like Hair and an egg-shaped head and it appeared to be about 8 ft tall.

The following day, a man reported that he also saw it and described it as a large, hairy ape-like creature.

Eventually, over 30 people reported encounters that were investigated by not only the local police but included the Odyssey Research personnel, conservation officers, the state patrol, and the assistant director of the Baltimore Zoo.

The descriptions were almost identical. Some of the witnesses were tourists who had no previous knowledge of any encounters. The creatures seen were estimated to be between 7 and 8 ft tall, 350 to 400 lbs., and were covered in 1 and 1/2-inch long black hair. They were said to walk upright like a man and sometimes it was reported that their legs were covered in mud.

Dogs refused to follow any trails of the reported creatures. There were no reports of any livestock harmed in the area. However, the wild creatures appeared to have moved from the location. Most of the places where a creature was seen were in the heavily wooded parts of the Patapsco State Forest. This forest is 20 miles long and 3 to 4 miles wide. It runs along the Patapsco River.

Odyssey Research made recordings of all the witnesses. However, despite all the encounters reported, nothing definite was ever recorded as found -- and no creatures or people were harmed despite the fears of the police.

In April 1975, the State Police received a report from a Bel Air motorist that he had just hit a 7 ft tall creature. The upright figure had walked into the road in front of his sports car. The creature fell to the ground but then got up and continued to walk on two legs off the road, although it was now limping. The driver was going around 50  miles an hour and when he hit the bipedal creature, it did considerable damage to his car. It is said the police studied the hair taken from the car. They later announced that the hair came from a cow.

Several weeks later, a Darlington area woman claimed she had found huge human-like footprints in her garden. Unfortunately, the prints were destroyed before they could be photographed or cast.

With the publicity from these experiences, a former resident of Harford County let people know that he had seen a sasquatch in Churchville back in 1914 when he was only 8 years old. He was living at "Will Finney Corner" near Route 155 and Glenville Rd. On the night he had his encounter, he had gone outside to search for his hat. He was making his search by lantern light. He suddenly came upon a figure sitting on a log between two trees. He was holding the lantern up high in the air and it was at eye level with the seated creature. It was close enough to be able to reach out and grab him but it remained seated and just watched as the boy began to walk away from it. The witness said the creature had a definite nose, a sharp chin, and hair all over. He never told his parents the story because he thought he would be punished. It wasn't clear if he meant because he had lost his hat, or if he had been outside alone in the dark. Hopefully, not because he had seen a bigfoot.

And one last report from the September 1, 1977, Annapolis Evening Capital.

Ronald Jones, of West River,  reluctantly told the Arundel County police about his encounter after a neighbor had called them. He was driving down Route 258 around 1130 pm on August 30th, when he saw a "body" near the road. He stopped his truck to take a look at it. It was not a body. Nor was it human. Instead, a 7 to 8 ft tall creature, approximately 400 to 500 lbs, and covered with long dark brown hair stood up and walked away. There was also a strong, pungent odor. For some reason, Jones chased after the creature and threw a tire iron at it. He also said that when he fled back to his vehicle, the creature hit him on the back of the head and held onto his truck until he backed the truck up into it. The neighbor, after hearing the story, had called the police because they remembered the stories of a "Chalk Point Monster" being seen several years before. Mr. Jones declined to be interviewed by the paper. His wife let them know that her husband did not drink.