Report # 2393 (Class A)
Submitted by witness David K. on Thursday, March 09, 2000.
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A group of military police report an encounter while guarding a chopper accident site
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YEAR: 1985
SEASON: Summer
MONTH: September
STATE: Georgia
COUNTY: Lumpkin County
LOCATION DETAILS: The location was northwest of Dalonega, Ga about 5-6 miles in the Chatahoochee Forest, 4 miles north of Camp Darby (US Army Ranger training camp). The main N - S Park access (dirt and gravel) road was about two miles from the location. The Park starts about 1/2 mile north of Camp Darby and the access road is the road from Darby into the Park - follow this road for about 2 miles and take the right (north) fork. About 2-3 miles north of the fork and on the west side of the road is a large mountain (I dont know the name of it, and was probably only known as a number on the military maps, however I do not recall what it is) the incident occured near a ridge, about 1/3 of the way up mountain. If I had a military map of the area I could show you the exact location.
NEAREST TOWN: Dalonega
NEAREST ROAD: state park access road about 2 miles away
OBSERVED: In 1985 I was assigned as a Military Policeman to the US Army Garrison at Fort McPhearson, Ga.(Atlanta). We recieved a alert for my squad to go and secure the crash site of an AH-1 (Cobra) helicopter that belonged to the Texas Army National Guard that crashed in the Chatahoochee Forest, North of the Ranger Camp.
We were helicoptered into the ranger camp with our gear and we boarded a "Duece" (2 1/2 ton truck) for the ride to the crash site.
We made it to within about 1/4 mile of the site and had to carry our gear in.
We relieved the Rangers that were guarding the site (the crash occured about 12 hrs earlier) and set up camp. Our job was to keep people out of the area (curiosity seekers, news people, etc.) until the crash investigation team arrived and took over.
The crash site was small, about 100 feet by 30 feet because the Cobra crashed in one piece and then burned, so the whole area had that fuel smell and that "burned flesh" smell.
We set up camp adjacent to the wreckage about 50 feet away and posted our guard shifts. (I will not name complete names here because of 2 reasons, 1. some of the people involved refused to even talk about it afterward. 2. I do not know where they are today.)
My squad consisted of 5 men:
SGT Ken R. - Patrol Supervisor (NCOIC)
SPC Rodney T. - MP
SPC Shaun N. - MP
PFC Tim A. - MP
PFC David K. (Me)-MP
We finally got the camp set around 6:00 pm and the sun was going down. A large fire was built in our perimeter (which was pretty stupid in retrospect due to the large amount of fuel on the ground from the crash) and had set 4 hour shifts. Myself and SPC Shaun N were on the second shift (10:00 pm-2:00 am) we finally racked out about 8:00pm to get some shut-eye.
Around 10:00 pm I woke to the most god awful howl/scream you could imagine and when I looked at SGT Ken R, SPC Rodney T and PFC Tim A, you would have thought that they saw a ghost! All three had their 45's out (we were armed with [45's] with two 6 round magazines) ****ed, locked and ready to rock!
All were visibly shaken. Myself and SPC Shaun N got up and asked what the hell was that, the only answer we got was another howl/scream that was about 50 feet to our east (from the direction of the wreckage) at which time SGT Ken R started dousing the fire from a 5 gallon water can and then told us to spread out online. He told us to keep our flashlights off until he told us and then told us to move out to the wreckage keeping online. His words were "If these locals wanna F*** with the Army then lets give em what they want."
At this point as we started to move out I could hear metal being pulled, thrown and moved around at the crash site and I kept looking for a light down there as I was moving. About 30 feet away SGT Ken R turned on his mag-lite and what I saw scared the S*** out of me: 3 creatures were there among the wreckage and they were not bears! the closest one (about 10 feet away) was holding a piece of metal from the heicopter and stood on 2 legs at least 7 1/2 feet tall, covered in hair except for the face, which looked like a chimp, the one behind him(15 feet away) was dragging part of the pilot's body from the wreckage, he (or she) was larger than the first one, however it was stooped while dragging the body. My estimate was over 8 feet tall with the same facial features. I only saw the 3rd one briefly 40 feet away as it was fleeing.
SPC Rodney T. was the first one to fire which sent everyone into "Dodge City" mode (basically shooting everywhere). After SGT Ken R. got everyone to stop shooting and got us calmed down (yea right!) we reloaded a fresh clip and circled the wagons so to speak. This all lasted about 20 min from start (when I heard the scream) to finish(when we stopped firing) however we stayed locked and loaded till sunrise and did not move from our 360 at the wreckage.
Around 6:00 it started getting light, so we moved out to see if we killed one of the creatures or could at least get a bloodtrail. We found no creature bodies or bloodtrails.
The crash invesigators arrived at 8:00 am and we said nothing to them (upon agreement) and we left and returned to Fort McPhearson.
When I think about that night I really get the "Willies" about what I saw and as I said earlier some of the guys with me absolutely refused to talk about it. I honestly think (looking back on this) that these creatures ment us no harm - they were only scavaging. I think they may have smelled the burned bodies in the same way you can smell someone bar-b-quing, how good it smells? They sensed a free meal - even though we were 50 feet away - and were willing to take the risk.
The howl/scream? one of the creatures calling the others to his find. I have only talked to 2 other people about this and because I am still in the military (though I am no longer an MP) I wish to remain unknown to the public - at least until I retire (in 4 years). As an investigator you are free to contact me any time and I will answer any of your questions that I can.
OTHER WITNESSES: 5 total witnesses involved 2 were sleeping - (myself and SPC Shaun N.) 3 were guarding - (SGT Ken R., SPC Rodney T., PFC Tim A.)
TIME AND CONDITIONS: 10:00-11:00 pm Light Conditions: dark but clear Weather: clear and about 60 degrees
ENVIRONMENT: Geography: mountain terrain (by Georgia standards) with elevations around 3000 feet (highest peak in the area). It has many fast flowing creeks and streams with deep beds. The terrain tends to be very steep in most places with lots of gullies and draws.
Heavily wooded with areas of clearcut. underbrush is thick with lots of deadfalls. Virgin forest and 2nd generation forest about 50 / 50. Mostly Oak and Pine, some Walnut and a few Elm. Blackberries and wild plums abound. Enviorment of Encounter Area: 2nd generation hardwood forest (about 20-30 yrs old) and thick underbrush (oak scrub) about 200 meters (175 yards) from the edge of virgin timber (hardwood)
See Pics and the followup report here:
http://www.bfro.net/GDB/show_report.asp?id=2393
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12025&perpage=25&pagenumber=5