Yowiehunters Forum

Joe's Account:

Background

1. Between 3.00pm and 4.00pm on Thursday the 1st day of January 2009, Dean, Lasso, Mikka, Mossy, Yowielover1, Seeker, and myself, linked up and proceeded in convoy to the pre planned intended bush destination for an intended two night stay.

2. Upon arrival in the area, we liaised briefly with an elderly holidaying couple in an unused loggers hut, before checking out a possible spot which had been logged. We then proceeded a further couple of kilometers in the direction of another intended bush spot. Due to the dubious condition of the only dirt road to the location, Dean and I conducted a recognisance of the area first, utilizing a four wheel drive.

3. Logging had decimated vast areas of this location and having not set foot in the area in many years, Dean struggled in gaining his bearings. The first location we inspected was to become Location 1 and later base camp. Dean and I were both familiar with this spot and I was able to easily locate it, having been there some weeks prior to check on it’s accessibility for this planned expedition.

4. Location 1 is nestled in a valley with trickling water running through. It is at the base of a rock cascade formed by a cooled lava flow, and containing various pools of water at different levels. The surrounding terrain is heavily wooded pine forest with trees stretching to roughly thirty to forty metres in height. Due to the trees, the valley is perpetually shaded during the day and becomes particularly dark at night. The site also has Aboriginal significance and has been the location of previous well documented yowie sightings. I noticed the only vehicular track to the site was excessively overgrown with shrubbery and tall grass in excess of six feet in height. This increased the unlikelihood of it being driven on in many months or longer.





5. Upon arrival, Dean and I checked over a dry area of creek bed containing moist, course sand. To my surprise it yielded a single footprint of about 18cm in length, exhibiting five discernable toes and a hominid shape. The clarity of the toes in the sand suggested to me the print was fairly recent. Importantly, Dean and I were first of our party to set foot in this site – the exact location being unknown to the other party members. Pressed for time to set up, and not carrying photography or casting equipment, we left the print for later examination.

6. Dean and I continued on for a further kilometre or so, locating two further promising areas based on first impressions, creek beds, and again, prior incidents. Being in possession of hand held radios, and after much deliberation, Dean and I decided it would be most advantageous to the task of research to break into three groups spaced roughly 600 metres apart. The rationale was, based on activity or lack of at each, an informed decision could then later be made as to which site is likely to yield most results, and then later all re-group at that site.

7. Despite an apprehensiveness possibly due to members unfamiliarity with the terrain, the encroaching nightfall, and the concept of safety in numbers, it was decided to go ahead with this plan. Seeker and Yowielover1 equipped with high tech visual and audio recording equipment, set up at the most promising of the three sites, being Location 1. Myself, Mikka, and Mossy set up 600 metres away at Location 2, and Dean and Lasso set up a further 600 metres away at Location 3. The radios were all tested to be in good working order at each location.

8. Whilst setting up and as dusk fell, a storm broke overhead delivering a steady shower laced with lightning. After about an hour, the storm cleared with little activity to report. In a general consensus, Locations 2 and 3 were discarded and everything brought in to Location 1. Location 1 became Base Camp.

9. By this time, darkness had fallen and it was decided to worry about the 18cm print the next morning rather than go looking for it and unwittingly damage it. The preceding rainfall was brief and the night sky now clear. I was then introduced to Seeker’s and Yowielover1’s gadgetry. From the outset, Yowielover 1 was recording on an audio digital recorder all sounds which included conversation and noises around the camp, noises in the surrounding bush, and subsequently all radio transmissions made from and received at Base Camp. This recording ultimately presents as an impartial witness to all proceedings that then followed. They also had a trailcam set up alongside the roadway leading up to the top of the cascade.

10. New Years Eve was the night before and as is common practice in social settings between the meeting of old friends and the meeting of new company, a modest serving of alcohol helped lubricate the conversation. We found ourselves seated in a circle in camping chairs between three tents and three cars with some light illumination. As the night progressed, at one stage Dean disappeared into the bush and set up a challenge to find him using state of the art night vision equipment. Due to technical difficulties, a lengthy period of time was devoted to this task before clear images were obtained. Conversation at the camp was light. Local yowie stories and experiences were exchanged, interlaced with humor as people relaxed. I recall one occassion where the hairs stood up on the back of my neck and arms and Mossy stated she had similar sensations. We both experienced the feeling of being watched from the bush to the right of the cascade.

11. During the course of the night, I noticed Dean had a tendency to slip away into the darkness with radio and torch and then quietly return.

The Incident

12. About 2.40am, following some camp shenanigans involving water, ice, and potato chips, Dean again set off up the roadway on foot in solo fashion in the direction of the top of the rock cascade. This trek also immediately followed various challenges made to other members to make the walk, which were declined. By this time, Lasso had retired for the night and was sleeping in the back of a car.

13. A few minutes later, I heard Dean patch through on the radio that he had found a spot where a sulphurous smell was strong. He then stated he was smelling around the rocks but was unable to pinpoint the source. I activated a radio and told Dean I didn’t think a sulphurous smell was given off from rocks and I candidly added that such smells were common in séances around the turn of the 20th century.

14. Dean then inquired if any of us had ventured up towards him and I said words to the effect of, “No, we’re all back down here.” Over the radio Dean said, “I think I’ve got company.” At this time I was holding a radio in my hands and began rising from my chair to make my way up in his direction. I suspected Dean was no more than 100 to 150 metres away from us up the cascade.

15. Suddenly Dean’s voice erupted through the radio, “I’ve got trouble. I’ve got trouble! I’ve got trouble!!! Help! Help! Help!” As I heard this, I scrambled to my feet and sprinted up the dirt roadway as fast as I could in the direction of Dean’s echoing yells for help. The tone and volume of his voice sounded to me to be of genuine panic. As I ran, the path in front of me was illuminated by my torch light and due to being so dark, was like running looking through a video camera view finder. Behind me, I heard one or two people following closely behind.

16. As I arrived where I thought Dean may have been near on the roadway, I heard Mikka behind me yell, “He’s down there!” I then descended the slope on our right onto the rock cascade and looked around, flashing my torch, and continued up the rise. Suddenly, my torch light fell upon Dean about the same time as Mikka reached Dean and Yowielover1 with his illuminating torch light.

17. To my astonishment, I saw Dean was seated squarely in a small pool of water and had an expression of shock etched across his face. Dean’s pants were soaked from the water. As I approached, Dean stated he was fighting this thing and then he saw lights and the thing took off of him into the bush. We were thanked for arriving so quickly and we helped him to his feet.

18. He then pointed to bush on our right and exclaimed it had gone up into it. Myself and Yowielover 1 ran up into that bush and I flashed my torch around but saw and heard nothing. Yowielover 1 was a few feet from me. Dean yelled, “It has to be up there somewhere!”

19. Yowielover1 and Mikka went bush and saw the eye shine blinking back right where Dean said the yowie was (he wrote it up in another thread already) was only 10/15 meters infront. Mikka called out, “I can see eyes!” Yowielover1 confirmed he could see them too. Dean moved in alongside Mikka and I shone my torch in the same direction. Dean and Yowielover1 agreed they could see white eye shine blinking in the bush, about fifteen metres in front of us. I was standing behind all three of them, and perplexingly did not see any eye shine even when I shifted my position and beam of torch light. Dean began yelling challenges out into the bush and seemed to be excessively angry and upset. I considered whether Dean was in a state of hysteria and experiencing the immediate effects of trauma.

20. Yowielover1 and I went back up on to the road and I radioed back to base to ask some questions. There was no response on the radio. Out of concern, Yowielover1 and I returned to base camp and took up with Seeker and Mossy standing behind one of the four wheel drives. They were stedfast the white eyeshine observed was torch light on one of their eyes. If that was the case, I wondered why only one set of eyes had been observed instead of two, and why no glass reflection from the vehicle had been noticed by Mikka, Yowielover1, or Dean. While we were standing there, I did not see Dean nor Mikka’s torch light shine upon any of us. Yowielover1 and I decided to return to Dean and Mikka, and I requested that Lasso be woken and appraised of the situation.

21. As we closed in on Dean and Mikka, I saw they were both fixated looking at something in the bush in front of them. Dean was still yelling out challenges. At Dean’s request, we again returned to base camp and I appraised Lasso of the situation.

22. A short time later, Dean and Mikka returned to base camp. Dean began relating his story of being charged at and pushed to the ground. He appeared to be genuinely reliving an event. He continued to repeat his story over and over again, trying to rationalize what had happened. It was then, Dean stated he didn’t even have time to turn on his torch during the altercation and didn’t know where it or his radio had gone.

23. Yowielover1, Mikka, and myself, headed back to the area where it had occurred and on the embankment between the dirt road and the rock cascade, located Dean’s torch and bottle of water. They were both standing upright and were about twelve feet from where we found Dean seated in the water.

24. We returned to base camp and found Dean going over and over his story. Daylight was breaking and I told Dean where we found his bottle of water and torch. Dean surmised he must have been pushed from there to where we found him.

25. I then turned it in and went to sleep.


Aftermath

26. About 9:00am I arose and went for a bushwalk. Upon return, I found Dean stirring from his sleep. I saw he had a fresh yellowing bruise to the right side of his chest and yellowing bruises to the fronts and sides of both his legs. He then reached up his lower back and exclaimed his back was hurting. I noticed his knuckles and fists to be of normal colour and not grazed with skin taken off. It was then I realized Dean had said one of his punches was very weak when it had connected, and I didn’t recall mention of any other of his punches or kicks connecting. Unfortunately due to being covered in water when we found him, it was not possible to tell if he had wet himself during the ordeal.

27. I then took a plaster cast of the small 18cm footprint in the creek bed. Unfortunately, the resulting cast didn’t show up the toe impressions due to the sandy texture.

28. Discovery of a flat tyre and in need of further supplies, Lasso, Mossy, and I, headed to the nearest town where we were gone for about three to four hours. Upon our return it was raining heavily and Mossy, Mikka, Yowielover1, and Seeker, announced they were finishing up early and packed up and left.

29. After a short walk by myself, I returned to the camp and Lasso pointed out to me a footprint Dean had shown her. At this time, Dean was by himself in the opposite direction. On the left side of the dirt roadway on a muddy slope leading down onto the road, a large hominid shaped right footprint with a clearly defined large toe and three smaller toes. The footprint measures 28cm from tip of big toe to end of heel. With some assistance from Dean, I made a plaster cast of that footprint.





Note: The middle larger print was found on a muddy incline and looked to be a slip, which may account for any distortion of the print. Of most relevance is the toe area. The smaller print to the side, unfortunately resembles a blob but the ball and front of foot can still be made out.


30. I then ventured up the dirt road towards where the rock pool we found Dean in on our right. In the bush to the left of the dirt roadof this spot, I found what looked like a track leading down the side of the hill to the road with a distinct number of between one and two metre long sticks suspiciously leaning against trees.

31. Dean, Lasso, and myself stayed an extra night at base camp with no activity aside from the odd sounds of crashing in the distant bush.

Comment

As a two night expedition, the general consensus was the first night would be an ice breaker with the second night employing serious strategy. The incident was unexpected and caught myself and others off-guard. I have never known of alcohol creating hallucinations in people and in my opinion, nobody involved in this incident including Dean, was significantly alcohol affected at any time. That said, while alcohol is excellent for creating a little dutch courage, the inclusion of it's presence in this incident will no doubt be the subject of harsh scrutiny. This is unfortunate as alcohol features prominently in our society and many events every day are reported and acted upon by authorities where the presence of alcohol has featured.

I cannot corroborate the nuts and bolts of Dean's story as I wasn't standing beside him during the actual incident. I can however, vouch for his behaviour being consistent with a person who experienced a traumatic event, bruising to his body being consistent with his version of the event, and footprint and tree marker evidence supporting the presence of the yowie in the immediate area of the incident.

My hypothesis is the area is home to a family of the Yowie based on the prints. It appears Dean may have crossed over a territorial boundary, and being by himself, was a perfect target for a territorial male. Due to my own experiences in that general area, it doesn't surprise me if there is no audio record of the creature attacking or then decamping.

Recommendation

Any further expeditions to this particular area be carefully planned and members to abide by strict protocols for safety reasons. This area has the propensity to produce further yowie encounters.

*Note - photos to be added later...

Thanks Joe.

Great report.

It's good to read your account based on what you experienced and how you interpreted the events. Can't wait to read Dean's recollection of his encounter.

It's interesting that Seeker and Mossy reckoned the eye shine came from themselves. I'm assuming they saw the torch light pointed at them and could hear what was going on.

Did anyone else detect the sulphurous smell that Dean mentioned before he was attacked?

Deans Response: I didn't smell it till a period after being there. It just appeared from nowhere. It was that strong that I thought it may been coming from the rock crack under my feet. Then it came marching over the ridge.

It's also interesting that you found Dean still seated in a puddle of water after all this. If it was me you would have found me sprinting past you on the way back to base camp. Must have been an extraordinary event.

Deans Response: With all due respect - oh pleeeeeeese! I was seening stars. I didn't know which way North and South way. Composure wasn't a factor. I was dazed and thanking my lucky Stars these guys arrived as quickly as they did.

Looking forward to the photos and other reports.

Cheers.

Hi Joe

Thank you for the report, I must commend you on the way you have written the report, it is to the point and does not try to over sensationalize the event. I can see that you are not proposing in this report that Dean was actually attacked by a yowie, but instead are just relating the events of the evening as you witnessed them.
I have to say however that I am hardly convinced by your description of the incident that Dean was actually attacked by a yowie, and this is why;

Dean was alone when this incident took place; no other members of the team were witness to what happened. Does Dean make a habit of wondering off into the bush alone during these expeditions? You mention that Dean wondered off by himself into the bush several times during the course of the evening. Unless he was just going to relieve himself after having a few beverages then I would think that this is strange behavior for somebody who is a seasoned researcher. The reason that I say this is because the obvious result is precisely what happened, an encounter with no independent witnesses to verify it. What was he thinking? The safety issues alone concerning this sort of thing bring discredit to Dean.

I made a post Re: ‘Dean VS Yowie” on Sunday January 4, and I enquired about the eyshine sometimes reported associated with yowies. In that post I asked if the eyeshine was a unique ability that the yowie shared with no other land animal, or was it the result of miss-reported events in wich a lightsource was present. I received a reply from Lasso that no there was no torchlight during the eyeshine incident because Dean did not have a chance to turn his torch on. From your report there is no eyeshine mentioned witnessed by Dean prior to the attack. The eyeshine is witnessed later by Mikka and Yowielover1, but you clearly state that at least you were shining a torch around. Could it be that the eyeshine that was witnessed was the result of your torchlight reflecting of eyes in the bush, or something else? Do yowies produce white eyeshine? I thought that it was usually red.

The fact that Dean was found at the bottom of an embankment sitting in a pool of water is hardly proof that he was attacked by a yowie. He never turned his light on, he said he heard something charging towards him, presumably that something crashed into Dean knocking him down and off the track, he then would have rolled if the ground was steep and ended up in the pool, the thing could have also rolled down there with him. He can’t say for sure what the thing was because it was dark. The moon phase for 31/12/08 to 01/01/09 was barely the first quarter whether the sky was clear or clouded it still would have been very dark 100 to 150 meters from your camp. Deans bruising is consistent with rolling down an embankment and does not add support to a yowie being involved. Were there any bite marks or claw marks? I would imagine that a creature like the yowie would use teeth and claws. I don’t think that Dean or any other human would be strong enough to prevent a yowie from inflicting some sort of wound. Even a chimpanzee could overpower a man in such a scuffle and inflict bites or scratches.

I notice there is no mention of the creature that attacked Dean making any sort of growl or roar, was any sounds of this scuffle heard back at camp? Sound travels well through the bush at night, in my experience.

I apologies if it sounds like I am attacking your report that is not my intention, I believe that every word of your report is genuine, it’s just that nothing you have said amounts to evidence that Dean was attacked by a yowie. Your report doesn’t claim this is a fact.. All that I can conclude from your description of the event is that Dean wondered off along a track in the dead of night and ended up falling down an embankment. If this is all the evidence that we have for this incident then it will just become another anecdote, the people involved cannot corroborate the involvement of a yowie attacking Dean.

As per usual and as anyone in the team will testify, I have a habit of creeping off during the night to sit away from base to listen without the noises of base. Have always done it, however may not now!.

I walked to a sacred area of a granite cascade which I was warned by Brett Green not to go, about 150m from Base Camp and was sitting there with my legs folded listening to the forest noises, when suddenly a pungent smell of sulphur came through the air. It was very strong. I began to smell the rocks thinking the smell must be emanating from somewhere close. I radioed back to base and Joe patched back and said that granite cannot give off such odours.

I walked a little further down with Maglite off. Sat again with my legs crossed. With that, I heard someone walking along the ridge line heading down to base. I radioed in and enquired if any of our group was up here. The response was “Negative”. I patched back and said “I have company”.

I stood up and with that, it stopped. Must have been only seconds before it launched at me running in a direct line through a clearish area (no lantana) or thick bush. It made no vocal noise as it was running at me and it’s diaphragm did not bounce. It took large strides, ran down the hill into the cascade. At this point I was yelling on my radio saying I was in trouble. I thought I was dead. It was just so fast and so direct.......

No time to turn on the Maglite – it all happened too quick. It knocked me backwards and I landed on my back on the granite. I kept kicking my legs up high into the air, the whole time clutching my radio as hard as I could in my left hand yelling for back up and to get it off me. I took some wild and woolly swipes with my right, all the time kicking and squeezing the radio. There was obviously no time for sane, reasonable or ration thinking time – just self preservation. It would be unreasonable to fantasise about asking it for hair samples. Dam it, I didn’t want this thing to touch me, nor I it......... I just kept rolling back and forth kicking in the air and clutching the radio.

Within almost no time at all, there were torch lights there and it had taken off. Mikka was the first to find me – Joe and YL1 not far behind. At this stage I could not even think straight. I was still on my back, wet, shocked and shaken up – that’s about all I know. I said “Its up there, it has to be up there”, pointing up the hill.

With that, Joe and YL1 ran in that direction. Mikka helped dust me off and helped me up the slope to the track, however after what had just happened, it was very hard to get my head straight. I was furious and a little disorientated. I didn’t even have my Maglite with me, as I was not thinking clearly.
Seeker was at base camp for the entire duration with Mossy and Lasso was sleeping.
Mikka and myself caught up with Joe and YL1.

MIkka and YL1 walked closer into the bush and both saw eye shine.I walked in and we all witnessed in blinking. You did not even require a torch! The illuminated......
YL1 and Joe returned to base because I requested Lasso come. Myself and Mikka remain and watched it watching us. I have never seen eye shine like it, the glowed grey/white, they were large and blinking without moon light, nor torch light. I was still shaken and angry, yelling at it to come back and try again when there were a few more of us around.

We later returned to camp, where I relayed the event time after time trying to get my head around it trying to analyse. I didn’t sleep for over 3 nights, as Lasso will tell you.
That’s about it really. It was one of these things you can analyse until the cows come home, yet still have no answers. There will always be a “COULD HAVE - SHOULD HAVE – AND WHY DIDN’T I” factor. That goes without saying, however in such event, there is no time for thinking and certainly was not in the frame of mind afterwards. Hidsight is a wonderful thing...

Mikka, Joe, Myself and YL1 were there. Nobody else in the group was there, however we were all saw it.....

NB: One VERY interesting obseversion - no eye shine during the attack - only when we were in pursuit. Don't ask me, I have no idea.

Mikka - your turn to step up to the plate now.......

Click on the picture to enlarge it....

DMH

Allow me to paraphrase to save everyone some time.

A few yowie hobbyists had a bush trip. They saw a foot print, but forgot their cameras.
They drank some beer, and one says that he got bashed by a yowie. We
cannot prove any of this, as bruises can be caused by many other things.

Are you going to present this to any media, or gov. departments?

Edit for spelling

Dean, you and the team who were there have taken a pretty damn brave move telling us all this, knowing full well you would be held up to criticism, possibly ridicule, and knowing that this sort of event will stay with you for life. I honestly don't know if I would have had the guts to do this.

Today, there will be many people reading this thread, some of whom will take a line of thinking that is different from your own. I would not like to put words in your mouth, but would like to say that I can see no reason for you or the team to 'fabricate' any of this event, as the inevitable questioning that will surely follow will in most cases, be of the negative persuasion. I cannot see why anyone would make anything like this up, knowing full well the consequences to your integrity and personal beliefs and the potential aspersions that will be cast by followers of Cryptozoology all over the world. Just wanted to put that out there for people to consider - it's a lot easier to assess from the comfort of our chair, but if you weren't there, it's never going to be easy to describe every little aspect of the event that transpired. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

I have only read Joe's report so far, followed by your input in this thread, and from what I've read, it seems something took a dislike to you being in that area (you mentioned being warned not to go into that area). From the sounds of it, you got off lightly. You were pushed when you could easily have been attacked by other more damaging means (tooth, claw, whatever). It seems this Yowie is a pacifist. You were removed from the area with enough force to make sure you 'got the message', and terrifying as this would be to any individual, it could potentially have been worse.

Loath as I am to make comments about naked men on the internet ( ), we can all see you sustained some damage - I know it all happened so fast, but can you recall what part of you was in contact when the shove occurred? Was it like a whole-body slam, or a push to the shoulder area, head on etc?

Kind regards,

Shazz

Here here Shazz.

Not a truer word spoken. We have faaaaaar more to lose in terms of cred by talking about it. What is the gain? Just opening ourselves up for critisism and ridicule. And the last thing I wanted to do is put noodie pictures of my currenly un-fit body on our Forum, fo gosh sakes!!!!

As I said, it's easy to pick holes of why then this or why didn't you do that? Its called hindsight.......

People have their choice - we are simply relaying the table of events for you all.

Thanks for you support and kind words.

Joe cast a rather nice print close to the location - perhaps he can post a picture for us all to see.

DMH

Joe and or Dean,

Can you expand further on the significance this lava cascade has to the Aboriginal people and why you were warned specifically to avoid it? Is there an aboriginal spoken history of violent confrontation with the yowie at this site, or is it a sacred site ?

Cheers!

Joe (I think I recognise your face and outfit from a recent "movie"...

I have read with great interest your report on Dean's "attack" and viewed the photographs Dean sent to me of his "wounds" for examination. I know the spot where his experience took place. I was always very wary of that area from previous experiences.

Re his bath-tub photos ... Nice Butt! Great tattoo! Nude photos not suitable for a calender though.

All jokes aside ... The site that was involved was first relayed onto Dean and his mates a few years ago after making him aware of certain activities and personal experiences there. I have a number of previous reports of incidents in that area and it does not surprise me that Dean's incident has occurred.

On one previous expedition at which I attended with his team for one day, we came close to "an encounter" and I warned everyone not to go into the bush in that area alone especially at night. I won't go into matters of that excursion (its a long story) but I do believe Dean came close to realising he may have made an error of judgement - I am just glad he is okay. His body bruises tell the ultimate tale that you do not ignore the "territorial" claims of our "bush inhabitants".

There was an instance several years ago in the same area when another gent had a close encounter and was attacked; bruised badly; urinated on; and then placed unconsciously into a fork of a tree around 12 feet above ground. The tree was marked as "a food source".

He was later found and despite some injuries including a broken arm and some deep wound gashes - he recovered. What caused this is not known but it could be put down to four immediate characteristics:
(1) Our friends are extremely terrorial
(2) They are attracted to smell (especialy female or any form of deodorant)
(3) Any encrouchment by another male (by smell) on a territory
(4) a protective action where a "family group" or "harem" may be close by.

The bad smell (some call it a sulphur-like odour) is typical of our elusive friend. Some have referred the odour to someone with bad toilet habits.

There will be those who will be critical of Dean's experience but in my opinion from past experiences, I believe his experience is typical from reports from the early aboriginals of the area who noted similar attacks - especially on women.

I hope you recover Dean - and take more care nex time.
They are out there ... as you have found out.
BJG

great report joe and dean, thanks for taking the time to fill us all in, damn i wish i was there, sounds like a rush.
hope you dont mind dean if i use that photo as my screen saver lol .
joe said you were in a pine forest, would that be a pine plantation? and im wondering if it was a significant place for the aboriginals, why it was allowed to be used for this purpose? im just curious about why you picked that site as most plantations ive seen are mostly void of plant life or fauna, mostly because as you said, lack of light and also the acidic ground they cause, did you hear or see much wildlife?

Deans Response: Pine plantation. Little to no lantana in the area we were. Sparce animal life. The area I situated myself in is deemed as Sacred according to Brett. Birthing pools. He warned me. It is the second major incident we have had there, and others have also shared experiences in the past.

Afternoon, BJG,

I was also wondering if the area Dean transgressed on was the 'Home Base' for the Yowie - rocky outcrops, maybe some caves nearby? The fact that you have a bit of background on this area which has had a fair share of Yowie activity in the past would seem to indicate it as a "no go zone for you humans". Thanks for posting the backstory on this site, it makes a difference in me figuring out the 'why' of the event.

Dean, be thankful it didn't mark its' territory on you like it did with the other fellow in BJG's reply. I don't know if Dynamo is any good at getting Yowie urine out of AYR shirts (just trying to lighten the mood!)

Kind regards,
Shazz

Dean Harrison wrote: We later returned to camp, where I relayed the event time after time trying to get my head around it trying to analyse. I didn’t sleep for over 3 nights, as Lasso will tell you. DMH

Anyone who has witnessed or been part of a traumatic incident will know exactly what you are talking about, Dean. Three years ago, on my way to work, I witnessed a man being hit by an Express train as it blasted through the station at nearly 80km/hr. The guy was thrown 6 metres by the impact, landing to the left of my vehicle.

As a first aid officer, I then did what I could for him until the Ambos arrived 10 minutes later. This was one of the most horrific things I've witnessed (second only to ANOTHER vehicle accident involving three pregnant women), as it was gory and the fellow was pretty badly 'broken' in several places.

For the next three or four days, the image of him being hit and my treatment of him played almost constantly in a repeating loop in my head. Of course, my employers suggest I be counselled, and the counsellor assured me that this was 'normal' in traumatic events, and that it would 'fade' into the background in time, instead of being right in front of the mind, so you relive it over and over again. I found this exhausting, so I have some idea of what you mean when you say you didn't sleep for three days - your encounter wasn't something so prosaic and common as mine, in fact, I reckon it would be a hell of a lot worse, as there is all the associated stress with "how do I tell people I was knocked down a hill by a creature many people don't believe exists".

In any case, keep photographing the bruises as they fade, as you might start to see different patterns emerging as the less bruised areas heal first - you might see some grip marks or something.

Deans Response: Thanks Shazz.

Kind regards,
Shazz

Dean Harrison wrote: Just opening ourselves up for critisism and ridicule.

I hope that you dont confuse critisism with ridicule. They are not the same thing. Critisism and critical analysis of evidence is crucial to any claim, let alone one as extraordinary as yours.
You might have heard this before, but exraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, so forgive me if I havent yet bought a AYR polo shirt. I might, if any furtther developments merit the outlay.

Dean Harrison wrote:As I said, it's easy to pick holes of why then this or why didn't you do that? Its called hindsight.......

Did you honestly not expect some critical analysis your claims?

Thanks Brett for fielding those questions regarding the area. I have learnt an important lesson about this location and will no longer be complacent and do solo trips out there again. Again, I was just fortunate enough to have the guys reach me in time. I believe it was the torch lights that scared it away before we pursued.

Dean bruise screen saver? Yikes..... Can I photoshop it first and add some muscle back?

Myself and Mikka, while sitting there wataching it, definitely think there were caves down there. The reverb and bounce back of my angry voice giving it a little back seemed that way.

I knew all too well what this story could do for I/our cred, and went out on a limb by telling it, but it just had to be told. You can't go through this kind of thing and NOT want to tell the tale.

LOL Shazz! That was funny.

Oh and if I "did" fall down and hill or what not, I am quite sure my hands would have shown damage to try and stop myself, however as Joe stated - there was no damage to my palms/hands whatsoever. They are the first thing you either land on or protect your head with.

Marius - I coulld not agree more.

Thanks everyone for your comments. Again, I of all people know what damage we could do to my cred and this website by coming forward with this - yet I still took the risk. I have more to lose than gain...... Big step......

DMH

Joe, nice report and Dean nice follow up it was a great read, very informative.

In my opinion Dean and the team could have just stayed quiet, but the name of the game is for yowie research, (no matter how ridiculous the claim) to share stories and experiences and to collaborate ideas and theories. That is the only scientific method of discovering the truth in my opinion, without a body that is.

Dean and the team has nothing to gain by coming forward, but ridicule and I applaud them for doing so, yes evidence would be nice, but that’s harder than it sounds when you’re dealing with a very intelligent hominid. You only have to see the countless sightings we have worldwide to know there is something more to this than just a myth.

An aggressive encounter is nothing new they have happened before (being chased etc). What should be noted from this encounter is that not only did Dean see its eye shine but so did others from the group, so to discredit Dean would be to discredit others as to what they saw as well (eye shine in this case). To suggest he fell down an embankment (and that’s why he has his bruises) is just as ridiculous.

I hope people see that this was not just a solo encounter but a group one.

Well done to all.

I'm afraid I'm with Marius on this one; and why the hell are so many people lining up to defend a story from the 'nasty, unbelieving skeptics' when all I've seen are a couple of good questions about the incident.

Firstly I don't accept any of these postings as representative of a 'report'. They are all 'accounts' of an incident. In order to qualify as a report they have to contain 'hard data', none of which was provided, i.e.:

- Exact location? (no bulls#i+ about protecting yowies or orhter parties).

Dean's Response: You REALLY don’t think that would be a “tad” irresponsible? If you have been doing this long enough, you learn what happens when you indiscriminately broadcast locations to “everyone” on the Net. That is one of the first rules of thumb and responsibilities of our group. Most people who have been with us, or who have joined us in the past know where it is.

- Exactly how much alcohol was consumed? 1 beer, 5 beers, 10 bundy and rums?...

Dean's Response: Not enough to alter the equasion of reality

- Dean says he landed a lit punch. What was the texture of the fur?

Last time you had to defend yourself, did you stroke his hair?


- Original post (by Dean) says he was thrown 12 feet (now it sounds like he was pushed). How were you thrown/pushed? Lifted up and thrown, spun around, pushed from behind. By arms, legs, torso or what?

Lauched Backward. Heavy hit. Airbourne between 6 and 12, landed on my back and rolling back and forth. Sorry I didn't write a diary at the time, however I was just a little preoccupied to take notes

- Why did you even take alcohol if this was a 'research expedition' on territory that you had been warned about.

I was on Holidays with Lasso. Nothing serious (so I thought). Things changed apparently.....

- Why would you wander off alone, repeatedly? This is not the behaviour of a 'researcher'. All your going to end up with is a story with no corroborating evidence or witnesses.

Dean's Response: Habbit. All my guys will tell you that venture away for a quiet listen if there is too much noise at Base. That's certainly no issue.

- Why is everybody (skeptics excepted) automatically jumping to the conclusion that Dean was attacked by a yowie?

Dean's Response: Because the people who actualy KNOW me - KNOW me. Firstly, you have to "KNOW" me and perhaps then you will understand. Trust factor, plus they have been through the Wars with me for many years.

Since there are no pictures and Dean has not attempted to describe any characteristics of the attacker, it could have been (assuming SE Qld?) a wild pig (very territorial) and capable of bruises shown, a large kangaroo that simply ran into him (I had a very close call with Kangaroo in near pitch black conditions a number of years ago), a Cassowary (unlikely in pine forest but extremely territorial and capable of serious body damage) or even an extremely territorial dope grower protecting his crop (Occam's razor supports this one). How is that it's automatically a yowie (that still has not been proven to exist)?

Dean's Response: You had to be there. No hopping, not on 4 legs. Geeeeesh, with all respect, I think I have spent more hours in the Australian Forests than most people. I know my Native Animals. It ran like a very large Man.

- Where are the audio's? Fair enough, maybe the PC is broken but I could have by now synthesized a sound file to sound like something dangerous and unusual. Why couldn't you use somebody else's PC. I would.

Look... I don't want to pick a fight on the board and I certainly don't want to attack the credibility of the Research Team. As I've said before, kudos for just going out in the bush at night on these trips.

Dean's Response: Thank you

However, you 'yowie believers' must at some stage accept the fact that one hundred thousand tales of yowie encounters do not prove the existence of the beast.

Perhaps you all need to stop going bush for a while and sit down and consider:
- The purpose of your group
- If that purpose is to establish the existence (or otherwise) of the yowie, then:
- What will constitute 'proof' (not evidence) of it's existence
- What are the protocols for:
- Scientifically based field trips (alcohol is not on the list)
- Reporting a yowie experience
- Presenting the evidence
- Seeking independent evaluation and analysis.

Here's my synopsis of the information provided thus far:
- A group of yowie hunters went on a trip.
- They drank some alcohol and played some games.
- Dean went off by himself, had some sort of misadventure involving granite, water and possibly some large animal or person and sustained bruises.
- Nobody coming to Deans aid has said they saw a yowie, just eye-shine.
- A very indistinct plaster cast was made, which looked (in my opinion) like a human foot that has slipped and elongated/distorted the print.
- An audio file was captured but has not yet been presented due to technical difficulties.
- Despite all this they apparently de-camped and went to another spot to look for yowies.

Never easy. These points are of no consequence to me. We had a plan, however things went a bit Foobar. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this would happen. Not for one second.

Please don't read this as an attack. It's not. You had the encounter, you submitted the account, you have not provided anything that constitutes hard evidence, let alone proof that this was a yowie.

I compare this account with the George Gray encounter of 1968. George was physically attacked and even though he woke up from sleep (in the dark) he was still able to provide hard information such as the height of the beast, the texture of it's fur, the feel of its flesh/muscle (or lack thereof), the length of the encounter, etc.

That was certainly an interesting case, however he did have his son to back his case. THe no muscle in the neck thing is what threw me.

Please team... step back and consider how you go about this process and what you are actually trying to achieve...

Don't require a lecture. Sometimes things just don't pan out when you let your gaurd down.

Regards

I'm a bit skeptical about this account too. I mean no disrespect. The account does read as quite a dangerous encounter with something, but attributing it to the hairy man, on the face of all the reports, I'm not convinced it was a genuine yowie encounter. There are many extraneous variables, far too many to chalk it up to a yowie. The way the situation transpired - i.e. Dean being away from everyone, no one seeing or hearing anything apart from Dean's radio contact, it all just reads as a bit too convenient. I accept that those who were there may scoff at my skepticism, and I accept that, but all I can do is offer my comments in good faith as all of you have done.

One thing I will second from someone else's comment though, is that representing these accounts as field reports, or more specifically, scientific field reports, is a bit of a misrepresentation. It doesn't paint you as very professional, which I'm sure you all strive to be in your gathering of what evidence you can.

I hope I haven't upset anybody - I'm trying to be a bit less pointed than Opus in conveying my thoughts!

I'm glad you're okay, Dean, and I look forward to following your posts in the future. There's a cream you can get from most health food or natural medicine places called Arnica - does wonders for bruised and sore muscles!

Jim

Ive been trying to add more points but Joe you have summed up my recollection 100% of what happened. I cant really add anything.

Myself and YL1 have talked about the eye shine and the possibility it was from base camp, everytime we have come to the same conclusion that it was coming from just in front of us (10-15m) not the 100-150 meters back where our base camp was.

Also agree with Joe that Dean was in a state of "hysterics" when we come across him

iwanttobelieve wrote:Thanks Joe.


It's interesting that Seeker and Mossy reckoned the eye shine came from themselves. I'm assuming they saw the torch light pointed at them and could hear what was going on.

I'm not the best person to comment on any of this, I know absolutely nothing about yowies - it was the 2nd time I'd ever been out.

However, about the eyeshine incident...Yes we did see torches shining in our direction as we heard them say - do you see the eyeshine?? However there was a good 100 - 200 meters of bush between where we were and where mikka and YL1 were. So who knows what was inbetween? It was very dark and the scrub fairly thick.

Opus wrote: Here's my synopsis of the information provided thus far:
- A group of yowie hunters went on a trip.
- They drank some alcohol and played some games.
- Dean went off by himself, had some sort of misadventure involving granite, water and possibly some large animal or person and sustained bruises.
- Nobody coming to Deans aid has said they saw a yowie, just eye-shine.
- A very indistinct plaster cast was made, which looked (in my opinion) like a human foot that has slipped and elongated/distorted the print.
- An audio file was captured but has not yet been presented due to technical difficulties.
- Despite all this they apparently de-camped and went to another spot to look for yowies.

Further to Opus's points I would add that this is an ideal environment for conformation bias.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/t ... n_bias.htm

Marius wrote:Further to Opus's points I would add that this is an ideal environment for conformation bias.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/t ... n_bias.htm

Exactly what I believe to be the basis of the 'true believers' whether you're talking about yowies/sasquatch/yeti/aliens/crop-circles etc. and a very good explanation. It does not mean that you're wrong, it just means that you are not currently capable of presenting a scientifically based proof.

Referring to my previous post about my own 'corner of the eye sighting' in my teens. Saw a large, dark shape 'walk' down below a bridge (driving past) in the middle of a state forest and immediately thought 'yowie'. I immediately thought yowie because it occurred around the time when George Gray's and Robert Winkler's encounters (Kempsey region) were publicly reported and also because I was just discovering the stories and legends of the yowie myself.

However, replaying what I saw in mind over and over again I cannot determine what the large, dark shape actually was. Therefore all that can conclusively be said is that it was a large dark shape.

My younger mind succumbed to my own conformation bias at the time. My considerably more mature mind says it could have been any number of other things.

I sincerely hope that the team succeed in their quest, as although I'm skeptic now, I'm open to the possibility of a remnant hominid population. There just hasn't been any evidence and it seems that all the current researchers (AYR, Rex Gilroy, Tim the Yowie sellout) are highly subject to conformation bias. There also does not appear to be any form of collaboration between them either (although I'm quite happy to be proven wrong).

Anyway, best wishes to the team and I hope Dean's injuries heal quickly so he can get back into it again. I enjoy reading your adventures and I wish you the best of luck in your quest. Just remember to report the facts impartially until you have some hard proof. I for one will be quite happy to hear you say "I told you so..."

True believers..true sceptics...people stuck in the middle..there is always an element of confirmation bias..
But.. is it applicable to all transient phenomena and witness claims.
Some of the most interesting witnesses too unusual phenomena often state words to the effect of "I never thought this thing could have been real..blah blah..until I saw..?????"
So..for the bias argument to be valid..a good majority(all?) of the alleged witnesses (too clear cut events, not I think I saw..?)must be predisposed from cultural/personal beliefs into the "reality" BEFORE the sighting.
If this is in fact what is happening, then please show some examples of published studies pointing this out.
I hope that no one suggests "unconsciously biased" as an answer because it would make the initial hypothesis(bias) not falsifiable..and not a scientific argument hello Mr Popper.
And on the same note, since we are talking bias and groups not currently capable of presenting a scientifically based proof who could ever forget the case that broke CSICOP desire to do any more large scientific analysis of unusual claims.
Starbaby.
http://cura.free.fr/xv/14starbb.html

Mike Williams wrote: So..for the bias argument to be valid..a good majority(all?) of the alleged witnesses (too clear cut events, not I think I saw..?)must be predisposed from cultural/personal beliefs into the "reality" BEFORE the sighting.
If this is in fact what is happening, then please show some examples of published studies pointing this out.

He's a bit big, but you get my drift I hope. If not;
http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/straw-man.html


Just for the heck of it, here are some links to material about and describing confirmation bias.
http://psy.ucsd.edu/~mckenzie/nickerson ... onBias.pdf
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/conten ... 975~db=all (A publication)
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=4687726 ( A publication)
I'm sure wiki would have an entry as well.

Should anyone be sketchy on what confirmation bias is, these links, and the information that they contain, or the publications they reference, may aid the gaining of that insight.

I will just remind you of my initial statement.

Further to Opus's points I would add that this is an ideal environment for conformation bias.

You may observe that the observation was just that. An observation. Not an assertion.
Were I asserting that confirmation bias was the only element at play here, I would have said;

This is a clear example of confirmation bias.

Thus I don't think we need get further bogged down in semantics.

Edit for grammar funky images, and links.

MMM deep Mike, but straight over my head!

Steps should be taken to improve data collection on future field trips.

My suggestions:

1. Cameras on all members at all times. Even a cheap flash camera strapped to researchers chest can take a decent image up to 4 metres away at night. The sudden flash of bright light could also deter/disorientate potentially aggressive encounters. An opportunity was missed…

2. Researchers should perhaps ease up on macho displays of bravado lest the hairy hominids show what is a REAL display of testosterone. Should researchers pick fights with Yowies or try to collect tangible data and seek to understand? Aggression breeds aggression and we are most likely unable to out-agro these things. A different approach is needed. Again, an opportunity was missed…

3. All researchers involved with a particular incident to write separate reports based on what they alone witnessed. These reports should be done without collaboration from others and within 24 hours of the incident to ensure that the information is as “fresh” as possible and without time to embellish the events.

No disrespect, mikka, but to say “Ive been trying to add more points but Joe you have summed up my recollection 100% of what happened. I cant really add anything.” is not good enough from a researcher’s point of view. Kudos to Joe for his comprehensive report, however.

The issue of credibility aside, there is perhaps more to be gained from this than first glance - eg Coming soon to Fox - Dean Harrison: Bigfoot Hunter! (for the American audience, no doubt). Who would not jump at the chance to turn their passion/interest into a career and/or fame and fortune?

Food for thought…

Marius wrote:

Further to Opus's points I would add that this is an ideal environment for conformation bias.
http://changingminds.org/explanations/t ... n_bias.htm

Too true.

Great link Marius.

Thanks for posting.

Here is my write up of the Incident.


I had noticed Dean had slipped away again and made his way uphill, and a short time later he radioed back that he could smell a strong sulphur odor. A short time later he radioed again asking if anyone had gone up their then all hell broke loose on the radio. Once I heard that I jumped up and started running, Joe and YL1 where ahead of me.

I didnt have my torch only my radio (Mossy had my torch) and all the way up I was on the radio asking what was Deans possition and never got a reply, I heard his voice from down in the valley and yelled "He is down their" and I left the trail towards the voice. YL1 was behind me at that point somewhere and illuminated the way with his bright torch.

I got to dean and he was in a highly agitated state, he kept saying he was fighting this thing and was thankful we got their so quick. Also he kept saying it went that way its up their somewhere, pointing up a small embankment. After making sure Dean was ok I made my way towards the others then ventured into the bush with YL1 right at my side as he had a torch.

Some way in I spotted eye shine from something large in front of us, it wasn't small like a possum or tawnyfrogmouth but large and wide apart blinking in the light. I asked YL1 if he was seeing the same as he was next to me and he replied Yes. I cant say exactly how long we watched them maybe 30 seconds and they where gone.

Joe and YL1 went back to base at this point as we couldn't get any reponce on radio, Joe gave my his torch as neither of us had one. We sat down in this little creek bed and Dean went over what happened to him again still quite agitated while we listened to the bush. We heard some movement and saw the same eye shine as before in a totally different position as before and at one point it seemed to be getting closer. I can honestly say I S**t myself at that point as whatever it was wasnt far of our position. After awhile it dissapeared from sight and we hearded back to camp.



As for the whole going away from camp alone I did it a few times that night also, let alone the next day

mikka wrote:I can honestly say I S**t myself at that point as whatever it wasnt far of our position.

Hey Mikka.

Thanks for your report.

I've read your previous posts and although you're a man of few words you usually say what needs to be said.

Glad Dean had you there to back him up.

Looking forward to YL1's account and *audio* files.

Cheers,

very interesting encounter and i hope your ok dean

Some quick replies ...

To Dean ... I am glad to hear that in future you will take precautions with your expeditions. Always have a companion with you when you venture out (for support evidences. I see you are copping the usual criticsms but soldier on. I have found in the past that most critics never do field work. When you do or participate in "alternative research areas", controversy always follows ... been there and done that - 30 years of research have given me "steel armour" over the back but I have always survived because I have always dotted the "i's" and crossed the "t's" before making a claim. Don't give up - the truth is out there.

To Lil Foot ... If the spot where Dean had his "encounter" is the one that I know, I can assure you there are no inclines or declines where one could "slip" or "fall" over the side of an embankment to cause his "injuries". There are rockpools on both sides of the road. The spot was always one I avoided unless someone was with me - there was always something strange in the air there.

To JohnDH ... The area involved is a "sacred" aboriginal area for women and young children - in fact an initiation area and/or "birthing pool" - I have a full history covering events that took place there in the past. Some strange "apparitions" have been recorded there by foresters over the years and workers will not camp in that vicinity. There is a secluded valley nearby that forestry workers refuse to enter (I have personal notes taken by some who worked in that vicinity) - I will not elaborate further - I treat many of these places (including the place od Dean's experience) with some respect.

To Shazzoir ...
- Home base for our "friends"? I believe the spot is one of several from notes recorded from the area over 50 years. I have always regarded such places as definitely "no go areas" or places where precautions are needed.
- Rocky outcrops? There are a number of them in the vicinity but hidden by thick scrub. The area is very mountainous with deep ravines - some never been seen by white men.
- Pine forest? Yes ... The jungle area was deforested around 80 years ago and replaced by pine plantation untouched and unexplored until recent times - current harvesting is not far from Dean's campsite and the "rock" area. Our "friend's" territorial hunting grounds in these areas are fast diminishing into smaller selected areas.
- Caves? Yes ... but used as aboriginal buriel places. I have recorded no usages (or usages) by any living thing over the past 25 years.
- Wildlife? ... Birds, Wallabies, bandicoots and other reptiles - yes but strangely not at night. In case you ask ... there are no wild deer or wild pigs in the area. The first signs of a "presence" is that there is a sudden silence - not even tree crickets and there are millions of them - quite eerie! Your body encounters a sudden chill when this happens. Then when the"presence" leaves - everything starts up again. Don't ask me anything on this one - it is just an observation.

Hope this answers a few questions I noted from replies listed.
BJG