Retired US Army sergeant Todd Neiss says he was blindsided when he allegedly came face-to-face with three massive Bigfoot-like creatures during a military mission — and now believes the elusive beasts may be “watching us.”
“Those 25 seconds changed the entire course of my life,” Neiss told Fox News.
Neiss, who says he was once skeptical of Bigfoot stories himself, claims that in 1993 he and three other soldiers from the Army’s 1249th Combat Engineer Battalion were conducting training exercises with high explosives in Oregon’s Coast Range wilderness when they spotted what they believed were three unusual creatures.
Retired US Army sergeant Todd Neiss said he and his squad saw a trio of Bigfoot beasts in the Oregon wilderness during an Army training exercise in 1993. FOX News According to Neiss, the figures appeared ape-like, stood roughly seven to nine feet tall, and had human-like facial features with bodies covered in hair.
He described their proportions as unlike those of a normal human.
“Their silhouette was completely disproportionate in terms of the arm length and even the length of the legs as it pertains to a human torso,” he said.
Neiss also claimed the creatures appeared to be observing the soldiers from a distance.
No physical evidence or photographs from the encounter have surfaced publicly.
Following his 20-year military career, Neiss became heavily involved in Bigfoot research and in 2015 founded the American Primate Conservancy, a nonprofit organization focused on the study and protection of what believers refer to as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.
Interest in the legendary creature continues in many parts of the country, including northeast Ohio, where some residents have recently reported hearing strange screams or finding large footprints.
Such reports continue to fuel fascination among Bigfoot enthusiasts.
One frequently cited image in Bigfoot lore is the famous 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film recorded in California, which supporters argue shows a Sasquatch-like creature. Others scoff, saying it’s a man in costume.
This photo, taken in California in 1967, supposedly captures the beast. Bettmann Archive Mike Miller, co-founder of the Ohio Nightstalkers Bigfoot Research Group, speculated that this year’s severe winter, where dual snowstorms swept across the country in just one month, may have flooded the Sasquatch’s habitat, forcing it closer to civilization.
Neiss said the Ohio reports do not surprise him, noting that organizations tracking alleged sightings rank Ohio among the states with the highest number of claims.
“Ohio is actually, believe it or not, ranked number four of all the states in the United States that have sightings, so it isn’t really all that unusual,” he explained.
“There seems to be a pocket of them in them there woods.”
According to the Bigfoot Field Researcher’s Organization, states including Washington, California, Florida and Ohio have logged hundreds of reported sightings over the years.
The organization’s database is based on eyewitness submissions and is not indepently verified by scientific institutions.
Neiss acknowledged that many people question why convincing evidence has not emerged in an era of smartphones, drones and trail cameras.
“Number one, it comes down to odds,” he defended. “They’re just a very rare species.”
Skeptics counter that the lack of clear physical evidence — such as DNA samples, remains or indisputable footage — is one of the strongest arguments against the creature’s existence.
Still, Neiss insists he saw what he saw. “They’re always watching us,” he warned.
