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A group of terrified teenagers were rescued by police during what they claimed was an encounter with a Bigfoot-like creature with "glowing eyes" in a Louisiana forest, the Natchitoches Parish Sheriff's Office reported in a Facebook post shared last month.
The recent high school graduates were camping in Kisatchie National Forest when they called police at around 9:20 p.m. on June 28 to report the alleged incident. The teens claimed to have seen a large animal resembling "Bigfoot" shortly after setting up camp about a mile and a half off Back Bone Trail, the department said.
One member of the group claimed to have "heard a growl and saw what appeared to be an animal that had glowing eyes and stood about 5-foot tall," the sheriff's office said.
Deputies responded to the campsite and found the teens frightened but unharmed before safely escorting them out of the forest. The department said that deputies "unable to locate any suspicious activity involving a growl with glowing eyes and standing 5-feet tall" when they searched the scene.
Two self-proclaimed Bigfoot researchers, who publicly identified themselves as 'Tex-La' and Claude, had previously claimed to have spotted the mythological creature in Kisatchie National Forest in 2019. The pair left camouflaged cameras and audio devices in trees for hours and said they had footprints and signs of Bigfoot "markings," which included twisted tree limbs.
“It is what it is. If you choose to believe that’s great. If you choose not to believe, that’s great, too,” said Tex-La via the New York Post.
“It’s something you have to approach with an open mind,” he added.