Hide-and-seek Sasquatch, the Montra Freitas strory

The following is an excerpt from the must have book, "In Search of Sasquatch" by Kelly Milner Halls: Hide-and-Seek Sasquatch. As a twelve-year-old, Montra Freitas had an experience in 1978 that most Sasquatch seekers would consider a dream come true. She came face-to-face with one of the world's most mysterious creatures on a shady path in a rural California campground, long before nightfall.

"I went with my parents to the Sugarpine Campgrounds," she said, "and I was bored out of my mind." With no one to play with, Freitas wandered down toward a gentle creek to play by the water. As she walked the distance, roughly one city block, through the thick pine forest, she got a strange sensation.

"I had the feeling someone was watching me," she said, "and the hair on the back of my neck stood up a bit." Not yet afraid, Freitas slowly turned clockwise, her eyes searching as she moved. Once she came full circle, she saw, from a distance of fifteen feet, what looked like an arm gently wrapped around a huge old-growth pine.

Freitas said, "I could make out long fingers and very dark brown hair covering the entire arm. I thought, `That's not a branch and it's not a bear's paw, but it sure looks like an arm with a hand!"


She had pondered the thought for only a moment when a face peeked out from the other side of the large tree. "It was a very fiat face, very dark brown. I couldn't make out any features, except for the eyes," she said, "and they were looking right at me."

Because the figure was slightly bent, Freitas isn't sure how tall the Sasquatch was, though she wonders if it might have been a juvenile, like her; as curious about her as she eventually was about it... eventually, but not right away.

Fear bolted up her spine. She had never heard of Sasquatch, had never spoken to people searching for proof of its existence. She knew only that she was alone in the woods, a full city block from the safety of her campsite, looking at something completely unknown.

Without another thought, Freitas ran, fast and hard, straight to her parents' camper, without once looking back. "I didn't tell my mom or dad about it, since I thought they'd think I was crazy," she said. "Needless to say, I stayed in the trailer for the rest of our vacation."

Thirty years later, she sees things a little differently. "I was really scared," she said, "but the creature was not trying to hurt me in any way. I believe it was just curious about me, wondering what I was. If it had meant me harm, it could have easily reached out and grabbed me as I ran past it on the trail. Maybe it was afraid of me, too. I wish I hadn't been so scared. I wish I had kept my cool long enough to interact with it."

If she had, Montra Freitas would have made Sasquatch history. But she'll be ready the next time the opportunity comes around. And she's definitely hoping there will be a next time.

To purchase this must have book, "In Search of Sasquatch" by Kelly Milner Halls, click here.