Bigfoot Investigator Shares 9-Foot Figure Video and Festival Success

Posted Friday, September 25, 2026

By Squatchable.com staff

There's a podcast episode floating around YouTube right now that's got the community buzzing, and honestly, it's one of those conversations you don't want to miss. The Cryptid Crew Podcast teamed up with Rebel's Dark Tales of Appalachia to bring on Jerry Milwood, better known as Kazerrebel on TikTok, and he's a researcher with NCI and Sasquatch Recon. What unfolds is a story about an encounter so intense it literally ran two grown men out of their own campsite. Jerry lives right up against the South Mountains in western North Carolina, tucked into the Appalachian foothills. We're talking about 100,000 acres of rugged, rocky terrain that's notoriously difficult to navigate. His property sits at the junction of multiple creeks that eventually feed into the Broad River, and he believes those waterway confluences are a big part of why his area sees so much activity. And when he says activity, he means it. Back in 2016 and 2017, massive wildfires swept through the higher elevations of the South Mountains, and Jerry believes that's what pushed creatures down into the lower foothills. Before the fires, he and his wife Nancy had occasional vocalizations and tree breaks, maybe a footprint here and there. But starting in 2017, things kicked into high gear. His first visual came in August of that year, around 9:30 at night. He and Nancy spotted a massive figure standing beside a cornfield just 20 to 25 feet from their vehicle. The shoulders, the thighs, the sheer height, it was unmistakable. Before Jerry could even turn the car around to put the headlights on it, Nancy urged him to hurry because it was already moving. It just casually turned and walked into the corn. Gone. Locals in the South Mountains area have their own nickname for these beings, knobbies. Jerry's had multiple sightings over the years, plus plenty of vocalizations ranging from whoops to tree knocks to those rare, blood-curdling howls. The first time he ever heard a howl, it scared him so deeply that he sat alone at night writing what he describes as a horror poem about the experience. A family camping on his property in July 2024 reported hearing two creatures communicating in that distinct chatter language, and a neighbor later confirmed she'd heard the same thing years ago. But the real meat of this episode is the camping trip that happened back in April. Jerry had been dealing with so much activity on his property, videos, vocalizations, even a possible black panther sighting, that he invited the podcast host up to do some recording and hopefully catch some sounds. What they got instead was something neither of them expected. The encounter lasted roughly 15 to 20 minutes from start to finish, and Jerry describes it as rivaling anything he's ever heard of in the area. At one point, Jerry heard something behind them that he can only describe as chest beating. That primal, unmistakable sound. The kind of vocalization that researchers recognize as a territorial display or a warning. Whatever was out there wasn't hiding. It was announcing itself. There's also a fascinating piece of evidence Jerry had captured before this trip. A video taken from his backyard at night, shining a spotlight down toward the bottom of a hill. Something was standing there, a foot or two above the fence line. With the help of Bob Trent, who handles the technical side of things with Sasquatch Recon, they set up cameras and did some math using an axe handle for scale. The result? Whatever was standing there measured approximately nine feet tall, maybe a little more. And there was nothing below it to stand on. The terrain just drops off. Jerry describes the figure as really tall and skinny with a lighter gray coloration, leading him to wonder if it might have been an older Sasquatch whose hair had turned gray or white. The way it moved was flawless, walking bipedally with an ease that ruled out any injured animal or human in a suit. The South Mountains themselves are part of the larger Blue Ridge ecosystem, and researchers have long noted that wilderness areas with dense forest cover, abundant water sources, and difficult terrain tend to be hotspots for Sasquatch reports. The theory about the wildfires driving creatures to lower elevations aligns with patterns seen in other regions where habitat disruption forces wildlife, including possibly relict hominids, into new territories. The podcast also touches on the recent Bigfoot Festival in Marion, North Carolina, which broke attendance records again, possibly drawing 20,000 people or more. Jerry and the host had just come from speaking at the event, where they drew a crowd of around a thousand people listening at the stage alone. If you're into detailed witness accounts, terrain analysis, and that raw, unfiltered reaction from someone who's lived alongside these creatures for years, this episode is absolutely worth your time. Jerry Milwood comes across as a genuine, level-headed researcher who isn't out to sensationalize anything, but the events he describes speak for themselves. Check it out and see what you think.