Bigfoot has apparently gone blond and lives in North Carolina. At least according to Cleveland County resident Tim Peeler, who told local authorities of his encounter with the 10-foot tall creature, reports the Charlotte Observer.

Peeler thought he was calling coyotes, but instead got surprised and frightened by what -- or who -- came a-calling.

"Instead of them, him," Peeler, who lives in a rural area near South Mountains State Park, told NBC affiliate WCNC NewsChannel 36.

"This thing was 10-foot tall. He had beautiful hair," said Peeler, adding that it looked like the creature had six fingers on each hand.

"I come out here and rough-talked him and run him off," continued Peeler. But then the creature returned.

Luckily the encounter ended safely when Peeler got a bit more aggressive. "I said, 'Get away from here! Get! Get!' and he went right back up that path again."

Sgt. Mark Self of the Cleveland County sheriff's office responded to the suspicious-person call placed by Peeler.

"It scared me," said Self. "This is just totally blowing my mind that they even brought it back up," adding that the Sasquatch legend has been in the county since the 1970s.

"It doesn't bother me now -- I don't think there's anything to it," Self said. Still, the sheriff's office plans to continue its routine patrols of the area. "If we see something, we’ll try to capture it and take it into custody," he added.

So campers and hikers visiting the state park, one of North Carolina’s least-developed recreational sites, be forewarned -- you might want to plan on carrying a big stick, and leaving the coyote caller at home.

-- Kelly Burgess

Video from NBC affiliate WCNC NewsChannel 36, North Carolina

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