In July of 1997, Vince Doerr, fire chief of Ochopee, the largest rural fire district in Florida, snapped a picture of what some believe to be a skunk ape near Burns Road. Doerr reportedly came across the skunk ape 15 minutes after real estate agent Jan Brock had a similar sighting of a strange, shaggy creature on the same road.

According to Doerr, the creature crossed the road in front of his truck.

“At first I thought it was a bear, but bears don’t stay up on two legs the way this thing was,” Doerr said. “Then I thought, who’s playin’ games?”

Doerr drove up to the spot where the cryptid had crossed, but by that time it was 400 yards off in the bush, he said.

“I grabbed my camera and I yelled at it. It turned and looked at me but it kept walkin’, parallel to the road. I waited until it got between two trees and then I took a picture.”