DETROIT (Cryptozoology News) — A family claim they saw a strange ape-like creature Thursday afternoon coming out of the window of an abandoned house on the outskirts of the desolate city.

C. Brown, his wife, and their two children said they were “driving around, looking to buy a new house”, when they allegedly witnessed the unidentified beast.

“The economy has been devastating here man,” Brown explained. “One day, you are living in this beautiful city with over a million and a half working people, next day all you know is all is gone…crime has gone up and life has become almost impossible to deal with here. I am one of the lucky ones still with a job.”

Detroit’s economy has seen a decline in the recent decades. What used to be the city of the automobile industry and prosperity has now become a crime-ridden place with the potential to become a war zone. Likewise, the once wealthy house lots are currently nothing but a sanctuary for homeless people struggling to live another day.

“All the houses and people we used to know are long gone. Our neighborhood is not a safe place for our children anymore. So we decided to go look for a new place,” the man said.

His wife shares the same feelings about the city. “Ain’t no place for us to live here. What for? People get shot for nothing in here. So we got in the car and went looking for a good house to move to,” she told Cryptozoology News.

Reportedly, after driving for three hours and not able to find a house meeting the family standards, they decided it was time to return home.

“I saw that thing right through the window of an abandoned house. I was shocked. I told my husband cause he was driving and couldn’t see it.”

They described the house as a two story blue building with broken windows. Then, they said, Brown decided to “slow down to get a better look”.

“Hell, we were curious about it. I mean, you know, we were aware that we ain’t in no safe neighborhood, but we didn’t get out of the car or nothing. We see this hairy arm reaching out the window. I say what the hell, he gonna get cut that dude with the broken glass, man. Then a whole body coming out the window, looked like a monkey, only big damn monkey with a stick on the hand. Maybe about 7-ft tall. It had short, reddish hair. But hold on, the face was human looking, as crazy as it sounds. My wife kept telling me to drive away, so we did. I got to see the animal’s eyes and all, big and dark, with a huge head, like a triangle shape, kinda, know what I mean? Started hitting the ground with the branch or the stick or whatever it was holding. Kind of reminded me of what squirrels do with their legs when you approach them. But this was no damn squirrel,” Brown claimed.

A few moments later, as the Browns left the blue house behind, the animal supposedly walked through the bushes and disappeared.

“I could see it on the mirror, he kept hitting the ground with the stick and then he walked away and couldn’t see him anymore. The kids were screaming in the backseat like crazy and my wife was trying to calm them down, man. It went on for 30 seconds or so,” the father said.

“The lack of urban expansion in the city due to a poor economy could mean that some species have found their way back into their old habitat. It is also possible that the lots of empty houses could work as an incentive for wild animals seeking shelter. As a result, these witnesses could easily misidentify the native species of the area,” said Lorenzo Martinez, animal behaviorist and teacher at a Spanish university.

“No no, that was not a dog or a bear. That was either some sick man dressed up for fun or a freaking monkey with a man’s face, like a Bigfoot. Whatever you wanna believe, up to you. That’s all I have to say,” said Brown.

Last December, a man from Maine claimed he saw a “white Bigfoot” while walking his dog near his residence.