This is only the 4th time I've told this story because of the ridicule I received. 
It happened on October 23, 1983. I was 3 days shy of becoming 21 years old. I had not heard much about Bigfoot at the time.
The movie "Legend of Boggy Creek", which was released sometime around 1972, was about all the experience and knowledge that I had concerning BF.

It was a warm day, overcast and humid. This was South Georgia, of course. 
I was hunting on land my family has owned for years. We live very close to the Great Okefenokee Swamp. The swamp consists of thousands of acres of swampland and is home to hundreds of different animals including deer, hogs, raccoons and especially alligators.

The swamp holds at least several families of bigfoot as there is ample food sources and water. People in this area are very closed mouthed about bigfoot. Some are because they want to protect them, some because they think we believers are crazy.
Anyway, on this particular day I was deer hunting. I had a Remington 1100, 12 gauge shotgun. It was loaded with 3"magnum 00(pronounced 'double ought) buckshot.

 I was sitting on the ground in the middle of a group of palmetto bushes. I was wearing camouflage clothing and was nearly impossible to be seen. The hunt started off as it usually does and I was sitting very still, not moving much at all. I was approximately 75 yards from the river. There were squirrels by the dozen running around, gathering nuts and generally doing what squirrels do.
I knew that I was well hidden as some squirrels came within touching distance of me and never seeing me.

 Then a doe walked out from some bushes acting really spooked. Her tail in the air and she was constantly sniffing the wind. I thought that maybe a buck was following her, but that didn't seem right as it was too warm for the rut to be in. ( Basically meaning that it was too warm and too early in the season for a doe to be in 'heat'). I knew she wasn't smelling me because the wind was blowing in my face. I also knew that she couldn't see me, I was too well hidden. I watched for a couple of minutes hoping a buck would present himself so that I could take him and fill up my freezer. My family depended on wild game to supplement our food. My dad is a pastor and had a small church that couldn't pay him that much.

Anyway, all of a sudden I got very scared. The kind of scared that makes your mouth dry and your bladder full. I could not understand this fear as I saw nothing and heard nothing to make me afraid. I have hunted by myself since I was 10 years old and had NEVER been afraid of anything in the swamp or the woods. I eased around to see if maybe I had sensed a venomous snake. Nothing. I then noticed that the swamp had grown very quiet. Not a sound. Not even a squirrel chattering, which is something that they do when they sense danger. I was so scared that I wanted to RUN, not walk out. The doe appeared to be petrified. Suddenly she broke and ran and that scared me so bad I nearly vomited. No kidding, I was that scared.

Something then caught my attention. I saw a creature that was probably 8-9 feet tall and 6-700 pounds. Now, I was so scared that I thought I would have a heart attack. It was solid black with a huge head that appeared to be fused to his shoulders. I have heard so many stories about how loud they walk, taking down trees as they go. Not this one. He walked slowly, quieter than any animal I've ever observed. He was constantly looking behind him and constantly scanning the area. He had to turn his whole upper body to look around as he seemed to have no neck, just a huge head on his body. Suddenly, he stopped and looked right at me. I thought, there's no way he can see me in those bushes. But he did. Somehow he saw me in the middle of a group of palmetto bushes. One of the people I made the mistake of telling asked me why I didn't shoot him. I didn't, because I couldn't . I literally was in a trance like state. This thing looked so human in the face, there's no way I could have shot it. We stared at each other for what seemed like an hour. The silence in the swamp terrified me. I had never experienced that before. 

After what seems like ages, he grunted. He turned around and uttered a yell that nearly left me with wet pants. There was a return howl behind him and one almost directly behind me.

 I don't remember anything after that. Seems like I blinked and he was gone. 
 After about an hour according to my watch, I shakily got up and walked to the spot I had seen him. There were huge footprints that seemed to go straight into the river. I can only speculate that he went into the water and swam the river. Nobody I know swims in that part of the river because of gators. This is why I was interested in Mark's story. I believe that I was placed in some sort of trance. I don't believe it swam away. I, honestly, now believe that they inter-dimensional. I believe that the creatures stepped into another dimension while I was in a trance.
I'd like to say that I went back the next day to hunt in the same spot, but that would be a lie.
I hunted a different area the rest of that season. I believe that they can be dangerous. I also believe that they live and let live. They could have easily hurt or killed me had they chosen to. The one that yelled behind me was easily close enough to take me out.
I was an undercover narcotics agent for 8 years followed by being a paramedic for the next 18 years. I hope that I have some credibility.
I hope one day the government will be forced to disclose what they know.

 We're very close to the truth now. Be careful, keep your head on a swivel and always let someone know where you are!!

Darrel Burnett-USA