Alabama Bigfoot Researchers Drone Kelly Creek, Share Night Encounters

There's something about Alabama that keeps pulling researchers back to the same spots, and Kelly Creek Boat Launch is shaping up to be one of those locations that just won't let go. A recent drone flyover of the area, posted by the Alabama Paranormal and Bigfoot YouTube channel, features an on-site chat with Donnie Moore of the Central Alabama Bigfoot Research Group, and the stories he shares are the kind that make you want to load up the truck and head straight to Shelby County. Moore, who lives about ten minutes from the boat launch, has run three separate night investigations at Kelly Creek. Every single one of them produced activity. The most intense encounter happened the Thursday before Thanksgiving 2024, around 11 p.m., when he and a partner were filming across the creek. A Sasquatch started throwing rocks at them. Not pebbles, either. Moore describes them as massive, the kind of stones a grown man would need both hands to lift. The photos he sent over to Jonathan, the channel host, backed up the story. That's not all that's been documented there. Moore also reports tree knocks echoing through the woods at night and a sighting of a creature coming up the river, getting within about twenty yards, and dipping water with its hands before slipping back into the trees. They managed to capture that one on camera. Morning investigations haven't been quiet either. Moore says he heads down at least once a week, sometimes as early as 5:30 or 6 a.m., running call blasts and knocking on trees, and the activity keeps showing up. Jonathan, who has been chasing reports since his first sighting back in 1966 in the little town of Fruithurst in Cleburn County, takes viewers on a full drone tour of the area during the video. The boat launch sits in a beautifully isolated stretch of Alabama woods, with a small creek feeding into the main river and a little island out in the water that he's already planning to investigate. About five miles down the road sits Grover's Creek boat launch, where a family of five were fishing a couple of months back and reported seeing a creature. The whole region, it seems, is stacked with reports. One of the more fascinating moments in the footage comes when Jonathan pauses the video to point out a sun dog that appeared in the sky during filming. The way it formed, he notes, looks strikingly like an alien face. Strange little coincidences like that tend to follow researchers into some of the most active spots, and Kelly Creek seems to have plenty of them. The terrain itself tells its own story. There's a wide-open field to the right of the entrance that, during the day, looks like nothing more than tall grass and brush. At night, though, Moore says it gets confusing, full of rabbits, rodents, and all kinds of movement that can play tricks on the eyes. A farmer who tilled that same field reported seeing something out there too. Jonathan plans to fly the field with thermal in the future, searching for tracks and anything bedded down in the grass. Along the riverbank, there's a stretch of woods across the water near a power line that both researchers believe is a hotspot. Jonathan points out what he calls "big bird nests," structures built up in the trees that look like something large has been bedding or resting in them. He's planning a ground search for those next. The drone work itself is worth checking out. Jonathan uses a technique he calls "the submarine," flying low and steady along the terrain before popping up high to catch anything that might be standing up in the open. He mentions that flying the banks at night with thermal reveals all kinds of movement scrambling through the brush, the kind of thing that would make a believer out of anyone. What makes this video stand out is the collaboration. Jonathan and Donnie have been friends for about three years, and after plenty of vetting, they're finally teaming up for joint night investigations at Kelly Creek. Donnie's group covers all of Alabama and is always open to new reports. Anyone with a sighting in the area can reach out through their page or contact Jonathan directly to get an investigation started. Kelly Creek Boat Launch is the kind of place that reminds you why people keep coming back to Alabama. Isolated, quiet, surrounded by water and thick woods, and absolutely loaded with reports from credible witnesses who've been doing this for decades. The drone footage gives a real sense of the layout, and the stories shared in the video paint a picture of a location that's been active for years and isn't slowing down anytime soon. Definitely worth the watch. Grab some headphones, turn the lights down, and pay close attention to that sun dog. It's the kind of thing that makes you do a double take.