Blackfeet First Responder Recounts Close Sasquatch Encounter After Wildfire Duty

A recent episode of the Entering The Unknown Podcast dropped with an absolutely fascinating guest, and this one is going to stick with me for a while. William Running Crane, a member of the Blackfeet Nation in Montana and a former first responder, came on to share not just one, but multiple encounters with cryptids that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about the natural world. Running Crane's history with the unknown started young. He described seeing a creature that sounds like something straight out of a prehistoric documentary, a giant frog-like being roughly three feet tall with a long tadpole tail, webbed feet with claws, forward-facing eyes, and plates running down its back like a Stegosaurus. He saw this thing twice near a lake in Montana. He also mentioned freshwater horseshoe crabs living in a local lake, creatures that, according to conventional science, have no business being there. For anyone familiar with cryptozoology, these kinds of reports from Indigenous witnesses carry a lot of weight, especially coming from someone with deep ties to the land. But the encounter that really got my attention happened while Running Crane was serving as a firefighter with the Montana Indian firefighting crew, known as MYTH. After spending about a week and a half on spike camp in Idaho battling wildfires on brutal 90-degree slopes, he and his crew of 22 men finally got back to base camp. Everyone was exhausted, covered in smoke and ash, and ready to clean up and turn in for the night. As he was walking back, admiring a remarkably tame deer that didn't spook at his presence, he looked up toward the housing area, where floodlights illuminated roughly nine to fourteen structures. That's when he saw it. A tall figure, walking upright, then dropping down onto all fours to sniff the ground like an animal, then standing back up. Running Crane described it as something so shocking he couldn't even speak at first. He tried to alert his crew, yelling for them to come look, but they were done. They told him to go to bed. Can you imagine being the only one awake to witness something like that, and having no one believe you? The Blackfeet people have a long, rich history with Sasquatch, often referred to in their traditions as beings deeply connected to the wilderness. Encounters like Running Crane's from credible, trained observers, especially first responders who are trained to stay calm under pressure, add another layer to the growing body of witness testimony from across North America. Firefighters, law enforcement, and military personnel have repeatedly come forward with similar accounts, and their training in observation and situational awareness makes their reports particularly compelling. The hosts also touched on some other interesting topics during the episode, including an upcoming dogman hunt at a fenced 40-acre property with a 10-foot chain link fence topped with barbed wire, where a nephew of one of the hosts reportedly had two sightings within two days. They also mentioned plans for a month of paranormal episodes in October and teased bringing back previous guests. If you're into firsthand witness accounts, especially from someone with a lifetime of experience in the outdoors and a background in emergency services, this episode is absolutely worth your time. Running Crane's calm, matter-of-fact delivery makes his story all the more believable. Head over to the Entering The Unknown Podcast on YouTube and check it out for yourself.