Mysterious Black Panther Seems to Vanish in Fayette County PA (July 16, 2026)

Mysterious Black Panther Seems to Vanish in Fayette County PA (July 16, 2026)

From: Researcher Stan Gordon

A section of the Chestnut Ridge in Fayette County. Many cryptids have been reported for years along the ridge. (Stan Gordon files)

One of the mystery animals that keeps showing up in Pennsylvania are black panthers. I am not talking about mountain lions or cougars. What witnesses have been reporting for many years in the Keystone State are being described as black leopards or black jaguars. They have been seen by hunters and other witnesses in wooded areas. They have also been reported in more populated locations as well.

There are few such animals in captivity and I am not aware of any cases of escaped leopards or jaguars that could explain the appearances in more recent years. For example, on March 30, 1983, in a suburb of Pittsburgh, an auto mechanic in daylight was putting a headlight on a vehicle when heard a loud thump and saw what he described as a black panther leaping over the hood of a car in the nearby car lot.

The animal had a dead animal in its mouth. The witness explained in detail what the creature looked like. It had a very shiny black body that was about three and a half feet long, and a tail about four feet long. The animal originated from a nearby wooded area and soon after being seen returned to that location.

After the mechanic’s encounter, others reportedly saw a similar animal in those same woods. The local authorities were contacted and that led to a search conducted by Pittsburgh police and animal control officers with weapons and tranquilizer guns. Some tracks were reportedly found. The searchers never found the animal, and no animals were missing from the zoo or elsewhere. Over the years I investigated some cases that suggested that black panther encounters are indeed mysterious, and at times have similar characteristics to some of the very strange Bigfoot cases that I investigated in past years.

Since the late 1960s, I have received information on hundreds of Bigfoot sightings in Pennsylvania including this year. When I began to investigate those reports so many years ago, I believed Bigfoot was an unknown animal species. During a major wave of UFO and Bigfoot sighting in Pennsylvania during 1973 and into some of 1974, I investigated some extremely strange Bigfoot encounters. It became apparent that Bigfoot was much stranger than an unknown flesh and blood species.

For example, On February 6, 1974, in a heavily wooded remote area of Fayette County, PA, a woman was in her cabin home watching tv that evening when she heard a noise on her front porch. Something was knocking around some empty pop/soda cans sitting out there. Thinking it was some wild dogs, the woman grabbed her 16-gauge double barrel shot gun and loaded it with one shell of eight shot ammo. She was going to shoot over the head of the dogs to scare them off. When she opened the door, to her surprise, there were no dogs. Six feet in front of her stood a seven feet tall gray-haired Bigfoot. The frightened witness pulled the trigger and fired at the creature. She told me there was a bright flash of light and the creature just disappeared. Other cases with similar strange details were also being reported.

For comparison, here is a very unusual black panther encounter with similar details. This incident occurred on a cold early morning in February of 1983, also in a rural area of Fayette County. The witness was just returning home when he noticed that his car was overheating. When he arrived at his house, he pulled into his driveway and went inside to get some anti-freeze. As he opened the hood of the car, he heard a growl behind him. The man turned and noticed a large black cat about twenty feet away. Seeing a stray cat in that area was not unusual. What happened next was indeed strange.

The man went back to putting more anti-freeze into the car. Seconds later the man heard a louder growl. He turned and looked and could not believe what he saw. The cat had now physically grown to twice its size. The man threw the can at it and he did hit it. The animal growled loudly at him then it walked outside in an area that was well lit.

The man ran inside his house to obtain a pistol. When he returned the animal was still, nearby in the yard. The man fired a shot at it. Moments later, that solid-looking creature just disappeared. He never saw it again. What he saw looked like what he had seen in a zoo. It was described as a black panther with a long tail and glowing yellow eyes staring toward him.

I also found out during my investigations that sometimes when there is a localized outbreak of Bigfoot encounters, black panther sightings are also being reported by the locals. This occurred in the early 1980s on the border of Westmoreland and Armstrong counties.

There have been many very strange, detailed cryptid encounters taking place in the Keystone State in past and recent years. There appears to be a physical and non-physical aspect to some of these cases. For lack of a better term, I will call it interdimensional for now. What we are dealing with seems to be beyond our present scientific understanding. This is why we do not find bodies of these creatures.

Cryptid sightings have been reported from many locations across the state in both wooded and urban areas. There are some areas such as the Chestnut Ridge that extends through sections of Westmoreland, Fayette, and Indiana counties in southwestern Pennsylvania that have a long history of not only cryptid encounters but also other anomalies as well.

More recently, another black panther encounter took place that also seems quite unusual. Research Jim Brown investigated the case. Jim is a very scientifically oriented researcher. Jim’s website is www.jimsdestinations.com.

The following is the report that Jim Brown provided on this incident.

Witnesses Observe Large Black Cat near Smithfield, Pa

 Date / Time: Thursday, July16, 2026 Approx 8:15 PM

 The witness contacted me on Friday, July 17,2026 regarding a sighting of a large cat in his backyard the day before. He and several other people saw it. The following is a transcription of the phone conversation we had related to what he saw and what happened.

 “Several of my friends and family had gathered for a cookout. The evening was warm and we were just sitting around talking when I looked up and saw this cat about 25 feet away just standing in the yard watching us. But it was no ordinary cat. This thing was much bigger.”

 I asked him to describe the animal.

 “It was solid black. Long tail, almost dragging on the ground. I would guess it probably weighed 40, maybe 50 pounds. Not fat, just large, well proportioned. It held its head low, like it was getting ready to pounce on something. I called one of my friends over and his immediate comment when he saw it was “What the hell is that?”. I watched it for a few seconds and told him to keep an eye on it while I went to get my camera.”

 (NOTE: The witness is an experienced photographer and uses a DSLR camera with floodlight attachment. He likes to do wildlife photography and is well aware of proper photography methods and techniques.)

 “Was only gone a few seconds and came back after getting my camera out. As soon as I started back to where (my friend) was watching, the cat ran behind a pile of cement blocks on the edge of the field and was out of sight. By now some of my other guests had also came up to see the cat and several of them also got a good look at it.

 I told my friends to sneak around the other side of the pile of blocks and try to chase it out while I had my camera ready to catch it when it came out on my side of the block pile. They did so and as they approached the pile they saw nothing. Meantime I saw nothing come out. We had the entire back side of the block pile in sight and there was nothing there at all. Just grass and a couple small sumac trees. The cat was gone. Completely. And it did not run off into the field.

Ordinarily the hay in the field would have been high enough a cat might sneak through, but in this case, they cut the hay Monday, and the grass was only about 3 inches high. No way that cat could get away without being seen.”

I asked whether it might have been a bobcat.

His response:

 “No way in hell. I know what a bobcat looks like. First of all, the ears were short and sort of laid back on its head. The other thing was the tail. Bobcats have short tails. This thing had a long black tail that drug behind it. Not only that, most bobcats have a pattern on their body. This thing was black, solid black. And the eyes had a glow to them. Because of the direction it might have been eyeshine but still it just didn’t look like it. Sort of a green / yellow glow. Not real bright, but still present. I have seen bobcats. This was no bobcat.”

 When asked for a better description of the “Block Pile”. His response:

 “Block Pile might be overdoing it a bit. It was only about 15 or so 8-inch cement blocks left over from a project. It was hardly big enough to hide an animal that size, let alone give it room to go anywhere or hardly turn around. There was no fence line or anything else the cat could follow since the field itself goes right up to my yard.”

 The witness said they all kept an eye out for it, but they continued their cookout and finally turned off the lights and left about midnight. No more evidence of the cat.

 Jim Brown

Independent Research Associate

*********

 Synopsis:

This report occurred during a series of other cryptid, UFO, and low-level orb encounters that are being reported from widespread areas. Many of these cases are still under investigation.

If you have seen anything related to UFO/UAP sightings, Bigfoot, or other anomalies, please contact me at 724-838-7768 or via information on my website at: www.stangordon.info. I am especially interested in Pennsylvania cases.

Addendum:

Jim Brown on August 6, 2026, was able to conduct interviews with a few more witnesses to the unusual black panther encounter that had taken place in Fayette County. The following is his report.

August 6, 2026  Follow-up

I was able to obtain contact information for three of the other guests present and did a brief phone interview with them.  Two had nothing new to add, describing basically the same thing;  a large black cat.  I also asked about any emotional response; That is how they felt when they saw it.  One witness said he didn’t really feel anything like that, only a slight concern if the cat should decide to take after them.  (It didn’t).  

The second guest said he saw a dark smoke or mist above the block pile and debated this with a couple others who also saw the cat but no smoke.     I asked him to describe it, His response:

“Like a dark mist above the blocks.  It only lasted a few seconds then faded away as the others came around the back of the blocks.  I don’t know why they couldn’t see it but regardless of what the others said, it was there.”

The third lady with the group also saw the cat from a greater distance, she did not go up when the others walked around the block pile.  She said she was going to go with them but she suddenly felt a sense of fear when she made eye contact with the animal.  It was then it ran toward the blocks.  She emphasized she felt both fear and sadness.  She could think of no reason for that feeling, only that it was there.

I will keep this case open in event anything new develops. 

UFO/UAP and Cryptid Encounters Continuing in Pennsylvania- July 8, 2026

UFO/UAP and Cryptid Encounters Continuing in Pennsylvania- July 8, 2026

From: Researcher Stan Gordon

Sightings of UFOs/UAP, low level orbs, and cryptid observations have been reported throughout 2026, from various locations of Pennsylvania. Some encounters have been reported in daylight as well as during darkness. https://www.stangordon.info/wp/2026/04/22/ufo-uap-bigfoot-and-cryptid-activity-continues-in-pennsylvania-during-2026/

While many of the reports originate from the Southwestern section of the state, sightings are being reported from other areas as well. I will be posting a future report that will provide more incidents and details concerning what has been taking place.

Here is a synopsis of some of the reports that I have received.

03-13-26-Somerset County-(Thunderbird?)  The witness was getting out of her car when she saw a huge and unusual flying creature. The sighting took place at 3:45 pm and the observation lasted for approximately 10 seconds until it flew out of sight over a building. The witness said that the creature was not very high in the sky and was deep brown, had long legs and a long beak, and looked like a flying dinosaur.

Strange sounds are being reported such as extremely loud and long screams and howls coming from the woods in Indiana County and Tioga County. In both cases experienced hunters reported never having heard such unusual vocalizations.

04-10-26-Smithfield, Fayette County-The witness was going to work at 4:30 AM and driving on rural route. In the distance she sees only one cloud in the sky, and it seemed odd looking as it appeared low in altitude. As the driver got closer to that area and passed about thirty feet from a series of trees, and some homes, the odd-looking cloud was motionless just over the top of the trees. The witness soon realized that what was observed was not a natural cloud. It was silver-gray in color, and the driver could not see through it. The object was rounded to oblong in shape, about the length of a conventional truck. That person felt that the object was trying to disguise itself as a cloud.

05-26-26, 2026-Armstrong County-The witness lives in rural Armstrong County. At about 1:15 AM, the witness was awakened by a bright light outside of the window. The man went outside and saw directly above his home at a higher altitude a very bright light source that was shaped like an upside-down cone. It was a very bright white color. There was a bright beam that emitted down from the rounded section of the light source towards the house and completely lit up the house and surrounding yard around the house.

The witness tried to take pictures with his cell phone, however all he could see was glare on the screen. While under observation the luminosity suddenly just went out. No sound was heard at the time. During the observation all the nature sounds went quiet. Soon after the observation, an unpleasant smell was noticed throughout the house even in the basement. The man recognized the odor as ozone.

06-07-26-Mount Pleasant-Township-At 8:50 PM-the witness was driving up a hill and saw two bright orbs. One of the objects was about 10-12 feet in diameter, the other orb was about fifteen feet in diameter. Both objects were flashing numerous colors blue, pink, purple, and green, A neighbor approached in a car and also saw them and became very frightened and did not want to get out of the vehicle. The witness arrived home and had to walk his dog. The orbs at that time were about six hundred feet high and moving closer to his location. The two orbs began to drop lower in altitude over a nearby building. The objects were moving up and down, and   right and left. The dog became upset and seemed to have trouble breathing so the witness took the dog inside.

That man grabbed his phone and went back outside and began to record the objects. The objects at one point dropped so low that the man told me he could have thrown a rock at the objects and could have hit them. Then Suddenly for 5-7 seconds the entire area lit up like daylight. The objects then joined together and pulsated then began to shrink in size and just vanished. The witness heard no sound however he felt a slight electrical sensation and his skin felt funny while the objects were nearby.

If you have seen anything related to UFO/UAP sightings, Bigfoot, or other anomalies, please contact me on 724-838-7768 or via information on my website at: www.stangordon.info. I am interested in Pennsylvania cases.

2026 Kecksburg UFO Festival Conference Speakers Schedule Announced

2026 Kecksburg UFO Festival Conference Speakers Schedule Announced

The annual Kecksburg (PA) UFO Festival is scheduled for July 17-18-19, 2026, on the grounds of the Kecksburg V.F.D. at 5128 Water Street, Mount Pleasant, PA. 15666. For information call Phone 724-423-9540. Email: kecksburgvfd@wpa.net. There is now additional parking nearby.

The event starts Friday evening from 6PM-11 PM. This is half-price food night with music. Vendors and UFO, Bigfoot, and Paranormal researchers will have their tables inside the social hall along with the Kecksburg V.F.D. store.

On Saturday, the ground hours are noon until 11 PM. There are numerous vendors outside and inside the social hall. Inside the hall will be UFO, Bigfoot, paranormal researchers, and speakers as well as the Kecksburg V.F.D. UFO store where you can by tee shirts, Stan’s books, and lots of fun UFO items.

The Kecksburg V.F.D. has their food booth open and there are many Food trucks as well. The parade starts at 2 PM. The bed race is at 4 PM, music, and the fireworks at 10 PM.

Bring the whole family, there is free admission to the festival.

On Sunday, the ground hours is noon-5 PM. The UFO Hot Dog Eating Contest is at 12:30 PM. There is music throughout the day.

The UFO Conference is scheduled from 1-4:30 PM. It is held on the hill in the EMS building.

UFO Conference Speaker Lineup:

Introduction by Ron Struble-Keckburg  V.F.D. UFO Festival Committee.

Stan Gordon-UFO /Bigfoot Researcher-Author

Stan will give an updated report on many of the strange UFO/orbs. Bigfoot, and cryptid encounters that took place during 2025, in Westmoreland County, the Greater Pittsburgh area, and from across the state. The 2026 year has been very busy also with ongoing UFO and cryptid cases. Stan will be proving an update on the latest strange encounter reports.

Ken Gerhard is a widely recognized cryptozoologist, author, and lecturer who frequently appears on television.

Ken has traveled the world searching for evidence of mysterious creatures including Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, the Chupacabra, Mothman, and the Beast of Gevaudan.

In addition, he’s written six books on the subject of unknown animals. His research has been featured on numerous TV shows including Missing in Alaska, MonsterQuest, Ancient Aliens, America Unearthed, The UnXplained (with William Shatner) and Legend Hunters.

Ken has appeared on major networks including Travel Channel, Science Channel, National Geographic, Syfy and Animal Planet.

He can currently be seen on the History Channel series –

The Proof Is Out There

In this all-new presentation titled, “Legendary Creatures of New York,” Ken will cover accounts of Bigfoot, the Lake Champlain Monster, the Cardiff Giant, the Angola Pigman and others.

Michael Familant -Producer, Bigfoot Investigator

Program Title: Beyond the Footprints

Join Producer, Lead Investigator and New Jersey Native Mike Familant as he shares his experiences researching and tracking down the truth behind North America’s most iconic cryptid, Bigfoot.

 Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape or Big Red Eye, whatever name you choose to call this large, bipedal hominid, Mike has probably tried to track it down.

 Mike has been researching this amazing creature for over 15 years and has captured some impressive evidence along the way. From the Florida Swamps to the North Country of Maine and everywhere in between, Mike is the full-time, lead investigator and producer of the show, “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye.”

 He will exhibit some extraordinary evidence backed by facts which he and his team have collected throughout his journey, along with some of the unfortunate experiences which come along with Bigfooting. A Q&A will be held after the presentation, and Mike will be available after for photographs and autographs.

 See all of Mike’s shows, including his docuseries “Squatchables” (how to get into Bigfooting) on his YouTube Channel, “Sussex County Bigfoot,” and follow his Facebook page “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye” to keep up with the team’s expeditions and to see their newest evidence.

Michael Familant 

Producer / Lead Investigator 

In the Shadow of Big Red Eye 

Come join us for this year’s Kecksburg UFO Festival and Conference. See you Soon!

UFO/UAP, Bigfoot, and Cryptid Activity Continues in Pennsylvania During 2026

UFO/UAP, Bigfoot, and Cryptid Activity Continues in Pennsylvania During 2026

From: Researcher Stan Gordon

This is a brief update on some of the UFO/UAP, Bigfoot and Cryptid activity as well as other anomalies that have come to my attention during 2026, from across Pennsylvania. There have been many other cases reported. I am still awaiting details of some of these incidents.

Photo of a section of the Chestnut Ridge as seen from Mount Pleasant Township in Westmoreland County, PA. The ridge area has had a long history of UFO, Bigfoot, and cryptid activity. Reports of such anomalies continue to be reported. (Stan Gordon files.)

Early in January 2026-At a rural location close to Ligonier, around 8:30 PM, there was a thud against the house, and objects began to sway inside of the structure. The dog inside began to bark, its hair stood up, and it began to growl. The witness who was inside grabbed a weapon and walked outside. He soon observed what he described as a huge Bigfoot with long arms and legs running down from a hillside. The next day the man found a series of large footprints in the grass.

01-18-26-Derry Township, Westmoreland County-A witness had just left a neighbor’s home at about 3:15 PM. She heard a sound and looked toward a nearby wooded area when a very tall hair-covered creature was observed. The witness described the creature as about eight feet tall, covered with brown hair that was matted on some areas of the body, and had thick thighs and legs. The witness said the Bigfoot was carrying a small deer over its shoulder. The deer appeared to have a broken neck. The creature stared at the witness for a brief time then turned and walked into the woods.

01-19^th and 20^th, 2026-Baggaley/Youngstown side of the Chestnut Ridge-During the evening, a witness reported seeing three triangular objects inside of a large round object high in the sky, from the Baggaley/Youngstown side of the Chestnut Ridge in Westmoreland County. The three objects were inside of a black circular object that surrounded them. The three triangular objects were positioned side by side.

02-02-26- Derry Township, Westmoreland County-The witness around 7:30 PM heard the dog that was outside barking excitedly. That person opened the door to let the dog in when she saw something unusual on an embankment across the street from her neighbor’s house. She noticed three solid-looking white orbs sitting on the ground, which seemed to be trapped in the snow and stuck together. The orbs were described as about the diameter of a small car headlight. They looked white, blurry, fuzzy and round.

Once the dog stopped barking, everything went silent. After a brief time of viewing the orbs, the witness went into the house to obtain a cell phone to take a picture of them. It was moments later that the witness returned and the orbs were gone. (Other reports during February from around Derry Township reporting odd lights low to the ground near the woods.)

02-25-26-Reported from a rural location in Fayette County, about 7 PM, the witness was taking garbage outside when he saw what he described as a swarm of tiny blue lights near the ground. About 200-300 feet away he saw what looked like a swarm of very small lightning bugs that were a “bright electric blue color.” They were low above the ground and not moving. They looked like dim blue sparklers and cast only a small amount of light. Then suddenly in seconds they just vanished.

March 9, 2026- (A very strange day of unusual incidents.)

On March 9, 2026, my phone range at 2:26 AM. It was a witness in Indiana County, who at about 2:10 AM had just taken his dog out for a walk. Soon after they returned to the house, the dog became extremely excited, barking and shaking. The witness looked out the window looking east, toward the Johnstown area and over the Laurel Ridge. He saw two very large, solid, round, very bright white lights side by side and a smaller similar round light below and between them. The lights gave the impression of a large triangular object.

The witness watched the objects for about two minutes. He was just grabbing his phone to take a video when all the lights suddenly vanished from sight and did not reappear. He looked all around the sky and did not see them. He had never seen anything like that before and was quite shaken.

03-09-26 Around 5 AM, a man driving near-Scottdale noticed two odd lights in the sky toward Bullskin Twp near the Chestnut Ridge. There were Two bright starlike objects one above the other that were very bright and not twinkling. The lower object hovered, while the top object moved steadily in the direction of the witness. Before getting close to him that object faded out.

Other reports began to come in from other counties in southwestern Pennsylvania from other sources and witnesses. A loud boom reportedly shook a rural area around 8 AM that morning. Another researcher received a report that at around 8:30 AM, a witness reported to him that a very tall and dark creature had walked out on the road in front of his car.

In Derry Township in Westmoreland County, an area that has a long history of both UFO and cryptid encounters, two people saw a strange animal at 6:45 PM. They were just parking the car when they saw movement along a wood line. That is when they saw what they described as a female African lion. They knew what a mountain lion looked like, and they were sure that was not what they saw. It stared at them for a brief time then reportedly just vanished while they watched it. (Among the many strange out of place animal reports that I am aware of since the 1960s from Pennsylvania, there have been other reports of African Lion sightings.)

Mystery Meteor Sightings During March 2026?

I have been taking UFO sighting reports via phone from the public since 1969. Since then, I have received thousands of UFO reports. Many of them, however, were determined to be of a natural or manmade origin. Over the years I have received many meteor reports. Some were unusually bright fireball/meteors that even created sonic booms and were observed over a large area by many witnesses. Some were bright enough to see during daylight hours.

This past March, there seemed to be a significant increase in meteor/fireball reports, some with sonic booms reported over Pennsylvania and other states. On March 17^th, a fireball meteor was sighted over several states and the Pittsburgh area. Within days, another similar incident took place. Similar occurrences were reported from various states in the days ahead.

I started reaching out to some of my contacts in the science and research field to get their opinions. Astronomers were also noticing this interesting activity. It is likely that what most people were seeing was indeed normal meteor activity. There is likely a scientific explanation for why there seemed to be an increase in such reports within a brief time.

What caught my attention, however, were some reports also during March, from various locations that described an object that looked like a meteor/fireball but reportedly performed maneuvers unlike that of a meteor. This included instances where the object reportedly changed direction as it was falling and then ascended into the sky.

I am still gathering information on these reports. If you observed a similar object, or have seen anything else related to UFO/UAP sightings or other anomalies, please contact me at 724-838-7768 or via information on my website at: www.stangordon.info. I am very interested in Pennsylvania cases.