Strange Creature Seen Here

(From The Newnan Times-Herald, Aug. 9, 1979, pg. 1)

Move over, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, the Abominable Snowman and the Loch Ness Monster -- make room for the Belt Road Booger!
There have been several reports of a "monster" being sighted on Belt Road near the intersection of West Washington Street in the past week.
"It was dark. It stands about five feet tall. It's big across the chest. Its eyes look like diamonds at night when you shine a light on them," Mrs. Mary Strozier said in describing the monster.
The creature is reported to have a face like a monkey and a long bushy tail. Mrs. Strozier's children saw the creature Thursday night.
"The kids were out in the yard, and they came in hollering for me to see it," she said.
Mrs. Strozier said that she was afraid, but went into the yard anyway. She saw the monster, which is reported to stand upright, standing near the home of her father-in-law, Robert Strozier.
Robert Strozier said that he had not seen anything at all.
When Mrs. Strozier and her children saw the creature, "We ran. We didn't stay, we ran," she said.
Newnan Police Chief Jerry Helton investigated the incident but found nothing. He checked on tracks reportedly made by the monster on a creek bank near the Strozier residence.
"I couldn't tell what made them. They could have been made by a big dog," Helton said.
"It must be scared of lots of lights," Mrs. Strozier said. "As soon as the police left, that thing came back."
Although Mrs. Strozier has seen the Coweta county creature only at night, her son, Mark, 13, has seen it during the day.
He described it as looking "kind of like a gorilla," and having eyes like silver.
The monster is alleged to have eaten the inside of an apple, leaving only the peeling, and to have bitten a hunk out of an ear of corn. It is also supposed to have climbed into a barn in the neighborhood, and some local children have speculated that he sleeps in some junked cars in the woods near Belt Road.