What The Cryptid? — Witness File
WITNESS INTERVIEW — FILE #0515
INTERNAL — NOT FOR RELEASE
Location: Hutchins Residence, 14 Copperhead Lane, Harlan’s Creek, WV
Witness: Barry Hutchins, 62 — Retired
Interviewer: Penny Hart
DCA Case Reference: DCA-HC-2026-0515
Witness: Barry Hutchins, 62 — Retired
Interviewer: Penny Hart
DCA Case Reference: DCA-HC-2026-0515
[Interview conducted on-site at witness’s kitchen table. Recorder placed near fruit bowl. Witness has prepared a hand-drawn diagram in advance, laminated.]
INTERVIEWER: Okay! So, Barry — forty-seven filed reports, and here we are at number forty-eight. I just want to say, on behalf of WTC, that kind of commitment to documentation is genuinely something. Okay. Walk me through it.
WITNESS: Thursday morning. Early. Before the light got going. I was out back checking my tomatoes — I’ve got eleven plants this year, heritage varieties — and I noticed the bird feeders had gone quiet.
INTERVIEWER: The bird feeders went quiet. And that struck you as significant.
WITNESS: Every single time, Penny. That is always how it starts.
[DCA NOTE: Witness is on a first-name basis with this interviewer. Previous transcripts reflect the same familiarity with three prior WTC correspondents.]
WITNESS: So I looked up, and there it was. Standing at the edge of my property, right where the yard meets the old fence line. Six feet tall, at least. Maybe seven.
INTERVIEWER: Can you describe it?
WITNESS: Brown. Very brown. Covered in what I can only describe as fur, except for the face, which was — and I want to be precise here — like a possum, but longer. Dignified, almost.
INTERVIEWER: Dignified.
WITNESS: It had a bearing to it. You could tell. And it was holding something.
[Witness slides laminated diagram across table.]
WITNESS: I drew it as accurately as I could. That right there — that is a ceramic pot. Medium-sized. Like a planter.
INTERVIEWER: The entity was holding a planter.
WITNESS: Cradling it, really. Both arms underneath. Very careful with it.
[DCA NOTE: In DCA-HC-2024-0391, witness described a similar entity ‘carrying what appeared to be a rolled-up yoga mat.’ No corroborating evidence was obtained in that case either.]
INTERVIEWER: And what did it do? Once you noticed it?
WITNESS: It looked at me. Held my gaze for — I would say forty-five seconds, maybe a minute. Then it set the pot down. Very gently. Right next to my fence post. And it left.
INTERVIEWER: It left the pot.
WITNESS: It left the pot.
[Pause, 9 seconds.]
INTERVIEWER: Barry. What was in the pot?
WITNESS: Soil. Just soil. Good soil, actually — dark, real loamy. I had my neighbour Dennis look at it, he used to work at the garden centre, and he said that was quality stuff. Better than what I’ve got.
[DCA NOTE: Neighbour Dennis Falcaro, contacted separately, confirmed the soil was ‘pretty good.’ He did not witness the entity. He expressed no further interest in the matter.]
WITNESS: I think it was a gift. For the tomatoes. It had seen my tomatoes and it brought me something for the tomatoes.
INTERVIEWER: That’s — yeah. That’s a generous reading of events.
WITNESS: Penny, I have been watching these things for twenty-two years. I know when one is being considerate.
INTERVIEWER: Did you use the soil?
WITNESS: I did. I put it around the Brandywines. Best growth I’ve had all season. I’ve got tomatoes the size of — I would say softballs. Maybe grapefruits.
[DCA NOTE: Witness’s tomato size estimates are outside the scope of this investigation.]
INTERVIEWER: Barry, last thing — you said six feet, maybe seven. Were there any other details about the size, the scale of it?
WITNESS: Looking back, and having thought about it since Thursday — I think closer to eight. It was early, the light wasn’t right, and I didn’t want to overstate. But eight feet feels accurate now.
[DCA NOTE: Estimate increased by two feet over the course of a single interview. This is within the normal range for this witness.]
[Witness offers interviewer a tomato from a bowl on the counter. Interviewer accepts.]
CASE STATUS: Pending soil analysis referral; entity not identified; tomato yield noted but not considered evidential
DCA SUMMARY: Witness reports entity deposited single ceramic pot of quality topsoil near garden fence; no further incident; tomatoes unharmed.
DISPOSITION: PENDING CONFIRMATION
DCA SUMMARY: Witness reports entity deposited single ceramic pot of quality topsoil near garden fence; no further incident; tomatoes unharmed.
DISPOSITION: PENDING CONFIRMATION
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