Report 18349: Possible Knocks and a Vocalization Heard by Two Witnesses Near Middleburg

Hiking through the woods this morning with my younger brother after visiting a creek, we were halted on the trail by a series of loud whacks at approximately 11:30 am. It didn't sound metallic; it was very much like wood-on-wood, with a duration of three or four seconds between each whack, which I counted at three. Instantly, I was reminded of wood knocks. What we heard next, perhaps a minute and a half to two minutes following the last knock, made me jump. It was a cry. A loud, long, drawn out type cry that I cannot associate with any other animal. It wasn't a cow. It wasn't a bear. It wasn't a bird of any kind that I know of. And it most definitely was NOT canine. It lasted about six to eight seconds It had to have been within a mile of where we were standing. We were yards away from the creek.