Report 67540: Gold panner reports rocks thrown in frequent sighting zone within Uwharrie National Forest

This happened around 2014 in the Thickety Creek community of Montgomery County, south of the county seat of Troy. A friend at church asked me if I could come down and check his creek for gold. He knew I liked to do some gold panning as a hobby. We never settled on a day or time, I just told him I would come by one day when I got a chance. I ended up getting off work early one day and decided to run down and wash some rocks. So, I parked at his gate and grabbed my backpack at gear and walked about 200 yards from the road. To my left is the creek with about 4ft banks and a steep mountain to my right. I walked down looking for a place to easily get down into the creek without lots of brush. This area is well known for huge Timber Rattlers. So I find a spot next to a huge flat rock that I end up using as a work station. After a couple hours of panning I stopped to take a break. I always freeze a 2 liter bottle of water and drink it as it melts. I’m standing there drinking the water and I hear something fly through the trees above my head. My first thought was “I’ve never heard a bird fly through the trees and hit limbs and leaves like that! Why is it doing that?” So as I stand there puzzled and confused I hear more commotion coming through the tree tops! This time my eyes focus on the sound and I see a rock about the size of a Jr sized football flying over my head and on the bank on the other side of the creek! As I stand there stunned, racking my brain try to make sense of it, I unsnap my 9mm and shout in that direction “You stay over there and I’ll stay over here!” Needless to say I packed up and left, feeling like I’m being watched the whole time! I threw my stuff in the back of my truck and hauled buggy out of there! I don’t know of any animal in the woods that can throw a rock that big that far! I was so effected that I gave up gold panning and hunting for the most part! I never told the land owner or anybody else for that matter for a few years. I still don’t tell many folks. I feel like I have to keep inside or people will think I’m crazy.