Reported 7-Feet 'Werewolf' Creature Connected to UFOs in 13-Year Probe Into 'Beast of Bray Road'

A former Wisconsin teacher claims a 13-year search for the Beast of Bray Road has produced photographs of a possible 7-foot creature, unusual tracks and mysterious lights.

Lee Hampel described the findings in a NewsNation investigation released on 28 October 2026 in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. He suspects some incidents could involve UFOs, although neither the creature nor that connection has been independently established.

The stories of a hairy, wolf-like figure around Bray Road gained prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Some accounts trace the legend's origins to 1936. PBS Wisconsin revisited the mystery in a 2010 programme, recalling the national attention it received in 1992.

Journalist Linda Godfrey's reporting in 1991 helped popularise the sightings, transforming a local mystery into an enduring part of Wisconsin folklore.

Beast of Bray Road Photographs Raise Questions About a 7-Foot Figure

Hampel owns a 35-acre farm beside Bray Road and previously taught maths and computer science. He says he began investigating in 2013, after neighbours told him about the alleged animal. His approach was to keep records, install motion-activated cameras and examine whatever appeared on his land.

There is plenty of material, at least by his account. Hampel told NewsNation's Unreported with Meagan Medick that he had accumulated more than 100,000 photographs and over 200 SD cards. Those figures describe the size of his collection, not the number of verified sightings.

One iPhone photograph reportedly depicts a dark shape near a cornfield. Hampel said a cameraman in Chicago used an app to estimate the figure's height at 7ft and its shoulder width at 3.5ft. The estimate has not been independently validated, and the image does not establish what was photographed.

Hampel says he has personally seen the supposed creature three times. He has also made casts of tracks that he describes as having five toes and seven pads. The reported impressions, however, have not been shown to identify an unknown species.

He recalled seeking help from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources over a track measuring approximately 3 inches by 3.5 inches. According to Hampel, a representative suggested an abnormal coyote. The department has not independently confirmed that exchange in the available reporting, so it should not be treated as an official finding.

Beast of Bray Road UFO Theory Emerges From Strange Camera Recordings

Other incidents took the investigation well beyond footprints. Hampel says he left dead deer and raccoons on his property, hoping to record the animal responsible for disturbing them. He later found some remains damaged, moved, or missing, with no footage clearly showing what had happened.

He has also described flashing orbs, bright lights and what he calls 'black mist' in camera images. Hampel believes gaps in recordings and unexpected equipment behaviour coincided with some incidents. None of those observations, as reported, demonstrate interference by an unidentified flying object.

Determining what happened would require examining the original files, camera settings and timing, as well as the tracks and photographs themselves. For now, the evidence supports an explanation for the unexplained observations, not a confirmed new animal or extraterrestrial activity.

'I have eyewitnesses, but I also have evidence. I have facts. I have data,' Hampel told NewsNation. The distinction between possessing records and proving a theory remains central to his claims.

The mystery has an audience beyond Hampel's farm. Elkhorn staged its fourth annual Beast Fest at Sunset Park on 24 October, according to the local Chamber of Commerce. The celebration included Beast-themed games and activities, illustrating how firmly the creature has entered local folklore.

But not every resident embraces the attention. In original reporting by Christopher Borrelli for the Chicago Tribune, Elkhorn Chamber head Kate Abbe described neighbours' concerns about strangers arriving at homes near Bray Road late at night.

Hampel told the newspaper he had not seen the alleged creature since 2024. He also spoke about a neighbour who had lived nearby for 50 years without seeing it, despite finding tracks he could not explain. 'Maybe in 75 years, we'll know for sure,' Hampel said.