Over the years, stories of a strange animal, referred to as a “What’s-It” popped up several times. In 1970, the creature was spotted by Kenneth Rucker, who described it as “almost identical to California panthers”, yellowish in color and “stands almost as tall as a big hound” with a short neck, pointed ears and a long tail. He also said it “screams at night with a high, shrill call that resembles a woman’s cry”.
Similar “What’s-Its” creatures were seen in 1938 when its tracks were found on Judge Frank Rinehart’s farm about 4 miles north of Ridgeway. His neighbor, Albert Polley, saw it from about 75 feet away, but wasn’t able to identify it. He thought it was about 4 feet long, with a long tail. Several others saw it as well.
Yet another sighting of these strange “What’s-It” animals happened in 1952, mostly around Bethany where it was seen by Dee Taylor, who described it as “It’s not a panther. It’s got a track that is something like a badger, but it’s not a badger because it is slim with a long tail”. There was no pad in its foot like a dog or cat would have and the track was about an inch to 1 1/2 inch wide.
