AYR Case File: Roma, Qld, July 2018.

In late July 2018, the AYR was contacted by witness Mandy P. (name on file) who discussed her recent sighting just north of Roma.

“There’s a lot of little grey kangaroos along that stretch, so I was going very slowly, probably about 40 Ks an hour, out of respect for the wildlife… I had my high beams on, and [could] see quite a distance … and there was something [crouched on the road ahead] and I thought, ‘That’s quite big for a ’roo. It was quite dark and big – so I slowed right down and as I was getting closer it stood up, and was just, like, staring at me. I initially thought it was about four feet tall, but it could have been four-and-a-half to five feet. Its hair was… a reddy, auburny colour. Very shiny … maybe 10 centimetres long all over. It was just standing there, staring at me, and I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh what’s that?’”

Sketch: Mandy P.

“It was sort of looking at me straight on, but whether it was because it had its head down, or because the hair was so long … I couldn’t see any facial features.… there was no eye reflection at all. I was looking at the overall colour and shape, because I’m a bit of an artist and shape and colour come to mind first. So, no – I didn’t see the finer details and I didn’t look for them.”

“The arms were long. It’s almost like it was leaning forward and looking down, so the hands were a little bit more forward [than they would have been if it was standing fully erect]. The elbows seemed slightly bent and the hands facing backwards – a bit like a tai chi stance, if you know what I mean – that sort of relaxed stance – the rounded shoulders. I couldn’t see any bare skin at all. I probably saw it for 40 or 50 seconds, because I slowed right down to about 15 Ks an hour. It was very close to me as I drove past. I had a good look, and I thought, ‘That’s just amazing – just absolutely incredible.’”