Sandhill Crane / Bird-MisID Explanation.
documentedcompeting-documentedFortean / Mothman / MIB
The mainstream skeptical reading: Mothman = misidentified large bird. WVU biologist Robert L. Smith named the sandhill crane within days (Nov 1966); later skeptics refined it to owl/heron.
Dr. Robert L. Smith (WVU wildlife biology) told Sheriff George Johnson the descriptions fit a sandhill crane — ~5ft tall, >7ft wingspan, gray plumage, bare red flesh around the eyes (reads as 'red glowing eyes' in headlights), an off-route migrant whose call could be mistaken for a monster (Huntington Herald-Dispatch, 19 Nov 1966; Gettysburg Times, 1 Dec 1966). Smith conceded not all details fit and cranes are rare in WV. Later refinements: Joe Nickell (barred owl eyeshine), Daniel A. Reed (great blue heron for non-eyeshine cases). A snowy owl ('giant owl,' ~5ft wingspan) shot near Point Pleasant in 1966 is another candidate.