Screaming or howling in Ray County, Missouri

First off I would like to say that I am not one to normally see much of anything, I am a believer in the possibility of many things but rarely see them. In this instance, again I didn't so much see anything as hear it. The first incident took place in the middle of November of 2012. It was in a rural area of Missouri outside the city of Rayville. The area is a mix of farm and woodland. It was approximately 9pm when I drove to a friend's house. As I was walking from my car to his door I noticed what sounded like someone or something big walking about 30 or 40 yards away from me in the woods. It was just beyond the range of what I could see into the woods. When I stopped walking it stopped walking and when I started to walk it began again. It was only about a 40 foot walk to the door and I walked slowly as I tried to figure this out. About half way I stopped to think and it stopped once more. From what I heard it was a sound of only 2 feet walking and was large. It didn't sound at all like a 4 foot creature like a deer. I went in to tell my friend but when we came out there was no sound. About a week later I came out again and was walking to the door and jokingly called out "are you there bigfoot?" and laughed to myself. As I approached the door something flew out of the woods and hit my friends car. Later in the evening when I left, in the distance I heard dogs going crazy and the sound of something large screaming. It has been several weeks since I last heard anything but my friend says he too has heard the sound of something walking in the woods. I have thought about if it was a person possibly playing a joke but no one knew I was going there. Thought about it being another animal but it sounded too big to be a deer. It has me extremely curious so I would love some feedback and your thoughts. As I say I am not one quick to jump to conclusions and tend to be the first to look for other causes to things.