Sasquatch Sounds: Real or Imagined?

Many people have heard what they believed is a Sasquatch moreso than have actually seen one. Many strange sounds have been heard in forests and near residences, such as screams, howls, bellows, whistles and growls. In some cases (such as the Sierra Sounds CD's produced by Ron Moorhead) a strange language is heard. But is it truly a Sasquatch making these sounds, or could it be something more mundane, such as owls, wolves, coyotes or sirens? In some cases, these are likely causes of strange sounds; however, there are strange, unidentified sounds that cannot be easily solved. Some of these strange sounds are available at www.bfro.net, and are believed to be actual Sasquatch sounds. The most common alleged Sasquatch sound heard is a scream, with the whistle coming in at a close second. I believe I have heard strange screams and whistles from what may have been a Sasquatch, but the one thing to remember is that you cannot positively identify a sound's source unless you see the creature open its mouth.

Hoaxes: How Pervasive Are They?

Thousands of Sasquatch sighting reports are logged every year. Of those, many are straight misidentifications, hallucinations or mistaken identity. However, there are those that fall under the category of the hoaxer. Many people enjoy hoaxing Sasquatch researchers by telling them such nonsense as, "Yeah, I saw Sasquatch. He's sitting right here with me enjoying a beer. Do you want to talk to him?" or "Ahhhhhhhhh! The Sasquatch is eating me! Help!" Some even go so far as to create false wooden feet and go stomping around in the woods making tracks, or putting on a gorilla costume and parading around in front of a video camera. It has been said about the hoaxer, that once he/she hoaxes one sighting/footprint/video, they continue with it, putting out multiple hoaxes. To be sure, these hoaxes are pervasive, and they do hurt the cause of legitimate research. Witness the story of Ray Wallace from nearly 2 years ago; it was so blown out of proportion by the media that it really hurt the cause of Sasquatch research. We must be on our guard against the hoaxer, however, because if we aren't, we can be fooled into believing anything.

The Lunatic Fringe

Many Sasquatch researchers believe, as I do, that Sasquatch is a large, undiscovered primate, a Great Ape species living in North America. However, there are those individuals who believe some pretty weird things about these creatures. There are those who believe that Sasquatch is an extraterrestrial from outer space, sent here to check out humans. There are also those who believe that Sasquatch is an interdimensional being, who can shapeshift and appear and disappear at will. There are even those who claim multiple encounters with these creatures in their own minds, being able to communicate with them through ESP. These individuals are in a group called the "lunatic fringe", and they seem to be very pervasive and omnipresent. They seem to get a lot of press and TV coverage, which hurts the efforts by legitimate Sasquatch researchers, because it makes the legitimate efforts look bad, and makes us all look crazy. It's no wonder the media thinks so lowly of Sasquatch! Unfortunately, we have to deal with these individuals, no matter how much we may wish they'd go away.

The Evidence of The Footprints

The footprints of the Sasquatch have constituted the bulk of the evidence for the existence of the creature for more than half a century. There have been some tracks that have been faked, but they are usually easily discernable from the real ones. The tracks have been found in all types of environments, from muddy trails to snow-covered mountains; from dirt roads to patches of forest, and they all have one thing in common-their tremendous size. Many times the tracks measure anywhere from 14" to a whopping 24 inches in length. Many times they are 6 or 7" across the ball of the foot, 5" across the heel. I believe the tracks, in some cases, constitute the greatest evidence for the existence of Sasquatch. The most impressive to me are a set of four tracks which were examined by Conroe, Texas forensics police officer Jimmy Chilcutt. The four sets were found in different areas of the country, some more than 20 years apart. Chilcutt examined the tracks, and found they had dermal ridges in them, the foot's equivalent to fingerprints. The dermal ridges were determined to have twice the thickness of a human's dermal ridges. Chilcutt was initially skeptical of the existence of the creature, but after examining these tracks with the dermal ridges, he came to the conclusion that yes, there is an animal out there making these tracks. Having found unusual tracks myself, I can attest to the reality of this animal.

Is there a Bigfoot/UFO Connection?

There are those who say that Bigfoot is an alien from outer space, and that they fly around in flying saucers, travelling from planet to planet dropping off passengers. Some people claim they've seen Bigfoot creatures being dropped off by alien spacecraft, or seen Bigfoot creatures around the same time as seeing a UFO. In these people's minds, there is a connection, and I would never tell these people that they're wrong, but in my own personal experience, the two phenomena do not go together. I do not suscribe to the theory that Bigfoot is a space alien, or came out of a flying saucer. Certainly, the Bigfoot mystery is not one that is easily solvable, and there are many theories surrounding their origin, but I like to quote John Green here and say that "I don't feel comfortable in explaining one mystery by bringing in another." As far as I am concerned, there is no Bigfoot/UFO connection.

What Sasquatch is-According To Me

There has been much speculation on what exactly Sasquatch is, and just about every opinion you can think of has been presented. Everything from aliens from outer space to quasi-physical to interdimensional to half-man half-ape have been presented as possible explanations. In my opinion (and in other people's opinions as well) it is an unknown primate which occupies the forests of North America. I see no reason that it could be an alien, or quasi-physical or half-man half-ape. I don't necessarily subscribe to those theories because there's really no evidence for those theories. In my opinion, it is an unknown primate, one that must be brought in and studied.

Bigfoot At The Beach?

Two Mental Patients Escape to Hunt Bigfoot

News from Western PA:
Contributed by: Rick Fisher
Additional information.
Some unusual and tragic news from up here in the Altoona area.
A hunter found two men atop Brush Mountain Thursday, one dead and the other barely coherent from hypothermia. Both had been drinking and took to the remote area with just light jackets, and a plan. The residents of Blair House (a community support facility for mentally-challenged adults) decided they would go look for Bigfoot, according to an ATV user who spoke with the men Wednesday on their way up the mountain that runs parallel to Altoona/Greenwood from the east.
They were observed making a campsite and fire.
A hunter returned to the area late Thursday afternoon and found one of the men unconscious and the other barely coherent enough to say his name.
Paul Diehl, 53, was pronounced dead on an old fire trail about a half-mile from Utah Road and LaSalle Lane, Greenwood (Logan Township). 47 year old Joe Quirin could barely say his name when paramedics reached him. He is in critical condition at Altoona Regional Hospital.
Google map and satellite view:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sll=40.520846,-78.408737&sspn=0.008629,0.016737&hl=en&q=
LaSalle+Lane&btnG=Search&ll=40.536601,-78.34372&spn=0.034507,0.066948&t=k
Overnight temperatures were close to or above freezing at the time.
-Orginally posted by "Spud" on the Paranormal PA Yahoo! Group.
Thanks to Pat Knetzer of the ABS Staff
posted by Sean Forker at 12:16 AM 0 comments

Mission Statement of the American Bigfoot Society

"We here at the American Bigfoot Society are a small but growing group who believe in a no-kill policy and we believe that these creatures are non-offensive for the most part and deserve good treatment like all creatures. We hope you will join us in our mission to prove the existence of these creatures and that you will treat these creatures with respect."
This mission statement was created by Henry May, Deputy Director of the American Bigfoot Society and adopted on Jan 6, 2006.

Review: Weird Travels: Bigfoot

This special was shown on the Travel Channel on Friday, January 6th, 2006, and was very well-done and fair and balanced. The special focused mainly on the Pacific Northwest, but also took us to the swamps of Florida and the forests of Texas. Several luminaries of the Bigfoot field were interviewed, including Loren Coleman, Dr. Henner Fahrenbach, Daryl Colyer and Craig Woolheater. The Pacific Northwest phenomenon was covered, more specifically the town of Willow Creek, California and the Bluff Creek area. Footprints, hair samples and even the famous Patterson/Gimlin film were examined and determined to be not disproven yet. The focus next went to Florida, and (for me) a real low point of the show when they featured known hoaxer David Shealy discussing the Skunk Ape. He showed his hoax photos and casts and hair samples, and this was a real letdown in an otherwise excellent special. They next went to Texas, specifically the Jefferson area and Caddo Lake, where sightings have taken place for nearly 200 years. The Texas Bigfoot Research Center was highlighted, more particularly the president of the organization Craig Woolheater. A group from the TBRC was filmed in the field doing research, which yielded some interesting results. I won't reveal too much more, but let's just say the results were interesting. This special was very well-done and fair to the subject. It will re-air on Saturday, January 7th at 10:00 a.m. eastern, and again on Tuesday, January 30th at
6:00 eastern on the Travel Channel.

Special Dedication

This blog is dedicated to my late grandmother, Doris Burns, who I loved very much, and also to my dad, Henry May III, whom I also love very much. My grandmother was very encouraging to me in my Bigfoot interest, even if she didn't understand it, and I always appreciated her for that. My dad was the one who got me involved with Bigfoot research in the first place, because he had the book Bigfoot: The Mysterious Monster and also allowed me to watch the old Six Million Dollar Man tv series which featured pro wrestler Andre The Giant as Bigfoot. Those two things, combined with seeing the documentary based on the aforementioned book got me started in this research, and that's been nearly 31 years ago. So, thank you, Nana and Dad, for encouraging me in this endeavor. This blog's for you.

Another BFF update

Temporary Housing
January 6, 2006

While we're waiting to find time to upgrade the forum, I've activated the Frappr BFF Member Map forum. It's not much compared to what we're all used to, but it'll do in a pinch. At least it will allow us to continue to have contact in the interim.

You can access the TBFF (Temporary Bigfoot Forums) here:
http://www.frappr.com/bigfootforums/forums


Thanks Bipto,
-ABS Staff
From Sean Forker's American Bigfoot Society blog, used with permission.

Reminder...

Tonight on the Travel Channel, Weird Travels will present "Bigfoot" at 10:00 eastern/9:00 central. Tune in for this one. Here is a description: For centuries, legends of hairy, apelike beasts have terrified remote regions around the globe and we're hot on the trail to uncover the truth behind the legend of Bigfoot.

Bigfoot Rendezvous

The weekend of June 16th and 17th, 2006, in Pocatello, Idaho, the first annual "Bigfoot Rendezvous" will be held, with Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Rick Noll in attendance and speaking as well. Not only that, but also several activities over the two days. See the poster for further information.

Avoiding copyright issues...

All photos from the Patterson/Gimlin film are copyright 2006 Mrs. Patricia Patterson and Erik Dahinden. (No, I did not get a threatening e-mail from either party, LOL, but I wanted to give the two parties credit. My apologies to the copyright holders for not doing this sooner.)

Sighting Report: Bolivar County, Mississippi, 3 miles south of Shaw, on Highway 61

Date: 1-13-98
Time: 1:15 A.M. CST
Witness: Henry M.
I saw a large, dirty-white-colored Sasquatch-type creature walking across the highway approximately 150 yards ahead of him from left to right. When I reached the point where the creature had crossed, saw large, approximately 7 1/2-8 foot tall creature standing in a ditch with its back turned. I saw the creature for approximately 15 seconds.

Terrain: 4-lane highway, going towards wooded area
Activities of witness: Driving north from Greenville, Mississippi towards the town of Shaw (There is a 90% chance this one was real, based on the fact that I was alone on the highway, with the chances of someone knowing I would be right there in that area at that particular time being highly remote.)

Sighting Report: Cherokee County, Georgia, Woodstock

Date: 1-31-84
Time: around 10:00 P.M. EST
Witness: Henry M.
I saw a large, rust-brown-colored Sasquatch-type creature, standing approximately 6 feet tall, behind a residence, standing under a porchlight. The creature's face was apelike and humanlike, flat nose, thin slit for lips and large black eyes.

Terrain: Wooded, mountainous region
Activities of witness: Standing on elevated back patio, watching creature 50 yards away at bottom of hill; witness left first. (There is a 60% possibility this is a hoax, so I count this one as a "Not Sure").

"The LONG Road"

Article by Sean Forker, used with permission
"The Patterson-Gimlin Film is a hoax. Bob Gimlin is a liar. Roger Patterson was a low life scum bag con-artist, who couldn't pay his bills. It was Bob Herionomus in the "Patty" suit. The suit was in 3-pieces. No, it was gray, and in 6 pieces. Phillip Morris created that suit. Well, Nevermind. It was John Chambers who made the suit, besides the fact he vehemetly denied it right up until the day he died."
All of these agruments have been tried and tested, and now they are just tired out. Skeptics have been trying to prove that this film is fradulent for over 30 years now. Actually 38 years and 76 days to be exact; and today they still can not discredit the film. Now, instead of trying to find more in the film, the skeptics have now decided to attack the filmers itself. The most recent attempt "The Making of Bigfoot" by Greg Long, is no different.
Please read the following Review by Henry May of the South East Sasquatch Assocation:
Book Review of The Making of Bigfoot
Author: Greg Long, foreword by Kal Korff
This book sucks. I don't know how else to put it. And not just because it's a book purporting to expose the Patterson/Gimlin film, but because Greg Long cannot write a good book. He's a hack writer and also a bad investigator. Certainly, he did go around Yakima and interview dozens of witnesses for the book in regards to Roger Patterson (who, by the way, he doesn't think much of, and wrote a 475-page character assassination to prove it), and certainly a good majority of those witnesses did say that Roger Patterson was a con artist, but Long failed to really paint Patterson as someone who could've faked the film. Besides, there's no proof that Patterson was a con artist or a thief or cheat; certainly he didn't always pay his bills on time, and certainly he didn't return his rented movie camera on time, but it doesn't make him a con artist or thief or cheat. Long also interviewed several different Bigfoot researchers to get their take on Roger Patterson and the film, and of course they support the film, if not necessarily Patterson. Long should have made the actual film his focus, rather than Patterson himself, because anybody can spread lies about a person that cannot be substantiated, and Long seems to delight in the constant character assassination he is engaging in in this book. He seems most excited by two finds-the man who allegedly wore the suit in the film, Bob Heironimus and the man who allegedly made the suit, costume maker Philip Morris. But, there is a problem-Heironimus says in the book that Roger Patterson skinned a red horse, sewed it together and glued an old fur coat to it, making a 3-piece suit; Morris alleges that he made a 6-piece dynel suit for someone who allegedly called him claiming to be Roger Patterson asking for a $435 gorilla suit. So that makes two different stories of an alleged suit, and more importantly, two contradictions. While the book was being released, Bob Heironimus appeared on MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" backing up Morris' story, when he himself said in the book it was a red horsehide suit. Since the release of the book (which has been a terrible flop) Heironimus has contradicted himself twice more, once on KATU-2 out of Portland, Oregon, stating that the man who designed the suits for the movie "Planet of the Apes" designed the suit for the P/G film. That would have been John Chambers, however, not Philip Morris. Also, according to Bigfoot researcher John Green, there is a fourth story in which Heironimus' sister is said to have called Mrs. Patricia Patterson, Roger's widow, and asked her to go along with a GREY horsehide suit having been worn in the film so they could all make money off it. To quote John Green, "This book is garbage", and it is. It took me a week and a half to finish it; the book is tedious, poorly written and agenda-driven. The agenda is Greg Long hates Roger Patterson for some unknown reason. Do not buy this book unless you are desperate or curious. But if you must buy it, it can be bought at www.amazon.com for $17.00, $8.00 off the original price. I do not recommend this book at all.
This manifestation of ignorance, hidden by the vale of skepticism, makes me disgusted. More frequently, on a forum that most, if not all my readers belong to; has been the very center for this activity. I call this action of ignorance "The Long Road" named after the master of the game himself.
When the skeptics have something of "Value" to say, I will listen.Until then I will stick with my view of the Patterson-Gimlin Film, which is more like a nutrition label. 95 % chance of Real, 5% chance of hoax, 0% chance of a misidentification. You will have to make up your own mind.
Keep on Squatchin'
-Sean

Ray Crowe and the International Bigfoot Society

Ray Crowe originated the Western Bigfoot Society in 1991. He has since expanded the operation and now has the International Bigfoot Society as a subsidiary. He runs the organization from his home in Hillsboro, Oregon. Ray conducts monthly society meetings with guest speakers and puts out a monthly newsletter, The Track Record, that contains pertinent information on all aspects of the Sasquatch/Bigfoot issue. Ray has a remarkable collection of Sasquatch related items which he exhibits at his annual Sasquatch/Bigfoot conference. Speakers from all over North America, and sometimes from Europe, give formal presentations at Ray's conferences. Ray is a prime contact in the Sasquatch field and has participated in television documentaries and radio shows. His opinion is sought by the news media on current issues and he is often quoted in this connection. Ray is very liberal and fair in his dealings with people. While personally straightforward and reserved when it comes to Sasquatch related evidence, at his conferences and in The Track Record he allows people to express themselves without restrictions. He receives a very high volume of correspondence and he reports on virtually everything allowing readers to judge for themselves.

Richard Noll-A Foremost Field Researcher

Richard (Rick) Noll has been researching the Sasquatch phenomenon since 1969, when he took a vacation trip into the Bluff Creek, California area with a relative working on new bridges in that region. Here Rick became acquainted with the numerous local Sasquatch or Bigfoot sightings and stories and took up a personal challenge to prove or disprove the creature's existence. Straight out of high school, Rick served in the U.S. Coast Guard as a sonar technician. An avid outdoorsman, he later trained as a forester at Green River Community College. He is now an expert in aircraft metrology, working for major aerospace manufacturers. He uses such technologies as Theodolite, Laser Tracker, CMM and Photogrammetry. He has published several training manuals on the use of this equipment and provided numerous related lectures. His teaching assignments have taken him around the world, affording many opportunities to check into local reports of Sasquatch-like creatures. Over the last thirty years Rick has worked with all of the major Sasquatch researchers and connected with many highly noted anthropologists such as Dr. George Schaller and Dr. Jane Goodall. Dr. Goodall has expressed belief in Sasquatch and Rick interviewed her in November 2003 for a video segment. It should be noted that Rick has become highly well-known not only for his Sasquatch related knowledge but also for his expertise in digital technology and related electronics. Rick first saw Sasquatch tracks first-hand in 1975 just outside of Twisp, Washington. He and his partner, David Smith, traveled to this area in response to a Sasquatch encounter report. The tracks, which were in 2-foot/61cm deep, crusted-over snow, were clearly defined and the encounter report was, in Rick's own words, "hair-raising." Rick works almost exclusively within his own home state of Washington. He regularly attends Sasquatch symposiums (was present at the University of B.C. conference in 1978) and provides presentations himself on his Sasquatch research and findings. He spends most of his Sasquatch research time in the field monitoring several camera traps and track sites in hopes of getting a fresh lead on the creature. In Harrison Lake, British Columbia, the idea of using regular bicycles as camera platforms to run old logging roads was conceived. Rene Dahinden became so enthusiastic with the concept that he wanted to get a bicycle himself. Rick is currently one of the curators for the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) and is recognized as a leader in field investigations (especially regarding history research, photography, measurements and impression casting). He was a major contributor in identifying impressions made by the Skookum sasquatch and making the Skookum body cast. He is the custodian of this highly intriguing evidence. Editor's note: since the writing of this bio, Noll has left the BFRO and is no longer associated with them.

Daniel Perez The Tireless Investigator

Daniel Perez was born and raised in Norwalk, California and became endlessly fascinated by the Bigfoot mystery around 1973 after seeing the pseudo-documentary, "The Legend Of Boggy Creek." This documentary triggered his casual to casually serious, to serious fullfledged involvement in this subject matter. Daniel is a union licensed electrician and has been in that occupation since 1985. In 1992, on the heels of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film, Daniel authored and published his BIGFOOTIMES-"Bigfoot At Bluff Creek," which is considered by many knowledgeable investigators and researchers as the "bible" on the film. The late Rene Dahinden once said of the work, "It's the best damn thing ever published on the film." Even today, the slender booklet continues to be a highly authoritative account of the film. It has been used and continues to be used by many researchers and was used for facts in the compilation of this compendium. "Bigfoot At Bluff Creek" went through a second printing in 2003 with 8 pages of bibliography added, changing the work from popular literature to a real piece of scholarship. Although Daniel has researched historical and contemporary cases on Bigfoot, he is widely noted for his expertise on the Patterson/Gimlin film-considered by many as the "bedrock of Bigfooting." Daniel holds the unique distinction of having been to more alleged Bigfoot filming locations than anyone in the world. His research has taken him all over the United States, and also to Canada, Mexico, Russia and Australia. Having investigated and researched the Bigfoot mystery for over two decaded now, he is completely satisfied that Bigfoot is a biological reality, far beyond the realm of fancy and mythology. He writes and publishes his monthly newsletter, BIGFOOT TIMES, which is a concise and a factual release. It is a newsletter that addressed areas on the subject matter that other editors simply would not dare to touch. The publication continues to be the leading newsletter in its class. Daniel also authored the 1988 bibliographical work on the subject, "Big Footnotes: A Comprehensive Bibliography Concerning Bigfoot, The Abominable Snowmen and Related Beings," which is now considered a standard and requisite reference in the field. He continues to do "on site" investigations of Bigfoot sighting and footprint finds and has researched cases in British Columbia, Canada and as far east as Ohio. He is considered a nononsense, extremely serious, meticulous and factual researcher in all matters related to Bigfoot studies. Daniel has worked with me and many other researchers on the analysis of the Patterson/Gimlin film, including John Green, the late Rene Dahinden and Dr. Grover Krantz, Dmitri Bayanov and Igor Bourtsev. To the best of our knowledge, Daniel Perez was the first person to acquire longitude/latitude readings along with an elevation reading of the Patterson/ Gimlin film site using GPS technology. It is his opinion that the subject in the film is North America's legendary Sasquatch or Bigfoot creature.

Biography: Tom Steenburg

Tom Steenburg The Giant Hunter
From the book "Meet The Sasquatch" by Chris Murphy
Used with permission

Thomas Steenburg has been actively involved in Sasquatch research since 1978. Up until September 2002 he lived in Alberta and was the main researcher in that province. He had, however, done some extensive research in British Columbia and moved to Mission, B.C. in 2002 for the express purpose of living and doing research in Canada's "Sasquatch" province. Tom has military training and is a rugged outdoorsman. He is one of the few Sasquatch researchers who continually goes out into the wilderness. He had one encounter with a grizzly bear and considers himself very lucky that he managed to get up a tree in time-suffering only a lower back wound and a clawed packsack. Tom has thoroughly documented much of his research in three books. He tells me that his most memorable experience was a chance investigation in 1986 of a sighting along the Chilliwack River. While Tom was in Hope, B.C., an elderly man saw the SASQUATCH RESEARCH sign on Tom's Ford Bronco (previous vehicle) and informed him of the sighting which had occurred three days earlier. Tom did some checking and found the exact location. He learned that an American couple were camping in the area. After doing some fishing in the Chilliwack River, they hung their catch on a tree back at their campsite. They saw a Sasquatch take the fish and wander off. Tom searched the entire area and to his amazement found 110 footprints measuring 18-inches/45.7 cm long starting near a little creek across the road from the campsite. The prints went along the creek bed for about 40 yards/36.6 cm, and then they suddenly turned to the right and headed up a very steep hill at about a 45 degree angle. He lost the trail by a rock slide area. He photographed the clearest prints and then made a plaster cast. Impressed with Tom's recollection of this event, I visited the location with him in August of last year. Although the Chilliwack River area is only some 62 miles/100 km from Vancouver, the whole region is heavily forested. There are numerous campgrounds and one can see (unfortunately) that a lot of people use them. We trekked the area of the footprints and although there is now more undergrowth, it is almost incomprehensible how a hoaxer could make prints in the ground that were of the nature Tom found. One can, of course "scuff up" the ground but the results are far from a proper footprint. Nevertheless, even Tom does not overlook the possibility that the prints were fabricated. However, he was not specifically called to investigate the incident as explained and he had to do a fair bit of checking to find the sighting location.

Biography: Peter Byrne

Peter Cyril Byrne was born in Dublin, Ireland, on August 22, 1925, to an Irish father and an English mother. He graduated school, and joined the Royal British Air Force during World War II. After his service, he came to work on a tea plantation in northern India in the late 1940's; he opened Nepal's first tiger hunting concession (today he helps protect them) and soon found himself face to face with stories about the "abominable snowman" or yeti. Funded by a Texas oilman, with the unlikely name of Tom Slick, he began a three year mission to hunt and track down the Yeti. They found footprints and a mummified hand in a monastery (which Byrne took a finger of and replaced it with a human finger; the finger was tested and found to be somewhere between human, gorilla and chimpanzee, but the finger was lost), but the creature remained shrouded in the blowing Himalayan snow. Hearing of the discovery of big footprints in northern California, Slick asked Byrne to head up a "Pacific Northwest Bigfoot Expedition" in 1960, which for a short time included Rene Dahinden, John Green and Bob Titmus (and these gentlemen were not happy having a Brit (actually, an Irishman who sounds like a Brit) being brought in to run the show; Dahinden left after a month-and-a-half, but Green and Titmus stayed a little longer until Slick was killed in a plane crash in 1962). Byrne could not continue his efforts until the early-1970's, when the Boston Academy of Applied Sciences began bankrolling Byrne, who was able to establish a Bigfoot Information Center near The Dalles, Oregon. This effort continued for 9 years, from 1970-1979. During that time, Byrne appeared on "In Search Of..." and also his own short documentary, titled "Manbeast: Myth or Monster" in 1978. He also wrote a book, "The Search For Bigfoot: Monster, Myth or Man" in 1975. Byrne seemingly dropped out of sight after that project was finished until 1992, when he was once again bankrolled by the B.A.O.A.S. to form the Bigfoot Research Project, this time based near Parkdale, Oregon, in the Hood River region. This was a full-scale monster search, complete with helicopters, infra-red sensors and 1-800-BIGFOOT phone number. Byrne's efforts, which continued until around 1997, did not produce much in the way of good evidence, but he gave it a good shot. After this project, Byrne was commissioned to investigate sightings of a Bigfoot-type creature in Southern Florida, the famous "Skunk Ape". This effort was documented in a production called "Shaawanoki", produced by Andreas Wallach and Ronnie Roseman (Byrne directed it). Today, Byrne is semi-retired in the Bigfoot field and continues his tourist/adventure work around the world.

The Intrepid Dr. Grover Krantz

Dr. Grover S. Krantz (d. 2002) was a physical anthropologist with Washington State University. He became involved in the Sasquatch issue in 1963 and spent the next thirty-nine years relentlessly investigating the evidence provided to him. He found what he considered indisputable evidence in dermal ridges (i.e., like finger prints) that he discovered on some footprint casts. In his own words: "When I first realized the potential significance of dermal ridges showing in Sasquatch footprints, it seemed to me that scientific acceptance of the existence of the species might be achieved without having to bring in a specimen of the animal itself. It was this hope that drove me to expend so much of my resources on it, and of my scientific reputations as well." Unfortunately, Dr. Krantz was not able to bring about the scientific acceptance he envisioned. Nevertheless, it was confirmed by Jimmy Chilcutt, a finger print expert who has made a special study of the dermatoglyphics on the hands and feet of nonhuman primates, that dermal ridges discovered by Krantz indicate they are definitely those of a nonhuman primate. Dr. Krantz's most notable Sasquatch related accomplishment was his reconstruction of the skull of Gigantopithecus blacki, an extinct primate that lived in southern China somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 years ago. Krantz theorized that the Sasquatch may have descended from this primate. His model is based on a lower jaw fossil of the creature. Dr. Krantz was also the major supporter for the authenticity of the Bossburg (Washington) "cripple foot" casts. He studied these casts intently and provided a proposed bone structure for each cast. Despite skepticism, these casts are very intriguing. Although highly regarded as an anthro-pologist, Dr. Krantz's reputation was greatly diminished because of his belief in the reality of the Sasquatch. While certianly bothered by this eventuality, he did not let it stop him in any way. He spoke at Sasquatch symposiums, appeared in many television documentaries and was continually quoted in newspaper articles. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Krantz on two occasions. He was a very gentle man, very approachable and friendly. While he was supportive of action to intentionally kill a Sasquatch to definitely establish the creature's existence, I really wonder if he personally would have been able to "pull the trigger." As with Roger Patterson, I think the day will come when Dr. Krantz will be officially and properly recognized by the scientific community for his research on the Sasquatch.

The Relentless Rene Dahinden

The Relentless Rene Dahinden
From the book "Meet The Sasquatch" by Chris Murphy
Used with permission

Rene Dahinden was so closely associated and involved in the Sasquatch phenomenon, and so widely publicized in this connection, that his very name brings the creature to mind. Dahinden was born in Switzerland in 1930 and came to Canada in 1953. About two months after his arrival he and his employer, Wilbur Willich, listened to a CBC Radio program about a Daily Mail (British newspaper) expedition to search for the Yeti. Rene remarked, "Wouldn't it be something to be part of that!" Willich replied, "You don't need to go that far, we have the same things right here." Dahinden then learned that Canada (British Columbia specifically) had its own version of the Yeti-our elusive Sasquatch. From that point on Rene became obsessed with finding the creature. He headed for Brtish Columbia and later spent months at a time wandering through the province's vast wilderness in search of his prey. In time he became well known as a "Sasquatch hunter." When not in the bush, he responded to Sasquatch sighting reports all over the Pacific Northwest. He interviewed hundreds of people and amassed a formidable collection of Sasquatch related artifacts and literature. I became associated with Rene in 1993, about forty years into his search. He was now 63-years old and was no longer spending much time in the field. He lived just a few miles from where I live and over the next five years or so, I visited Rene two or three times a week. I spent many long evenings with him discussing the Sasquatch issue. Although Rene was a firm believer in the existence of the creature, he never saw one. Nevertheless, he was a highly dedicated and diligent researcher right to the end.

Biography: John Green

Without doubt, John Green is the pre-eminent authority on the Sasquatch/Bigfoot issue. Although no longer very active in field research, he spent many years investigating Sasquatch sightings and footprint reports. He has hunted for evidence in many remote areas throughout the Pacific Northwest and has traveled to eastern Canada and throughout the United States, methodically documenting and photographing evidence of the creature's existence. He has personally interviewed hundreds of people including all of the early Sasquatch witnesses-Albert Ostman, Fred Beck, Roger Patterson, Bob Gimlin, to name a few. John has authored several books on the subject, the most noteworthy being his "Sasquatch, The Apes Among Us". In the "Sasquatch fraternity", as it were, John Green is the "clearing house" for all matters. His vast knowledge in the field has no equal. John became involved in investigating the Sasquatch in 1957 while he was owner/publisher of the Agassiz-Harrison Advance newspaper. The Harrison area was noted for Sasquatch sightings. John, however, took little interest in the subject until he learned that some people in the community he had come to respect had been witnesses to an incidentat nearby Ruby Creek 16-years earlier. Thereupon, John teamed up with Rene Dahinden, who had come to Harrison to hunt for the Sasquatch, and the two men embarked on serious and dedicated research. Both John and Rene were founding members of the Pacific Northwest Expedition in California in 1959. John and Rene continued to cooperate with each other for over a decade. Eventually they parted company over the issue of sharing information with other people. Rene never wavered from his determination to solve the mystery himself. John gave up on that prospect and does whatever he can to help anyone he considers to be making sincere efforts in Sasquatch research. John has documented thousands of sasquatch related incidents, many of which he personally investigated. He has diligently analyzed the information he has collected and has provided many statistics on the nature and distribution of the creature. He has presented his findings at numerous conferences and continues to be called upon for speaking engagements. Mainly through John's efforts, some highly eminent anthropologists and zoologists are now involved in the Sasquatch issue. I met John in 1993. Over the years I have visited him a number of times and have listened intently to his views. Few things escape his notice. He is exceedingly critical and accepts absolutely nothing at face value. John is very careful where doubt is involved with people and Sasquatch related evidence. Indeed, John gives little or no credibility to most of the highly publicized Sasquatch encounters (videos in particular) of recent years. He is highly uncomfortable with all findings by Ivan Marx and Paul Freeman.

Biography: Bob Titmus

The Incomparable Bob Titmus
From the book "Meet The Sasquatch" by Chris Murphy
Used with permission

Bob Titmus, the greatest of the 20th century "Sasquatch Hunters" is generally thought of as an American, but he spent two thirds of his adult life in British Columbia-on the northern coast, in the Hazelton area and at Harrison Hot Springs. He died a Canadian citizen. Not well-known to the public, because he never sought publicity or wrote a book, he devoted more time to actually hunting for Sasquatch creatures and had more to show for his efforts, than anyone else. He was a taxidermist a Anderson, California, when large humanlike tracks started showing up on a road under construction in the Bluff Creek valley during the summer of 1958. He showed his old friend Jerry Crew how to make the plaster cast that introduced "Bigfoot" to the world. That cast, and susequent examination of the tracks themselves, convinced Bob that a real creature had to be out there; something he spent the rest of his life trying to prove. Bob's greatest success came within a few weeks of the Jerry Crew incident. Bob and a friend found slightly smaller tracks of a distinctly different shape on a sandbar beside Bluff Creek, proving that a species of animal was involved, not a freak individual. Bob made casts of these tracks and subsequently found those same tracks again at more than one location. He made more casts of the familiar tracks and went on to cast other tracks he later found in California, Oregon and on islands off the central coast of British Columbia (B.C.) All casts he made are among the best ever made anywhere. Bob was also called in to examine and cast tracks found by other people. Although most of his B.C. material was lost when his boat burned, his collection was by far the largest collection of original casts made by any individual. In 1959, Bob, along with John Green and Rene Dahinden, persuaded Texas millionaire Tom Slick to finance a full-time Bigfoot hunt in northern California. However, the hunt produced only some more footprints so in 1961 Bob shifted his efforts to what seemed at the time to be a more promising area-that centering on Klemtu, B.C. This venture also petered out, but Bob found life in northern B.C. to his liking and he stayed on, settling at Kitimat and later Hazelton, B.C. In 1977 he investigated tracks found by children near the Skeena River and made the best set (left and right foot) of casts ever obtained. Bob told of two personal Sasquatch sightings on the northern coast, one during World War II from a ship in Alaskan waters (he said he refused to credit his senses at the time); and one of three dark bipeds scaling a cliff a long way off near Kitimat. This sighting occurred while he was searching with his own boat in the 1960s. Like most witnesses he had no proof of these experiences. Nevertheless, he did find and cast footprints corroborating reports by others, including a remarkable set of casts of the prints left by the creature in the Patterson/Gimlin film. One of these casts showed that the creature's foot could bend in the middle in a way not possible for a human foot. By the time Bob moved to Harrison Hot Springs in 1978, his field work was restricted by health problems, including increasing pain from a back injury he had suffered keeping his boat from going on the rocks in a storm. However, he continued to investigate reports in the nearby Fraser Valley and also to hunt for more evindence at Bluff Creek. On one of his trips there, he collected brown hairs from branches where there was evidence that a Sasquatch had passed. These hairs were later proven to be from a higher primate but defied specific identification. On another trip he drained a large pond in order to make a cast of a Sasquatch hand print. Bob Titmus died at Chilliwack, B.C. in 1997 and his ashes were scattered on a Harrison Lake mountainside. His American material is now displayed in a wing of the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum in California that was built especially to house it.

The problems with the BFRO (Subtitle: Oh, How The Mighty Have Fallen)

In recent months, the Bigfoot Field Researchers' Organization, ostensibly the "only scientific organization" studying Bigfoot, has been suffering from mass exodus, hoaxing, credibility problems and other things. But the main problem they're suffering from is their leader, Matt Moneymaker, is an absolute scumbag. According to several former BFRO members, Moneymaker has talked badly about members behind their backs, he has cheated, he has lied and he has stolen from people. He is a parasite who needs to close down the BFRO because he's had most of his curators leave the group because of his abrasive attitude. Moneymaker thinks himself an "expert", the ONLY "researcher" to call HIMSELF an expert; you don't see John Green or Dr. Jeff Meldrum or Peter Byrne or any of the other researchers calling THEMSELVES experts-that's left to the rest of us. Moneymaker is arrogant, brash, rude, crude and obnoxious. He has let the "success" on the BFRO go to his head. It seems very suspicious to me that there is Bigfoot evidence or a sighting EVERY time they go on expedition. I suspect hoaxing on Moneymaker's part. Most researchers, no matter how good they are, don't find evidence every time they go out on expedition. Moneymaker has now taken to attacking former members who frequent the Bigfoot Forums. Read this:

Several people were ejected from the BFRO
who originally came over from the BFF.
Some of their BFF buddies, who they brought into the BFRO, left with them.
Those people who were kicked out were not field researchers,
yet they try to characterize themselves as "the best people in the group".
They were the WORST people in the group. They are people who desparately need social attention,
and they seek it out on public messages boards like the BFF.
Those people may no longer use the BFRO's internal communication systems for that purpose,
so they pollute the BFF.
"39" people did not leave the BFRO. Most of those BFF "handles" are made up.
The actual number of people who were ejected or left is around 20. Notice how they never use their real names.
Simple Facts:
The number of people currently in the BFRO outnumbers the actual number of ejected people by a factor of 5 to 1.
Add to that, the number of people who have attended BFRO expeditions and who eagerly endorse the expeditions.
THOSE people alone outnumber the BFF regular posters by a factor 10 to 1.
The number of people on the Internet who frequent the BFRO site outnumbers the BFF audience by at least 1000 to 1.
A few hundred people have now attended BFRO expeditions.
ALL of them were very impressed ... until SOME of them got ejected from the BFRO.
The two (2) BFF regulars who NOW claim they were not impressed by the BFRO expeditions
that they attended ... only say that NOW because they are not allowed on any more BFRO expeditions.
Those same two people had made previous written statements about their own experiences on the expeditions.
They are liars and hypocrites.

----------------------------------------
Casual lurkers on the BFF need to understand a few basic facts
about the relationship between the BFF and the BFRO.
The BFF web site, like the pathetic regulars who post to it, are competing for attention.
Their main competition for attention on the Internet is the BFRO.
The LAST thing they care about is science.
The ONLY thing they care about, in the BF arena ... is drawing attention to themselves.
They prop themselves up as "critics" to distract you from the fact that they cannot do anything themselves.
They contribute absolutely nothing to the field except message board pollution on the BFF.


---------------------------------
The person who goes by "JimF" (Jim Flowers) is basically a transient.
Someone on the BFF needs to start a thread asking for his employment history and his resume.
Do that and you will find out the truth about Jim Flowers: He's an unemployed bum.
If you ever get to see the folks who were ejected from the BFRO, you'll notice something
most of them have in common.
They are morbidly obese.
At least one has had gastric by-pass surgery, but it has not helped much.
They have very few friends outside of public message boards.
They need public messages boards like the BFF to feel important.
They are way, WAY too fat to go hiking anywhere, or do any field research.
They're not just overweight. They are morbidly obese.
Some would need to buy two tickets to fly on an airplane ...
The fattest, ugliest one of all is "ARsquatch." Her real name is Teresa Hall.
She's an ultra fat trailer trash beast from Arkansas.
People who met her at the Texas Conference say she's too revolting to look at.
Like most morbidly obese people, they are undisciplined
and have a distorted sense of reality. This should tell you everything you need to know about how the BFRO (more specifically Moneymaker) feels about their competition. The BFRO had nearly 40 people leave the BFRO this year alone, and that's not good for the organization once considered number 1. Moneymaker has to go, even if it means bringing down the BFRO with it.

What happened to Bigfoot Forums?

I went to log in to http://www.bigfootforums.com and I got a "Forbidden-you don't have permission to access this server" message. Wonder what's going on? I hope it doesn't have anything to do with some recent controversy with the BFRO and some comments made about the BFF. More on this story as it develops...

Interesting photo...

This photo (copyright 2006 Larry Lund, The "Sasquatch Sleuth") shows, from left to right, Roger Patterson, John Ballard, Jerry Merritt, Howard Heironimus, Bob Gimlin and Bob Heironimus. This photo was featured in Greg Long's book The Making of Bigfoot. This photo was in the possession of Merritt for many years, until he saw Larry Lund on television and called him. (Merritt had played guitar for Larry's brother-in-law, Gene Vincent ("Be-Bop-A-Lula") and said he had some items for Larry, including the photo you see here. That photo was taken sometime in 1967 as a publicity photo for Patterson's pending documentary on Bigfoot which he was going to use until he filmed a real Bigfoot (which of course, he did). Obviously, this is what started some people thinking that Bob Heironimus and Patterson were riding buddies (which they were not). Anyway, this is an interesting photo, and I thank Larry Lund for sending it to me.

M.K. Davis on Artistfirst tonight

Tonight at 9:00 EST, Don Monroe and M.K. Davis will appear on Artistfirst Radio for 2 hours. The program can be found at http://www.artistfirst.com

Ray Wallace: Was He The "Clever Hoaxer" Some Said He Was?

In November 2002, a longtime Bigfoot enthusiast, Ray Wallace, died in a nursing home in Washington State. This is normally not so unusual, except for the fact that his death caused quite a bit of controversy in the Bigfoot community because of track finds that occurred in 1958 in northern California. Ray Wallace was the supervisor for the Thomas Sourwine-run company of road construction workers in that part of California in the Bluff Creek area. There were tracks found several mornings in a row, one of which was cast by Jerry Crew and photographed in early-October '58. Because of these footprint finds, the name "Bigfoot" entered the national consciousness. For many years after that, Wallace had a store in which he sold fake footprint castings; he was also known to tell wild stories about Bigfoot and UFO's which no one took seriously. During the initial 1959-61 Tom Slick-sponsored "Pacific Northwest Expedition", Wallace told the expedition that he had a captive Bigfoot in a cage, and the expedition leader, Peter Byrne and Tom Slick consulted on how much they would pay for this captive Bigfoot. Wallace claimed that he was feeding the creature bags of Frosted Flakes and that they weren't getting any cheaper. Before Byrne and Slick could collect the Bigfoot after scraping up the funds, Wallace claimed the creature got sick and he let it go. Wallace did this kind of stuff for years and years, even filming hoax films. They didn't fool anyone, but Wallace was a nice old guy. However, it is interesting that he did hoax tracks at Bluff Creek around 1958, and some of those tracks have been accepted as real by some researchers (the Jerry Crew casts are real, however, and may match the tracks found by Pat Graves in 1963 and possibly "Patty" herself!). Wallace never admitted to hoaxing tracks while he was alive, but anyone who is truly objective will admit that some of the casts that were taken in that area did match the Wallace fakes. The Wallace story somehow also got mixed up with the Patterson/Gimlin film as well, with Wallace in some news reports allegedly having been involved in hoaxing that film, with his wife as "Patty". Some news reports had a "deathbed confession" from Roger Patterson that the film was a hoax, which was not true at all. The whole thing was a cluster-foulup from the media, who immediately declared that this proved that Bigfoot never existed before 1958, and of course they got other elements of the mystery mixed up. It's indicative of the media to screw up on things like this, and of course, they were already pre-disposed to not believe there was a Bigfoot, so of course they screwed things up. But Bigfoot research obviously doesn't suffer much despite the hoaxing of Mr. Wallace. I think it's time that the Bigfoot community police its ranks and throw out the bad evidence and realize that not ALL the Bluff Creek tracks are of a real creature.

M.K. Davis and the Patterson/Gimlin film: a 9-year Journey

Amateur astronomer and my good friend M.K. Davis from Benton, Mississippi undertook a journey in 1997 out of curiosity-he saw a photo (frame 352 of the Patterson/Gimlin film) which intrigued him. He figured that he could probably use the techniques he applied to astronomy to that film. He found several different things in the course of his study on the film that solidified his belief that the film is real. M.K. has found scars on the creature, bulletholes, eyebrow raising, bare skin, anomalies in the film itself that told him the creature was real. M.K. started speaking at conferences on his findings which intrigued his fellow researchers, and he deeply impressed all who saw his findings. After 8 years of studying the film, tedious hours of experimentation and study, he came to the conclusion, on September 27th, 2005, on Artistfirst Radio that the film was proven in his mind and that further study was a bit unnecessary to him (but he still finds things in the film even today!). The main culmination of his work was going to the actual film site on October 20, 2005 and seeing the place where Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin came upon and filmed a real Bigfoot 38 years before. He and the party he was with found a track and a tree twist/break at the film site. M.K. was able to determine that there were missing frames in most copies of the film shown on television; even the "Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science" DVD copy of the film, donated by John Green, has missing frames! The recent National Geographic special on Bigfoot was the only one to date to show the entire film, missing frames and all, from end-to-end. M.K. was able to determine that the copy shown on that broadcast was a 1-inch tape scan of the original film because of writing on the end of the film which said "American Bigfoot". That writing was significant because a company back in the early-'70s called American National Enterprises, or ANE, bought the rights to the original film from Roger Patterson, and they kept it for many years. The company was bought out by another company called Perequin, and that company eventually went under, which left the fate of the original film in limbo. It is lost today. M.K.'s work is underappreciated by some in the Bigfoot community, but others (like myself) are deeply intrigued by his findings and want to learn more about this elusive film. M.K. Davis is a true pioneer in this field and deserves to be highly commended.

Or is THIS?

That first image was of our old "friend" Bob Heironimus in a late-2004 recreation attempt by himself, Greg Long, Kal Korff, Philip Morris and Robert Kiviat. This image, seen on the left, is the Patterson/Gimlin film creature, shot 38 years ago. Which is the real "Patty"? You decide.

Is This "Patty"...

What constitutes an "expert"?

The field of Bigfoot research has many different researchers from all walks of life-newspaper reporters, anthropologists, wildlife biologists, paleontologists and scientists. But the vast majority of researchers are amateurs with no professional status to jeopardize. But, do any of us qualify as "experts"? Well, I would say that yes, some of the more qualified people in this field would fall under that category. I realize that some of us say "There are no experts in the Bigfoot field.", but I would say there are a lot of experts in this field who seem to know certain aspects about the mystery. I would put Dr. Jeff Meldrum in the field of "expert" because of his qualifications in the fields of anatomy and primatology; I consider M. K. Davis an "expert" on the Patterson/Gimlin film, since he worked on it for 8 years and found it authentic; I would put Rick Noll in the "expert" category due to his continued field work and background in aeronautics. I could list more, but you get the drift. There are experts in this field, but they don't advertise themselves as such (most of the time), and are usually very humble and honest about their professions. So there are experts in the Bigfoot field.