Bigfoot and rainfall

Written by Richard Noll
The Pacific Northwest, actually the greater Seattle area, is fast approaching a record rain streak. It stands at 33 days but on this coming Friday that could easily be exceeded. Forecasts predict at least another 5 days to the continuous downfall we are having. I mention this for two reasons:
1. It has been mentioned by John Green, "Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us", pg 170-188, Chapter 10 - "Twenty Inches of Rain", that one of the only patterns he has seen with the data he collected, which had the most stringent validation process attached to it’s collection in my book, was that reports seem to be tied to areas with 20 inches or more rainfall per year, and
2. My laptop went down and is being repaired. All the postings I was working on are in it and I won’t get it back for a few more days yet, so I thought I would poll the readership here in the meantime.
What is it about the rain that a pattern appears in Bigfoot reports? Does it have to do with thermo-regulation? Food resources? Mineral leaching? Maybe they have to come out of the ground, from their hiding places, for fear of being flooded out? Just kidding on that one.
I have my own theories but I am really interested in what all of you think about this so please comment on the phenomena within the phenomenon.

Bigfoot where are you?

S'poreans going to Johor jungles. Their mission: To find mythical creature
By Teh Jen Lee
January 10, 2006 THIS is Bigfoot sighting season.
Click to see larger image
With the help of this instrument that measures magnetic fields, Mr Toh Seong Fai - a member of SPI - plans to hunt for Johor's Bigfoot.
The latest was reported just across the Causeway last month.
And in November last year, three fish farm workers apparently saw two hairy beasts about 3m tall and a smaller, younger one, near Kota Tinggi.
These unconfirmed sightings have excited a group of Singaporeans.
In two weeks, 20 of them, members of the Singapore Paranormal Investigators (SPI), will head to the jungles of Johor.
Their two-day recce trip will determine how best to plan future expeditions.
SPI is a non-profit club that researches paranormal phenomena.
Click to see larger image
Bigfoot in a Hollywood movie.
It has 50 paying members and over 10,000 members registered on its online forum.
The team members will be hand-
picked for their physical fitness as they will be staying overnight in the forests.
Mr Hashim Yusof, director of Johor National Parks Corp, said that SPI sent an e-mail request on 21 Dec to interview those who have reportedly seen Bigfoot.
He said: 'We thanked them for their interest and are in the midst of getting official clearance from the authorities.
'People can come unofficially as tourists, but any findings must be verified through the proper channels.'
Mr Hashim said the first Bigfoot sighting in Johor was reported 26 years ago, but the latest sightings have generated the most interest.
IS SOMETHING REALLY AFOOT?
Mr Toh Seong Fai aims to find that out.
The 32-year-old, who works in logistics, is one of SPI's Elite Members. He will be heading the recce trip.
For the past few years, he has been going on his own to Kota Tinggi once every few months on the Bigfoot trail.
He has spoken to locals about the most likely spots where Bigfoot may appear.
He has not gathered any evidence yet, but he is not giving up.
He said: 'I believe people are born curious about things they don't know. But many take the easy way out, they just accept information from sources without verifying it for themselves.
'I prefer to be active. I want to know if this mythical creature is real or whether it's a case of mistaken identity.'
Indeed, his interest is more enduring than what may be described as the recent King Kong craze.
Mr Toh said he specialises in cryptozoology - the study of animals 'whose existence has been made aware of, but whose actual identities are not verified'.
He said: 'I've been into cryptozoology since I was in primary school. I read about the Loch Ness monster and got interested.'
FUR, TEETH MARKS
With more people joining the search, he hopes they will be able to gather tangible evidence like fur or even teeth marks on half-eaten food.
Yet he is aware the trip could be just another wild goose chase.
'We will be scientific and logical. If we don't have sufficient info, we will not make any conclusions,' he said.
Similarly, SPI president Kenny Fong, 36, who is based in Macau, told The New Paper: 'As professional investigators, our aim is to verify and search for clues just as they are.'
Added the assistant professor: 'This means we do not come with any biased wishful thinking. We want to be as neutral as possible when examining any traces of artifacts collected.'
Another SPI Elite Member, Mr Douglas Lim, 29, an IT administrator, described some of the special equipment that may be used for the trip:
# Sound enhancer which can pick up ultrasound that is undetectable to human ears
# Infra-red or night-vision binoculars
# Metal detector to measure magnetic fields for abnormal readings
These gadgets cost over $800 in total.
But when it comes to footprints, Mr Lim wants to see it with his own eyes.
SPI secretary Lee Qing Yu, 24, a lab technician, said they will make moulds of any footprints so that these can be examined by experts.
Dr Fong said it's possible to find out the behavioural pattern of a creature based on its footprints.
'For example, are they multiple, social or solitary? With luck, we may observe a trail of footprints.
'It doesn't make sense if there is only a pair of them out of nowhere and going nowhere. We may be able to trace a trail all the way to their cave. That would be like hitting the jackpot!' he said, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.
He used to have an unusual hobby of observing footprints on sandy beaches.
'It was like a guessing game. You can see if the footprints are by a loving couple or a family, someone wandering around or in a hurry.
'When it comes to Bigfoot, the footprint can give clues to the weight, bone shape and size of the animal.'
After piecing together any evidence-based clues they find, SPI hopes to draw a conclusion or remark whether Bigfoot exists or not.
Said Mr Toh: 'If there were only one or two sightings, then maybe there's nothing. But there have been sightings again and again over the years, not just in Johor but elsewhere.
'What's more, the sightings are by native people who are very capable of differentiating between ordinary jungle animals and something extraordinary.'
What do their families and friends say about all this?
Said Dr Fong: 'Those who do not know me very well, their jaws will drop. It's the same reaction when I tell them how I rode a donkey for six hours in rocky mountains 2,300m above sea-level.'
This happened last Christmas when he was looking for a Biblical location in Jordan.
'I could have been dead many times during the climb if I had fallen over the cliff in the gorges. But this is me. Shopping in London or sightseeing at the Eiffel Tower makes me yawn.'
Parks boss invites media to seek out truth
THE reports of Bigfoot sightings in Johor mostly came from the forests of Tanjung Piai, Mersing, Kahang, Endau Rompin National Park and Kota Tinggi.
In the November sighting by three fish farm workers, footprints of various sizes were found in the area.
The biggest one, which looked like a triangular depression, was 45cm long. Its pictures were published in the Malaysian press.
About a week ago, Johor National Parks director Hashim Yusof took a group of 50 park rangers and journalists to the Sungai Madek forest reserve. They went around asking locals about the reported sightings.
Mr Hashim told Reuters that he was keeping an open mind and wanted to enlist scientists to prove whether the beast was fact or fantasy.
'We are collecting a database on the sightings. We want to uncover the truth about this creature and also quash any rumour that may scare away visitors to the national park.'
Bigfoot sightings have been reported in the wilderness all over the world. In the US, every state except Delaware and Hawaii has had a sighting.
It has many names including Sasquatch, Bokbokwolli, Yeti and the Abominable Snowman.
Many pranksters in the past have admitted to faking Bigfoot evidence.
Tracks are the most popular form of evidence collected, but the problem is that there is no consistency in the tracks.
Hair samples have turned out to be from other animals.

China closes nature reserve to Bigfoot hunters

10/01/2006 - 08:45:21 China has temporarily closed a nature reserve that attracts scores of people each year hunting for evidence of the country’s version of an ape-like Bigfoot creature, a park official said today.
Shennongjia Nature Reserve will remain closed for at least three months to allow its natural attractions to recover from the wear and tear of visitors, said Wang Yong, an official from the park’s tourism bureau.
“During this period, we are going to do some research on how to improve the attraction of Shennongjia,” said Wang, adding there were plans for a possible airport in the area to facilitate tourist arrivals.
Located deep in the remote mountains Hubei province, the park has long rumoured to be home to the elusive creature known in Chinese as the “Yeren,” or “wild man”.
Scientists say there is no scientific evidence the creature exists, although many local people claim to have seen it.
China’s government has previously urged tourist agencies to cut down on safaris in the park to search for the creature, saying they were misleading and could harm the environment.

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Sighting Reports

Witness: Gary C. (not his real name)
Date of encounter: 11/14/05
Time: Between 11:45 P.M. and 12:30 A.M.
Location: Ittawamba/Prentiss County Line, Mississippi near Natchez Trace Parkway, 200 yards from John Bell Williams Game Reserve next to TomBigbee Waterway
Activity of Witness: spotlighting deer on a dead-end road
Weather Conditions: Almost full moon
Terrain: Wooded
Witness called me earlier this evening (November 15th) and told me that he and two other witnesses saw a 5'10"-6'0" tall creature, black, with a greenish tint to the eyes. Witness does not say unequivocally that it was a Bigfoot, but he is certainly puzzled about what it was. Witness hunts in that area often, and has never seen an animal stand on its hind legs or run. Creature crossed road in front of witnesses, turned and looked at them and took off. Creature was 25-30 yards away.
Witnesses heard after seeing the creature wood-whacking and whacking on tin. The wood-whacking was twice in rhythm, "whap, whap." This took place 35 yards away from them. Witnesses went back this morning to search for tracks and could find none. Witness works at tire plant and is willing to take a polygraph.

Is Bigfoot dangerous?

This is a question that I'm sure has been pondered by more than one person in the Bigfoot field. My main question is, how many CREDIBLE reports are there of attacks on humans, and more to the point, how many of those resulted in death? The instances of attacks that resulted in serious injury or death are rare, unless you look at the report from Teddy Roosevelt's book The Wilderness Hunter which details two trappers who went into the wilderness of Idaho, and only one (Baumann) came out. The other one was killed by an unknown animal (which is never identified, but unusual tracks are found) which may or may not have been a Bigfoot retaliating over being shot at by one of the men. The famous Ape Canyon incident from 1924 detailed a retaliatory attack from a group of creatures who were also shot at, but none of the men were seriously injured. These are two rare occasions of violence against humans however (that's if the Baumann incident was a Bigfoot attack since the creature was never seen). The Skip Frombach incident where he was chased down the mountain was possibly a case of a creature protecting its territory and not a true incident of aggression. Do I believe Bigfoot COULD be dangerous? Yes I do. Do I believe they would attack and eat humans given the opportunity? No I don't, and I'll tell you why. Many people have gone out into the woods year after year, and more often than not they have come back alive, but some may have been parallelled by an unseen creature, or have heard strange sounds in the woods, or even had rocks thrown at them. This, of course, is just examples of Bigfoot protecting its territory, just like any other animal, but more particularly like a gorilla. Is there intended malice towards humans from these creatures? I doubt it, because I;ve been in the vicinity of these creatures on more than one occasion, and only had rocks thrown at me before hearing a strange, hyena-like laughter. If these creatures were true predators towards humans, we would know more about them by now. So the answer to the question, is Bigfoot dangerous, is a flat-out no, but they CAN be.

"Bigfoot" excitement mounting in Malaysia

Sun Jan 8, 4:08 PM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Excitement is mounting in Malaysia over claims of "Bigfoots" lurking in its southern jungles, with wildlife experts on the hunt for the mythical beast and a telephone hotline set up to report sightings.
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Bigfoot fever erupted last month when some fish farm workers claimed to have spotted three of the beasts -- two adults and a youngster -- on the edge of a forest reserve in southern Johor state.
Their improbable tale was lent some authority soon after when an Orang Asli -- an indigenous ethnic group known for their expertise in the jungle -- also said he had stumbled across one of the legendary ape-men.
"He saw the creature which was hairy and brownish in colour, it was about 12 feet (four metres) tall," said Johor National Parks director Hashim Yusoff.
"It was not aggressive, but the Orang Asli was startled by the creature and ran away.
"My personal feeling is that there is a possibility it could be what we call in Malaysia the 'mawas' ... more of a primate," he said. "But we don't deny the sightings," he added, insisting that the Orang Asli "do not lie."
"We've got to prove it and we've got to do it scientifically."
Wildlife authorities have embarked on a quest to verify the claims, and are considering mounting camera traps to capture images of anything roaming the jungles.
After a month of fruitless searching and interviews with people living near the forests, a telephone hotline has now been set up for members of the public who claim to have seen the beast to relate their stories, Hashim said.
"Our main aim is to identify the information source, whether it is credible or not," he told AFP.
The Malaysian press has given prominent coverage to reports of sightings, including some which date back decades, and printed photographs of supposed footprints -- vague impressions in the mud and leaves on the jungle floor.
Johor is home to large tracts of jungle, including its famed Endau-Rompin National Park, and unconfirmed sightings of large creatures surface periodically there.
Former zoologist Amlir Ayat said this week that he had come close to finding proof of the existence of Bigfoot five years ago after villagers claimed to have shot a huge hairy creature in the jungles of neighbouring Pahang state.
"The creature fell to the ground with a great thud and the villagers took to their heels. Later, when they returned to check if it was dead, they found the body still lying there," he was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.
Amlir said he was only told of the shooting a year later. He and the villagers mounted a search for the remains of the creature but found none.
"By then, loggers had moved into the site and cleared the ground," he said. "The evidence was gone."
Vincent Chow, an advisor to Johor's Malaysian Nature Society who has been lobbying the government to look into the claims, dismissed the sceptics who insist the "sightings" have been manufactured to lure tourists to Johor.
"There's a lot of excitement, a lot of people are coming in with their own stories," he said.
Sightings of mythical ape-like creatures have been reported in wilderness areas all over the world. They are known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch in the United States and Canada, and yetis in the Himalayas.

Could Sasquatch be next?

We have all by now most likely seen that new commercial advertising for the Discovery Channel program "Mythbusters" with the Sasquatch being fearful of being exposed next by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. Here is the print ad.

Could it be???

This is a picture of Bob Gimlin and known insane nut Erik Beckjord. Looking at this pic, I have to wonder how old the picture is, and whether or not it could have been doctored to fit Beckjord into it. I wouldn't put it past this nut. Beckjord seems to have this relationship with Gimlin in his own mind; I sincerely doubt Gimlin is anything but a flesh and blood advocate when it comes to Bigfoot, so it seems a bit out of place to see him with Beckjord. MAYBE they are friends, like Beckjord and John Green are friends, and Gimlin has done nothing to offend Beckjord, other than to perhaps believe Bigfoot to be flesh and blood. Who knows?

Sasquatches Really Exist, It Says Here

Author Unknown, from unknown newspaper
January 12, 1968
Vancouver, B.C. (AP)-John Green, a weekly newspaper editor, and Rene Dahinden, a lead salvager, said yesterday they have bought the Canadian rights of a 60-second film clip said to show an abominable snow woman, or Sasquatch. They said they bought the film, which Roger Patterson of Yakima, Wash., said he made in Northern California last fall, for $1,500. The pair said they intended to use the film in a one-hour movie they are making in hopes of proving Sasquatches do exist on the West Coast.

Mrs. Sasquatch filmed in color?

By Tony Eberts, from unknown newspaper
October 25, 1967
The Sasquatch is not dead; it is alive, and living in Northern California-according to a Yakima man who claims to have the first motion pictures of one of the legendary creatures. The film, said to contain a clear, 30-second scene of a hairy female Sasquatch, will be shown at the University of B.C. Thursday night to a select group of Pacific Northwest anthropologists and zoologists. Despite suggestions that many people have been known to go hairy in California, or that the film star may be only a hippie that went too far, amateur photographer Roger Patterson, 34, is convinced he has finally proved existence of wild, furry mountain giants. Don Abbott, an anthropologist with the provincial museum in Victoria, said Tuesday he has some evidence to support the film-plaster casts of huge footprints found in the same California region in September. "I went down there (it's a remote region about 100 miles northeast of Eureka) two months ago and examined many of the footprints," he said. "It's either a highly elaborate hoax, or some of these hairy humanoids exist. Like everyone connected with the provincial museum, I started out completely skeptical; I just laughed at the idea. But now I'm not sure at all. If the idea of Sasquatches weren't so fantastic I'd be prepared to believe it now." Rene Dahinden, another Sasquatch enthusiast of Vancouver and Lumby, has made a plaster cast of what he claims was a giant Sasquatch footprint in Northern California. Contacted at his home in Yakima, Wash., Roger Patterson told The Province the story of his epic film-making trip: "I've been chasing down reports of these creatures for years, and was attracted to the Northern California region by repeated findings of fresh tracks on road projects. Last Friday my companion-Bob Gimlin, a part-Apache fellow who's good at tracking and so on-and I started up an old logging road where a particular lot of big tracks had been seen. Some of the tracks were 17 inches long. We rode horses, and I had a 16-millimetre movie camera in my saddlebag. We both had high-powered rifles, but we agreed that if we found a Sasquatch we wouldn't shoot unless we absolutely had to. About 1:30 in the afternoon, as we rounded a bend in the road, we saw the creature. My horse reared, and then fell as I tried to control it. But I got the camera out and yelled to Bob to cover me with his rifle while I tried for pictures. The thing was across the creek beside the road, about 50 yards away. I ran down to the creek and got on a high sandbar to film it. It was obviously a female, for although it was covered with hair you could see it had large breasts. It stood about six feet tall, maybe more, and was very broad. We figured the weight at somewhere between 350 and 400 pounds. She stood there for maybe half a minute and then started walking away, still upright. She crossed the creek, got back on the logging road up ahead and moved out of sight. Bob started to follow on his horse, but I called him back. The tracks we'd seen earlier indicated she was part of a family group, and that could be dangerous. I was shaking quite a bit, so the film isn't too steady, but it shows the thing clearly. I've believed they existed for a long time, just from talking to many eye-witnesses. Now there's no doubt at all." Patterson, who said he makes his living devising farm machinery improvements, hopes to get up a full-scale Sasquatch safari soon, with a view to capturing one of the creatures. It isn't a new idea for B.C., where various such expeditions have been attempted with a notable lack of success. But Patterson is pinning his hopes on the tangible evidence of 16-millimetre movie film, in color. "If the film convinces the experts at UBC Thursday night," he said, :there'll be no stopping me." There have been scores of Sasquatch reports and sightings in B.C. over the years, with most of the tales emanating from the Harrison Lake area. John Green of Harrison, a B.C. Sasquatch expert and newspaper editor, said he had already seen the film. "It's definitely a film of a Sasquatch," he said. "I don't believe it can possibly be a fake." Green said he has seen many Sasquatch footprints in Northern California and the Harrison area, up to 17 inches long. "Anyone who has had a good look at these prints doesn't go away believing there is nothing to it," he said. Green added that scientists have been reluctant to investigate the subject for fear of their reputations. "We have succeeded in deluding ourselves that these creatures don't exist." He seriously believes a Sasquatch can be captured if there is a concerted effort. "Up to now the subject hasn't been taken seriously," he said.

Foot skin patterns "prove existence of Sasquatch"

By Moira Farrow, from unknown newspaper
October 23, 1982
Skin patterns just like fingerprints are the latest evidence that the Sasquatch is real, a U.S. anthropologist claimed at a press conference here Friday. Dr. Grover Krantz, associate professor of anthropology at Washington State University, earlier this year produced plaster casts and photographs of footprints made by a creature believed to be a Sasquatch. The underside of the feet showed skin patterns, known to scientists as dermal ridges, which Krantz said belong to a higher primate but not an ape or a human. "They come from a higher primate that doesn't exist so we have an interesting problem here," he said. "I think these may be the best set of prints of a Sasquatch ever obtained." Krantz was speaking at a press conference organized by the International Society of Cryptozoology (a group of people interested in "hidden animals") at the University of B.C. He said the footprint casts and photographs were made by the staff of the Walla Walla, Wash., office of the U.S. Forest Service and an Oregon search and rescue volunteer. He said some of the prints are believed to have been made by an ape-like creature seen last June 10 by Forest service employee Paul Freeman near the Washington-Oregon border. Other prints were obtained in the same general area on two subsequent occasions a week or so later. The prints averaged 38 centimetres long and represented two individual creatures each weighing 300 to 350 kilograms, according to Krantz. "All of this, including the sighting of the creature, are relatively routine," said Krantz. "We have over 1,000 cases of Sasquatch sightings and footprints." He said the unusual new evidence are the dermal ridges-fine lines about half a millimetre apart in the skin of the feet. "These are the same kind of ridges you have in our fingerprints," he said. "It is beyond the ability of anyone to fake these ridges." Krantz said he called in a police fingerprint expert who concluded that the prints were not human. And he said the toes (mostly equal in size) were not those of an ape. Krantz said further analysis of the footprints is now being done by police and anthropologists. "The police expert told me that whoever made the tracks had walked barefoot for a long time because some of the ridges are worn," said the professor. "Dermal ridges have never before been seen on footprint casts," said Krantz. He speculated that the creature which made these prints had happened to step into mud "that was right on the point of setting" so making particularly clear prints. He said he has plans to return to the area next summer because his society believes the only way of finally proving the existence of the Sasquatch is to "obtain a specimen." Asked whether he planned to kill one, Krantz said his society has no policy "hunting or not hunting."

On a myth and a footprint

By Stewart Bell, from unknown newspaper
October 23, 1993
Is a hairy, ape-like creature with big feet in the mountains of British Columbia, carefully avoiding scientists and bounty hunters? Three recently released books revolve around this question and the search for the elusive beast that lives in the house of unsolved mysteries along with the Loch Ness Monster, Ogopogo and whoever puts the filling into Cadbury bars. For some reason this seems to be the year of the Sasquatch in the North American publishing world, which leads me to suspect it's been a slow year. Or does someone out there really take Bigfoot seriously enough to publish a 300-page "scientific" study of the issue? Big Footprints: A Scientific Inquiry into the Reality of Sasquatch is an attempt to bring what is so far only a campfire tale into the world of factual science. Although no Sasquatch has ever been captured-dead or alive-and no skeleton has ever been found, Grover Krantz's book painstakingly argues the case for its existence. The book reads like a physics tex, with exhausting detail, diagrams, studies of the posture of Bigfoot and photographs of large footprints. A lighter telling of the Bigfoot legend appears in Sasquatch/Bigfoot: The Search for North America's Incredible Creature,by longtime Sasquatch enthusiast Rene Dahinden and Don Hunter, a columnist with the Vancouver Province. Like Krantz, Dahinden is a believer in Bigfoot, and Hunter seems to lean that way as well. But rather than overwhelming readers with pseudo-scientific "proof" that the creature exists, the authors simply tell the stories of those who claim to have seen it. There is Albert Ostman, who claims that in 1924 he was held captive for a week by four Sasquatches. There is Myles Jack, a member of an Alberta rig crew, who believes he saw a Sasquatch near Dawson Creek in 1987. And there is Roger Patterson, who in 1967 shot a grainy, out-of-focus film of an ape-like animal in Northern California. The book is like a tabloid newspaper. It's entertaining, but only if you temporarily suspend your mental faculties. Thinking too hard about this stuff will take all the fun out of it. Richard Hoyt's Bigfoot, on the other hand, is a mystery novel that uses the Sasquatch as the backdrop for a tale of love and murder. When a real-estate developer offers $100,000 to anyone who can prove that Bigfoot exists, private eye John Denson teams up with a native Indian shaman named Willie Preettybird and a female Russian scientist to claim the prize. It is interesting that of the three books on the topic, Hoyt's work of fiction comes closest to an intelligent examination of the Bigfoot phenomenon. The other two books fail to ask the most important questions" What is it about the Bigfoot mystery that fascinates some people? Why do people believe so strongly in an animal that has never been proven to exist? Is it because of some subconscious desire to hang on to what little mystery remains in the modern, frontierless, scientific world? "The search for the Sasquatch is a lot like looking for the Holy Grail," says Dahinden. "Except it is performed by very unholy people." Perhaps they are not unholy, just confused.

Believers spellbound by Bigfoot

By Claire Ogilvie, Staff Reporter, May 23, 1993
From The Province newspaper
Meeting draws experts, laymen
At first it looked like a black speck against the snow. It moved rapidly down the mountain and as it came closer it looked like a moose. But through the binoculars the hunters realized it was walking upright. They watched spellbound- the adrenaline just pumps through you when something doesn't make sense-as the creature moved effortlessly through the snow without snowshoes. Or clothing, either. "It was running bare-naked through three feet of snow," the astounded outdoorsman told two dozen Bigfoot believers at a conference at Harrison Hot Springs, in the heart of Sasquatch country. "It was big and black. This creature must have been a minimum of eight feet tall. Was it just casually on a Sunday afternoon stroll? I don't think so. I'll have a mystery in my mind for the rest of my life." The men who spotted the humongous hairy humanoid near Christina Lake, 60 kilometres southwest of Castlegar, last October won't be identified for fear of ridicule-like a lot of other Sasquatch spotters. But believers say you can't discount the thousands of sightings, footprints and even a video. Sasquatch sympathizer John Green, who has been looking for Bigfoot for 40 years from his Harrison home, said: "Reports of this creature come from all over the world and can be traced as far as there are records. Either you've got an animal with feet like this or you have a human conspiracy to manufacture evidence, and it's worldwide and it goes back as far as history. Either explanation is ridiculous but one must be true. It must be an animal, because that is the simplest explanation." Green said Bigfoot can reach 4.5 metres in height and weigh 450 kilograms (1,000 pounds). The hair covering its body is either black, brown or auburn. Its strides are 1.8 to 2.4 metres long. Its footprints are about 60 centimetres long and 20 cm wide and look similar to man's. Author Tom Steenburg of Calgary told the conference that Bigfoot is probably a great ape that migrated across the Bering Sea land bridge tens of thousands of years ago. "What scientists really need to prove this animal exists is a body or a piece of a body." he said. "Nothing else will do."

Sasquatch Hunt Moves From Harrison To Fraser Canyon

Agassiz Folk Examine Cases
By A.C. Milliken, October 29, 1958
From unknown Canadian newspaper
The Sasquatch hunt has now moved from Harrison Lake area to Yale. Last Sunday, Mr. and Mrs. John Green of Agassiz, accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Rene Dahinden, visited the Yale area and accompanied by friends from Yale, examined a cave reported to have been the home of a Sasquatch. Mr. Green, who is publisher of the Agassiz Advance, has done considerable research in this connection. His attention was drawn to this area by a news story carried in the Victoria Colonist under the date of July 3, 1884. Briefly, the story reports that a creature, described as half man and half beast, was captured in the vicinity of No. 4 tunnel above Yale. It is described as resembling a human being with but one exception. His entire body is covered with black glossy hair about one inch long, except the hands (or paws) and feet. It possesses extraordinary strength and occasionally utters a noise described as half bark and half growl. The Colonist article gives a dramatic description of the capture including the names of the participants, who have been found to be persons living in Yale at the time, and employed on the railroad construction. All were men of importance and holding responsible positions, one being the engineer in charge. Mr. Green interviewed August Castle, dean of oldtimers in this area. Mr. Castle was a young boy at the time and does not remember the incident but he does have a recollection of hearing later that such a "thing" had been caught. Annie York of Spuzzum was also interviewed. While Miss York does not have the age qualifications to verify the story, her wealth of knowledge of eaerly incidents as told to her by the old people years ago, yielded no clue in this connection. However, Miss York related many stories if reported sighting of Sasquatch at different points in Canyon area. A preliminary investigation of the above mentioned cave leads one to believe that it has been inhabited at one time by some form of life. Some osteological material was found but not sufficient to prove conclusively what it was.

New "Sasquatch" found-It's Called Bigfoot

From The Province newspaper, Monday, Oct. 6, 1958
Author unknown
Eureka, Calif. (AP)-Jerry Crew, a hard-eyed catskinner who bulldozes logging roads for a living, came to town this weekend with a plaster cast of a footprint. The footprint looks human, but it is 16 inches long, seven inches wide, and the great weight of the creature that made it sank the print two inches into the dirt. Crew says an ordinary foot will penetrate that dirt only half an inch. "I've seen hundreds of these footprints in the past few weeks," said Crew. He added he made the cast of a print in dirt he had bulldozed Friday in a logging operation in the forests above Weitchpeg, 50 miles north and a bit east of here in the Klamath River country of northwestern California. Crew said he and his fellow workmen never have seen the creature, but often have had a sense of being watched as they worked in the tall timber. Bigfoot, as the Bluff Creek people call the creature, apparently travels only at night. Crew said he seems fascinated by logging operations, particularly the earth moving that Crew does with his bulldozer in hacking out new logging trails. "Every morning we find his footprints in the fresh earth we've moved the day before," Crew said. Crew said Robert Titmus, a taxidermist from Redding, studied the tracks and said they were not made by any known animals. "And they can't be made by a bear, as there are no claw marks." "The foot has fine stubby toes and the stride averages about 50 inches when he's walking and goes up to 10 feet when he's running. Two years ago reports from this area told of logging camp equipment tumbled about, including full 50-gallon drums of gasoline scattered by some unknown agency.

Interview with a Bigfoot Hunter

by Daniel Perez
from Fate Magazine, February 1998
John Green looks back at 40 years on the track of Sasquatch
In the annals of Bigfoot research and investigation, few people remain as steadfast in the pursuit as John Green, one of the true pioneers in the field. Green has been tracking Bigfoot for 40 years. In 1961, the late Ivan T. Sanderson described him as indefatigable, and Green, who turns 71 this month, shows no sign of letting up. The British Columbia native has written such classics as On The Track of The Sasquatch (1968), Year of The Sasquatch (1970), The Sasquatch File (1973), and the definitive Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us (1978). The six-foot-plus, slender Green has been at the scene of the classic Bigfoot events: the Patterson-Gimlin film, the Glen Thomas incidents, the Ruby Creek sighting, and the Albert Ostman abduction. One of his major career findings is that Bigfoot reports occur in areas where there is more than 20 inches of rain per year. Lately Green has been involved in computerizing his massive files, and he recently returned from a research trip to Russia. Bigfoot hunters hope his completed database will provide important clues about Bigfoot's existence.

Fate: Forty years ago "Bigfoot" had not yet been heard of, even in California, and "Sasquatch" was a British Columbia phenomenon. What was it presumed to be?
Green: The picture presented to the non-Indian community was of giant Indians wearing breech clouts, hairy only in that they had long hair on their heads; a wild tribe who had a language, lived in villages, and communicated with signal fires. The Indians knew what they really looked like, but did consider them to be human.
Fate: When you began investigating, what did you learn?
Green: It very quickly became clear that first-person descriptions didn't match the popular concept. Witnesses told of creatures completely covered with short hair and looking more like erect apes than people. There was no mention of clothing, fire, or villages. Observations of behavior accumulated more slowly, but were equally consistent. The added up to a creature that depended on physical abilities, not mental ones: They used no tools, had no language and no home, didn't form groups, and generally lived the same lives as bears.
Fate: What do you think is up and coming in the field of Sasquatch research?
Green: I hope DNA techniques will soon be able to establish if hair is from an unknown higher primate, and with camcorders so common someone should get a good video of a Sasquatch before long. But for a decisive conclusion someone has to get a Sasquatch, or part of one, which almost certainly depends on chance. A Sasquatch should have been collected by now. I have no explanation why that hasn't happened.
Fate: What might humans learn by collecting a Sasquatch?
Green: The study of another higher primate that has adapted to bipedal locomotion is bound to add a lot to human knowledge. It should also be useful to research the reasons our branch of the primate family was so insistent that this other branch must not exist.
Fate: Would you shoot one?
Green: I don't know, I don't hunt anything...But there is no hope of protecting their habitat without first proving that they exist, and science has made it very clear that only physical remains will do that.
Fate: What is your computer study telling you?
Green: I don't think any computer study will enable anyone to make an appointment with a Sasquatch, as some claim. What my work does is give a quick access to the massive amount of information in my files so that I can answer questions and check theories against what has actually been reported. For example, the average height estimate is slightly more than seven and a half feet. Average footprint size is 16 inches long and seven inches wide. There are no patterns indicating that Sasquatch migrate. A powerful smell is reported in only about one third of close encounters, indicating that Sasquatch either control emission of the odor, or, like silverback gorillas, only emit it under stress.
Fate: How many reports do you have on file?
Green: More than 3,000, counting both sightings and footprints. More than half are from eastern North America, and for most of those I have little specific information.
Fate: What might be a reasonable guesstimate as to how many Sasquatches are on the North American continent?
Green: For Sasquatches to be reported as widely throughout North America as they are, a reasonable estimate of their numbers has to be in the thousands, probably tens of thousands.
Fate: How do you explain the lack of fossil evidence?
Green: I don't consider the lack of fossils at all unlikely. Many fossil finds are of large creatures not previously known to exist, and I am told that there is as yet no fossil ancestor for gorillas.
Fate: What do Sasquatches live on?
Green: They have been reported eating many types of vegetation, including leaves, but also killing other animals, presumably for food. Evidence is mounting that they are major predators, easily able to catch and kill deer.
Fate: How do they survive in winter?
Green: Since there are no patterns in the accumulated information to suggest that they migrate, it seems probable that they hibernate. As predators they could obtain food in winter, but the scarcity of tracks in snow indicates that they aren't active.
Fate: Are they an endangered species?
Green: How could they be? There is no confirmed record of any being killed by humans, and they are reported almost everywhere in the world. North America, particularly, must have a thriving population, but some are suffering habitat destruction in places where wild areas are being cleared and subdivided.
Fate: Aren't they sometimes seen in groups?
Green: Very rarely. More than 90 percent of reports involve a single individual, and only 2 percent involve more than three.
Fate: What about mothers and young?
Green: Very few reports involved identifiable females, and there are almost none of females carrying small ones. Since higher primates can't travel on their own for years, it seems that females must be careful to avoid places where they might be seen.
Fate: If I pressed you for a definite yes or no with regard to the famous 1924 abduction of Albert Ostman by a family of Sasquatches in British Columbia, which way would you go?
Green: Given only that choice I have to say yes, but with no great assurance. I would reject a story like that today, because the information to fake it is now in circulation, but I came to know Albert Ostman well and heard him questioned by experts in ape anatomy and in cross-examination. I don't think he was lying.
Fate: What's your feeling about Forest Service patrolman Paul Freeman's 1982 sighting in Oregon, which resulted in Newsweek coverage and Freeman quitting his job, and the reported footprints with dermal ridges?
Green: I would have little reason to question Paul Freeman's story of his original sighting had he not followed it up with an unbelievable number of further claims. As to the dermal ridge evidence, I find it interesting but not conclusive.
Fate: Do you think hoaxers are a lot more sophisticated today?
Green: The most sophisticated hoaxes I know of took place about 20 years ago, but there may well have been better ones since which have not been exposed.
Fate: The 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film was the red-letter event of Bigfoot studies, What's been your best case, minus that one?
Green: There may be a better "best case" than Patterson-Gimlin, namely Glen Thomas' story of Sasquatches digging out and eating hibernating rodents in a rock pile near Estacada, Oregon (in 1967). A great range of behavior was observed with three very different individuals, and hard evidence-a pit in the rocks that neither bear nor human could duplicate-is still there.
Fate: There is now a new generation of scientists who grew up knowing about the Sasquatch question. Might this group be more successful in obtaining funding than past generations?
Green: The negative peer reaction toward scientists doing Sasquatch research has eased a lot in recent years. I think some of them may well be able to get funding soon. Fate: So, do you think the search for the Sasquatch will be wrapped up within your lifetime?
Green: Probably not. I don't have another 40 years.
Fate: Well, if you knew in 1957 the Sasquatch mystery would not be resolved in 1998, would you have gotten involved?
Green: Do I regret becoming involved? No, I don't.

A Drive Down Highway 16

The greatest thing about publishing this magazine is that you never know who is going to come forward with a true and amazing experience. Case in point: For over six years I had been attending various conventions. It was at one of these conventions, while promoting my magazine and selling some of my own collectibles, that Mike, another dealer to whom I had often spken over the years, told me something remarkable. With respect, he has asked me to keep his last name confidential. It was in 1997; I was promoting the second issue of Unknown Magazine, when Mike came over to my table, glanced at my magazine cover, and then walked casually away. After a few steps, he stopped, took a few tentative steps towards me again, and then moved quickly to my table. I was wondering, "What the heck is he doing?" It was obvious he wanted to say something-what it was, I had no idea. He asked me, as he pointed to my magazine, "Do you believe this stuff?" "Yes and no," I said. "Yes, I believe there are things that exist that we don't fully understand. No, in the sense that people have experiences dealing with these things each and every day, but each case has to be judged on its own merits." He nodded and looked quizzically at me again and asked, "Has anyone ever talked to you about Bigfoot?" I tried to think if anyone had. Wanting to say yes, what I said was, "No, not really." Little did I know that he was about to share his own experience with me. He nervously said he would like to tell me a story about what had happened to him, quickly adding, "I'm not crazy." As he began his story, I noticed his arms shaking nervously, and the forearm hairs standing on end. I realized that what this guy was telling me had scared him so badly that his fear could still evoke a physical reaction. My interest was piqued. When someone tells you their story, and you see them getting excited andworked up in the telling, you realize how eager they are to have someone to listen to them: Someone who can relate to their story, a story they are afraid to tell anyone else. I recently called Mike and asked him to relate his experience to me again so that I could share it with my readers. i have told his story as he relayed it to me. I thank Mike for deciding to tell this amazing story. With respect to his wishes, he has asked that I keep his last name confidential. -forward and transcription by Chris Fleming
Back in 1981 when I was 19, I was driving to Savannah, Georgia to visit my brother, with whom I was going to stay for a few months. I was living in Michigan, and felt it was time to get away from it all and pay my brother a visit. I was doing about 45-50 mph, headed down Route 75, towards Highway 16 going east to Savannah. It was 2 p.m. Driving down 16 east, the road was pretty desolate. I hadn't seen any cars for awhile. The drive was actually nice and peaceful. As I was driving, a movement up ahead on the side of the road caught my eye. It was a clear bright day, and I squinted, trying to get a better look, wondering what it was I had seen. Then I thought, "Wow, that looks like a huge bear. Wow, cool...a bear on the side of the road. Here's something I don't ever get to see in Michigan." As the excitement built, I began to slow down, because...I just had to check out this bear. As I approached it, slowing down to about 5 mph, the darn thing stood up. I was startled. I thought, "Cool! The bear is standing up. I have got to see this!" Then all of a sudden this bear, or so I thought, turned around and looked at me. I slowed down even more as I watched this thing on the right side of the road stare at me. Then I began to wonder. My mind raced. I never heard of a bear like this. This bear had odd characteristics. Then I realized, as I got closer, it didn't look like a bear anymore. The next thing the "bear" did was start walking across the road. I watched in disbelief, realizing that this was no damn bear. It walked upright, swinging its arms back and forth like a man. My hair stood up on my arms and I was like, "Shit!" As I got closer, it walked further to the other side of the road, still looking over its shoulder at me. I tell you this was in broad daylight, 2 o'clock in the afternoon, and my eyes never came off of it. I had my windows down, it being nice out and all. By this time I was driving at a snail's pace, about 5 mph, in my 1980 Spirit. As I continued on a slow coast we kept looking at each other. I couldn't take my eyes off of it. A Spirit is a very small car, and this thing was only 3-4 car lengths away from me. So you can imagine how scared I was. The only things moving were the wheels of my car. It had black fur with a reddish brown mix to it. It made no sound, but just kept glancing back at me, slowly taking its time as it crossed the road. I watched-completely paralyzed. This thing finally walked into the woods. I was amazed, and remember thinking to myself, "Oh, my God, that looks like...like a Bigfoot." But I kept saying to myself, second guessing myself, "No, it can't be, it can't be." To this day I wish I could have had a camera with me. I would have taken some pictures. This was on Highway 16, southeast of Atlanta, 3/4 of the way between Atlanta and Savannah. This incident reminded me of an accident scene, when you slow down to check it out. As you drive past it you are like, "Wow." Once you have passed it by, you quickly drive away. In this case, I flew out of there, because I got nervous when I began to realize what I had actually seen. When I got to Savannah, I ended up telling my brother what had happened. He is 5 years older than me, about 24-25 at the time. I casually said to him, "Ya know, you are going to think I am stupid or that I have been drinking (which I never do, nor have I ever done drugs, so I know I wasn't hallucinating), "but I think I saw Bigfoot." He started laughing and said, "Mike, you are not the only one, because I think I saw one too." I was astonished, "What? How?" And to my amazement he told me his story. We discussed the Bigfoot creature. We both had seen a creature that was the same height-about 7 feet tall, and moved slowly, with a weird gait. This thing was pretty identical to the one I had seen in movie clips and described on TV. My brother, who was in the service, and had moved down to Savannah a year prior to our visit, had seen the same thing, on the same road, in the same area, just 4-5 months before I did. His description and mine were the same. I was relieved to know that I wasn't the only one to see this thing, but I was also dumbfounded.

Big Shot

Hunters might want to shoot a Bigfoot, but Janet Bord finds that many have already missed their target.
The debate about whether or not a Bigfoot should be shot to help scientists better protect the species is not new (see FT93:34). The record of sightings of giant hairy man-beasts in North America goes back nearly 200 years and in that time there have been many attempts to shoot one. As many of the sightings were made by seasoned hunters, it is somewhat surprising that no one has yet produced a body-assuming that the creature now called Bigfoot or Sasquatch really does exist. Why not? Three explanations became clear during my research for my book Bigfoot Casebook (published 1982 and now out of print). First, it seems that many hunters have fired at Bigfoot, but it is often too quick for them and they have been unable to hit it. Sometimes, when the hunters' bullets find their mark, the creature has seemed unworried by their impact, even when shot at point-blank range. In 1924, five men prospecting in Washington's Cascade mountains claimed to have been attacked by several Bigfoot creatures in a canyon. One of the men said that he fired three shots into one creature's head and two more into its body, but it kept running, Gary Joanis was another hunter who fired at a Bigfoot, this one having stolen the deer he had shot! Joanis and a colleague were hunting at Wanoga Butte in Oregon, in 1957, when the 9 ft (2.75 m) Bigfoot suddenly appeared, picked up the dead deer and carried it off under its arm. Annoyed, Joanis fired his .306 rifle repeatedly at the beast's back as it departed, but it gave no sign that it had been injured...unless its "strange whistling scream" was a cry of pain. It kept on walking and Joanis had no choice but to let it go. Fourteen-year-old James Lynn Crabtree was equally powerless when he tried to stop a Bigfoot. Out squirrel hunting near his home in Fouke, Arkansas, in 1965, he encountered an 8 ft (2.4 m) creature which turned to face him and then walk towards him. The boy shot it in the face three times with his shotgun, but it showed no sign of hesitating, so he fled. Two years later, a group of teenagers hunted several Bigfoot which had been seen around The Dalles in Oregon. One of the hunters saw a 7 ft (2.1 m) creature in a crouching position and blasted it in the chest with his 12-gauge shotgun. This knocked the creature down and it rolled over twice before it stood up and smashed its way through a fence, snapping off the fence-posts. The hunters returned the next day to follow the tracks and collect the carcass, but after 100 yards (90 m) they lost the trail as there were no bloodstains to follow. In 1974, a police patrolman fired two shots from his revolver at a 7 ft (2.1 m) as it walked down the road towards him near Fort Lauderdale in Florida. The creature screamed, jumped 20 ft (6 m) off the road and ran away at about 20 miles an hour (30 km/h). Some Bigfoot creatures have tried ot defend themselves when being shot at, as once occurred at Flintville, Tennessee, in 1976. Six men tracked a Bigfoot and fired on it repeatedly, but although it screamed, it gave no sign of succumbing to the onslaught of bullets. Instead, it threw rocks at its attackers before running away into the brush. The next day, 16 in (40cm) footprints, hair, blood and mucus were found. In 1979, Tim Meissner, 16, shot at a Bigfoot he saw in woods by Dunn Lake, British Columbia. He said: "He was about 9 ft (2.7 m) tall, black and hairy. He had a human-like face with great big, glaring, bright eyes and shoulders 4 ft (1.2 m) wide. He stood there glaring at me for at least three seconds. He was 50 ft (15 m) away-so close I could smell him. I don't even know why I shot. I was just scared, really scared. I was aiming for right between his eyes and he went down on one knee and one hand. At first I thought he was dead, but I guess I only grazed him, because he got up and ran away at about 30 miles an hour (50 km/h)." The second explanation for the lack of a Bigfoot carcass us that it is a paranormal creature rather than a physical one. This could explain a strange report from Port Isabel, Ohio. In 1968, three men caught a 10 ft (3 m)-tall, hairy man-beast in the flashlights. It walked towards them, its eyes glowing. One of the men shot it squarely from about 50 ft (15 m) away. The creature uttered a horrible scream as two more shots were fired at it.Then, as they watched, a white mist enveloped it. A minute later, the mist cleared and there was nothing left but darkness-no blood or any other trace of the creature was found. Even more bizarre is a report from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, where one night in February 1974, a woman heard a noise ouside her isolated house. She picked up her 16-gauge shotgun, intending to scare away the intruder. She turned on the outside light and stepped out onto the porch. A 7 ft (2.1 m), hairy Bigfoot stood just 6 ft (1.8 m) from her. It raised both hands above it head and, assuming it was going to jump at her, she shot at its midriff. There was a brilliant flash-like a photographer's flash bulb-and the creature disappeared leaving no trace. The third and more believable reason suggested for the lack of a carcass is that some hunters just couldn't pull the trigger because the creature looked too human. One such incident happened near Orestimba Creek in California, in 1869, when a hunter watched a hairy creature swing lighted sticks from his campfire around its head. He commented: "Fifteen minutes I sat and watched him as he whistled and scattered my fire about. I could easily have put a bullet through his head, but why should I kill him?" The same sentiment stopped William Roe from shooting the female Bigfoot he encountered on Mica Mountain in British Columbia in 1955. Hidden in a bush, he watched as, 20 ft (6 m) away, it ate leaves. In a detailed written description, he noted: "The thought came to me that if I shot it, I would possibly have a specimen of great interest to scientists the world over...I levelled my rifle. The creature was still walking rapidly away...turning its head im my direction. I lowered the rifle. Although I have called the creature 'it', I felt now that it was a human being and I knew i would never forgive myself if I killed it." In 1962, a woman on a prospecting and fishing holiday in British Columbia suddenly came face-to-face with a hairy man-beast and raised her rifle to protect herself. She said: "My first fleeting impression was that it was a human with very long arms. But it took me weeks to get out of my mind the look it was giving me from its small, black eyes as it stood there. It was like an ape, but like a human too." And in 1971, Richard Brown, a high-school music teacher, was likewise assailed by doubt when he saw a Bigfoot in a field near The Dalles in Oregon. Through the telescopic sight of his rifle, he watched the creature for five minutes, just 150 yards (140 m) away. He described it as a 10 ft (3 m)-tall, muscular, hairy creature, weighing 600-800 pounds (270-360 kg). Brown, a seasoned hunter, was sure it was not a bear nor an ape. As he lined it up in the scope sight and began to squeeze the trigger, he found he could not shoot it. He said: "It seemed more human than animal." Sometimes the witness realises that there is just no point in trying to kill the Bigfoot. Lieutenant Verdell Veo had several sightings around Little Eagle, South Dakota, in 1977, and on one occasion when he saw a Bigfoot by moonlight he had a strange feeling that no weapon would have been any use. "Something told me-I could sense it, if you can understand-that I had better just get out of there and leave the thing alone." On the evidence of these reported attempts to kill a Bigfoot, Lt. Veo would seem to be talking good sense! If no one has been able to kill a specimen, thus far, what makes today's would-be Bigfoot hunters think they can do any better?

Sasquatch Summer

It is the summer of Sasquatch. With over 19 alleged sightings during the year of 2000, it is time to demand that Bigfoot need not be associated with Elvis sightings and weird theories that sound like rejected plots from the "Six Million Dollar Man." Yeti, Momo, Skunk Ape, Almas, Yowie, Sasquatch, Bigfoot, whatever the name you call it, is making its presence known throughout the Northwest. Mystery Anthropoids, or Hominoid ape like creatures that roam the forests of the world have been down played by scientists and are usually treated as tall tales concocted by drunk hunters who mistake large bears for a more strange albeit odorous being that may or may not belong on this planet. People take for granted that all species have been identified and so the idea of a great ape species living in North America is an absurdity until the "body of evidence" is exposed to the world. Even if it was exposed, the reality of such a creature could be as mundane as an endangered ape or gorilla that somehow found a way to cross continents and remain elusive from hunters and investigators, only to show up unexpectedly and witnessed by deep woods campers. The whole idea of new and mysterious species being discovered and categorized is academic to serious researchers who realize that even in recent history animals that were once thought of as products of mythology have suddenly appeared and have been categorized by scientists. Now that the proof of their existence can be caged up and put on display in a public zoo or laboratory it is common place. The difficulty in capturing an undeniable picture, video, or even hair or scat samples of the Bigfoot has caused a number of people to dismiss outright the possibility of such a creature existing. However eyewitness testimony continues to pour in and recently the sightings of such a creature have increased. Native American Indian tribes have talked about these creatures for centuries. White settlers have recorded their presence as well and the stories have continued throughout history. Even Teddy Roosevelt claimed to have seen one. It wasn't until the 1970's when interest was sparked by several documentaries that were produced about the creature and where a grainy 16 mm film was showcased purporting absolute evidence of what appears to be a Female Sasquatch walking into the forest. This famous piece of footage in known as the Patterson Gimlin film. Reports began coming in from all over the country about sightings of a creature that was between 6 1/2 to 8 feet tall, hirsute with large feet, glowing eyes and producing a horrible smell of sulfur or rotten eggs. The combination of glowing eyes and terrible smell were similar to other crypto creatures that had been reported in other parts of the country, namely the Flatwoods monster, the Skunk Ape, Mothman and most recently the Chupacabra of Puerto Rico. There have been researchers who claim that the smell is similar to human body odor. It has also been said that the odor is like a dead animal. These stories continued and later would end up in tabloids posted all over the country lessening its importance in the consensus reality journalists would ignore data from credible witnesses and most samples of stool and hair would go unreported in field studies because of the fear of ridicule. The Bigfoot creature still, has that tabloid edge to him and he is always the topic of tall tales when all are snug in their sleeping bags listening to fireside ghost stories on family camping trips. In the year 2000 it seems that Bigfoot has decided to come out of hiding and many people are catching a glimpse at the fabled creature. What this means is uncertain however the testimony as of late is remarkable and deserves mention. An Oregon Psychologist believes that he saw Bigfoot and confirms what we have heard from similar reports of the beast, that he stinks! Dr. Matthew Johnson, a psychologist was hiking July 1 2000 with his wife Rochelle, and children 9 year old Levi, 7 year old Hannah and 4 year old Michah, when he saw what he reported to be Bigfoot. The creature fit the template of the big hairy stinky beast that has been written about in tabloid stories, scientific journals and Hollywood movies for decades. After speaking with Dr. Johnson on the phone it is evident that this is no tabloid story nor is it a story of an opportunist. Johnson clearly saw something and sent me his report of the incident. After reading it I was thrust into an investigation of a creature that I had once written off as a fable. The following story is in his own words and was sent to Ground Zero for this report:"Where to begin? Rochelle and I took our kids to the Oregon Caves National Park in southern Oregon. We ate lunch at a picnic table and then took a tour of the caves. The caves were spectacular. If you haven't seen them before, they are a must see experience. Upon our exit of the cave, everyone usually turns to the right to go back down to the gift store and lodge. However, we are fresh from Alaska and love to hike in the outdoors (i.e., we just moved from Alaska to Oregon earlier this year). We decided to go left and hike up to see the Big Tree (i.e., a Douglas fir tree with a circumference of 40 feet that is about 800 to 1,000 years old). We hiked fro about 2 miles into the forest up the mountain. As we were hiking up the trail, we smelled a very strong putrid smell. It was as strong as a skunk but it wasn't a skunk (i.e., we know what a skunk smells like and it wasn't a skunk even though it was as strong smelling as a skunk). We were standing down wind of the smell. We continued to hike up the trail and the trail started to switch back to the right as we climbed the mountain. There were plenty of tall trees and brush. I heard a faint sound (i.e., "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!). At first I thought it was the blood vessels pounding in my head because it was a constant sound/rhythm and I'm out of shape (i.e., it was a big mountain and were constantly walking up, up, up). We kept walking up the trail. I heard the sound again except it was louder. Then I thought, "This sound is external-not internal." We all stopped and I asked, "Do you guys hear that sound?" Rochelle, Levi, Hannah and Michah looked at me and nodded their heads in affirmation. Don't ask me why but we continued to walk up the mountain through the very tall trees and brush. The sound continued in cycles of five to six repetitions (i.e., Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa). Louder and louder. Now the sounds were behind us. I started putting one and one together in my mind and my biological "fight or flight" responses kicked in. I stopped my family on the trail. I told them to stay quiet. I hiked up the hill to our left because I had to go poop ASAP (i.e., this happens when the biological "fight or flight" response kicks in). While I was doing my duty, I was scanning the woods down the mountain on the other side of the trail my family was standing on. That's when I saw it. I swear I'm telling you the truth. I saw it come out from behind one tree to the left and walk to another tree to the right. Then it looked back and was watching my family while they were standing on the trail. I've hiked through the woods in Alaska numerous times and believe me, I know what a grizzly bear looks like and I know what a black bear looks like. I was actually chased by a grizzly bear on the Russian river in Alaska about six or seven years ago. What I saw was not a grizzly bear or a black bear. What I saw walked upright on two legs like a human and it was much taller than a grizzly bear or a black bear. What I saw was (and I swear I saw it and I'm not crazy) Bigfoot (otherwise known as Sasquatch). I swear I saw it. I'm not lying. I pulled up my shorts immediately, walked fast down to the trail and got my family moving up the mountain. I sure as heck wasn't going to go back down the trail where we came from and go right to it. I didn't tell my wife or children what I saw because I didn't want them to panic. At this point, the adrenaline was rushing and I was very hypervigilant (i.e., constantly looking behind us and through the woods). The sound stopped but I wasn't convinced we were safe. When we got to a place where the kids could stop and sit on a fallen log and drink some water, I pulled Rochelle away and told her that she wasn't going to believe what I saw. She believed me right away. She smelled the smell and she heard the repetitive cycles of "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa," and she knows I'm not crazy. I told her to keep the kids going and that I would stay at the back to keep my eyes on what was behind us. I told her that if anything came up from behind us or through the woods from the side of us that I would run interference to protect them. I told her that if this happened, I wanted her to run the kids on the trail, don't stop, and don't look back. We agreed not to tell the children because we didn't want to panic them. We never heard the sounds again and I never saw anything after that. We finally made it out of the woods about 1 1/2 hours later. We sent the kids into the gift store to look for a gift because we had promised to buy them something if they were good hikers and didn't complain. Rochelle and I sat on the bench outside the gift store and talked about the pros and cons of whether or not to report what we smelled, heard, and saw (i.e., I don't want people to think we are crazy). Rochelle said it was up to me. I decided that I wasn't going to keep this a secret because it was real and I know I'm sane. I remembered reading about how the albino gorilla was a myth/legend in Africa for quite some time until someone finally captured one. Well I'm here to tell you today (and the world) that Bigfoot/Sasquatch is not a myth/legend. The creature/animal really and truly does exist!!! After we made our decision, Rochelle went into the gift shop with the kids. I walked to the Park headquarters and reported what I saw to a ranger. I sat in the chair stunned and then I began to cry. All these emotions that I was stuffing due to the adrenaline began to surface now that my family and I were safe. You don't know how vulnerable I felt being so far out in the woods without the ability to protect my family in that kind of situation (i.e., no gun). I told the ranger that I was not crazy. I gave her my business card (i.e., I'm a licensed psychologist in private practice). I told her that I have two master's degrees and one doctorate degree and that I was an intelligent person. I told that I know what I smelled, heard, and saw. In between the tears and my shaking, I told her that I saw Bigfoot. She believed me! She didn't think I was crazy. She said that there is a lot about our world that we don't know and that are discovering new species all the time. She took my story, Rochelle's story, and Levi confirmed what the noise sounded like. I was the only one who saw Bigfoot because I had hiked up off the trail high enough to see it. I can't tell you what it looked like other than it was very tall, looked half-human and half ape, walked upright, and had very dark hair (i.e., a mix of very dark brown and/or black hair). It happened way too quick and all I could think about after I saw it was to get my family the heck out of there. Around 8:30 p.m. the park ranger called and left a message in my voice mailbox. She said that I might want to purchase the following book: Where Bigfoot Walks: Crossing The Dark Divide by Robert Michael Pyle (1997). I'm goling to order/buy this book ASAP. They are going to check out the area that we reported the smell, sounds, and sighting tomorrow morning before other curiosity seekers arrive. I'm sending this to you because I have to tell others what we experienced. This animal is real. It does exist. I swear that Bigfoot exists!"Needless to say that Dr. Johnson has decided to go back to the area to do a thorough investigation into what he saw. He and a group of others have decided to take part in trying to find the creature. Johnson tells me that there is more evidence forthcoming that perhaps more than one Sasquatch lives in the area. The Northwest Bigfoot population seems to have reawakened and perhaps with serious researchers looking for a real creature and not some bogeyman we may see some results. However with the fresh sightings there are always a number of people who are bound and determined to get their outrageous theories heard. The fringe theories that make the other serious stories appear foolish. Most serious researchers are dismayed that while the scientific hunt for Bigfoot goes on, there are still those who boast these outrageous fringe theories and some are creating hoaxes that are ending up on TV and in print (If you are interested in reading some of these theories, read my un-edited Sasquatch Summer report on my website www.clydelewis.com). Thom Powell of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization laments that when real sightings happen there are a few fringe theories that creep into the mainstream press to sell newspapers. Whichever theory you embrace about the Bigfoot, Alien android, missing link, or something else entirely it is important to understand that in our investigations perhaps we could possibly be like the blind, touching an elephant. We all have different interpretations of what it might be but we may want to just call it what it is: a primate that somehow shows up and doesn't seem to be shy about making his presence known to mankind. Is it absurd to think that a Mountain Ape could live in the dense forests of the Northwest? Of course not. The unfortunate thing is that Bigfoot sightings have been treated like Elvis sightings. That is why people snicker and roll their eyes when someone claims to have seen one of them. The reality of Bigfoot may be as mundane as a monkey that has yet to be classified by science. However seeing one in the forests of the United States can be an experience not easily forgotten.

Wanted Dead Or Alive

We still don't know for sure that the elusive North American Bigfoot exists, writes Janet Bord, co-author of Bigfoot Casebook (1982), but if it is ever proved, the implications are startling. To those who believe in its reality, Bigfoot (a.k.a. Sasquatch) is a hairy man-beast, 7-9 ft (2.102.7 m) tall, possibly a kind of Gigantopithecus survival. To the disbelievers, all sighting reports are lies or misidentifications and all photographs are hoaxes. In the event, reports and photographs are just anecdotal evidence and only an independent scientific examination of an actual Bigfoot is going to settle the matter. Close encounters between the creature and armed men are rare and it has, to date, proved difficult to track and kill. The opinion also exists that Bigfoot ought to be left in peace, for if its existence were proved, its isolated life would be disrupted forever. There are well over 1,000 recorded sightings of Bigfoot going back nearly 200 years. It has been seen in all parts of the North American continent, but mainly in the Pacific Northwest: in British Columbia, Oregon, Washington State and California. Sightings continue to be reported to day, but photographs and other tangible evidence are rare.
The most convincing and convenient proof of Bigfoot's existence would be the discovery of a carcass-but that's not likely. Any wildlife remains are rare finds in the North American forest where scavenging creatures can reduce something as substantial as a dead moose to just toenails, teeth and antlers in a few days. And after a week even those tail-ends are usually gnawed away. The only dead wildlife that most people see are fresh victims of collisions with vehicles. So far, Bigfoot has avoided becoming a roadkill. You are more likely to get a glimpse of Bigfoot in your rear-view mirror than in your headlights. Bigfoot researchers say that drivers consistently report rear-view sightings-usually of something large hunched down at the roadside, rising to cross the road after the vehicle passes. The evidence suggests that Bigfoot is canny enough to stay out of traffic as well as avoiding definitive proof of its evidence. The simple solution to some is to shoot the illusive beast. Dr. Grover Krantz, professor of anthropology at washington State University, author of Big Footprints and renowned cryptozoologist, advocates a hunt to track and kill a Bigfoot. He believes it's the only way to remove any doubt about the thing's existence. Inevitably, his position has drawn opprobrium from other Bigfoot searchers and researchers. "I think it's wrong. It would be criminal and totally unnecessary," objects Peter Byrne, a former big game hunter, author of The Search For Bigfoot and head of The Bigfoot Research Project based near Mount Hood in Oregon. "I think shooting a Bigfoot is something proposed by people who are desperate to get one of these things." Worse, says Byrne, Bigfoot might already be an endangered species. His own research team has not found any likely footprints in years. Byrne figures that, even if there are only a handful of the beasts around, they should be leaving thousands of prints: "I have no idea how many Bigfoots there are, but there are not very many; otherwise there would be more evidence on the ground." In Byrne's view, killing a Bigfoot would be tragic: "As one schoolboy said to me: 'Suppose it's the last one?'" Krantz, however, doesn't believe Bigfoot is at risk and, if it is, it might need to be shot. Not to shoot one, he suggests, might only ensure its demise. "If it's really endangered, which I doubt, then it makes taking a specimen all the more important, because whatever is causing Bigfoot to become extinct is continuing," he says. "The government is going to pay no attention and do nothing to help unless you prove the animal exists. The only way to prove Bigfoot exists is to bring in a specimen. So the more endangered they are the more critical it is to get that one specimen." However, Krantz believes the evidence suggests that numbers are on the rise, particularly in the Eastern United States where forested land is coming back. Notwithstanding the debate about whether Bigfoot is endangered, Byrne thinks he has a better idea for proving the animal's existence. Funded by the Academy of Applied Science in Boston-previously known for its support of Robert Rines' attempts to track the Loch Ness monster on film and sonar in 1976-Byrne's Bigfoot Project resources include stand-by helicopters, infra-red search devices, remote motion detectors, police-trained tracking teams, computer mapping, video cameras and, lately, biopsy darts. With these darts, fired from a gun, Byrne says he can get all he needs from Bigfoot by way of a tissue sample: "After that the creature walks away." Byrne admits that tissue samples and Bigfoot DNA are a far cry from a whole animal. Nevertheless, he insists that being able to prove, technically, that there is something ape-like, and hitherto unrecognised in the woods "would be a giant step forward." Byrne said his mission would then be complete and he would step back to allow the scientists to begin their research. Krantz is sceptical. First, he doubts whether Byrne's trackers could get close enough to dart a Bigfoot. Second, he doubts whether any Bigfoot hunter could take a back seat and let other take over the investigation. "You have to understand why people are taking a stand against shooting a Bigfoot," says Krantz. "They know that once a specimen is brought in, the scientists will take over and the hunters are going to be shoved aside. They want to keep the mystery alive so they've something going for them." At the same time, Krantz says, the possible wealth and notoriety for the person who proves Bigfoot's existence provides a temptation few could resist. "A lot of these people going around trumpeting how wrong it is to shoot one fully intend to if they can," he added cynically. Meanwhile, after four years of research at the Bigfoot Project, Byrne says that computer analyses of sightings are beginning to reveal patterns of movements. "It's quite exciting," says Byrne adding, probably not for the first time, "we could have something tomorrow." In Big Footprints, Krantz proposed a military-style campaign with a team of hunters to bag a Bigfoot. "If some rich person wants to famous or infamous for backing the bringing in of a Sasquatch and picks me to organise it, I would work on it," he says, "but no one has come up with the money yet."

Bigfoot Wanted Dead Or Alive

If Bigfoot actually does exist, he may be in grave danger. The peril: A number of Bigfoot researchers, who now say that they must supply their critics with positive proof of the animal if their claims are to be believed. "It is important that we collect a specimen," says Daniel Perez, an active Bigfoot buff and member of the International Society of Cryptozoology, also known as the ISC. ISC member Mark Francis agrees. Speaking to a group at the society's annual conference, in fact, Francis called on fellow members to go out and shoot a Bigfoot for the cause. Perhaps the most outspoken advocate for the acquisition of physical proof is Washington State University anthropologist Grover Krantz. According to Krantz, "If top scientists at places like the Smithsonian Institution" are to accept the existence of Bigfoot, then killing a creature is an absolute must. Even game officials, says Krantz, have said, "Go out and shoot me one, and then I will believe that your stupid animal is real." Of course, not all students of Bigfoot think that one of the elusive critters should be killed. Bigfoot devotee Paul Freeman, fot instance, advocates the use of a camera, instead of a gun. "These creatures don't bother anybody," Freeman says, "so why harm one of them?"

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