Thursday, January 25, 2007

Editorial: The Paul Freeman Footage: Real or Hoax?

In 1992 (not 1994, as was asserted on Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science ) Paul Freeman, a longtime Sasquatch seeker and witness, was videotaping some fresh tracks he found in Deduct Creek in the Blue Mountains of Eastern Washington State near the Idaho border one morning, when he caught footage of what appeared to be a large Sasquatch. It walked from right to left across in front of a large tree; measurements later taken in the area determined the size of the creature to be about 9 feet tall, which would seem to preclude the possibility of a man in a costume. Freeman was not exactly an angel, however, and was known for some hoaxing, and this cast doubt on the footage's authenticity. Some thought it was Freeman's son in a suit, but it seems to be too large for that. The creature does turn its head to look at Freeman and also looks down at the ground later in the footage, which would seem to indicate a hoax, but maybe that is the way this particular creature got around. If it is authentic, maybe it was an older creature which had a sight problem, who knows? One interesting thing seen in a later part of the footage is it appears to pick something up, which is either a young one or sticks or something. We see what appears to be legs being picked up by the alleged creature. Given Freeman's shady past, is this actual footage of a Sasquatch? I give it about a 50% chance of being real. I do wonder about it, given Freeman's reputation, but it is an interesting piece of the Sasquatch puzzle.

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