This creepy clip from ‘In Search Of…’ (1978) is a good introduction to the ‘Sierra Sounds’:

Background of the ‘Sierra Sounds’

In 1971, Ron Morehead worked as a hospitality manager and church board administrator in Merced, CA. One fateful week, Ron learned that a family friend & fellow church board member was two days late returning from a high-Sierras hunting trip. The man’s wife explained to Ron that his hunting troupe encountered mysterious creatures that made “horrific, intimidating sounds and left five-toed prints around their camp.” One of the men even fled the site in terror.

A known explorer/adventurer and trusted friend, the man asked Ron to return with him to the area and collect evidence. Soon thereafter Ron trekked into the wilderness with a small group that included the hunter-friend and Sacramento journalist Alan Berry. The first trip yielded no results other than fragments of perceived toe prints in sand. The follow-up adventure was much more eventful.

On this trip, once they reached the remote deer-hunters camp, it didn’t take long for the mysterious beings to arrive from a nearby ridgetop.

Luckily, Ron & Alan brought ammo.

Well, tape recorders.

Though they evaded sight stealthily, the creatures whistled, screamed, and vocalized towards the men several times. After the invaders faded into the night, Berry and his companions found large bare-foot prints in the snow and pine.

For the next year or so, Ron, Alan, and friends returned to the site with microphones, tape cassette recorders, and plaster of Paris for foot-casts. It seems that, more often than not, the team encountered the supposed Bigfoot. Furthermore, they found the creatures to be incredibly stealthy. Camera traps were evaded easily and only brief glimpses were ever attained. Luckily, the phantoms overlooked the discreet microphones taped to bush branches and hanging from tree limbs. Over time, the team successfully collected high quality audio and footprint casts: a treasure trove of Bigfoot evidence.¹

Listen to the ‘Sierra Sounds’ Part 1:

Listen to the ‘Sierra Sounds’ Part 2:

About Alan Berry

I think it is important to note that, early on, Alan was very skeptical. Aside from being a former officer in the Vietnam War and holding a Master’s Degree in Science (if those accomplishments equal integrity for you) , Al was an investigative reporter for the Sacramento Bee. He cared very much about accuracy, and was described as a man of great character. He accompanied the men for a breakout story. Until his death in 2012, he always felt that “it would have made the story even more interesting if he could have discovered how anyone could have pulled this off.” His primary goal in the initial trips was to disprove the encounters. He was convinced of the hunter’s deception and even rummaged through their packs to find evidence of the fakery. He never found a shred of proof that he was being deceived.

Al Berry & Ron Morehead on their way to the ‘Sierra Sounds’ camp

Where is the Spot Exactly?

Ron and his group certainly found a super secret spot. According to a radio interview with BigfootEvidence.blogspot.com, the approximate area is inbetween Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park. Ron provides a nice rebuttle to skeptics on a hoax page of his website, providing some general geographical details:

• The Sierra camp is over eight miles, walking, from the closest road, any road.
• The trip is very exhausting. The men (about half way into the trip) would often leave the forest trail and proceed different ways to the camp, so as to not leave an obvious trail.
• The camp is over 8,000′ in elevation. In the fall it would snow and freeze.
• The men would always look for evidence of other people that may have been in the area. Rarely was any other humans within miles of the Sierra camp.

A shelter used by Ron Morehead and friends at the ‘Sierra Sounds’camp

How many recordings of the ‘Sierra Sounds’ were collected?

Several clips of the ‘Sierra Sounds’ can be found across the internet. I first heard this evidence on the In Search Of… clip where Al recreates an evidence collection session from 1972. There are staples, but I believe there’s still quite a bit of audio that’s not readily available, but can be purchased on Ron Morehead’s website. To date, Ron has released two collections (available on CD or digital download), and a book about his experiences (also available to download). Here are the descriptions for each:

Bigfoot Recordings Volume One: A True High Sierra Wilderness Story
Description: Produced in 1996 by Ron Morehead features very clear vocalizations captured in 1972, by Alan Berry, the investigative reporter brought into camp . Jonathan Frakes of Star Trek: The Next Generation, narrates. (40 minutes)

Bigfoot Recordings Volume Two: The Bigfoot Recordings
Description: Produced in 2003. Written, produced and narrated by Ron Morehead. It features rhythmic rapping-pounding sounds, and almost understandable phrases emanating from these creatures. (40 minutes)

Looks like about 80 minutes of high quality evidence. Hell yea.

Studies Supporting the ‘Sierra Sounds’

The ‘Sierra Sounds’ underwent a year-long evaluation at the University of Wyoming. The researchers determined the origin to be primate, and that one of the speakers possessed a vocal range and lung capacity much greater than the average human’s.

Additionally, they ruled out the presence of alteration. The tapes had not been sped up or slowed down or even re-recorded. They were organic pieces of evidence.

“The unusual growl-like sounds and whistles were studied by Dr. R. Lynn Kirlin, a professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Wyoming. It was his opinion that the format frequencies found were clearly lower than for human data and their distribution does not indicate they were the product of human vocalizations and tape speed alteration.”

Went Worth College Professor and former U.S. Navy crypto-linguist Scott Nelson determined that the ‘Sierra Sounds’ feature an actual deliberate language. With over 35 years in the field and fluency in four languages (English, Russian, Spanish, and Persian) his expertise led to the realization of more than grunts and snarls. He believes there are clear distinctions tagged on to the words in the form of phonemes. Phonemes are sound unites that “distinguish one word from another in a particular language.” Phonemes directly cause accents, since foreign-language speakers apply one type of phoneme inventory (French, for example) to a language with a different one (English). Nelson even created a transcription of the recordings by slowing the ‘Sierra Sounds’ down considerably. Per his report:

“Sasquatch Language is spoken approximately twice as fast as any known language in most analyzed recordings, therefore it must be slowed down to be transcribed accurately.”

Nelson’s ‘Sasquatch Phonetic Alphabet (SPA)’ paper is truly amazing. Even if these theories never lead to a definitive conclusion, one can’t deny Nelsons work proves there’s much more to the ‘Sierra Sounds’ than just primal grunts.

“Because of what I did in the Navy, spending years and several thousand hours speeding the human voice up and slowing it down, I could just detect language in those vocalizations.”

Opposition

Like any piece of Sasquatch evidence, the ‘Sierra Sounds’ are highly debated.

Good.

We need to keep adding good, conscious evidence in bulk to the pot, but we ultimately need to strain out the flimsy bits. The ‘Sierra Sounds’ are held in high regard, but what do some skeptics say?

A Hard Skeptic: Karen Stollznow, ScientificAmerican.com

“The vocalizations are an amateur impression of how a proto-language might sound if it evolved from non-human primates. This “Bigfoot” is likely human, and the ‘Sierra Sounds’ a combination of hoax and misidentification, like all of the other evidence for Bigfoot.”

“Similar to the claims of the (so far mythical) Orang-Pendek, Bigfoot would probably communicate using vocalizations. However, non-human primates don’t have the physiology to produce a wide variety of speech sounds, so it is unlikely that Bigfoot would have developed language, or would be able to speak existing human languages.”

A Recreation

Youtube user Hippies WithGuNs recorded his own version of the ‘Sierra Sounds’ and I must admit, he does a good job. He certainly nails the “pig monkey” sound, as he puts it, but admits he needs to work on the whistling. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

¹ Natalina. “10 Extraordinary Questions With… Ron Morehead of ‘Bigfoot Sounds’.” Extraordinary Intelligence. N.p., 31 July 2013. .

The post The ‘Sierra Sounds’ : Our Most Impressive Evidence for Bigfoot? appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

‘Night Scream’ by Scott Davis

Note, it’s difficult to determine the authenticity of a true ‘Bigfoot Scream’, since there are an infinite amount of other animals out in the wilderness screeching, cawing, wailing, howling, and braying together in a moonlit chorus. The potential for hoaxing is also very high. Even though we have very compelling Bigfoot sound evidence, we can’t forget that technology allows us to blend, enhance, deepen, and overlay intricate audio collages. Even back in the mid-20th century sound recording technology was advanced enough to allow for granular manipulation. That being said, let’s have an honest listen to the best pieces of ‘screaming’ evidence.

Bigfoot Screams on the Umatilla Indian Reservation

In 2012, several residents of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendelton Oregon (Washington/Oregon border) reported loud, bizarre screams and shrieks coming from a spread of dense swampland over the course of several nights. At times, the sounds were so unsettling and intense that residents woke up suddenly and couldn’t get back to sleep. Even their dogs refused to go outside. The sounds ranged from bass-heavy roars to blood-curdling shrieks.

A tribal housing authority employee, Colleen Change, recorded this intriguing audio:

The Umatilla Reservation spans 178,000 acres. The utter strangeness of the sounds made it all the more unsettling. Most of the 1,500 people on the reservation practically grew up in the wilderness. They experienced the full spectrum of animal sounds throughout their lives, but these screams, according to many, are sounds that have simply never been heard before. Some even heard the sounds bellow from two different directions, as if a conversation took place.

A History of Odd Activity

Could these truly be Sasquatch screams? The confederated tribes of the Umatilla Reservation— the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla- all tell stories of a form of Sasquatch, or wild man of the woods. The region is rich in supposed Bigfoot activity. In 1976 18″ tracks were discovered by a Walla Walla man just north of the reservation in the Blue Hills. Oregon, generally is a hotspot for Bigfoot activity. The state reported at least 243 encounters decade after decade. Fifteen of these reports took place in Umatilla County, including a 1992 ‘Class A’ encounter, where two brothers observed a “large hairy man” watching them 100 yards away across a gorge. And in 2002, a man reported another ‘Class A’ encounter, claiming that a Sasquatch-like creature stared at him through a window of his rural home. The creature fled into the treeline when it was acknowledged by the man. He investigated the land immediately after, discovering 16″ long, 6/7″ wide footprints.

Could the local fauna be to blame for the Umatilla screams? One local wildlife manager on the reservation explained that when cougars breed, the sounds they make are “absolutely hair-raising.” And the neighboring swampland is “a perfect place to have an echoing call sound eerie.” Additionally, wolves, coyote, and fox (listen to examples below) can produce wailing bellows and the same type of maniacal cackle the residents heard. The swamp may have enhanced the eerie nature of these already strange animal calls.¹

The Bigfoot Scream You Have Probably Heard

“The sound you hear is what some experts claim to be a Bigfoot scream. Recorded in the state of Washington by a group of campers in 1971. It is regarded as the highest quality audio of the creature ever captured.” -Leonard Nimoy, Ancient Mysteries (1992)

This is probably the most well known of all Bigfoot screams. I first heard this clip featured in Ancient Mysteries: Bigfoot (1994) back in the day. I assumed it was authentic, no doubt thanks to Leonard Nimoy’s wise timbre. Unfortunately, about a year ago I watched Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot (1976) and was upset to hear that this very scream was used prominently in the film! The sense of awe and terrified wonderment I always had for the hauntingly beautiful audio was lost.

At that point when I watched the movie, I accepted that the audio was made for the project and year after year the origin became hazier and hazier into oblivion. The film is 40-odd years old and highly obscure. I assumed the producers of Ancient Mysteries and these other Sasquatch documentaries of recent years completely overlooked the source or chose to move forward with the segment believing no one would notice.

Unfortunately, It’s Probably Fake

As I continued research, I stumbled into ParaBreakdown’s corner of Youtube, and he provided evidence that this scream was utilized in an EARLIER Bigfoot movie, called Big Foot: Man or Beast (1972). In this pseudo-documentary, a couple from British Columbia were interviewed about an anguished ‘screaming cry’ heard in the swamps behind their home at dusk. The film then provides an “approximation” of the recorded sound, which of course turns out to be the Bigfoot scream in question. This form of it, though, is much clearer and even seems to have some echo and reverberation, somewhat indicating recording-studio acoustics. No!!!!

And if this is the original version… then the Ancient Mysteries: Bigfoot clip just completely made up the 1971 Washington Campers story. Why wouldn’t they have played this original audio then, you know?

I am holding out. I like this audio too much. It’s real damnit! It has to be!

So I’ve decided to subject myself to the suggestive powers of unsourced Wikipedia pages and down-the-rabbit-hole Youtube Comments. The Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot Wikipedia page says the audio is authentic and recorded before the film. As I waded deeper into the shitty blackness of the Youtube comment feed I found a handful of users defending the source, claiming it was truly legitimate:

“There’s not a bit of actual proof that this is a construct. In fact, though he doesn’t take credit for it, it’s most likely a capture made by the same gentleman who’s responsible for the “Sierra sounds” recordings.” – Youtube user ‘Pattysreal’

You read that right. I’m sourcing Youtube comments and unverified Wikipedia text. I consciously elect to put my head in the sand. Roar on, lonely Sasquatch.

More Notable Sasquatch Screams

Even though the Ancient Mysteries wail is likely fabricated, there are plenty of compelling Sasquatch scream recorded throughout the years. Many possess that same kind of anguished, exasperated cry. Others, on the other hand, feel malevolent and sound just plain terrifying.

The Puyallup Screamer

In the spring of 1973 a young boy and girl were riding their bikes on an old pipeline road outside of Puyallup Washington. As they rode near a large gravel pit, a hulking, bipedal ‘thing’ walked across the road, approximately 150 yards in front of them. It paused halfway, looked at them, and continued its stride into the dense bush. The kids pedaled home frantically. No one believed their story even though something strange had been haunting the town of Pullyup for weeks: horrible screaming in the night.²

The children had experienced it, and many of the townsfolk felt the terror. The screams continued after the children’s encounter. And finally on May 12, 1973 a man named Marlin Ayers collected proof. One night he recorded this frightening audio of the chilling screamer:

The Clipper Mills Screams

In the Summer of 2012, a couple traveling with their two dogs through the Sierras near Clipper Mills CA pulled off-road to fix transmission issues in their truck. The vehicle was beyond repair that night, and they decided it was best to wait until morning to seek help. At approximately 10:00 pm, a chorus of powerful, distant howls began. The unsettling cries lasted exactly twenty minutes before fading away. Per the video uploader, “This is as it happened, it changed us, we will never forget that night as long as we live. I am so glad I caught this to prove our sanity and to remind us that this actually happened.”

¹ The Oregonian, Richard Cockle. “Bigfoot or Animals? Strange Sounds Coming from Swamp on Umatilla Indian Reservation (listen).” OregonLive.com. N.p., 20 Jan. 2013.

² Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. “BFRO Reports by State: Pierce County, WA.” BFRO.net

The post These Are What Bigfoot Screams Sound Like appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Three Rivers Convention Center, Kennewick WA. Site of the International Bigfoot Conference

Who’s putting on the International Bigfoot Conference?

Author/researcher duo Russell Acord & Ed Brown began brainstorming a Bigfoot-centered conference in October 2015. The team quickly realized that there was a huge opening for this kind of event, especially in the Pacific Northwest- Sasquatch’s original backyard. They set out to book a list of the field’s most respected analysts and legitimate researchers. Mixing these popular names with successful independent researchers, Russell and Ed knew they had something special, something with a purpose. “We had to create a conference with a purpose, and that purpose was to provide an opportunity for up and coming researchers to share the stage with some of the biggest names in the world of Bigfoot research.”

Who’s going to be there?

The International Bigfoot Conference will feature an impressive “who’s who” of Bigfoot names. Every one of these speakers is truly exceptional:

Dr. Jeff Meldrum: Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology and Professor of the Department of Anthroplogy at Idaho State University, Dr. Meldrum is the most renowned authority of Bigfoot footprints. In the past decade especially, Dr. Meldrum has pushed legitimate scientific evaluation of these cryptids to new levels.

John Bindernagel, PhD: John is a Canadian professional wildlife biologist and author who has studied and gathered evidence for Sasquatch since 1963. He earned a PhD in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison in 1970. John taught biology and wildlife courses across the globe, including Africa, Asia, and Central America. Throughout his career John has led a level-headed analysis of the wildlife ‘footprint’ of these cryptids, suggesting on his website’s author page that “tracks constitute a more reliable and persistent record of the presence of a mammal species in an area than a fleeting glimpse of the animal itself.”

Loren Coleman: Known across the globe as THE cryptozoologist, Loren has penned dozens of books and hundreds of papers about cryptids. He completed doctoral-level studies of anthropology at Brandeis University and sociology at the University of New Hampshire. Loren taught at New England Universities over the course of 24 years. A true icon for the field of cryptozoology, Loren is also the curator of the fledgling International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland MA.

Derek Randles: A 29 year veteran of scientifically sound Sasquatch research, Derek is co-founder of the world renowned, Washington-based Olympic Project. The association performs comprehensive habitat study and empirical evidence analysis for these elusive Sasquatch creatures. Derek encountered a Sasquatch in 1985, spurring over two decades of passionate, yet practical research.

Ron Morehead: Renowned author and researcher, Ron is most well known for collecting arguably the most compelling audio evidence of Sasquatch: the Sierra Sounds. He wrote ‘Voices in the Wilderness’ about his experiences with Sasquatch and compiled personally recorded audio for a series of records called ‘The Bigfoot Recordings.’ A cornerstone of the Bigfoot world, Ron provides unique insight from his research and encounters for conferences and special events across the globe.

The event will also feature very special guests Cliff Barackman, of Finding Bigfoot fame, and the man himself: Bob Gimlin!

(Left to Right) Jeff Meldrum, John Bindernagel, Loren Coleman, Derek Randles, Ron Morehead

Additional deets

• $45 per adult for total access to the three day event (amazing price if you ask me; honestly just LOOK at that rundown of speakers)
• $25 for children 12 and under
• Vendor space available
• Hotel information HERE
• Door prizes up for grabs, including win-a-four-wheeler!
• Begins Friday 9/2 at 2pm
• Location:

Three Rivers Convention Center
7016 W Grandridge Blvd, Kennewick, WA 99336

For more information, visit the International Bigfoot Conference main page or the event’s Facebook page. Cheers!!

— AJ

The post The International Bigfoot Conference: Why You Need to Go appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

© 2012 The Sasquatch Genome Project

In 2013, Dr. Melba Ketchum, a Texas veterinarian published a controversial report detailing the existence of a new indigenous peoples: Sasquatch. Ketchum led a multi-year study to sequence nuclear genomes of these elusive creatures. Her team tested over 100 pieces of perceived Bigfoot hair, ultimately finding that several samples originated from an unknown hominid species. In Ketchum’s report “Novel North American Hominins, Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies”, she claimed that Sasquatch are hybrids of Homo sapiens combined with an undetermined primate. Whether or not you believe in this study, an odd video surfaced alongside the official release.

Upon release, Ketchum paired with Bigfoot researcher Adrian Erickson to provide the public a double dose of strange: the comprehensive Bigfoot DNA study paired with a 30 second ‘teaser’ clip of a sleeping Bigfoot named ‘Matilda’. The creature in the video is “donor 37” from Ketchum’s 100 samples. Both can be yours for only $29.99!! Seriously, buy the full study here.

Given the surrounding circumstances I truly doubt this piece of ‘evidence’, but Finding Bigfoot front-man Matt Moneymaker vouches for it’s authenticity. There were supposedly even TWO sleeping Bigfoot on display in the full-length clip. At some point in the video, the creatures even rose to their feet and shuffled creepily around the researchers. When asked if Matilda is real, Moneymaker replied on Twitter, “Yes Matilda is real. There were 2 BFs there – an adult female and a juvenile female. The sleeping one was the adult female.”

And by popular demand, a new piece of the video surfaced: this time of the face:

Multi-millionaire BFRO-backer Wally Hersom and Moneymaker were granted exclusive access to view the full footage. In the video, Hersom observed “fangs” and a “black tongue” as the creature approached the camera. The creature appeared shifty and feral with darting eyes, displaying a “paranoid and aggressive” demeanor. A more detailed list of features, via Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com:

“Others who have seen the footage say it’s much more detailed than the Patterson-Gimlin film. On the full facial close-up shot, one witness described:

• Nose similar to ours (but with larger nostrils)
• Slightly chapped, rosy lips
• Pink mouth, blackish tongue
• Pointed teeth, like fangs
• Deep set eyes that dart around and don’t blink
• Her head is round, shaped more like ours than a gorilla’s, but her brow is much more prominent
• She has lots of fine, flowing hair on her head (dark reddish brown) and soft short hair on her face
• When she walks away, she moves just like the female in the Patterson Film”

How was the Sleeping Bigfoot footage obtained?

Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com sat down with Hersom in October 2012 to discuss the events that led to the bizarre video:

“Supposedly word got out that there were two Bigfoot researchers, Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh, a biologist, who has a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology, from Princeton University, and Dennis Pfohl, a researcher from Colorado, had successfully baited a family of Bigfoots and filmed them for hours. The researchers, hired by the Erickson Project, obtained various videos of Bigfoot from different habituation sites such as Maple Ridge, Texas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama. According to sources, Dr. Leila has seen the Bigfoots many times with her own eyes but only speaks out it privately. They have shot enough video of these creatures and are convinced that what they saw were real Bigfoots.”

Sources:

“Matt Moneymaker Confirms Matilda Bigfoot Footage Is Real, Says There’s Two of ‘Em” Bigfootevidence.blogspot.com. 21 Feb 2013. Web.

All videos and content | ©2012 The Sasquatch Genome Project All Rights Reserved

The post What is ‘Matilda’ the Sleeping Bigfoot? appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

12″ long narrow footprint – Photograph by Dr. Emmett Reary

After listening to hundreds of encounters, one thing seems certain: sprawling wilderness in any state could be inhabited by Sasquatch. Enough wild land not regularly visited by humans could house these creatures. The Ozark Mountains in the Southern United States are certainly no different. Dr. Emmett Reary; a Salem, Missouri chiropractor; knows these 50,000 square miles of dense forest feature a rich percentage of Ozark Bigfoot. He has collected over 100 compelling stories just in his little piece of the Ozarks alone. Reary even saw an elusive “Blue Man of the Mountains” with his own eyes.

* The following is an adaptation of the article “Bigfoot in Bunker? The Search is On” by Andrew Sheeley, published on ‘Salem News Online’

The Blue Man Apple Smasher

Reary always knew about the massive phantoms of the mountains. He grew up in Dent County always believing that Ozark Bigfoot of some variety lurked beyond the farmland. A different type of creature, though, brought Reary to the pulsing intersection of myth and reality. In the 1970s the Department of Conservation officially proclaimed that there were no Mountain Lions in Missouri. Particularly offended by this “official” ruling, the proud young academic vowed to prove them wrong. Reary wrote an article in the paper, requesting sightings of big cats in the area. Instead of cougars, he was sent report after report of “Bigfoot” in the area.

Already a bit charmed by the legend of the Ozark Bigfoot, Reary began his own expeditions for evidence. It wasn’t long before he got results. Reary theorized that these creatures– if they were anything like other forest denizens– would easily detect obvious human, bipedal movement and flee: especially considering their higher intelligence.

The Ozark Mountain Range: Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma

Reary rode horses into the deep woods of his Missouri Ozarks. Masking the human presence with a horse proved extremely successful for Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin, to say the least. Reary had similar success. One afternoon he rode around a creek bed and found a large, black creature hunched down next to the water. He could actually see the “bluish tint” of its jet black hair in the sunlight. He watched the creature handle a hedge apple for several minutes, ultimately crushing the tough fruit above its face to slurp the juices. The beast soon stomped away into a nearby sinkhole, where a weary Reary dared not follow. He believed more hid in the depression, as he could smell an overwhelming, foul odor. From that day Reary’s entire world turned a significant corner.

The Bigfoot Doctor is in

Reary became the unofficial Bigfoot expert of his Missouri Ozarks. Fascinated by his tales, regional hunters and landowners sought him out to relay their own experiences with the “Blue Men.” Reary assures all that he is a skeptic from beginning to end when evaluating these stories, but sometimes you simply can’t deny the convincing details. He depends on facts, but admits that “once you start looking into things like this, you cannot believe the amount of evidence you start to come across.” Over 100 compelling stories landed on Reary’s plate throughout the last few decades. Some of the recent ones prove that the Blue Men of the mountains no doubt remain in the area.

Bill’s Land

Bill, a property owner near the Mark Twain National Forest, contacted Reary after experiencing bizarre, escalating behavior from something in the woods. The eerie ongoings began immediately after he moved onto a once vacant, mass of farmland and forest. Bill rode his all-terrain-vehicle (ATV) around the grounds one day to tour the scope of his recent purchase. He entered a forested region and discovered a deer corpse forcefully shoved into the fork of a tree fifteen feet from the ground. Bill immediately bolted home to retrieve his wife and camera. When he returned shortly thereafter, the deer carcass was gone. Subsequent nights brought strange sounds from the woods and rocks thrown at the house. The ATV trails across the expansive property were inexplicably blocked off with massive logs that took a tractor to move. The chilling activity escalated into physical encounters. A worker observed a seven foot tall creature in the fields while weed eating and two terrified grandchildren said they were chased by a ‘Bigfoot’ while riding the ATVs through the forested area.

According to Reary, these experiences often echo each other. Throughout the years, he has determined that aggressive Ozark Bigfoot activity often stems from humans moving into once-uninhabited areas. Alarmed by the change these creatures react from a distance, and slowly move closer and become bolder. And if their habitat is squeezed tight enough, they may even try moving on to neighboring land.

“Bigfoot vs Man on ATV” by Blewzen ©2014

Rick’s Land

A rural Salem MO man named Rick contacted Reary to report several strange happenings around his home and farmland. Persistent knocks upon the side of the house kept him frightened throughout the night. The eerie activity continued, leading up to the discovery of several deeply cemented 4x4s broken in half with apparent blunt force. A long metal pipe twisted and bent was found next to the smashed wood pieces. One morning shortly thereafter, massive handprints were found all over the man’s garage door.

Handprint (without scale) – Photograph by Dr. Emmett Reary

Reary investigated Rick’s farm. He discovered that a logging operation was moving through a heavily forested region next to the farm. He also spoke to neighbors to see if they experienced anything odd. Amazingly, several admitted witnessing a tall, black shape moving through the fields. A terrible odor alerted them to the presence of this invader. All evidence suggests these creatures moved to neighboring land when logging efforts ripped through their own.

Reary’s Diagnosis: Nothin’ to Worry About

Despite perceived aggressive behavior, Reary concludes that most of the encounters and strange happenings in the Ozarks should not be viewed as threatening. He has never interviewed anyone who experienced a truly dangerous or malevolent Ozark Bigfoot encounter. Like many of us, Reary believes “there’s something out there which is just as curious about us as we are of them.” Educated and practical, Reary craves the rare drips of scientific evidence. But for now, the occasional handprint and floating deer corpse will quench his Blue Man thirst.

Sources:

Sheeley, Andrew. “Bigfoot in Bunker? The Search Is on.” Thesalemnewsonline.com. The Salem News Online, 14 June 2016. Web.

©2016 The Salem News Online All Rights Reserved

The post Doctor Records over 100 Ozark Bigfoot Stories appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Rene Dahinden holding the “cripplefoot cast”, 1970

Right beside the famed 1967 Patterson/Gimlin footage, many enthusiasts believe the other pillar of irrefutable Bigfoot evidence to be the 1969 Bossburg, Washington cripplefoot tracks. In this small community just south of the Canadian border, at least 1089 individual footprints were discovered by a enthusiastic team of Bigfoot hunters. On the surface these appetizing pieces of evidence are remarkable, but what is the real story? The Patterson/Gimlin footage ignited a fever among Bigfoot hunters in 1967, and just two years later these tracks once again hypnotized researchers. But does this unique piece of Bigfoot evidence truly hold that much weight? In this case, it’s essential to look beyond the footprints, right into the eyes of several overzealous Bigfooters.

What events lead to the cripplefoot cast?

In November of 1969 notable researcher Rene Dahinden received a phone call from colleague John Greene. Greene explained that a fellow Bigfooter named Ivan Marx was tracking a crippled Sasquatch, evidenced by a malformed foot print found in the mud by a butcher around the town dump. Rene traveled to Bossburg to investigate. Though trampled by curious locals, the muddy grounds around the dump did yield at least one complete footprint preserved beneath a cardboard box. Rene photographed it and took a plaster cast.

Rene performed due-diligence about town, holding interviews and investigating the surrounding wilderness for more evidence. Mystified by the extraordinary crippled trait, he made base in Bossburg, living in a trailer on Marx’s property. For the next several days he made rounds about the town fringes, dropping infrequent, random piles of meat scraps as Bigfoot bait.

The morning of December 13th brought Rene’s best chance to nab the Cripple. Cruising the banks of Roosevelt Lake with Ivan Marx and an interested young local man, the team pulled over near a railway crossing adjacent to the Columbia River. Marx left the car to check on one of Rene’s meat-piles. Within seconds he flew back to the car shouting “Bigfoot tracks!”

The cripplefoot trackway

1089 individual footprints covered the snowy landscape, winding along the railroad, across the railroad, across the highway, over a 3 ½ foot wire fence, and underneath a pine tree. Beneath the tree they found a large impression littered with pine needles. In the center of this marking was a large clump of snow bearing a few toe prints. Rene believed that the creature stopped to shake off accumulating snow from its foot.

Upon realizing there were hundreds more tracks beyond the pine tree pit-stop, a fiery Rene abandoned all skepticism, shouting “Now we’re going to get that hairy sonofabitch!”

The tracks went up a steep hill and back down the same hill, side-by-side. A deep, yellow-tinged snow patch indicated the possibility the creature stopped to urinate. No samples were collected. Beyond the pee-patch the footprints led down a steep grade parallel to the river, until they finally disappeared amidst the Columbia’s rocky shore.

Left to right, Rene Dahinden, Don Byington, and Ivan Marx following the trackway discovery, 1970

What did the crippled foot look like, and what supposedly happened to ‘the creature’?

The left print measured 17 ½” inches long and 6 ½” across the ball. The right, “crippled” foot measured 16 ½ long and 7” across the ball. The right print showed more compression than the left. This suggests that the body weight favored the right side.

The most notable attribute, and perhaps the sole reason this event became so delectable to the hungry group of Bigfooters, is the infamous crippled right foot. Shorter and wider than the left foot, it strangely left a deeper impression. Rene along with several academics offer their own explanations of the gnarled appendage:

Rene Dahinden, on-scene Bigfoot researcher: Believed the ‘creature’ to have a shorter right leg and endured an accident that dislocated the shinbone.

Dr. Grover Krantz, anthropologist: Believes the tracks made by the ‘crippled individual’ are authentic and simply too sophisticated to be faked. Notably penciled in anatomical structure of the bones upon the plaster cast.

Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, expert on foot morphology and locomotion in primates: Believes the tracks to be authentic and the chances of a hoax to be “almost non-existent.” In an official study, he details the structure of the foot and appears to accept Grover’s skeletal outline:

“The malformed right foot has been previously misidentified as a case of talipes equinoverus (clubfoot). However, it is consistent with the general condition of pes cavus, specifically metatarsus adductus or possibly skewfoot. Its unilateral manifestation makes it more likely that the individual was suffering from a lesion on the spinal cord rather than a congenital deformity. Regardless of the epidemiology, the pathology highlights the evident distinctions of skeletal anatomy. The prominent bunnionettes on the lateral margin of the foot mark the positions of the calcaneocuboid and cuboideometatarsal joints, which are positioned more distal than in a human foot. This accords with the inferred position of the transverse tarsal joint and confirms the elongation of the heel segment. Furthermore, deformities and malalignments of the digits permit inferences about the positions of interphalangeal joints and relative toe lengths, as depicted in the reconstructed skeletal anatomy depicted below.”

Dr. David Howe, orthopedic surgeon: Believes the prints are wholly authentic. He echoes Dr. Krantz, believing that “it would be very difficult to come up with the knowledge and the ability” to fabricate the structure of the foot. He also feels that it could be a lisfranc injury: dislocation of the metatarsal bones from the tarsus, the cluster of bones that including the ankle and heel that are inbetween the toes and the shin bones. If the creature suffered a lisfranc injury, without medical treatment, the “residual deformity could heal over in [that] direction.”

Grover Krantz examines the cripplefoot cast

Treachery comes to Crippleburg

The cripplefoot tracks began a Sasquatch circus in Bossburg. Over the course of a few months Bigfooters of all types flocked to the sleepy mountain town. Among them were Roger Patterson of the Patterson/Gimlin film and the aforementioned John Greene. All of the colorful Bigfoot eggs were in one red-hot basket. Unfortunately for the gang, their salacious optimism no doubt attracted treacherous agents.

A mysterious prospector named Metlow appeared one evening in the Bigfooter’s trailer headquarters. The man, who I picture as some sort of shrouded, pale, devil incarnate, instigated a bidding war for control of an actual Sasquatch that he managed to trap in a deep mine shaft. He refused to let any of the men view the creature. This delectable offer divided the diehard group. With remote financial backing for each side, the bid grew every day. Swept up with excitement, Rene’s bid of $55,000 placed him top of the heap. Excitement faded quickly, as Metlow suddenly withdrew his proposition.

As if dangling chunks of meat for a gator congregation, Metlow returned shortly thereafter with the promise of a frozen Sasquatch foot. The group of Bigfooters once again bit hard on the proposal. And once again they divided, coming up with nothing but whiffed air on this attempt. Simply, Metlow dangled the relic, got bored or wasn’t offered enough cash, and quietly withdrew.

Peter Byrne vs. Ivan Marx

Peter Byrne (left) and Ivan Marx (right)

The cripplefoot saga cycled back to Ivan Marx for the final chapter. The original reporter of the now famed ‘Bossburg Cripple’, Marx phoned old-faithful Rene nine months after the Metlow debacle (October, 1970), proclaiming, “I’ve got a film of the cripple.” On cue, the starving gators crawled back to Crippleburg.

According to Marx, he received an anonymous phone call explaining that a “large upright creature” was struck on the highway by a train or a car. Marx had rallied his hunting dogs and armed himself with a camera. It wasn’t long before he tracked the creature and recorded several minutes of compelling footage:

“On the screen the Sasquatch is shown moving from right to left at an angle of about forty-five degrees away from the photographer. Distance from the subject according to Marx ranged from twenty-five feet to more than a hundred feet as it made its way into the heavy underbrush on the far side of the clearing. Probably the most impressive part of the film, besides its extreme clarity, is the fact that the Sasquatch is visibly injured, holding its right arm tightly to its chest and using its long muscular left arm for compensating balance. Also, both ankles of the creature seem badly skinned, the wounds showing plainly raw against the black hair of the legs and feet. In watching the frames singly, the injured or skinned area appears to extend onto the bottom of one foot, and possibly on both feet, which would account for the apparent pain-filled movements of the frightened creature. As the Sasquatch is nearing the far side of the clearing, a twisted tree limb is stepped on, bouncing up and striking it above knee level. Marx, the following day, photographed this stick, which was ten feet long. In comparison the creature photographed would have stood about nine feet tall and Marx estimated its weight as that of two large bears, or around seven to eight hundred pounds.”

Ding! Ding! A bidding war for the rights to the original footage ensued. A fresh faced British adventurer named Peter Byrne entered the sullied arena. With backing of his own from infamous millionaire (and Yeti enthusiast) Tom Slick, Byrne agreed to pay Marx a $750 monthly retainer to continue hunting the creatures. As part of the deal, the original film would be kept in a safety deposit box. Marx happily agreed.

It was not long before the astute Byrne suspected Marx’s validity. Already doubting the footage, Byrne sought trusted help. He showed a copy of the clip to a local friend and his children. Incredibly, the children recognized the exact location of the filming. Byrne investigated. According to Marx, he tracked the creature six miles north of his home into remote foothills. Amazingly, the actual location of Marx’s short movie was indeed a spot the children were very familiar with: the furthest edge of their own ranch.

Byrne investigated and found extreme inconsistencies in Marx’s description of the setting. He also noted that the shadow of the creature shifted far enough to indicate a significant amount of time passed between shots, directly contradicting Marx’s claim that the creature was filmed over the course of a few minutes. Endless sizing and logistical inaccuracies surfaced quickly. Byrne was quite thorough: a breed not so gullible as Marx’s usual audience. The weight of the inquiries finally crippled Marx. He fled town. When Byrne opened the safety deposit box containing the original video recording, they discovered nothing more than a film roll of a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

Marx surfaced years later. He narrated and produced a Bigfoot film called The Legend of Bigfoot (1976) starring his own uniquely designed, super-cone-head Sasquatch from the previously debunked footage. He even appeared on a game show called You Asked for It peddling “real” photos of a Bigfoot in a snowstorm. From the beginning to end, Marx definitely had a creative flair.

So, were the cripplefoot tracks legitimate? What the hell happened?

Quite literally, this saga begins and ends with Ivan Marx. In my opinion it is easy to see that he carefully penned a compelling narrative of a crippled Sasquatch. Marx was an intelligent and creative guy. He recognized that a simple set of large footprints in the woods would not quench the country’s Bigfoot thirst so easily. He needed some kind of ‘shtick.’ Thus, the most important feature of the entire tale: the crippled foot.

Was Marx desperate for the recognition attached to Roger Patterson only a few years earlier? Was this a long-con to sell endless amounts of footage with his homemade suit a la Peter Parker snapping Spider Man pics for The Daily Bugle? Honestly, it sounds like all of these things crossed his mind. He decided to build a Bigfoot: a memorable monster that was to be revealed little-by-little.

I note modern professional’s evaluation that the foot could not have been faked. In this case, I point to Dr. Grover Krantz, who inadvertently legitimized Marx’s stunt for decades to come. Krantz, always a bit too personally passionate about the topic, penciled in the bone structure of the crippled foot by his lonesome. When Marx began his outline for the fake crippled foot-stamp I imagine him reading through the same anatomy textbooks as Krantz likely did one year later, completing the charade. It is not impossible to fake a footprint like this. In fact, more questions should have risen after observation that it was actually the crippled foot that received more weight in the steps. Despite his story, Marx needed that feature to stand out no matter what.

The time was perfect. He manipulated the desperation of men like Rene Dahinden to enhance belief in ‘the Cripple’ and corral even more Bigfooters. The Patterson/Gimlin film fever entranced the nation. Marx, perhaps over-confidently, assumed he could achieve the same celebrity. He most likely believed that the creature in the 1967 footage was a fake and he could pull off something much more interesting.

If his story didn’t sloppily face-plant, Marx probably would have achieved his goals. He definitely had enough creative plot points to satisfy the public for years to come: the crippled foot, the train accident, the piss in the snow, the dumpster looting, and a very unique suit. Unfortunately for Mr. Marx, he simply waded too far. By the time Peter Byrne began a series of very practical inquiries, Marx was too far out: drowning in his own remarkable fantasy. — AJ

Sources:

¹ “Bigfoot Compendium” Orgoneresearch.com
² Meldrum, Jeff, Dr. “Evaluation of Alleged Sasquatch Footprints and Their Inferred Functional Morphology.”www2.isu.edu/. Idaho State University, n.d. Web.
³ Hunter, Don, and Rene Dahinden. Sasquatch. N.p.: Mass Market Paperback, 1975. Print.
⁴ Sasquatchalliance. “Ivan Marx Sasquatch Footage.” YouTube. YouTube, 20 June 2008. Web.
⁵ Critical Evidence. By Liz Pollock. Perf. Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Dr. David Howe. 2009. Monsterquest: Season 3, Episode 19. Web.
⁶ Byrne, Peter. “The Hoaxed Ivan Marx Footage, as Told by Peter Byrne…” Bigfootencounters.com. N.p., Sept. 2003. Web.

The post ‘Recasting’ the Infamous Cripplefoot Tracks of 1969 appeared first on Bigfoot Base.

Lake Crescent, Olympic Mountains WA

If you have a bucket list item involving a Bigfoot encounter, look no further than the Washington-based Olympic Project. The premier Pacific-northwest Bigfoot evidence and research coalition, the Olympic Project offers multi-night Sasquatch research trips. In their own words, the goal of the project is to “obtain as much information and empirical evidence as we can” in anticipation of the species ultimate reveal.

There are many Bigfoot evidence collection and research groups across the country. The Olympic Project finds its unique footing as a science-first association. Perhaps the most thorough Washington-state research group, the Olympic Project stresses empirical proof and intelligent evaluation of Bigfoot evidence. They collect relevant findings and show them to those interested. According to their website, from that point “It is up to those interested, to draw their own conclusions.”

What are the expeditions like?

These ecologically entrenched Bigfoot expeditions take place over several nights. From Thursday to Sunday, Olympic Project team leaders guide a small group of Bigfoot enthusiasts deep into the Olympic Mountains of Washington. Guest-speakers and field researchers instruct sign-ups on the proper, scientific ways to analyze and log Bigfoot evidence on the scene. CSI: Sasquatch, anyone?

Derek Randles, Co-Founder/Investigations ©2014

Derek Randles, co-founder of the Olympic Project, stresses research participation for his sign-ups. While he wants to deliver a fun, enlightening experience rooted in scientific principles, Randles is determined to involve participants in real study: casting prints, setting game cameras, observing ecological disturbances, and collecting samples. Everyone is a scientist, even in the Bigfoot world. I won’t lie, this sounds fun.

The Olympic Project even provides boys and girls the opportunity to track evidence and log Bigfoot activity. Similar to a scouting program, Olympic Project Junior teaches kids the proper way to track and gather evidence. Bigfoot or not, the program sounds like a fantastic way to provide youth with general biology and wilderness skills.

Even if your group doesn’t come across substantial Bigfoot evidence, a huge perk of the Olympic Project is the organization’s impressive lineup of guest speakers. They offer a commendable list of revered Bigfoot personalities, including Bob Gimlin (of the Patterson/Gimlin film), Ron Morehead (of the Sierra Sounds), foot morphology and primate locomotion expert Dr. Jeff Meldrum, and Finding Bigfoot’s Cliff Barackman. Survivorman Les Stroud has also appeared at certain events.

Are Bigfoot tours available in other parts of the country?

Bigfoot evidence expeditions are available throughout the country. Unfortunately, most lack the scientific grounding of the Olympic Project. Many are paired with regional ghost tours and display the scientific legitimacy of a road-side attraction. Some border on cruelty. Read this snippet (hopefully fake) describing “the hunting experience of a lifetime” in Michigan:

Just imagine experiencing your own Bigfoot sighting… then shooting him, a GENUINE 900 pound trophy Sasquatch!–that’s an animal ten feet tall with a 19-inch foot!

I’m fairly certain that’s fake. But, beyond the redneck, “Mountain Monster” theme trips are many legitimate options in different regions of the United States for respectful observation and evidence gathering. The Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) offers trips throughout many states and Canada.

Is it actually safe to hunt Bigfoot?

The more I read about these Bigfoot expeditions, the more I feel like they’re ripe for carnage. Granted, ninety-nine percent of outings will end up being nothing more than a fun Bigfoot-themed backpacking trip, I predict something terrible will eventually happen. There’s too many dark tales of violent Bigfoot encounters and abductions out there. An apex predator can only be bothered so many times I believe.

Though, if the Olympic Project field guides routinely stomp through the same areas, it’s likely the species, if living nearby, has a level of comfort with their human trespassers. Only Olympic Project officials know. Appearing to be rational, practical-folk, I’m sure they take great care. Happy hunting.

© 2014 olympicproject.com

Sources:

“2016 BFRO Expeditions”http://www.bfro.net/news/roundup/expeds_2016.asp

“The Olympic Project”http://www.olympicproject.com/

The post Bigfoot Evidence Expeditions Buzzing in Washington appeared first on Bigfoot Base.