Guest blog

(Stock photo)

Stan – I recently received the following message from Rolo Tumasi, who lives in Southern Illinois (Alexander County).  We have squatched together in the past and I know his integrity.  see Southern Illinois Giant.   Other researchers have experienced unusual encounters with Sasquatch and this sighting and encounter, although unusual is not unique.

From Rolo Tumasi:

“i was riding my atv, when i noticed a white bipedal figure moving through the trees, as i started to follow, i rolled my atv while climbing up a ditch bank. i ended up underneath my atv, face down in knee deep water with a gravel/sand bottom. the atv weighs over 400lbs, I’m 50 years old and have COPD. basically i know they sometimes travel in pairs or groups of three and while you’re occupied with one, the other watches you. the way i was pinned, facedown in knee deep water with the atv on my back, i don’t believe i had the strength to get it off of me. i would’ve had to do a pushup in knee deep water with a sand and gravel creek bottom, with 400+ pounds on my back.

all i saw was the one before my wreck, i didn’t see, hear, or find evidence of any others, not even a track of the one i did see. i doubt in my present condition that I was able to save myself. i could’ve possibly pushed it off of myself 10years ago, but even with adrenaline, i don’t believe i could now. what are the odds that a second bipedal could’ve reached down into the ditch and pulled that atv off of me, and if so why?

they terrify me. and if one did pull that atv off me, it conflicts with my long time impressions of the species. i was nearly to the point having the woods clear cut and using brush fires to cleanse my land of their presence. as a former firefighter i know from work experiences that by all rights, i should have drowned. so this has really messed with my head to the point that i haven’t been in the woods by myself since.”

I have written before about “Cry Baby” sounds that have been reported near bridges and woods. Please see Cry Baby Bridge. Recently friends of mine from Spirit Bluffs Paranormal tent camped in Siloam Springs State Park, located east of Quincy, Illinois. The following is their report and sound clips from their recordings.

We are a team of paranormal researchers called Spirit Bluffs Paranormal. Sasquatch hunting is not our forte but after hosting Stan Courtney to speak at one of our local presentations, we decided to check out a state park in our county that has had one reported Bigfoot sighting back in 1972.  We had planned on camping out at Siloam Springs State Park, located in Clayton Illinois on September 22nd to invite others who are interested in the paranormal to come sit by our campfire and share their stories.  Unfortunately, the cold snap that came through must have discouraged folks from coming out so, it was just our team who camped out that night.  We set up our tents in the Group Tent site which is just to the right of the road that leads up to Hickory Hills Campground, an unused campground that the park has closed for the last two years due to a decline in campers ( and we suspect a decline in funding from the state too).  This gave us the opportunity to be able to hike the closed campground during the day and then go back later that night to see if we could do any recording of owls and if remotely possible,  possible Sasquatch noises.  We honestly didn’t believe we would pick up anything but it was worth a try.

We went to bed early so we could set an alarm to wake up around 1 am to hike up Hickory Hill Campground.  However, the alarm didn’t go off until 2am so we got up an hour later than we had hoped.  We had to stoke the fires to warm us up since by now the temps had dropped to the mid thirties. It was way too cold for so early in the season but it’s the midwest and you just never know.  Once we got the fires going good we checked our equipment that we were taking, just hand held digital recorders with an external mic, a Sony nightshot camcorder, a ultra violet video camera, two logs and two rocks for wood knocking and rock clacking.  We set out from our camp at 2:25am, September 23rd and walked up into Hickory Hill Campground.  As clear as the night was, it was so dark in this campground that we could not see 5 feet infront of us. Four of us, 2 males, 2 females, walked for about a 1/4 of mile into the campground. We could hear the coyotes and dogs quite a distance away. You could also hear the deer walking through the woods but we could not see anything.  We decided to head back down the road to an area that had picnic tables to sit on and try the wood knocking and rock clacking.  We were back to the picnic tables by 2:50am.  This area is on the edge of a heavily wooded area with a lake down below but we didn’t realize the lake was so close until the next day.  We took pictures, ran video and tried our hand at the knocking and clacking.  At about 3:15 am after we did a series of these sounds we began to hear a child crying.  You could tell this was not a baby crying but a child a little bit older.  Our initial thought was that a child was wondering the woods somewhere and got lost. The child’s crying went on for about 3 mins, then stopped. After it stopped we noticed a light moving through the wooded area infront of us. We watched it for a while and then it too disappeared.

 This experience was really strange and as you can tell in this clip, it’s the last thing we expected to hear at 3:15 in the morning.  One of our members did note during the time that we were sitting there that the pitch of the woods had changed and indeed you didn’t hear any of the other animals making any noise, it was perfectly quiet until the child crying started.  Back at camp we reviewed the audio of the crying and when we played this the coyotes would start to howl even though they were far away. We can’t explain the experience of the night at all.  We did go back to the area the next day and found that the lake is right at the bottom of the wooded area.  There is also, a small dammed up area there.  There is another campground in the park and it is approximately a 1/4 of a mile away.  We are not sure if we would have been able to hear a child cry from there or not.  It has however, peaked our interest in this field.  Our recording is not of the highest quality but you can make out the child crying.  We hope to go back out sometime next Spring.

Map showing the location of Siloam Springs State Park.

[Click for larger image]

Submitted by Dave Tackett of  Bigfoot Ape.com

1977 Illinois sighting with a Map

My story, it is probably one of the longest sightings ever, lasted for several hours. The year was 1977.

There were three of us going fishing in a remote place along the river. We walked down some RR tracks until we got close to a bridge, then we stopped in our tracks, as there was a thunderous crashing sound in the forest across the slough. I stated it was probably some Deer we spooked, and we proceeded to spread out and start fishing.

The noise didn’t stop, it was quite irritating and seemed to spook the fish. About an hour later it finally stopped. It got so quiet I got this feeling something was watching me. Not where the noise was, but straight across the slough I made out a head peeking over a bush. “Hey, there’s that Deer” I hollered and pointed, and when I did that the creature reacted by walking out in the open. “Its a Bear, no wait a minute…, Evan, come here, you got to see this, it looks like a Bigfoot!” Evan and came over, then we sat stunned at what we were seeing.

We watched this creature walk from bush to bush, peeking over. After awhile, we decided to go back to fishing, it didn’t seem threatening. We fished a couple hours, and I kept an eye on the thing, but then I couldn’t find it, I looked and then spotted it again, it had moved down the bank where it could get closer to us, too close, that scared me. I told my buddies and we decided it was time to leave. That darned thing could have easily crossed that shallow slough and be on top of us.

I asked these two guys if they would return with me in my boat, gun, camera and some plaster, but they didn’t want any part of that. I did return that Fall, about 4 weeks later, with 10 gauge shotgun in hand. We were building a Duck blind on the point of that island, and Evan didn’t want to walk with me so I went alone with my 10 gauge. I walked part of the island which is about one mile long by one half mile wide without seeing anything. I stood where we saw the creature, but there was no sign of any wildlife or human. It is too remote and hard to get to for people.

I returned this Summer but could access the RR tracks, they have a gate now. I plan to return by boat some time. It is so shallow, it takes a Jet-drive to get access to the island.

I cannot explain what I saw. I bekieve it could have been an animal, but what I don’t know. It was brown and hairy, tall and thick. It walked on two legs similar to a bear. It is hard to believe anyone would have been waiting on that island for fisherman to come to such a remote spot.

The sounds when we arrived sounded like a heard of deer, no man could make such a racket and deer wouldn’t have spooked so easy being 200 yards away in heavy brush out of sight. It could have been a horse I suppose, but that is doubtful. It sounded like a herd of deer running through the brush.

Next thing was the thrashing sound that lasted a long time. Sounded like duck hunters cutting cattails, but it was too early to build duck blinds, I know because we drew out and built a blind in that area. I don’t think it is possible for anyone in a suit to be thrashing and crashing in the brush in a fur suit for such a long time on such a hot day. It could have been more than one person, but then we’re back to why would people wait in such a remote spot for the slim chance that someone might come to fish on the other side of the slough. It just doesn’t make sense, it must have been an bigfoot ape.

It did not show itself, I happed to make out a face 100 yards away peeking over a bush, not moving. That was hard to spot, it was trying to hide, rather than trying to get me to look. It looked like a deer head peeking over the bushes. It only came out in the open after I pointed at it and yelled for my buddies to look at that deer. When it walked out into the open, it looked like a bear walking on two legs, it was huge. We don’t have Bears around here, and it and walked more like a man than a Bear. It was not trying to scare us away, it seemed to be curious. It would watch me for awhile, then walk to another bush to watch the other fisherman, then back to where it could see me. Only after a long while did it disappear and show up a little closer to us that spooked us. But even then, it didn’t act aggressive, it was just sneaking up to get a better look at us, apparently. Non of this makes any sense if it was a prank, it just seems more like we were witnessing some type of animal that was ape like and curious about us. It gives me the creeps just thinking about it. It seems ridiculas but we saw what we saw.

This island is actually a peninsula, toward the top end it narrows and meets the mainland right where there is a farm house. No one can access this park unless they walk through the yard of the farm, or by boat that can go in shallow water. No one ever spends time on this island except duck hunters for this reason. I have hunted this island for ducks for two years around that time. The island is very thick brush and swamp, and the water around it is silted in making it a hard place to get a boat close to it. On the side we were facing, was a shallow slough and on the other side is the main river. The water is only inches deep all around the island and all the years I have spent on that part of the river I have never seen anyone near it. Its just not a place to go to camp, fish or anything. Where we fished is owned by the railroad and it is closed to the public. We had to park about a half mile away or so and walk to the area we fished. People have fished there along the tracks, but rarely and mostly when the water is high in the spring.

This is a sketch showing what I saw.

R. D. Bedwell

Here is the story I’ve heard since I was a kid. The series of events took place near Lewistown, Illinois, in October of 1968. I’ve researched this story and found only one press release in a local newspaper — the Fulton County Democrat, Wed., Oct 23, 1968. The story printed is very vague, and from my interviews not very accurate. The actual first encounter was Friday, Oct. 18, 1968, between 7:00 and 8:30 pm. on the Dutch Henry gravel road just a few minutes outside of Lewistown.

Dutch Henry Rd leading off west of U.S. Rt 24 and southwest of Lewistown, Illinois.

The First Sighting

Like most high school students from around the midwest, trying to find something to do in small town U.S.A. on a Friday night can be a challenge. So like many others, cruising and parking on the back roads is not uncommon. But this particular fall evening proved to be much different. In two separate vehicles, one following the other, they come upon what they think is an animal stunned, lying in the middle of the road. Both cars come to a stop, headlights on. They all get out and start walking towards this animal. As they get within ten feet or so from it, it stands up. Shocked at what they see, they think it is someone dressed up in a monkey or gorilla suit (after all it was almost Halloween). So one of the guys yells at it, “You-little-son-of-a-b—–, you better get out of here before I beat your ass!!” This creature bent over and slapped the ground, then picked up a handful of dirt-gravel and threw it at them, hitting a few and the first car. Now the guy charges the creature, it turns to get away, as it spins, it back-hands the teen across the chest area. The guy flies into the roadside ditch, the others run to their cars. The creature leaps a nearby fence with ease. I was told that it moved as fast as a deer, no way could a person be that fast or strong. All seven who witnessed this made a police report. The police went to the Dutch Henry road later that night and found nothing.

The Second Sighting

The very next night around 9:30 pm., a Fulton County police officer was driving on route 24 near the Dutch Henry road turn-off when a wild-ape ran in front of his patrol car. He turned down the gravel road but lost sight of the creature. For about 3 weeks people reported seeing this wild-man, then all the sightings stopped.

Description of the Creature

The animal was described as 4-5 feet tall and had dark brown hair or fur. It was very stocky and had long arms. The face looked human but it moved like an animal, though running and walking upright. No smell was noticed, but it did make some grunts.

My Theories

First, my half-brother was one of the teens that witnessed this event. He would not lie about this! He doesn’t believe in bigfoot/cryptozoology, he thinks its all B.S., but he doesn’t have an answer as to what he and his friends saw that night in 1968. My dad remembers other reports on the local radio, he said the radio was saying it was just a Halloween prank. But he really feels something was there and that my brother wouldn’t lie about it. I asked my half brother just last year if it was the truth – I told him after all these years there was no reason to hang on to a Halloween prank. He said, “I saw what I saw, don’t know what that thing was, it was real, it happened!’ He is now in his mid 50’s.

Second,  I think there  are a small number of North American Apes that travel by water and use obsolete railroad tracks, and possibly stay in old mine shafts for shelter. Many sightings take place near train tracks, creeks and rivers.

Return of the Dutch Henry Monster?

I did an interview in the mid-1990’s with a lady named Rhonda Bybee, she told me that in September of 1991, around 8:00 pm,  she was driving down route 100 near St.David, Illinois (about 10 miles from Lewistown). She saw something at the edge of the pavement, it was down on all fours. She thought it could be a hurt animal until it stood up and crossed the road in front of her car. It was acting stunned or hurt, then it went down into a ditch, and up and over the railroad tracks, then into the woods. She was terrified! Another car that was coming from the other direction must have seen it too, as it sped off very fast. She told me that it had black or dark brown fur-hair, was about five foot tall, and very dirty looking, like it had mange. Could this have been the return of the Dutch Harbor Monster?

Well, for now this is all the information that I have been able to piece together about the strange events of 1968, I hope that one day the Dutch Harbor Monster will return, or could it be that it’s still here?

The following is a letter that I recently received.  This account is very compelling and shows how many witnesses feel about a situation that they have been thrust into. The writer welcomes any comments and suggestions and they will be posted with this letter.  -  Thanks,  Stan Courtney

The Stick Breakers

Dear Mr. Courtney,

Below is a testimony of something that happened to me personally and at the end of the testimony are some questions for you, if you wouldn’t mind helping me out a bit.

In the spring of 2003 I was visiting my sister who lives in Hampstead, New Hampshire. She lives in a somewhat wooded subdivision. It was early spring in New England and the weather had been a fairly rainy. I would frequently go outside by myself to smoke cigarettes late at night, on the porch after midnight. While I was outside I would hear larger sticks crack and break on the forest floor near where I was sitting but no leaves rustling. At first I didn’t think much of it. I am a seasoned camper and just didn’t think it was a big deal, I figured it was just an animal of some kind. This happened night after night. Then I noticed the sounds of something dropping out of the trees and an animal or being of some kind scraping on the bark a bit as it descended. I tried looking for movement but saw nothing, like an animal or anything. The flood lights were on every time I was out there and were brightly shining, there was a street light at the end of the long paved driveway off in the distance. On subsequent nights to took a flashlight and tried to shine whatever animal it might be with a but that was to no avail. Even though everything was brightly lit I saw nothing at all.

I tried this night after night. The sounds were there every single evening without fail. I could hear them moving closer and closer to me the longer I was out there. During the day I looked for tracks and marks on trees or other evidence but didn’t turn up a thing. I picked up sticks and broke a few to see what size stick I was hearing. I ascertained that the stick diameter was about an inch. I had my 11 yr old nephew go out in the woods to jump on sticks and see if he could break some of them, so I could check the way it sounds from where I was sitting. Trying to judge the distance. He jumped on some but because they were kind of moist he could only break the smaller ones. He weighed only about 75 to 80 pounds. This told me that whatever it is, weighs more than that. I could break the bigger ones by jumping on them, but I weigh 150 pounds. There are no animals in that area that are really large and could break that size stick based on the tests I did. Whatever it was would move in close to me, so I used the nephew to run around and make similar noises to Gage the distance in the daylight when they were at their closest. They were about 20-30 feet from me at best. I know there was more than one of them because I could hear one back beside the house and another one was in the front at the end of the driveway. They moved in very close to where I was and I could hear them coming from two different directions. They were not visible with the naked eye at all. I tried to take some digital photos but saw nothing discernible in the pictures.

Another thing that happened, my sister didn’t have any window coverings downstairs, she loved the view of the trees, and I would sit at night on her computer surfing the web and chatting on line near those windows. I frequently would get the feeling that someone was watching me. I wrote it off as just my imagination. Then there was the issue of the dogs barking and howling every night real late like they were hearing something. They were kept in crates in the basement at night. They would start their howling and wouldn’t stop unless someone would go down there and make them stop. They also would look out the windows late in the evening and start barking out behind the house as tough something was there. We all thought it was just another animal or whatever, and wrote it off. My brother in law decided to keep the dogs upstairs with him at night to keep them quiet.

I was outside one night very late after midnight alone. I was up on her porch near the door. I heard them coming again. The flood lights were on and I could see well into the trees because there weren’t too many smaller bushes in the way. I saw nothing but still heard them. No rustling only sticks breaking. My sis had a few planters with flowers in them on a lower landing from where I was standing. It was in the really bright light from the flood lights and was only about 8 to 10 feet from me. Some of the flowers in the planter draped over the side and hung out away from the planters. As I stood there I watched the plants move to one side and then flop back as though something had brushed past them, only nothing was there that I could see at all. There were no other sounds, like footsteps or grinding pebbles or grit. No wind at all. When the flowers swung, and they moved a lot not just a little. Whatever it was had to come up the stairs to get to me. I stood there shocked, sort of and running over what I had just seen in my mind briefly, and got freaked out completely, went inside quickly and locked the door. Everyone else was asleep in the house. I looked out the side window and saw nothing.

What are these things? Aliens? Bigfoot? Dimensional entities? Were they just watching us? Were they abducting? Testing? Or even hunting? I have no idea and it’s frightening! If you think about it you realize that on the grass there are no sticks to break, so they are quiet or silent, and there they were right up next to the house! How many other houses did they go into too?!

Then the story goes a bit further…..my sister later divorced and started dating again. Her new boyfriend and I were talking on the phone one evening recently, and the subject turned to the paranormal. I knew he is an avid New Hampshire hunter. So, I asked him if he had ever heard of anything like this. He said yes!!! He said that once, in November of 2003, he and five of his friends were out hunting on White Mountain one year and all of them were of course armed. They had set up camp for the night and made a fire. As they all were sitting around (after midnight) getting settled for the evening they started hearing “the stick breakers”, breaking sticks all around them but no rustling leaves at all. The didn’t see anything at all, and couldn’t figure out what it was. They did try to shine their flashlights and see what it was but they couldn’t see anything at all. All five got spooked and decided to turn in for the night and when morning came they decided to move their camp farther up the mountain closer to where they knew a larger group was set up. They all decided to not talk about the event after that day and they decided to never go back again either!!! I was so glad to hear that someone else had experienced the “stick breakers”! Now at least I know I am not nuts.

I know there are others out there who have had similar experiences, so, please step up and let’s hear your story! I would love to collect any stories that anyone might have about this phenomena. Please let me know if you have heard of this before.

I feel that this needs to be brought to the public’s attention and put on record or tracked in some way.

I would like someone to go there and use thermal photography, or IR to see if these things can be seen somehow, filmed or photographed or recorded. I have no funds to buy the equipment necessary to do it myself, though I’d love to! I need to find some one who might be willing to go there and shoot some film in that area. Bring their equipment and check it out. If you have any input please feel free to contact me.

Thanks, (name withheld)

P.S. I certify that this story is real and truly told to the best of my ability!

From Stan –

1 – Without actually seeing your “unknown visitor” it is impossible to say absolutely what you are dealing with.

2 – With that being said, your descriptions are not something new but have been reported many times by other witnesses. There are many bigfoot / sasquatch reports that taken collectively appear
to be very similar to what you have experienced.

3 – As to not being able to see them – sasquatch are “masters of their domain” in that they can move around in the darkness, taking advantage of the dark and the trees and brush to stay hidden.
I don’t believe there is anything “paranormal” about their behavior. Most mammals are nocturnal and are very good at staying hidden.

4 – If what you are dealing with is sasquatch, they can be very curious of humans. Sasquatch feel much more comfortable sneaking up and watching women and children then men. Perhaps because of a size thing, obviously most women and children being smaller than adult men, are not viewed as a threat.  Plus women are usually not aggressive, carrying rifles and hunting like lots of guys do. Not to say that women don’t hunt, because lots of women do hunt.  Because of this idea of women not being aggressive is one reason lots of male bigfoot researchers welcome women to research with them in the field. Sasquatch are much more likely to be interested in human activity when it involves women and children.

5 – As to the stick breaking. It may be accidental as the animals approach the house or it can be on on purpose. Sasquatch do make noises, including branch breaking to “check us out” and to get our
reaction. They may be just seeing how you behave when you hear something strange.

6 – I believe, as do a number of researchers that to the sasquatch we are their “Saturday Night Entertainment”. Instead of going to the movies they come into our backyards, cemeteries, gravel pits, lover lanes and campgrounds. They watch us and observe our behavior. They mess with us, throw rocks, break sticks, bang on the sides of houses, and make noise.  It is not normal behavior for a sasquatch to enter a home that is being lived in. There are accounts of them entering abandoned cabins.

7 – Most attempts at photography fail. Sasquatch typically are very apprehensive of any new device hanging from a tree in their territory. Not to say it is without merit but many times when cameras are put up the sasquatch activity ceases.

8 – What you are feeling emotionally is normal. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people have had experiences very similar to your own. Most people do not talk about it to others, or just close friends. No one wants to be ridiculed.

This blog welcomes other comments.

By David Letendre

During an expedition in the northern part of New Mexico myself, my son, Stan Courtney
and M. took off from base camp to go find a footprint someone had discovered the
previous day. The footprint was supposed to be under a ledge in the limestone dust
where it was protected from the on and off rain we had on this trip. The footprint was
up one of the five “fingers” or valleys the host told us not to go up. He never
ventured up these “fingers” because it was his belief that the “big people” lived up
there and he did not want to intrude on their territory.

It was a strenuous hike though rain and a constant climb in elevation. We decided to
rest on a rock outcropping which jetted out towards to downward slope of the valley
we just hiked up. After a few minutes M. thought he saw something to our left but
after a brief investigation it was determined we could see the entire “bowl” to our left
and nothing could be down there without seeing it. We decided to remain on the rock
outcropping and rest some more. To our left was the way we hiked up the valley and
from our current position we could only look into the tree tops.

After a short while we started to hear wood knocks towards the bottom of the valley
we just ascended. After a few sets of wood knocks we determined there were
actually two sources of the knocks. The wood knocks continued up the valley and
alternated from one side of the valley to the other. I had a video camera recording
the whole time but the piece of equipment was not sensitive enough to catch the
wood knocks. When the knocks reached about half way up an elk bugled which the
video recorder caught.

During this constant and progressing knocking M. and I could hear something directly
below our position on the rock outcropping. There was not any distinct sound it made,
it just sounded like there was something moving around below.

After the two sets of wood knocks made it up the valley about ¾ of the way up, one
of the two-way radios we were carrying sounded with another group’s communication.
This noise abruptly stopped the wood knocking. We continued to listen and record but
nothing happened for a few minutes. Then, to our left and up valley from our location
we all heard clearly the vocalization “hay-ya” “hay-ya”. I was taken aback by this
vocalization because nobody else from our group was above our location and the
“accent” sounded Native American. Our host had told everyone that Native Americans
never ventured up this valley yet this sounded like one. After hearing these
vocalizations we waiting awhile but nothing else happened. We decided to leave and
head back down to base camp but wanted to stop by the location below our spot on
the rock outcropping to see if anything could be found.

When we arrived at the bottom of the rock out cropping we found a small stick with
sand on the end of it and a hole in the pine needles and limestone sand on the forest
floor that appeared to have been made by the stick. This hole had to have been
recently made due to the amount of rain we were receiving.

The video camera recorded the elk bugle, the vocalizations and I video recorded the
stick and hole in the soil as it was found.

Upon returning to base camp we explained to our host our encounter up the valley
and told him we heard “hay-ya” twice. He said that meant “Where are you?” in
Apache. Our conclusion to the events we witnessed is as follows:

Two Bigfoot were hunting elk and pushing it up the valley to trap it at the top as our
host had mentioned to us before our trip up the valley.

The juvenile Bigfoot was waiting below our location on the rock outcropping while the
others hunted. Probably bored, it starting playing with the stick in the soil.

Our two-way radio disrupted their hunt.

One of the Bigfoot called out for the juvenile once their hunt was compromised.

—————————————

From Stan –

For the elk sound click here: Elk

For the  “hay-ya”  sound click here: “hay-ya”

Submitted by Galahad

In 2006 I attended the BFRO Cascade expedition. I had heard stories about this location. KJ and a few other investigators had found some barefoot impressions the previous year in late October just before the first snow. The impressions were considered, by some, not to be sasquatch because they did not meet the size requirements. They fell well with in the range of human. KJ found a trackway and followed it for over a mile before it walked into a rocky outcropping and lost the trail. The foot prints were small about 9″, but the stride length was enormous, 43″, for the size of foot. The stride had the tight rope, mechanic. They also had the appearance of walking not running. It walked through rocky, muddy terrain. It was found late October, after the lake level had been dropped for the season. The lake level is kept high for summer and lowered during the fall after labor day.

This trackway was found during the BFRO 2007 expedition. The stride length varies between 38 -40 inches. One stride appeared to be longer than the other. The tracks give no indication of running. Notice the tightrope stride.

These stories from 2005 piqued my interest and so I was looking and found barefoot impressions. So I was determined to come back and look for more after the summer tourist season was over. Come back I did. I taught myself how to cast using hydrocal. The soil is perfect and will yield dermal ridge patterns in certain situations. I found hundreds of impressions. One trackway had a 10″foot with a 43″ stride. In the September – October months I must have went there 6 times casting about 6 or more impressions each time. I was told by many that I was probably wasting my time if I thought I was casting sasquatch footprints. That notion did not dissuade me. I just kept casting. I was learning a methodology. If someday I come across the undeniably big footprint I am ready to cast it. So if for that reason only it has not been a waste of time.

PT is about 6 feet tall with a much larger foot than the impressions we were casting. I asked him to take a normal stride and then try to match the stride of the impressions. They are marked with survey flags. You will note that his normal stride length does not come close. His attempt to match the stride length even falls short. Look at his mechanics when he attempts to match the stride. He is way out of his comfort zone.

It wasn’t until my last visit to the location October 2007 that KJ and I stumbled on to a trackway that was most puzzling. There appeared to be two tracklines one footprint measured 12″-10-1/2″ in length. The other was about 8-1/2″. They were walking side by side. The larger impression seemed to be keeping a slower pace for the smaller trackline. The footprints had the tell tale tight rope mechanic type stride. The odd notation was the flexibility of the feet. I found the variation from one full stride repetition to the next. The right foot measured 12″ in the next right foot impression it only measured 10-1/2″. That was due to the severe curve, not an arch, to the foot. The foot bent in the middle all the way through the foot. It was an AH HA moment. The left foot exhibited an unusual sliding motion that was consistent. It was very unusual in it’s own way. This particular trackline got me looking for a specific mechanic.

This year in 2008 I was able to find the same mechanic. Is it the midtarsal break? I don’t know. I now have focused my attention on finding tracks that exhibit this anomaly. Humans can exhibit something similar but our push off is different.

Finally I took my boots off and walked a parallel line to some interesting tracks. I needed to have a baseline for my impression. Interestingly enough there are some differences. Compare the depth and articulation.

DB Donlon

One of the main questions plaguing bigfoot researchers is the old perennial, “If bigfoot exists, why haven’t we caught one?” This is a serious question and it deserves serious consideration. Until recently, there weren’t many answers, either. At least, not available to the public. But privately researchers have been sharing information gathered over the years that suggest bigfoot has some abilities beyond what we might have expected.

Unpublished reports that I’ve been privy to suggest that bigfoot can keep up with a car moving at a high rate of speed. These reports are unpublished because, as anecdotal evidence, they don’t count for much by themselves. People can make mistakes, after all — perhaps they weren’t going as fast as they thought, or maybe they didn’t see what they thought they saw. Anytime a report like that challenges conventional wisdom, the prudent thing to do is to wait until you get a verified report that supports it.

I think maybe that happened this summer with the Pine Ridge Reservation sightings. I’m thinking in particular about the police officer who wrote that he had observed a bigfoot running while he pursued it in his car. To quote him (from a post on the bigfootforums.com,) “I then continued my chase but he was just too quick. I was traveling around sixty miles an hour and he was still ahead of me.”

That seems pretty fast, but I know of at least two other, independent reports that state a bigfoot kept up with a car moving at 55 mph, and I’ve read others which mention lower, but still significant figures. What I’d like for the readers of StanCourtney.Com to do, if they are inclined, is to help us come up with more cases of bigfoot observed moving faster than we thought they could go. How good a case can we build for it? If you have any cases, or know if any in the many books written about bigfoot – anything at all, please let us know, either by leaving a post on the North American Bigfoot Forums, or by emailing me directly at dbdonlon AT gmail DOT com. (You know how to turn that into a real email address, I trust..) or contact Stan Courtney.

Think for a minute about what this tidbit of information could help us explain. Why can’t we catch them? For one thing, they move much faster than we ever thought they could. And how about people who think, when they looked briefly away, that the bigfoot had vanished before they could look back? Maybe there’s nothing extra-normal in that, except that bigfoot is extra fast?

I recall in particular one case that I investigated. A man was doing the rounds at his farm and came up over a slight rise, startling a bigfoot in the road. It jumped over a fence near the road, through a small band of trees, and out into a wide open field. The man was sure he was going to catch sight of it running in the field, but by the time he had gotten down off his jeep and over to the fence, there was nothing to be seen. He was certain it couldn’t have gotten across the field in the time it took him to get to the fence and was forever perplexed about why he didn’t see it. Now maybe we have an answer for him.

What are your thoughts? Let us know at the North American Bigfoot Forums.