Matt Moneymaker Interviewed by Fox News

‘Monster Quest’ comes to Eagle

Eagle Valley, Colorado, Enterprise, November 5, 2008.
Bill Heicher checks the track impression left after more than 800 pounds of weight was piled on the machine. Eric Eves holds back to the top of the contraption, while cameraman Jim Tittle captures the moment.
Photos courtesy and copyright by Kathy Heicher.

It was mere coincidence that the production crew from the History Channel’s “Monster Quest” series set up in Eagle on Halloween. But it was an appropriate day to investigate monsters.

And that was exactly the purpose of the visit: Production of a documentary piece investigating the possibility of a sasquatch or bigfoot presence in Colorado. Rumors of huge, “monkey-men” creatures have been reported since the late 1800s. The sasquatch or bigfoot became more famous in the early 1950s, following publication of an out-of-focus photo of a huge, ape-like creature.

Minneapolis-based producer Liz Pollock and her crew were drawn to Eagle by a couple of incidents reported in the spring of 2000. Within a three week period that year, two fishermen reported separate instances of finding huge, human-like footprints (18-20 inches long) alongside the Eagle River. One sighting was below Gypsum, and the second was just above Eagle. At the time, wildlife experts and law enforcement officers filed reports and studied the photos, but couldn’t explain what had made the tracks.

The popular Monster Quest show is a documentary television series that examines monster sightings around the world. Each episode is a mix of scientific examination evidence, eyewitness reports, and observations from informed skeptics. It’s a science known as “cryptozoology” — the study of animals that fall outside of contemporary zoological catalogs.

“Our main goal is to keep it as credible as possible,” says Pollock, “We try to get unbiased experts to look at people’s physical evidence.” The documentary, tentatively slated to run this spring, will mark the first time a Monster Quest bigfoot story has centered on Colorado.

Pollack’s research turned up 100 reported bigfoot “encounters” (including track sightings and vocalizations as well as physical sightings) reported in the state.

The completed program will include a mix of interviews, a scientific experiment (more on that later), and an “expedition.” Pollack said that the approximate 15 full days of filming will include a couple of days on horseback and two days of helicopter flights over the Pikes Peak area (where the most recent sasquatch sighting was reported) with a representative of the Colorado Bigfoot Organization.

Informed skeptics’ and the scientific method
The Eagle segment features a scientific experiment; and interviews with several locals who were involved in the track sightings.

Pollack tapped retired Division of Wildlife Officer Bill Heicher as the program’s “informed skeptic.” A wildlife biologist, Heicher makes it clear he’s not a bigfoot believer.

“If bigfoot were out there, somebody would have found signs, like scat, or fur samples that could be used for DNA tests,” he says. Still, after talking with one of the men who found the tracks eight years ago, and examining the photographs, Heicher says he can’t explain what left the track near the river.

“I don’t think it was human. I ruled out wildlife tracks. I don’t know what it was,” said Heicher.

Bill Kaufman, now a captain with the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, was one of the officers who looked into the incident at the time. Pollock’s crew filmed Kaufman discussing what he described as a credible witness, and the mysterious tracks. Kaufman is not a bigfoot believer, but he noted law enforcement officers at the time could not determine what animal made the large, human- like tracks. Although the hind feet of bears make somewhat human-like tracks, the size was way beyond any local bear track.

“I can’t explain it. The track was bigger than what I can explain. It’s that simple,” Kaufman says.

The Monster Quest crew, in an effort to get a feel for the size of a creature that would leave footprints the length and depth of those found in 2008, decided to organize an experiment. A hinged plywood “sasquatch machine” was constructed and equipped with the molds of sasquatch footprints. The contraption was set up near the Eagle River. Cameraman Jim Tittle captured the action as Heicher and volunteer Eric Eves loaded sandbags onto the machine, then checked the depth of the resulting footprint. The conclusion: Well over 800 pounds of weight was needed to leave a track in the hard-packed gravel bed. That’s considerably bigger than any local bear or moose.

Putting it all together
The film crew also spent some time at the Eagle County Historical Society Museum in Chambers Park. Historical archives include persistent reports of mysterious ape-like creatures encountered in the woods. A report in an 1881 Leadville newspaper told of local residents seeing a “man with long arms and a long shaggy fur covered body in the Lake Creek area.” (Lake Creek is a common stream name in Colorado, and the Eagle Valley does have a Lake Creek.)

A tale of Leadville-area miners encountering a strange, hairy, man-like creature with extraordinarily long arms is chronicled in Percy Eberhardt’s book “Treasure Tales of the Rockies.” The Monster Quest crew plans to film a reenactment of that story.

Historically, a story about a sasquatch-like creature in the Pearl Creek area of Camp Hale circulates ever couple of decades or so. The accounts, typically of the friend-of-a-friend-told-me variety, typically involve the sighting of a huge, shadowy form in the trees, big footprints, and the disappearance of some hapless person (a soldier form Camp Hale, a hunter, or somebody’s spouse).

Pollock said once the filming is done, the writing of the show takes about two weeks, then the editing of the film involves another month of work. The program is scheduled to air in Monster Quests’ third season, probably in February or March.
Stay tuned.

Ron Schaffner's friend passes: George Greene: 1951-2008

Investigative team in Vinton County, Ohio: Left to right: Bill Johns, Ron Schaffner, Earl Jones and GEORGE GREENE. Copyright Ron Schaffner, 1980.




POSSIBLE HOAX IN THE WAYNE NATIONAL FOREST

MacArthur, Ohio Reports

Vinton County - Southern edge of the Wayne National Forest.

The alleged sightings occurred on August 11, 24 and October 5, 10, 1980

Investigators: Ron Schaffner, Earl Jones, Bill Johns, George Greene

The MacArthur sightings were probably the most talked about case of 1980. The Columbus Dispatch and the AP wires were pouring out stories of hunters who believed to have found several Bigfoot creatures. The majority of sightings occurred east of MacArthur, Ohio, on U.S. 50. To make sure that you - the reader fully understand the scope of the situation, we will present the background of the incidents in question and our investigative documents. There will be conflicting statements between the media and others involved. With all the facts before us, it will show that this particular case has a high probability of hoax.

BACKGROUND

The first sightings were reported by Larry Cottrill who says that he saw three "Sasquatch-like" animals near his home. He believes that he may have wounded one in the shoulder from his rifle. This was on August 24. Cottrill has since moved out of the county.

The next sighting was made by Mr. Rodney Peoples, who lives across U.S. 50 from Cottrill. Peoples said that he had heard strange sounds for weeks. According to an article in the Cleveland Press, dated 10/18/80, he told reporters that he saw a large creature three times in the past weeks.

"It was right over there on the hillside. I'm saying 9 or 10 ft. tall and when it moved, it ran faster than any bear or human could", said Peoples.

The sighting that Peoples was referring to was at dusk on October 10. He also stated that the sound was similar to a bark, or growl and sometimes a "chirpping". Peoples and Dean Cotrill (Larry's brother) both agree that the creature leaves a rotten odor.

Earlier in the week, another story had developed. Robert Gardiner, Dean Cotrill and Rene Debros had been hunting for the creature(s) in the woods by a deserted A-frame structure. Their story was printed in the Columbus Citizen-Journal; October 9. After finding an unusual print, they decided to back-track. That is when they claimed to have seen blood dripping from a tree.

"We started looking around for something to take a sample with", said Gardiner. "Then we heard the scream".

The three hunters began to hear other sounds and began wondering if they (creatures) were actually communicating.

"Their bark sounded like an African "silver-tip" mountain gorilla" Gardiner stated.

An article in the 10/10/80 edition of the Indianapolis Star stated: HUNTER THINKS LAIR OF BIGFOOT IN OHIO. Gardiner, Peoples and others have found tracks near U.S. 50. Some prints measured 17 1/2 inches long and 9 inches wide. Casts were made and distributed among them. In the October 9 edition of the Columbus Dispatch, Gardiner was quoted as saying that he sent the blood samples to Wyoming for analysis. the results showed that the blood was from some type of primate.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gerald Svendson, an Ohio University zoologist had been doing some checking on his own. According to the Columbus Dispatch, 10/13, the professor found too many things wrong with the footprints and casts. Here is his findings:

"All the footprints were dug out by hand, as you can see where the sand was dug. There are too many things wrong that anyone with any experience with functional anatomy or zoology would know. What we have here is a "small-footed" Bigfoot with variable toes. Sometimes the toes point to the left and sometimes to the right. The tracks are about 11 1/2 inches long, which would be extremely small for an animal reported to be 7 - 12 foot tall."

Dr. Svendson was also shown scratches on trees. He said that they were not done by a large animal, but with penny nails.

CASE FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS

Photo of casts taken from alleged prints

We did not reach the Vinton County area until October 18, because of our involvement with the Fulton Case. (Mason, County, Kentucky). The latest sighting was a week ago by Rodney Peoples.

Since there had been heavy media coverage, we decided not to tell anyone of our presence, other than the Vinton County Sheriff's Department. We told the deputies our exact location; a deserted log cabin. We wanted to do a complete field check before talking with the witnesses and locals. However, many of the local hunters did find our camp and we discussed the various stories. That night we set up our cameras with infrared film and connected them to trip lines which surrounded our campsite.

We talked with Mr. Walter Coleman, who owns much of the surrounding property by the deserted A-frame. He had been picking berries before our short interview. He told us that he had seen a mother bear and her cub about a year ago, but has never seen anything unusual.

"I've been out here most of my life and never saw an animal I couldn't make out,"he said.

Of all the people we talked with that day, only Gardiner, Cotrill, and Peoples reported seeing of hearing the creature(s). Of course, there is no way to prove; nor disprove their story.

As mentioned before, the press stated that Mr. Peoples had seen the dark form on previous occasions. However, during a taped interview with us, he explained that he only saw it on the night of October 10. Since it was several yards at dusk, he could not give any real description, other than it being a dark form.

We were presented with several footprint casts that were in People's possession. The prints measured 11 1/2 inches long. There were no heel or toe indentations; no arch and the entire set of casts were extremely flat and irregular.

Peoples told us that the tree scratchings were done (in his opinion) with a phillips-head screwdriver.

There was no documentation to prove that the blood was from that of a primate. Even if it was, it wouldn't prove Bigfoot. According to the newspapers, the blood samples were sent to Wyoming. There is nothing mentioned by Gardiner as to who did the analysis; where it was performed, or what the results were!

The print casts were all different shapes and sizes. Some had 6 toes, some five and a few 4 toes. One alleged hand print had a striking resemblance to a child's baseball glove. (We have these photographs in our possession) We feel that these prints are too small, flat and irregular to support a creature that reportedly weighs 400 pounds and is 7 - 12 foot tall. The toe configurations are not in proportion to the rest of the foot. Therefore, we concur with the findings of Dr. Svendson.

Some of the local hunters said that there hasn't been any wildlife activity in the area. They probably were not looking hard, because we found evidence of white-tail deer, a bobcat, raccoons, rabbits and ringtails within a 20 mile perimeter of our investigations.

Our research group feels that any large form seen at a distance and in darkness can constitute any type of large mammal.

We cannot and will not dispute the sightings of an unknown animal. In fact, we believe that something strange was on-going. However, - in our opinion - the alleged physical evidence was faked. "Monster-mania" was very evident during those weeks. There was plenty of evidence of parties, as beer cans were in abundance. Therefore, we conclude that a third party was responsible for the phoney evidence in Vinton County. This conclusion was agreed by all four of us in the research group and was not the result of just one opinion.

Bigfoot At Fifty, Santa Ana, California, Register, November 29, 2008

Saturday, November 29, 2008
Bigfoot at Fifty
Legend of apelike forest dweller has spawned a cottage industry in Northern California.
By JOHN FLINN
The San Francisco Chronicle
Comments | Recommend
Somewhere in the wilds of the Siskiyou Mountains, a hulking, ill-kempt, apelike creature should be on the lookout for that dreaded letter from the AARP Yes, it's true: Bigfoot is about to turn 50.
Or, to put it more precisely (if less fancifully), the phenomenon of Bigfoot is hitting the half-century mark.
In 1958, a man from Willow Creek in Humboldt County discovered the first size-15 footprints in the mud. Wildlife biologists, scoop-hungry reporters, cryptozoologists, psychics, new age shamans and even big-game hunters have been combing the wooded mountains ever since. They've turned up more footprints – lots and lots of footprints – and a few other intriguing bits of evidence, but no one has been able to produce definitive, unassailable proof that the creature exists.
Still, several communities claim Bigfoot as their native son – none with a louder voice than Willow Creek, a tiny town overlooking the Trinity River on Highway 299, 40 minutes east of Arcata. It's home to the Bigfoot Museum, the Bigfoot Motel and the Bigfoot Golf & Country Club, and was the site of the 2003 International Bigfoot Symposium.
Stories of a big, apelike beast called Sasquatch circulated in the Pacific Northwest long before white settlers arrived. Then, on Aug. 27, 1958, a bulldozer operator named Jerry Crew stumbled upon a set of eerily large footprints next to a U.S. Forest Service road he was building near Bluff Creek. Andrew Genzoli, a columnist for the Humboldt Times, coined the name Bigfoot, and suddenly Northern California had its own version of the Loch Ness monster.
Nine years later, two other men from Willow Creek, Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin, were searching in the same area and shot the famous home movie that depicts, depending on your point of view, either Bigfoot or a person in a cheesy Bigfoot costume. The 53-second clip has been analyzed nearly as thoroughly as the Zapruder film, and whatever your conclusion, there are dozens of "experts" who will back you up.
In the decades that followed, there have been recurrent whispers in Willow Creek of Bigfoot sightings. But 84-year-old Al Hodgson, retired owner of the town's variety store, says encounters are more common than is publicly known.
"If you say you've seen Bigfoot, people make fun of you," he said. "A lot of people hold back, keep it to themselves."
He's never encountered the big beast himself, but Hodgson has found several sets of footprints, which he preserved with plaster casts. They're now on display at the town's Bigfoot Museum.
Checking in
In a town where a funky 1950s motel used to be the best you could hope for, Coho Cottages offer handsomely luxe lodging at reasonable prices. Built by local rafting guides Marc and Londa Rowley on a bluff above the river, the large, stylish, brand-new, freestanding cottages have screened-in porches with Adirondack chairs and gas grills; large walk-in showers with rain showerheads; whirlpool tubs; fluffy pillow-top beds with high-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets; gas fireplaces with sitting areas; and larger-than-normal kitchenettes. The photos on the Web site don't come close to doing this place justice.
Spend your day
You might start by shopping for delectable fruits and vegetables at Trinity River Farm, a '70s commune now being managed as a traditional farm by Molly O'Gorman, the founder's daughter. Then head over to the Bigfoot Museum, also known as the Willow Creek-China Flat Museum. The Bigfoot wing is in the back, and there you'll find lots of plaster footprints, a few strands of alleged Bigfoot hair, a tiny chunk of Bigfoot's alleged Achilles tendon, lots of newspaper clippings and a couple of films. On the way out, stop at the front desk to buy Bigfoot cookies, "Bigfoot crossing" signs, Bigfoot shot glasses, Bigfoot coffee mugs, Bigfoot jelly, Bigfoot T-shirts and ... well, you get the idea. In the afternoon, go for a whitewater rafting trip on the Trinity River, keeping an eye out, of course, for Bigfoot lounging on the riverbank.
Many of those who've encountered Bigfoot say the creature stinks like rotting garbage. So don't just look; use your nose, too.