Sightings - Bigfoot Encounter: Canada, 2017

Episode Date: November 11, 2024

Face off against the supernatural legend as we unravel a never-before-told bigfoot encounter. Sightings is a REVERB and QCODE Original. Find us on instagram @sightingspod Learn more about your ad cho...ices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:00 For many, the woods hold a mysterious and transformative allure. They're a place to explore, to escape, to find yourself. But what happens when the woods find you? When you realize the sounds of leaves crunching underfoot aren't your own, and that the trees hide a presence too primal to comprehend. Because here, some paths lead to self-discovery, and others to something far more terrifying. Welcome to Sightings, the series that takes you inside the world's most mysterious supernatural events. I'm McLeod.
Starting point is 00:00:43 And I'm Brian. And I am happy to report that it is finally here. A Bigfoot story. And I guarantee you've never heard this one before. So venture with us into the untamed wilderness, where one teenager is about to learn that sometimes campfire stories are more than just folklore. Find out how on this episode of Sightings.
Starting point is 00:01:32 Hildale Police, Case 2, 42517. Imported July 18th, 2019. So, yeah. I'm not going to say my name and you're're just gonna have to deal with it, cool? Call me Ultron or Percival or the kid who fought Bigfoot, I don't really care Just don't say my name, okay? Cool? Cool Oh, okay
Starting point is 00:01:56 Uh, cool Uh, I, what, do I just talk then? Right? I mean, I haven't really talked about this not since the cops and stuff I mean I mean the news didn't even pick it up because you know no one gives a shit when some screw-ups go missing in the woods but hey I guess you care so yeah good on you can I just say for the record like if people are going to hear this officially that I'm not a bad Yeah, good on you. Can I just say for the record, like if people are going to hear this officially, that I'm not a bad kid or wasn't a bad kid. I mean, yeah, I hung out with some deviants, as my dad would say, and I did some stuff.
Starting point is 00:02:43 But I mean, it's not like I was a crackhead or some kind of shit, you know? But in the end, I must have crossed some kind of invisible line because one night I'm sleeping in my room minding my own business when these two massive dudes, I mean huge, yoked-out guys, wake me up and cuff me and drag me into this SUV and then onto this propeller plane. I mean, like with actual propellers, right? I didn't even know they make those things anymore. Anyway, turns out this was all happening because my parents decided to ship me off to this wondrous thing called a wilderness therapy program.
Starting point is 00:03:16 I don't know if you've ever heard of these. It's where screw-ups like me get sent to get our lives together or, you know, learn structure, discipline, you know, all the stuff our parents failed to actually give us themselves. So really, if you think about it, this is all actually their fault. Just saying. Anyway, the point is now I'm stuck on this tiny ass prop plane with a giant named Dwight, who's apparently my temporary legal guardian because I wasn't 18 yet. And I didn't have the first clue what was actually happening to me. And Dwight had the balls to just sit there and smile at me and say all cryptically and shit that my whole life was about to change. And I mean, I guess he was right because it kind of did.
Starting point is 00:04:03 And not for the better. You know what? Now that I think about it, why are you even talking to me? Like, can I see your badge again? I don't think that's necessary. So what, you're some kind of Bigfoot freak then? Or is this some supernatural hidden camera show bullshit? Because what happened to me isn't, like, like, entertainment.
Starting point is 00:04:23 Calm down. You're just as bad as Dwight, you know that? And you know what else? Screw this, screw you, I'm done. So, yeah, we're back! And it looks like it's in my best interest to keep talking, even though I've never heard of the stupid agency But yeah, you ask and I tell right so
Starting point is 00:04:52 Where was I again the plane right propeller plane to the middle of nowhere I Later learned it was British Columbia, but right then all I could see was this shitty landing strip in the forest like but right then all I could see was this shitty landing strip in the forest, like something out of a horror movie. And Dwight pulls me off the plane and into a Jeep, and then we start driving even further into nowhere until he parks and hands me a jacket and this huge backpack and tells me to start walking. So we walked and walked and...
Starting point is 00:05:24 If this sounds boring, that's because walking is boring. But eventually, finally, we reached this clearing with a bunch of tents and a group of kids staring at me. There were something like 11 of them, plus the two counselors, Barry and Joan. Barry was a piece of shit with a big cross tattoo on his arm, and Joan looked like she could snap a tree in half, so I didn't dare talk to her. So the first thing Barry and Joan did was warn me about running off. They said we were so far from civilization that things lived in this forest. But they didn't actually say what, which was weird.
Starting point is 00:06:02 But I figured it was just stupid scare tactics and kept my head down as I unpacked a crappy tent and sleeping bag. And then I had to help with dinner because that's what we did here, apparently. Bitchwork. And lots of it. And God, Jesus, the rules. No talking back. No slacking off. Work from dusk till dawn.
Starting point is 00:06:22 Sell your soul. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Ugh! Anyway, by the time dinner was done, it was dark, and there were so many goddamn mosquitoes. I was itching like crazy, and we all gathered around a campfire for story time. I guess you could call them campfire stories, but they weren't scary, and I wasn't paying attention anyway because I was studying the faces of the other kids. All of them were just as angry and pissed off as me, and desperate to get out. But then this weird sound echoed from the forest, and those faces changed to fear. It was like this low growl, almost, along with snapping branches. Like Jurassic Park when the T-Rex is coming.
Starting point is 00:07:09 And even Barry and Joan tensed up. And Joan said, that right there's why you don't go in the woods alone. Because that right there, that's Bigfoot. And then she launched in this old Indian legend about this creature that guards the forest. And I was like bullshit right because it was just another scare tactic to keep us in line but yeah I'm a stupid kid what did I know so um the next day we packed up and started walking because endless walking with 40-pound pack on your back is apparently what builds character and changes your life. At least I got to talk to a couple of the kids while we walked.
Starting point is 00:07:52 There was this guy, Landon. Football and too much coke, I guess. And he'd been there for like two months and was on the verge of going crazy. And even though he was kind of a tool, I felt for him. I'd go nuts after a week, let alone two months there. You know, and I also noticed this girl Cassie making eyes at me. But before I could even say hi or anything, the whole group suddenly stopped in their tracks and went dead quiet. And, um, yeah, it was because there was uh blood on the trail well um more than just blood it was
Starting point is 00:08:30 like a shit ton of it i mean pieces of something like maybe a deer maybe something else i don't know because it had been wrecked i mean torn completely apart and uh yeah it was uh pretty horrible um but barry and joan tried to play it all off as normal it's just the woods nature's crazy and we walked around the mess and kept going walking and walking boring walking until the sun started dropping and we set up camp in another clearing later there was more story time and and again, I wasn't really listening because I was looking at Cassie, and I wondered what she did. Maybe her parents were super religious and she overstepped a boundary or something. I don't know.
Starting point is 00:09:19 But I guess I'll never know now. I'm fine. I'm fine. Anyway, we all headed for our tents later when another sound echoed from the woods. It was weird. It sounded sad, almost. Like this really sad roar. Like something was hurting, but not in pain, just sad. And it sounded closer than the night before, and I saw Barry and Joan tense up again, and they said they'd
Starting point is 00:09:55 stay by the fire and keep it lit that night, you know, just to be safe. Later on, I woke up to find the firelight was gone. That, and there was something in my tent. Something. Boo! Got you there. But, um, in all seriousness, it wasn't like Bigfoot or anything. It was Landon. And he'd woken me up because he wanted to make a run for it.
Starting point is 00:10:25 Like, a run from the camp, from all of this shit. And he wanted me to come with him because there's strength in numbers. That's what he said anyway. So his plan was we'd head in one direction until we hit a road, then hitchhike wherever we went. No parents, no counselors, no bullshit, just freedom. No parents, no counselors, no bullshit, just freedom. And, you know, honestly, I liked the sound of that. I mean, I'd go home, of course, eventually, but only when I was 18 and my parents couldn't ship me back here. Then I'd get a grip and go to college, get back on track. So, yeah, of course I agreed.
Starting point is 00:11:02 But, well, I did have one request. I wanted Cassie to come too. And, yeah, that did have one request. I wanted Cassie to come too. And, yeah, that was stupid of me. I mean, I hadn't even talked to her. I mean, it's not like I knew something bad was going to happen. I mean, really, how could I have known? Shit. I'm fine.
Starting point is 00:11:30 Just, yeah. So, since Barry and Joan had accidentally fallen asleep and the coast was clear, we just... Yeah, we just left. Just the clothes on our backs, one flashlight, some water, protein bars, and that's it. We didn't even have a map or anything. Stupid. But into the woods we went, sticking to the shadows, kind of pushing blindly through the underbrush. And it was hard, you know, trying to keep going while listening behind us to make sure we weren't being followed. And after a couple hours of no noise, no nothing, we started to think, you know, we might have just pulled this off. But of course, we weren't alone in those woods. And I was about to see why for myself.
Starting point is 00:12:10 So we'd stop for a quick break. And I went off to take a piss. And that's when I heard, I don't know, something. It was like a growl real deep coming from the trees nearby. It was like a growl, real deep, coming from the trees nearby. And I tried to shake it off because I had no idea what to do, if it was a bear or a wolf or something. But then I saw it. And it wasn't a bear or a wolf. No, it, um, well, uh, it was in the shadows, so I couldn't quite tell But it was tall Like a tall person
Starting point is 00:12:51 Like a really tall person Creature Thing Like a Bigfoot I mean, I knew it right then As I stared at this shadow in the trees That I knew was looking right then, as I stared at this shadow in the trees that I knew was
Starting point is 00:13:05 looking right back at me. I just knew. I realized we were totally and completely screwed. So, uh, yeah. There I was, staring into the woods as this shadowy, bigfoot thing, and uh... Yeah. And yeah, I was scared, not gonna lie. So it took everything I had just to move my feet and I backed up so slowly, like painfully slowly until I was finally out of sight of the thing.
Starting point is 00:13:43 And you know what's crazy? The thing didn't move one inch. It just sat there watching me. So, uh, yeah, so I regrouped with Landon and Cassie, and, you know, I didn't want them to think I was a puss or anything, so I just said, we should keep moving. And we did. And it must have been, I don't know, another hour or so of following
Starting point is 00:14:06 the moon, pushing through all these stupid bushes, when we finally found something. A cabin. In the absolute middle of nowhere. My first instinct was to just avoid the thing and go around, but Landon made the good point that there could be a map or food or, I don't know, weapons inside. So we scoped the place out, realized no one was home, and snuck in the back door. It was weird. The place smelled like mildew and old wet wood, but it was full of weird stuff. I guess there were cameras, like fancy ones with night vision and infrared and a ton of rope and netting and a tranquilizer gun.
Starting point is 00:14:46 So, yeah, creepy. And that's before I even found the suit. Yeah, the suit. It was a big monkey suit or Bigfoot suit just hanging in the corner, airing out. Cassie was the first one to see it, and she screamed even though we were trying to be quiet. And as I got close to it, I began to wonder if this was the thing I saw staring at me earlier. But why would some dude be running around in the middle of nowhere in a Bigfoot suit? And Cassie was completely spooked and said we shouldn't be
Starting point is 00:15:16 there, so she peaced out and went outside. So Landon and I started grabbing what we could. He got the tranq gun gun and I grabbed a pretty badass looking knife. And we also found this dusty map spread out on a table under a bunch of other crap. There was writing all over it, but we were able to figure out where the cabin was and realized there was a road, like an actual road, only a few hours due north of us. But to get there, we'd have to pass by all these weird X's that were marked all over the map. Landon said maybe the guy's a treasure hunter, but I didn't know treasure hunters with Bigfoot suits and nets and tranquilizer guns. So I just said we should get the hell out of here.
Starting point is 00:15:55 And right about then is when Cassie screamed again. We ran outside and found her looking at the ground a few feet from the cabin's front door, and she was looking at it because there was a ton of blood there, like almost as much as when we saw that mutilated animal. But there was no body there, just a big old puddle of blood and what looked like some bloody drag marks leading into the woods. Like, how do you make that much blood and not leave anything behind? Anyway, so yeah, we booked it out of there. And I thought that if we just keep going north and moving fast,
Starting point is 00:16:32 we could reach the road before the sun came up. But as we kept moving, the sounds in the forest kept getting weirder. Or I don't know, maybe I was just on high alert, but every rustle in the bushes, or, I don't know, maybe I was just on high alert, but every rustle in the bushes, every snap of a branch had me jumping. After about, I guess, an hour, my legs were exhausted, so I can only imagine how Cassie was feeling. I even got to talk to her
Starting point is 00:16:58 and learn she was from Iowa and that her parents were even more psycho than mine and thought we might, you know, be connecting or something when suddenly a f***ing net snapped around our feet and yanked us up into the air. So yeah, there I was, upside down, smashed up against Landon and Cassie with this net digging into every part of my body, and I realized we stepped into some kind of psycho trap, and as we dangled there, cursing, I finally got my bearings
Starting point is 00:17:23 and saw that the ground was, you know, like a good 20 feet below us, which that's a long way to fall. And I'm not really good with heights, but, you know, that's the only way down was to cut the net. And thankfully, I was still holding on to that badass knife. So I started to cut. And as soon as we hit the ground, I heard this horrible yell. And it was Landon. And his arm was, oh, it was screwed. I mean, like bones sticking out and everything. So yeah, that was not good. Yeah, that was not good. But that wasn't even the worst part. It was when Landon stopped yelling and something yelled back, if you could call it a yell, or growled back, roared back. I mean, it was the same thing we heard at the campfire the last few nights.
Starting point is 00:18:23 And this time, I mean, it was close. So I pulled Landon to his feet, and we kept going. We just hauled ass through the bushes, and it must have been just a few minutes when Landon started lagging behind us, because I don't know, shock, blood loss. I offered to take the tranq gun, but I don't know, I guess it made him feel better, so he held on to it, and we kept moving, just trying to be as quiet as possible hoping to god we reached the road and somebody for help and all of a sudden i heard this weird rustling behind us and i looked back and landon was gone just f***ing gone i called out for him as loud as I could without being, I don't know, too loud. But no reply came.
Starting point is 00:19:08 And I realized Cassie was looking at me and she was terrified. And she asked me what we should do. And I said we had to keep moving. I didn't know where Landon was. And he'd had the flashlight. So we had no way of looking for him. Yeah, so we just kept moving, picking up the pace. And, you know, the forest, it just, it felt like it was closing in on us, like on purpose.
Starting point is 00:19:32 Or, I don't know, maybe it just felt that way. And then we heard the growl again. Like it was right behind us. And so we lost it. We just started running. And because we couldn't see where we were going, we fell and we rolled. And it turned out there was this huge hill that we had tripped down. And we were banging into rocks and roots and trees.
Starting point is 00:19:54 And by the time I reached the bottom, I realized I was alone. Cassie was gone. Just like Landon. And... F****** you know what you know what man it's like the silence is what made it even worse there weren't even any screams
Starting point is 00:20:17 and um well f*** I didn't know what to do. I was all beat to shit from the hill, but I don't know, I still somehow had that knife. And I knew from the moon which way the road was, so. Does it make me an asshole, leaving them like that? Cassie and Landon, I mean...
Starting point is 00:20:46 I mean, I couldn't have found them. I had no flashlight and they were gone. They were... on that thing. Oh, f***. Yeah. Uh... Yeah, so I guess I did the asshole thing, and I left.
Starting point is 00:21:07 Knife out, hoping I could reach the road, reach help, anything. But I didn't make it that far because I came into this small clearing, and there it was. F***ing Bigfoot. Like, eight feet tall, dark fur, blood all over its hands. I mean, I could even see it breathing like, like it had been running, like it had been killing. And I'll tell you this, this, that was 100% no dude in a suit. And, uh, I was so scared. I didn't move, just froze up. And I think the creature knew I was scared because it made like a little growling sound
Starting point is 00:21:49 and took a step toward me. And I raised the knife a little, even though I didn't think it would help me. But the Bigfoot froze in place. And I saw it, eye the knife, and I knew it was thinking. It knew what the knife was. Knew I could hurt it. And we just stood there staring at each other. Its breath heaving under those
Starting point is 00:22:13 muscles and fur. And then with this like weird dismissive grunt the Bigfoot turned and disappeared into the trees. And I just about passed out right there. It was so much. But, you know, I just waited. I gave it 20 seconds and I started moving again. I don't even know if I did it on purpose. It's just kind of happened. And I never looked back once. I reached the road about 20 minutes later and luckily there was this car, some old local, and I flagged him down. I must have looked like shit, but he stopped and yeah, yeah, that was that. I obviously didn't disappear until I was 18. The guy drove me to a phone and I called for help. And I don't think the cops believed me, but, you know, they looked for Landon and Cassie, but they never found them.
Starting point is 00:23:14 Like, I mean, not even a scrap of clothing or anything. And I, yeah, I went home and my parents treated me with kid gloves after that because I was a wreck. And I never leave the house now, basically. And this is the first time I've really talked about it since then. Like not even to my parents. since then. Like, not even to my parents. So, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:23:50 I want to know, why are you making me dig all this up for you? Like, is something happening in those woods again? Is it? Sightings will be back just after this. Welcome back to Sightings, where we're about to dive into this, the granddaddy of supernatural encounters, Bigfoot.
Starting point is 00:24:23 Bigfoot. Bigfoot, Bigfoot, Bigfoot. And now this is our first stripped back, found footage, found audio tape, found audio tape story, which I have to say, I really, really like because it felt more personal, kind of. Yeah, absolutely. It just didn't feel like the kind of story that needed the music and the, you know, the amplification to kind of sell that juicy Bigfoot drama, you know?
Starting point is 00:24:53 Exactly. Something about juicy Bigfoot that I really enjoy. I mean, even though I'm by no means a Bigfoot story connoisseur, this one seemed way more intense than stories you usually hear when people, you know, just see Bigfoot from afar for a split second out of the corner of their eye or something like, oh, oh, oh, and then it's gone. Yeah, exactly. And that's why the moment I was told this story, I knew it was something special. Wait, I'm sorry. So you didn't make this up? You mean this actually happened? Wait, I'm sorry. So you didn't make this up? You mean this actually happened? I think the keyword here is allegedly happened. And this requires a little bit of background, I guess, because last year I was actually doing research for a movie about wilderness therapy programs. And I heard from a friend of a friend that this one kid had a hell of a story. So I connected with him. And yeah, this is the story that you read. And and to my knowledge this is the first time it's ever been shared publicly holy wow okay i uh whoo i did not see that coming i feel this i feel honored special but also this poor kid really like you didn't get it anyway sorry i'm getting this is my mind is a little bit blown right now i I have to admit, I'm a bit suspicious because you have to have embellished this.
Starting point is 00:26:08 If this was really true, then it has to be like, I mean, one of the most intense Bigfoot stories. I mean, we've got teens disappearing, coming face to face with the creature. I mean, imagine if those Discovery Channel shows got a hold of it. I think the only reason I got to talk to this guy is because I was not a journalist, because I was a friend of a friend, and he knew I wouldn't do some giant expose on troubled teens or whatever. But even now, I don't know key details like what program this kid was in or where this even happened, just that it did happen, allegedly. Just that it did happen, allegedly. Allegedly. Well, aha. Whoo.
Starting point is 00:26:48 Look at us, breaking stories to the world. Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. This just in. Bigfoot tried to kill a guy. But no intended, you know, insult to the kid, but my skeptical gecko hat is still on. I totally get it. But before you make any judgment calls, maybe we should dive into what is known about Bigfoot in general. Gecko hat is still on. about Bigfoot. So I want to say that I am by no means an expert on Bigfoot and that, you know, a lot of you guys listening right now probably know a whole lot more about it than I do. So my goal here is to try and make this all as, I guess, fun and digestible as possible
Starting point is 00:27:36 for those of us who might not know as much about Bigfoot. Good. Good. Because I'm a Bigfoot newbie, which I guess that makes me a little foot. No, that's land before time, isn't it? Never mind. Continue, please, Brian. So let's start with the basics. I think we all know what a Bigfoot generally looks like. giant, shaggy, bipedal, nocturnal, you know, seven to 10 foot tall, seven to 800 pound thing, you know, with feet that are allegedly 15 to 18 inches in length, which is massive. And they're seen everywhere. There's reports from all 50 states, but most of the reports out there have been kind of centered or concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, which is where this story allegedly occurred.
Starting point is 00:28:26 All 50 states, though, I just got to ding that for a second. I want to know about the Connecticut Bigfoot. The Rhode Island Bigfoot. The Rhode Island Bigfoot. There's hills in Connecticut. Don't bash Connecticut. I'm not bashing Connecticut. It's a perfectly lovely state.
Starting point is 00:28:41 It could be hiding behind the McMansions or something. In a sweater vest. Okay. Okay. So the description that you've just given us, that's the currently accepted version of what Bigfoot is, right? Because we haven't actually found a body, right? So we don't know. Right.
Starting point is 00:28:59 Well, this is based on a ton and ton of sightings, I guess. And, you know, that snowballing mythology, I guess, where just one sighting begets another, begets another, begets another. So here's an interesting thought that just popped into my head. I always thought of Bigfoot as more of a modern phenomenon, or at least, you know, the 20th century when we had cameras. But I'm actually wondering now, is there some kind of history behind, you know, beyond pulp novels and the Discovery Channel? talk about hair-covered giants with hard skin called stone giants. The Salish First Nations people of British Columbia spoke of wild men called, I hope I don't butcher this, Sasquatch, which is the inspiration for the modern word Sasquatch. And there's also some really cool petroglyphs at this place called Painted Rock in California.
Starting point is 00:30:03 And on this rock, there are these drawings of what looks an awful lot like a giant, hairy, wild man. And that is nearly a thousand years old. What? I did not know the legend went that far back. But still, in all these years, no bodies, right? No bodies. Is there at least any modern documentation that suggests these things are more than just myth? I mean, like I have seen that one film clip where Bigfoot kind of ambles across the frame, like super brief. Yeah, that's the Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, which is kind of the Bigfoot sighting. So, listeners, we recommend you check this out for yourself if you haven't seen it.
Starting point is 00:30:44 But, McLeod, take a look at, you know, the most important few seconds and maybe give us the quick blow-by-blow of it. still. Oh, it's so grainy and he's such a bad cameraman. Okay. So what I just saw was a film that looked like it was shot in 1912 for whatever reason. So I don't know what's going on with their camera since it's 1967, but anyway, they see something in the, the cameraman scrambles and it's, he's clearly rushing towards what we see. And then, and he's super shaky, but you know, it looks definitely looks like a Bigfoot. It looks like a gorilla that walks upright and had these long loping arms. But I mean, it's so shaky and so grainy. Like. There's this organization called the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, BFRO, that collects sightings. And they have a database of well over 75,000 eyewitness reports in North America alone. 75,000? That's astounding. And that's just since the 1990s.
Starting point is 00:32:00 So where's the proof? Exactly. And we have a whole bunch of accounts just like the one that you just read. And I don't want to cast doubt on the veracity of any of them. I just wish more people had an iPhone or a steady hand or something. your friend, your contact, our guy from the story didn't have his phone. It was confiscated as part of this retreat or whatever. But, you know, I want to believe that he actually came face to face with this thing or, you know, at least something terrifying, some creature. But I mean, were you able to find any news or police reports that verified his story? I couldn't find anything in the news or I obviously can't access police reports all over the place, but there's nothing anywhere about missing teenagers or disaster at wilderness
Starting point is 00:32:51 therapy programs or anything like that that would substantiate this story at all. So we really have nothing to go on except the word of this kid. And I'm not saying that he necessarily saw a Bigfoot, but if it wasn't a Bigfoot, what do you think he could have seen that might have scared him out of his mind so much that he got separated from his friends who also got lost and might have hitchhiked to a new life or whatever? You know, what could have happened here? Well, there's big bears out there. It could be Big Grizz Bear. Big giant bears. Yeah. I'm thinking back to that first episode where you thought the Kelly Hopkinsville aliens were little tiny, tiny bears. I'm sticking by my bears theory.
Starting point is 00:33:32 Well, scientists agree with the bear thing. American black bears seem to be kind of culprit number one for what people could be seeing out there. See, Brian? Bears. Okay, yes, they've been observed walking upright. They can be five to seven feet tall when they're standing on their hind legs. Grizzlies can be eight to nine feet tall. There you go. But my mind also goes to people, both as hoaxers and as shadowy figures that are misinterpreted as Bigfoot. Yeah, that Patterson video we were just talking about. Five people have confessed to being the man in the suit. Obviously, all of them weren't because it was
Starting point is 00:34:11 one person in the suit. One was the arm, one was the leg. In 1958, there were footprints that were found, the quote-unquote Bigfoot footprints that really launched the name Bigfoot. That guy who found them admitted on his deathbed in 2002 that that was a hoax. So there's known hoaxes surrounding Bigfoot, but not 75,000 sightings worth of hoaxes, I think. But, you know, in terms of people misinterpreting just a person in the woods for Bigfoot, there are unfortunate stories of people getting shot in the woods. for Bigfoot, there are unfortunate stories of people getting shot in the woods in 2013 in Oklahoma, in 2018 in Montana, people have mistook a person for a Bigfoot and shot them accidentally, not to death, luckily. Oh, good, good. That would be an awful way to go. But this is interesting. Five people confessed to being in the suit, which obviously is impossible. You know, this guy on his deathbed who says, yeah, I just made a plaster cast of a foot, you know. But there's so many
Starting point is 00:35:12 people out there who do believe Bigfoot is a thing, which I always bump up against the reproductive population with creatures always. But I mean, are there any scientists that agree with them? A few, I guess. There is a professor of anthropology named Grover Krantz, But I mean, are there any scientists that agree with them? today might be part of this remnant population of this huge Pliocene era primate called Gigantopithecus. Now, it's worth noting, though, that there are no Gigantopithecus fossils that have been found in America that might back up his story at all. But wait, not in America, but there have been found elsewhere? In China or in Asia somewhere. Okay. Yeah, but I always think of this as a primarily North American,
Starting point is 00:36:06 you know, legend, barring things like the Yeti or whatever that is in the Himalayas. Yes. But again, I just, I come up with the, whenever we do these creature stories, I bang up against the idea
Starting point is 00:36:16 of a breeding population and like food supply, like something that large has to be eating a lot to just stay alive. And there has to be enough of them doing it to keep a population alive to breed. And at that point, how could you not find some? Yeah, that's the point a lot of other scientists have brought up. And it's not to say that there aren't scientists out there trying to prove that Bigfoot's real.
Starting point is 00:36:43 There have been genetic studies of reported hair samples that have been taken of alleged Bigfoots, and they've all been determined to be human, wolf, deer, porcupine, bear, other more common species, no unknown or prehistoric primates. So really, all we have to go on are these sightings out of the corner of people's eyes, basically, or alleged tracks, you know, of which there are many. But see, no bones, no bodies, which makes me think this is just a, it's a cool, albeit cool, it's a myth that's gotten more and more blown up over the years. But then I, again, I come up against, you said 75,000 sightings? Mm-hmm. That's like a whole town of people who have seen Bigfoot.
Starting point is 00:37:26 I mean, where do all the Bigfoot go when they aren't being spotted out of the corner of people's eyes? I hate to bring this up because it's a thought that's out there. And I will say right off the bat that I do not subscribe to this theory. But there are those who do say that Bigfoot are interdimensional beings of some kind, which explains why we haven't found them, but have spotted them from time to time. They just go back to whatever dimension they came from before we could catch them. Yep. I cannot co-sign on that theory, I'm afraid. So let's try and square that kind of sci-fi fantastical thinking with the story we just heard that you were told, you know, which felt so raw and traumatic. I mean, really, no matter what happened, I really feel for this
Starting point is 00:38:13 kid. And, you know, I want to believe that he saw something in those woods. But I mean, are Bigfoot known for being aggressive like that and tracking people? Because this one seemed to be a serial killer in the making. There was an incident in the 1920s where Bigfoot allegedly attacked a group of prospectors in an incident that's come to be known notoriously as the Battle of Ape Canyon. But I think we're going to save that for another episode. Hint, hint. But besides that, bigfoot aren't generally known for being aggressive creatures they're usually hiding which i guess is why we
Starting point is 00:38:51 never find them yeah so with that in mind i i just don't know what to make of the story we're dealing with here gosh i uh i think that this kid went through something. I mean, do you believe it? I mean, I heard his voice and this was not some whimsical fantasy for him. You know, there was trauma there. So I think I agree with you. You know, something happened to him. But since there's no record of the other two missing teens or anything else verifiable, I have to say that I'm on the fence here, which I guess is kind of the point of the show. We don't have the answers, right?
Starting point is 00:39:30 No, we don't. But maybe you do, listeners. See how I segued that? I'm getting good at this, Brian. Hit us up if you have a theory of what happened here. And please, please, we don't need to be taken to task for butchering Bigfoot mythology because, as we said, we are not experts. That's right. Please be nice when you hit us up on Instagram, at SightingsPod, or when you leave comments on Spotify. And if you're new to the show, check out our other episodes.
Starting point is 00:39:55 We've got some really cool other creature stories, plus hauntings, abductions, all the cool stuff. Speaking of other incidents, I want to know what we're diving into next week, Brian. Well, you should know by now that I'm not going to ruin the surprise, but I will say that we are staying in the Pacific Northwest. Well, shoot, Bigfoot's the only thing I know up there. Besides the salmon, I mean. You're just going to have to wait to find out. But I will say this, story's a deep one. Oh, all right. I'm intrigued now. Deep as in, like, never mind. Come back and find out what it is next week. Same time, same place, here on Sightings. Bye, everyone.
Starting point is 00:40:33 Bye, Bigfoot. Sightings is hosted by McLeod Andrews and Brian Sigley. Produced by Brian Sigley, Chase Kinzer, and McLeod Andrews. Written by Brian Sigley. Series music by Mitch Bain. Story sound design by McCubbin Owens. Mixing and mastering by Pat Kicklighter of Sundial Media. Artwork by Nuno Sarnanos.
Starting point is 00:40:55 For a list of this episode's sources, check out our website at sightingspodcast.com. Sightings is presented by Reverb and Q-Code. If you like the show, be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform And if you know other Supernatural fans, tell them about us. We'd really appreciate it.

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