Page 10 - 20060708 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - July/August 2006

10 Sasquatch Sensation 10 Sasquatch Sensation Sasquatch sensation gotten out there to do that." images of trees snapped over a remote trail. Sasquatch sensation THE-BEE accompanied BFRO on its Phillips goes ape over Bigfoot Phillips goes ape over Bigfoot expedition June 29. The participants were a Molloy said the trees were broken in a way that indicated purpose, but he conceded that the expeditions cross-section of American life. They included images were not "conclusive evidence." expeditions an Iowa bean farmer and implement repairman, Molloy and others on the expedition a California-based Internet banker, and many consistently argued that absence of evidence The Bee - by Ryan Stutzman others, from Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois and does not equate to evidence of absence. The Bee - by Ryan Stutzman July 6, 2006 July 6, 2006 Arizona. There was also an Irish man who said BFRO disciples are sensitive to the fact he builds furniture in a suburb of Dublin. that most people view their quest as a eccentric Some wore designer outdoor clothing. curiosity at best – and an elaborate scam at One man wore a Travis Tritt T-shirt, and another worst. wore a Jack Daniels cap. One man looked as In any case, at a fee of $400 per vehicle (filled though he was dressed for church. Some with as many clients as the vehicle can dressed in camouflage from head to toe, while reasonably fit), the BFRO did not stage a others braved the wilderness in shorts and financial coup in Price County. There were only discount hiking shoes. six or seven vehicles parked at "base camp." One of the camouflaged participants, Two weeks ago there were about twice who also wore a maroon beret, combat boots, as many participants and vehicles, BFRO and sunglasses (well into the dim light of members said. But the organization "isn't evening), answered questions with a snappy, making any money off this," they added. direct "affirmative" or "negative." He also said Base camp comprised a supply tent, he had been "shadowed" by a bipedal creature while scouting earlier in the afternoon, which his cohorts took with anxious enthusiasm. Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) Scouring topographical maps, the director Matt Moneymaker (second from left) expedition party surmised that a large wetland develops a strategy for tracking sasquatches in area with nearby high ground looked like ideal the wilds of Price County June 29 with (from "squatch country." right) Luke Molloy of Ireland, Don Young of A group of ten intrepid volunteers Phillips and an unidentified man who told the subsequently marched into the swamp, photographer, "I don't like cameras." The man including several who did not seem to be with the walking stick is also unidentified. appropriately dressed. They did not attempt to be quiet or inconspicuous. Each had a two-way Whether or not one believes in the radio for coordination and safety purposes, and legend of bigfoot, it was difficult not to get they used them frequently. caught up in the local sasquatch sensation The group leader, Matt Moneymaker, during the last two weeks. howled for sasquatch deep inside the spruce and The Bigfoot Field Researchers alders. Others beat trees with poles, which is Organization (BFRO), a California-based another form of sasquatch communication, they group, conducted two weekend expeditions in said. the wilds of Price County – one June 22-25 and Meanwhile, the men at base camp, BFRO expedition participants set out for a the other June 29-July 2. Participants came from approximately half-a-mile away, followed bog area to search for Bigfoot. all over the nation. developments in the bog with their own radios. As the BFRO scoured the woods with A fire crackled nearby, and the noxious scent of chairs and firewood on the side of a remote audio and video equipment, the city was abuzz a burning plastic bottle wafted over the woods. logging road (as a condition of the reporter's with scuttlebutt about where they where and When asked why a rare, secretive participation, the BFRO asked that the location what they might find. Bigfoot-related creature would not retreat from such of the group's activities be kept secret to protect discussions were nearly ubiquitous in Phillips commotion, a BFRO member said that the the sasquatch from potential harm). Most diners, shops and offices. sasquatch is a curious species and occasionally camped at developed facilities such as Solberg Nearly every restaurant in town altered confronts intruders to intimidate them. But there Lake County Park. their menus to include some kind of timely item was no reason to fear sasquatches, they added. The participants were universally like bigfoot burgers or sasquatch soup. One The most fervent people in the enthusiastic, and their willingness to endure business south of town even posted a sign expedition seemed to be well-versed in a tents, ticks, mosquitos and mud in search of announcing that it would purchase sasquatch rudimentary scientific vocabulary, and they sasquatches seemed to have no bounds. hides. spun a complex web of what they claimed are "The only way to know is to go," said Don Young, a Lugerville-area resident evidentiary connections that mainstream Tim Zamiski of Arizona. who claims to have seen the creature several science has missed. Molloy, a high-energy man who is full times and is affiliated with the BFRO, said The Irishman, Luke Molloy, likened the of wit and sasquatch information, said it might bigfoot could be Price County's hodag bigfoot story to the giant squid and colossal not be enough for the BFRO to disseminate squid, which were figures of deep-sea lore for whatever evidence it happens to accumulate. (Rhinelander's beloved monster legend). generations. It has only been two years since a Bigfoot believers need a sasquatch to claim a Young told THE-BEE that the first Japanese expedition first caught one of the bed at a Nobel Prize-winning scientist's expedition yielded promising evidence. creatures on film – which was widely heralded retirement cabin, he quipped. "We got something on thermal (imaging as a watershed moment for marine biology. Otherwise, he said, the world will equipment), and it looks pretty freaky to me," he The BFRO is trying to uncover the probably continue to assume that sasquatch said. mystery of sasquatches in the same manner, pictures are "a man in a monkey suit." Young also said there have been sounds from some kind of unusual animal – possibly a Molloy said. Others brimmed with optimism, sasquatch – coming from far inside a large But the scientific community also has tempered with sober expectations about each swampy area. ample physical evidence of monster squid, individual expedition. "We're getting a lot of response from the including severed tentacles and large squid "You won't see one and I won't see one," calls," he said, referring to the ocalizations beaks from the bellies of sperm whales. said Eric Lester, a trim, soft-spoken man from a BFRO guides use to rouse the sasquatch. The only evidence the BFRO put Chicago suburb. "... But we'll have the last "There's no way any person could have forward for independent review by this writer, laugh, whether it's one year from now or 100 except for a rich supply of anecdotes, were years from now." []