Saturday, September 17, 2011

Momo: Missouri's Legendary Monster

Frightening growls and snapping twigs were all it took to put a normal St. Charles County couple hot on the trail of the legendary Bigfoot.

Robert and Cynthia Stayte said they had never given Bigfoot much thought until their personal encounter with the unknown on July 27, 1997.

“It affected me more than it did my husband. I can’t let it go,” said Cynthia Stayte, 46.

It was a hot, late afternoon when the couple drove to a lonely alcove of the William R. Logan Conservation Area in Lincoln County, 10 miles north of Troy, on Highway 40-61.

The couple parked their car at the top of a hill and walked down toward a lake, said Robert Stayte, 49.

“We were told there was some good fishing in the lakes up there,” he said.

At the bottom of the hill, the couple stumbled upon an unusual footprint.

“It looked like a human footprint, but quite large. I’ll never forget the big toe. I told my husband it could be a Bigfoot, but I was just joking,” Cynthia Stayte said.

The couple dismissed the print and continued toward the lake. They were observing the surroundings when they heard heavy branches snap.

“If you spend a lot of time outdoors, you hear animals moving in the brush. It’s not that rare. I didn’t think much of it until we heard heavy breathing – heavier than a horse. It caught my attention,” Robert Stayte said.

“It was like a human, only 1,000 times magnified,” Cynthia Stayte said.

The breathing seemed to be coming from something right next to them.

Then the growling began.

“It was a snorting sort of growl, like gorillas in the zoo,” Robert Stayte said.

“They were snarling grunts, very deep and guttural,” his wife said. “I turned to my husband and asked him if he heard it.”

“I said, ‘Yes, and we’re out of here,’” he said.

The Staytes began running up the hill to their car. Robert Stayte took the lead, his wife said.

“I said, ‘Wait for me!’ I didn’t want whatever it was to come up and get me,” she said.

“I never had anything scare me like that before,” her husband said.

The Staytes do not match the image of a couple “on the fringe.”

Robert Stayte is a TWA avionics technician. Cynthia Stayte is a dental assistant. But after their frightening encounter, they became Bigfoot researchers.

“When we got home, I got on the Internet and found a Bigfoot database,” Cynthia Stayte said. “I clicked on Pike County, which is near Lincoln County. Sure enough, there were sightings listed.”

Further research uncovered a history of Bigfoot sightings in Louisiana and Cyrene County, she said.

Hoping to network and acquire more information, the Staytes attended a meeting of the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON).

Bruce Widaman, MUFON state director, said he was impressed with the Staytes’ story.

“Everything she told me sounded true and legitimate,” Widaman said. “I don’t think there was anyone at the meeting who didn’t believe her. She has credibility.”

Widaman said he has documented many Bigfoot sightings in Missouri, especially near the Cuivre River.

“I think there really is such a thing as Bigfoot,” he said. “Perhaps we’ve had one or two come through Missouri, traveling along the waterways.”

Bigfoot was dubbed “Momo,” short for “Missouri Monster,” after a rash of Missouri Bigfoot sightings during the early 1970s.

As for the Staytes, their search continues.

In September, the couple took a trip to Oregon and Washington, visiting the sites of several reported Bigfoot encounters.

They spoke to a young Oregon kite salesman who claimed he and his father found a dead Bigfoot lying in a mountain stream, Cynthia Stayte said.

“They heard a sound and turned around,” she said. “There was a live Bigfoot in the trees just a few feet away, watching over the dead one. They turned and ran out of there.”

While eating breakfast in Seaside, Ore., the couple mentioned to their waitress they had just visited Saddle Mountain.

Cynthia Stayte said the waitress gave her a funny look.

“She said locals don’t go to Saddle Mountain. I asked her why. She hesitated, looked around, then quietly said…Bigfoot.

“They were scared of Bigfoot. She and her husband had seen a Bigfoot standing by the side of a road at 2 a.m. about three years ago. She said it was big and it was real.” - ozarksentinel

A sketch of the creature reported by Doris and Terry Harrison on July 11, 1972, in Louisiana, Mo. Courtesy of MUFON
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Momo Returns in May 2001?

Almost 30 years after their moment in the national spotlight, the people of this small Mississippi River town are still split on what to believe. And now outsiders are stirring things up again. In 1972, many put stock in stories about the Missouri Monster, or "Momo," a large, hairy creature with a nasty stench that some believe roamed nearby Star Hill, about 80 miles north of St. Louis. And many didn't. They figured some of the believers were tippin' the bottle.

The buzz began when a 15-year-old girl reported seeing Momo outside her home. The sighting sent a slew of armed locals into the hills, looking for the beast. Some even planted bait, hoping to be the hero who captured Momo.

Reporters flocked in from around the country to give Louisiana, population 4,000, its 15 minutes of fame. After a few weeks, the buzz — not to mention the reported stench — died down. Old differences of opinion faded. People went back to their lives. But they're talking about it again, since an organization based in Tucson, Ariz., spent a week on Star Hill, just north of downtown Louisiana, looking for any traces of the almost-forgotten monster. Mostly, the effort brought laughter. When someone brings up Momo, a light enters people's eyes and a smile crosses their faces. The children of the '70s, who believed, are now grown up and raising their own children.

Momo seems like a fable to them. But for the International Society of Cryptozoology, the visit is serious. Its members examined the area April 14-20, collecting witness statements and checking whether that locale could provide enough food to sustain a Bigfoot-like creature.

Richard Greenwell, secretary of the organization and a zoologist, said this was just one of many trips the group makes each year. The society was formed in 1982 to document and evaluate evidence about animals that have been reported to exist but never verified.

Its Internet Web site boasts that cryptozoologists in the past 200 years have discovered many now-familiar animals, including the gorilla (in 1847), the giant panda (in 1869) and the giant gecko (in 1984). Greenwell said most of his trips have been to the Pacific Northwest. Greenwell said there does appear to be enough food to support such a creature. But he said it will take more than testimonials of the locals to convince him.

"We don't accept things on faith," he said. "We evaluate information. Sometimes it takes years to reach a conclusion. This is just one piece." On this particular trip, he was joined by Bill Riley, a Hannibal native who also claimed to have seen the creature in July 1972.

Riley said Momo chased him onto the porch of a farmhouse along Highway 79. He described the beast as around 8 feet tall, and putting off an odor he described as a mixture of sulfur and feces, only worse. He said he didn't tell anyone about the encounter for six years, fearing no one would believe him. He finally confided in his future wife.

When Riley made this trip to Louisiana, one of several in recent years, he said many other locals came forward with stories of their encounters, some as recently as 1996.

A lot of people don't want to admit publicly what they saw, out of fear of being the butt of humor, he said. It is true that mere mention of Momo can send Louisiana residents into gales of laughter. "I believed in it then," said Candy Barnett, who at 44 has changed her mind about the sightings in 1972. "I think I would actually have to see it to believe it."

Mary Shrum, 52, owns a farm outside of town and said she's never seen anything out of the ordinary — only raccoons, coyotes, deer and the like. No giant, hairy creature and no nauseating smell. "I just don't believe it," she said. Some do believe it though, people such as Beverly Siders, 54, of Elsberry, who grew up in Louisiana. Siders said she doesn't have a reason to doubt those who say Momo exists. "I believe there's something out there," Siders said. But exactly what might be out there remains to be documented. Maybe it was a bear or some other already discovered creature. Or a prank.

The cryptozoologists' visit was not completely without incident. Some of their gear disappeared during the week. Police Chief James Graham said that after his officers asked questions about it around town, the researchers heard a knock on their motel room door and found the missing equipment sitting outside. They saw no sign of anyone — or anything. - Everyday Magazine and St. Louis Post-Dispatch

An illustration depicting the Troy creature wading across the Cuivre River. Courtesy of MUFON
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Momo: Menace or Hoax?

Momo sightings have been reported throughout Missouri, even in St. Charles County. But the most famous sightings occurred in Louisiana, Mo., a town of fewer than 4,000 people. Located in Pike County, Louisiana lies 75 miles northwest of St. Charles County.

Bigfoot-like creatures have been reported in the Louisiana area since the 1940s, but it was not until the early 1970s that Momo attracted serious interest.

Bigfoot researcher Loren Coleman describes the now-legendary Momo scare in his book, "Bigfoot! The True Story of Apes in America."

According to Coleman, the Momo saga began in July, 1971. Joan Mills and Mary Ryan were driving along Highway 79, north of Louisiana, when they allegedly saw a hairy creature that made disturbing gurgling noises. The women described the thing as "half ape and half man."

The most notorious sighting took place one year later. On the afternoon of July 11, 1972, 8-year-old Terry Harrison and his 5-year-old brother, Wally, were playing in their backyard at the foot of Marzolf Hill on the outskirts of Louisiana. Their older sister, Doris, was inside the house. Doris heard her brothers scream. She looked out the bathroom window and saw a black, hairy manlike creature, standing by a tree.

The thing appeared to be six or seven feet tall. Its head sat directly atop its shoulders, with no visible neck. The face was likewise invisible, completely covered by a mass of hair.

The youths reported a chilling detail – the creature, streaked with blood, carried a dead dog under its arm.

A local farmer reported his dog had disappeared. A neighbor reported hearing terrible growling sounds that afternoon.

Edgar Harrison, the children's father, also heard loud growls the evening of July 14. He and several other people smelled a strong, unpleasant odor as they investigated the area around Marzolf Hill. Investigators later reported smelling a similar stench, like rotting flesh.

On July 21 Momo revealed itself to Ellis Minor outside his home on River Road. It was around 10 p.m. when Minor heard his dogs barking. He grabbed a flashlight and stepped outside, expecting to see an intruding dog.
Instead, he saw a 6-foot-tall monster standing in his yard. The black, hairy creature turned and ran.

According to a July 23, 1972 story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, police sealed off a 200-acre wooded area while a team of 25 hunters searched for the creature, which many believed to be a black bear. Police received reports of a creature crossing the highway with a dog or sheep in its mouth. Another witness told police that the creature lifted the back of his automobile.

Not all hunters used guns. Many used pencil and paper.

Bigfoot investigators swarmed Louisiana, interviewing witnesses and taking plaster casts of the creature's unusual three-toed footprints. One of the preeminent researchers was Hayden Hewes, director of the Oklahoma City-based Sasquatch Investigations of Mid America.

"What impressed me was the willingness of people to talk to us. Normally people are reluctant to talk about these things," said Hewes, 61. "This was not just one person spitting in a can, saying `yes sir, I saw it right over there.' These were good quality people who were enthusiastic about what was going on."

Hewes said he was impressed with the witnesses' sincerity.

"These people didn't want to sell something. They didn't want publicity. They just wanted to share their stories. I never got any inkling that there was a hoax."

The Momo scare lasted only two weeks, but it triggered a media frenzy. Television and newspaper journalists from across the nation descended on the small town.

"I did close to 75 television and newspaper interviews," Hewes said. "They flew me to Chicago to do some television there. There were people around us shooting documentaries. We haven't had a case that well-documented since."

Sasquatch Investigations of Mid America is an offshoot of the International UFO Bureau, an organization Hewes founded in 1957.

"We researched Bigfoot sightings in eight states, mainly to see if there was any connection with UFO sightings," he said. "With Momo, we found there was no correlation whatsoever with UFOs."

Hewes said his investigations suggest there are families of nocturnal Bigfoot creatures that continuously migrate across the nation from the Pacific Northwest to the southeast.

"The path begins around Oregon and Washington state," he said. "It crosses Oklahoma around the first week of September, then finishes in Florida."

When he is not conducting paranormal investigations, Hewes runs a talent agency and works in warehouse distribution in Oklahoma City. Hewes has a degree in aeronautical and space engineering from the University of Oklahoma.

While Hewes and other researchers concentrated on Louisiana, one team of investigators focused on sightings in the St. Charles County vicinity.

John Schuessler was living in O'Fallon during the Momo scare. Schuessler worked for McDonnell Douglas as a group engineer for life support systems on the Sky Lab space station, then later as director of flight operations for the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

In 1969, Schuessler helped establish the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), an international collective of UFO researchers. The 71-year-old Schuessler still directs the organization from its headquarters in Colorado.

The Momo scare coincided with a rash of UFO sightings, including reports near his home in O'Fallon. The possible UFO connection intrigued Schuessler, so he joined the Momo investigation. Schuessler found no connection between Momo and UFO activity, but he did investigate two incidents that corroborated the presence of Bigfoot creatures in the region.

On June 30, 1972, a month before the Harrison sighting in Louisiana, two young men from Troy were fishing on a secluded bank of the Cuivre River near Cuivre River State Park in Lincoln County. The fishermen, named Vaughn and Tim, stood atop a high bank overlooking an unusually low bank on the river's opposite side.

According to Schuessler, Vaughn noticed a splash and looked up.

"They said they saw something wading across the river – a big, hairy thing. They didn't know what it was," Schuessler said. "Vaughn said, `Hey Tim, look at that silly hippie wading across the river.' Then they realized it was not a hippie."

The men described the creature as standing taller than a normal man and hairy all over, Schuessler said. Like the Louisiana creature, the Troy monster's hair completely covered its face. Its head looked like a dome resting on its shoulders.

Tim scrambled up a hillside while Vaughn held his ground. The creature continued its deliberate march toward him. Vaughn finally panicked and ran. The men found a conservation officer and returned to the scene.

"All they found were fresh, three-toed footprints where the creature came out of the water," Schuessler said.

Schuessler inspected the area the next day and found the prints.

"They were large prints, but I couldn't tell what made them," he said. "We looked for hair, but found nothing but tracks."

Schuessler said Vaughn and Tim seemed honest and genuinely frightened. Schuessler also interviewed the conservation officer.

"He said he'd gotten a lot of weird reports out of the park, but he didn't pay attention to them. I think he wanted to stay at arm's length from it all," he said.

Another Momo sighting took place July 24 near O'Fallon, just after the final Louisiana sighting. Two teenage girls reported seeing a hairy creature at sunset walking along the edge of a wooded area. The O'Fallon incident is mentioned in "The Bigfoot Casebook" by Janet and Colin Bord, but Schuessler does not remember the details.

"It was not as vivid as the Troy sighting," he said.

Momo must have enjoyed his sojourn in St. Charles County, because the creature apparently passed through town again four years later.

The "Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization" Web site lists Momo sightings in 29 Missouri counties, including a 1976 report from St. Charles County. According to the report, two people were in a boat on the Missouri River near Highway 40-61 when they saw what appeared to be a 6-to-7-foot tall creature covered in dark brown hair. The creature was drinking from the river when it saw the boat, stood up and ran into the trees.

Another local story is posted on the "Bigfoot Encounters" Web site. Mark Richardson, of Modesto, Calif., claims to have seen the creature in 1979 when he was living in St. Peters.

According to Richardson, he and a friend were on a railroad bridge over Dardenne Creek one night. Richardson saw shadows moving and assumed it was his friend.

To his shock, he discovered it was an 8-to-9-foot-tall creature with long, matted brown hair covering its body and face. Its shoulders were five feet wide. Its three-fingered hands hung below its knees.

The creature smelled like rotting hair and screamed like a panther. Richardson claims it lifted the railroad timbers and tried to grab his friend.

The two escaped and ran home.

Richardson claims he knows other people who saw the St. Peters creature. He could not be reached for comment.

So is Momo real? Investigators like Schuessler say the sincere testimony of eyewitnesses cannot be dismissed.

"There is definitely something going on," Schuessler said. "I just don't know what it is." - St. Charles County Suburban Journal

Sources:
ozarkssentinel.com
St. Charles County Suburban Journal - 10/31/2004
Everyday Magazine - St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 5/2/2001
missourifolkloresociety.truman.edu
stateofhorror.com

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Just the Facts? Medieval Irish Zombies, Wild Boy in Germany and UFO Abduction Attempt



Did Zombies Roam Medieval Ireland?

Two early medieval skeletons were unearthed recently in Ireland with large stones wedged into their mouths -- evidence, archaeologists say, that it was feared the individuals would rise from their graves like zombies.

The skeletons, which were featured in a British documentary last week, emerged during a series of digs carried out between 2005 and 2009 at Kilteasheen, near Loch Key in Ireland by a team of archaeologists led by Chris Read from the Institute of Technology in Sligo, Ireland and Thomas Finan from the University of St. Louis.

The project recovered a total of 137 skeletons, although archaeologists believe that some 3,000 skeletons spanning from 700 to 1400 are still buried at the site.

The "deviant burials" were comprised of two men who were buried there at different times in the 700s.

One of the men was between 40 and 60 years old, and the other was a young adult, probably between 20 and 30 years old. The two men were laid side by side and each had a baseball-sized rock shoved in his mouth.

"One of them was lying with his head looking straight up. A large black stone had been deliberately thrust into his mouth," Chris Read, head of Applied Archaeology at IT Sligo, said.

"The other had his head turned to the side and had an even larger stone wedged quite violently into his mouth so that his jaws were almost dislocated," he added.

Initially, Read and colleagues thought they had found a Black Death-related burial ground. Remains of individuals buried at the end of the Middle Ages with stones stuck in their mouths have hinted at vampire-slaying rituals.

It was believed that these "vampire" individuals spread the plague by chewing on their shrouds after dying. In a time before germ theory, the stone in the mouth was then used as a disease-blocking trick.

Since the vampire phenomenon didn't emerge in European folklore until the 1500's, the archaeologists ruled out this theory for the 8th century skeletons.

"In this case, the stones in the mouth might have acted as a barrier to stop revenants from coming back from their graves," Read told Discovery News.

Revenants or the "walking dead" tended to be people who lived as outsiders in society, according to Read.

The two Irish men could have been considered potentially dangerous people, such as enemies, murderers, rapists or they could have been ordinary individuals who died suddenly from a strange illness or murder.

Anything outside the norm would have caused the community to fear that these people could have come back to life to harass their loved ones or others against whom they had a grudge.

The mouth was seen as a key part of the body for such a transformation.

"It was viewed as the main portal for the soul to leave the body upon death. Sometimes, the soul could come back to the body and re-animate it or else an evil spirit could enter the body through the mouth and bring it back to life," Read said.

According to Kristina Killgrove, a biological anthropologist at the University of North Carolina, the burials' dating is particularly interesting as it appears to predate historical records on revenants.

"I'm also intrigued by the fact that the two males were not buried at the same time but were nonetheless buried side-by-side in this non-traditional manner, which suggests these burials were not accidental or careless," Killgrove told Discovery News. - discovery

**********

English speaking 'wild boy' emerges from German forest

An English-speaking teenager who walked out of the forest near Berlin told police he had been living in the woods for five years with his father, but had no idea who he was or where he came from.

Authorities have launched a Europe-wide appeal for information about the boy, who is somewhere between 16 and 18 years old, and says his name is Ray.

“We have sent appeals for help to all European countries via Interpol. The boy speaks English and a little German but we really have no idea where he comes from,” Michael Maaß, spokesman for the Berlin police told The Local on Friday.

The boy emerged from the woods on September 5, and said he had been living wild with his father for about five years.

The pair had left civilisation when his mother, who the boy said was called Doreen, died. The boy said he and his father, who he said was called Ryan, had not set up a home but had kept moving.

They had slept in a tent and huts they found in the woods, he told them.

Maaß said the boy had told youth workers he could remember nothing about where he came from, nor anything much more than his own first name.

Two weeks ago he found his father had died, and buried him in a shallow grave which he covered with stones, he told them.

“His father had told him to look at his compass and go north, if anything should happen. And this is apparently what he did, walking for two weeks before reaching Berlin,” said Maaß.

“There he found a youth emergency centre and walked in. We have never seen anything like it. We have no evidence to contradict what he has told our colleagues at the youth services, although we are still investigating, and very much want to find out who he is.”

He said Berlin police would have to enlist the help of colleagues in Brandenburg and possibly other neighbouring states. “I don’t know if you can walk through Brandenburg in two weeks,” said Maaß.

He said the boy had been medically examined and was physically healthy, while there was nothing to suggest he was the victim of any kind of abuse or violence.

“We have no evidence of a crime having been committed,” said Maaß.

“The boy is being cared for by the youth services, while we in the police force are responsible for trying to find out who he is,” he said. - thelocal

**********

Not exactly 'Weekend With Bernie'

Jeffrey Jarrett was 43 years old when he died last month. How he died is still under investigation.

It's what happened after his death that has the family upset.

Two friends are accused of loading his body into a car, hitting a bar in Denver, then another bar in Aurora, before taking Jarrett home.

Robert Jeffrey Young and Mark Rubinson then ended their night at Shotgun Willie's in Glendale. They allegedly took $400 out of Jarrett's account.

Published reports say Young and Rubinson now face charges of abusing a corpse, identity theft and criminal impersonation.

"I'm horrified, I'm absolutely, I can't even put into words, I can't imagine anybody thinking that maybe their friend is in trouble and not calling 911," a horrified relative of Jarrett's said. The relative accused Young, Jarrett's roommate, of neglecting to call for help when he found Jarrett dead in their home.

Instead, it was only on the way home that the duo reportedly flagged down a Glendale police officer and told him about the body at home.

Family members--who describe Jarrett as a loving father, graduate of Colorado State University, and a hockey player--say the treatment his body was given is something they are struggling with.

"I'm horrified, I'm absolutely, I can’t even put in to words, I can’t imagine anybody thinking that maybe their friend is in trouble and not calling 911,” said a relative.

Jarrett's family says that while they will continue to mourn his loss, they hope for justice in this case. - kktv

***********

Abduction attempt: High-speed UFO chase on Australian highway

A Territory man was involved in a wild UFO chase on the Stuart Highway in a desperate bid to avoid abduction.

The man, who only wants to be known as Aiden said he was about an hour south of Tennant Creek, when a bright light approached him from behind.

"I was traveling south of Tennant Creek on my way to Melbourne. I had left Tennant around 3.30am after spending the night there and about an hour after I had set off I looked in my side mirror and noticed a light behind me.

"I thought nothing of it as it was probably another car."

Watch the video of a similar occurance on an Australian highway here

Aiden said he noticed the light getting brighter.

"I thought geez they must be driving fast as I was doing 120kph.

"When I looked again after a few minutes the light was really bright but it was in the bloody sky."

Aiden said when he noticed the light was not coming from another car or truck behind him he "started to get freaked out and put the foot down a bit more".

"Then I looked back again and this time the light was huge and the most brightest light I had ever seen but the strange thing is that the light had like an orange colour to it but was white at the same time.

"The light was about the size of a large car and stayed with me for around 20 to 30 mins.

"There was also like a faint drone as well but at the time I put it down to road noise but who knows."

Aiden said he was sure the mysterious light was not another car when he came to a windy stretch of road.

"I went around a bend on the road (and) it was still behind me in the same spot even when the road went left and right," he said.

"It was I suppose about 700 to 800 metres behind me in the sky.

"I said to myself: No, no, not me, go and take someone else, I am not interested."

Aiden said when he looked in the mirror again the light had suddenly disappeared.

"It was gone ... completely, so I stopped got out and there was no light to be seen anywhere at all," he said.

"That freaked me out heaps and in some strange way got me hooked as well due to witnessing something that was incredible to see and thinking this is not from here."

Territory top UFOlogist Alan Ferguson said the sighting was not a surprise.

"This has happened many times to people travelling down the track here in the Northern Territory," he said.

He said two of his friends have had a simular experience a couple years ago when they were heading to UFO hotspot Wycliffe Well, south of Tennant Creek.

"They were travelling late at night and the same thing happened that a light started to follow them.

"As it got close they would freak out then the light would go back for awhile then speed up.

"Then - just like Aiden'ss sighting - it just disappeared without a trace."

Mr Ferguson said sightings of lights in the sky at the Wycliffe Well area have been around for tens of thousands of years.

"The Aborigines called them 'min min' lights," he said. - katherinetimes

Reader Submitted UFO / Anomaly Images


These images were forwarded by Matt...a reader in Wales: The Hereford Times newspaper ran a story about UFO's turning up on tourist photographs in the area of the Skirrid Mountain Inn. I was taking some photos at nearby Crickhowell some weeks ago and also captured some UFO's on film, there seems to be a wide air corridor that these craft are visiting.


NOTE: Click on the images for the larger versions


These photos were taken a few weeks back at Twmbarlwm which is in Wales, near Crosskeys. It is said that the ancients believed the Iron Age hill fort where I took these pics is aligned with the Pleiades.

I'm currently monitoring UFO activity on the England and Wales border area, there seems to be a 'corridor' in which many UFO sightings are occurring, I currently have a video camera running on 30 second clip capture, these craft seem to know they are being filmed and perform for the camera.

Anyhow, here are some local shots

Thanks
Matt




**********


This image was forwarded by a reader: I was in Bramwell, WV which is in the southern most area of West Virginia in Mercer County when I took the photo. I didn't notice anything at all unusual at the time. I love taking photos of cloud formations, hence this photo. I transferred the photos to my laptop and was reviewing them and deleting the ones I didn't want to keep when I came across this one. I checked all of the other photos taken both before and after this one and there was nothing unusual in any of them, just this one.

NOTE: Please feel free to comment on the submitted images...Lon


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Friday, September 16, 2011

Just the Facts? Amazing Randi's Partner Arrested, Banff Bigfoot 'Credible' and Eating Obama


James Randi's Partner Arrested for Identity Theft

Skeptic James 'The Amazing' Randi is renowned as a scourge of paranormal frauds and hoaxers, but it just may be that identity theft isn't one of his areas of expertise. Federal authorities have arrested his partner of more than two decades, 'Jose Luis Alvarez', saying that his identity was stolen from a man in New York some 24 years ago:

Alvarez, who purportedly is 43, was charged with stealing a New York man's date of birth and Social Security number in 1987 to obtain a U.S. passport. A grand jury indicted Alvarez on Wednesday on a charge of passport fraud, Jose Luis Alvareza crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and aggravated identity theft, which automatically tacks two years in prison onto any other sentence.

More immediately pressing for Randi, and Alvarez's attorneys, is securing Alvarez' release from the Broward Main Jail. Prosecutors have said they will seek to have him held without bond. A courtroom showdown is set for next Wednesday, when a judge will consider arguments for and against bail.

For Alvarez to be released, he may have to reveal his true identity, which would be tantamount to an admission of guilt.

"He's in an interesting box," said Jeffrey Neiman, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense attorney based in Fort Lauderdale. "I can't imagine a magistrate judge giving a bond without knowing who it is they are giving the bond to."


Interestingly, when asked by a reporter if he knew about the alleged identity theft, Randi responded by saying his lawyers had told him "not to comment on our knowledge or lack of knowledge."

The irony in this arrest (beyond the alleged fraudster being the Amazing Randi's partner) is that Alvarez first came to public notice when he pretended to be a channeler of the spirit 'Carlos' in Randi's much-vaunted (not least, by Randi himself) 'sting' for Australian television in 1988.

So far there has been no official comment from the James Randi Educational Foundation about Alavarez's arrest. - sun-sentinel

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Banff-area Bigfoot reports ‘credible’ says 'Finding Bigfoot'

Reports of hairy encounters with Bigfoot-like creatures in the Banff area are on the rise.

Earlier this month, crews from Discovery’s Animal Planet show, Finding Bigfoot, visited the mountainous region after seeing photos and video from the Sylvanic group claiming a colony of unidentified primates lives near the border between Banff and Kootenay National Park.

The show features a group of four seasoned members from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. Executive producer Keith Hoffman said many claims sent in are rejected but not those of Sylvanic, a group seeking definitive proof of the Bigfoot species.

“We haven’t ruled out their claims, if we didn’t think they were credible we wouldn’t have gone,” Hoffman said. “What we found was that numerous other people have had encounters ... they were called together in a town hall meeting.”

Sylvanic head Todd Standing said he expected the researchers would find people with sightings similar to his, noting he has come within about 65 metres of the creatures.

“Some of the sightings are four years old ... to go through them all would be a lifetime’s work,” he said.

Hoffman could not give a definitive answer on whether Bigfoots actually live near Banff, but encouraged people to follow along with the show and submit their own encounter claims. - metronews

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Kecksburg, PA festival features historic event

If you are looking for an interesting event to attend this weekend, head over to the Kecksburg Old Fashion and UFO Festival that will be held on the grounds of the volunteer fire department. The event will feature lots of fun activities, food and entertainment and will also features displays and exhibits on Bigfoot and the famous Kecksburg UFO incident. The festival grounds will be open from 1 to 10 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

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Bigfoot Trackin'

New tactic for the BigfootTrackers.com...sit at a picnic table in the woods with a camera on a tripod, a BigfootTracker.com poster and a life-sized cutout of a Bigfoot. Assuming a Bigfoot doesn't come within range, they'll be more than happy to tell anyone that comes by a story about how the government stole their 1st Bigfoot

**********

Sentence for a plan to eat Obama: 5 years

A career criminal who threatened to kill and eat President Obama won't be going out to dine anytime soon.

Gregory Dale Brockman, 33, was serving a three-year sentence for burglary in Jan. 2010 when he wrote letters to the Secret Service detailing his culinary plans. According to court papers, in his missive postmarked Jan. 19, 2010, from a Chester prison, he also described how he would precede his meal with the sexual assault of first lady Michelle Obama and then "skin her alive."

He added that after killing the president, he planned to "cut his meat from his bones and put them in the oven," then "sit down at the table and start eating."

In an interview with Secret Service agents a few weeks later, Brockman admitted writing the letter to calm himself down. According to court papers, he told the agents he was upset about the war in Afghanistan, marijuana prohibition, and underfunding of public schools. Brockman also mentioned how he was fascinated by renowned cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed 17 people and consumed several of the victims.

When asked, the former Carbon County resident told the federal agents he still intended to hurt the president and would act on those thoughts if he were released from prison.

In his letters Brockman also threatened to sexually assault Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and kill former President George W. Bush, said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger.

On Thursday, Brockman was sentenced to five years in prison. He'll serve that after finishing out his term in Chester and another five-year term for threatening George W. Bush in 2008. The sentences, Memeger said, will run consecutively. - philly

This Week on 'Beyond the Edge' Radio: Halloween Expert Lesley Pratt Bannatyne


Halloween comes a bit early to BTE Radio as we welcome one of the world's foremost experts on Halloween - Lesley Pratt Bannatyne

Lesley Pratt Bannatyne is an American author; considered by many as the foremost authority on Halloween. Lesley writes extensively on Halloween, its history, literature, and contemporary celebration. She has contributed the World Book Encyclopedia entry for Halloween.

Bannatyne has shared her knowledge on television specials for Nickelodeon and the History Channel ("The Haunted History of Halloween," "The Real Story of Halloween"), with Time Magazine, Slate, National Geographic, and has given talks at venues as diverse as the 2000 Halloween Convergence in New Orleans and the St. Louis Art Museum. She contributed the Halloween article to World Book Encyclopedia. Most recently, she, with many compatriots, held the Guinness World Record for "Largest Halloween Gathering," from October 2007-09.

Bannatyne is also a freelance journalist who’s covered stories ranging from druids in Somerville, Massachusetts to relief workers in Bolivia. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Wheaton College in Massachusetts with a bachelor’s degree in English.


Lesley has written five book on Halloween ranging from a children's book, Witches Night Before Halloween, to her latest book Halloween Nation which shows the holiday through the eyes of its celebrants. Lesley's website is www.Iskullhalloween.com. So tune in this week for a few tricks and lots of treats as we take a look at Eric's favorite holiday Halloween and we welcome Lesley Pratt Bannatyne to the show!


To listen live and chat during the show, go to Beyond the Edge Radio - click on the Listen Live tab in the menu bar and you can sign up for a chat room name - then click the Tune In button to listen to the show live - Sunday nights at 08:00 PM ET

Ross County, Ohio Bigfoot Encounters / Cryptid Fest


Sharon Lee of The Bigfoot Field Reporter has posted an interview with a woman in Londonderry, Ohio (Ross County) who has a Bigfoot living near her home. Go to Sharon's blog and download the links...it's a very interesting account.

I have posted 3 BFRO documented sightings from Ross County, Ohio below:

YEAR: 2002

SEASON: Winter

MONTH: December

DATE: 1

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Ross County

LOCATION DETAILS: The closest road is State Route 772 and State Route 50. There is a mountain called Coppers Mountain.

NEAREST TOWN: Bainbridge

NEAREST ROAD: State Route 772

OBSERVED: I was hunting in the area and was coming back down the trail when I looked up and saw something in the trail walking into the woods and looking up the trunk of a tree. I walked closer to see what it was and there was a creature about seven to eight feet tall standing and it was staring me down. I thought it was going to attack me. I was frozen with fear. It just stood there so I started to walk in the other direction when it let out a screeching howl. I stopped and my heart was racing and I couldn't breath. I turned back around and it was about 20 feet from me. I got the idea to slowly put my gun on the ground to show I wasn't going to mean it harm. The creature started to walk towards me so I stood very still. It looked at me with big brown eyes. It started to walk away and I tried to follow but it started running too fast.

ALSO NOTICED: Yes, there was howling, whistles, screams and moans. There was a terrible smell like a rotting carcass or garbage. It had brown shaggy hair. There was hair covering the face but I could see its eyes and partially open mouth.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: It was around 3:30 PM and it was cold out.

ENVIRONMENT: Very wooded. Near a large pond about 15 to 20 feet wide and 10 feet deep. There was a cattle farm nearby about 1/2 a mile down the trail.

Follow-up investigation report:

**** Follow up investigation was done by B.C. of Ohio ****

I went to the home of the 17-year-old boy who made this report. He lives out in the sticks with his family in a trailer with the woods just a few steps from their front door. I talked to his parents to make sure it was okay since he is only 17. They said okay but didn't believe he had seen a Bigfoot…according to the father they do not exist…however they were friendly. I interviewed the boy and went over much of the original report. He claimed that while hunting alone he was headed for home in the late winter afternoon when he smelled something like garbage when rounding a bend in the trail. He then saw a large creature with its arms around a tree looking up. At first he thought it was a bear until it turned toward him rather stiffly. He described it again seven feet tall, shaggy brown hair, massive build, hair covering face, but he could see its eyes and partially open mouth. When we visited the area, we reenacted relative positions and it was 25 feet or so from him to the creature. They glared at each other for a few minutes or so. When I remarked as to a few minutes being a real long time he remained steadfast but admitted he didn't look at his watch. When he went to remove his rifle from his shoulder it growled with a menace and he stopped. At that point it looked behind itself towards the trail in the other direction. The boy took this opportunity to lay his gun on the ground and when he looked up it was coming his way and ran by him and veered off in the woods to its left at a very sharp angle. He said he ran after it a ways to see where it was going but it had disappeared.

-----

YEAR: 2002

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: September

DATE: 7

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Ross County

LOCATION DETAILS: Near and around Lake Jackson. Also several howls in the area around Hay Hollow.

The SCARY HOLLOW (my name for it) is located on top of Hay Hollow. EXACTLY located across from (NW Line Of Sight) from old white church.

NEAREST TOWN: Waverly

NEAREST ROAD: OH-335

OBSERVED: I've been an avid outdoorsman in the Pike and Ross county areas for years. (Bow Hunting) On many, many occassions I have heard the growls, screams, holwls, and drum-like beatings; mostly in the early morning hours between (1am and 3am).

Several times I have observed "something" moving across the edge of my vision, and when I tried to find tracks, or make a determination as to what actually occured; the only thing that I could find was scratch marks high up on trees. Since there are no grizzly bears in that particular area, it was easy to guess what made these tears in solid wood.

INCIDENT: Near Lake Jackson (SE of Waverly):
My friends and I were hunting/camping beside an old gravel pit surrounded by high cliffs and ponds.

During the late evening hours we all smelled a peculiar "wet dog/skunk" odor emmanating from across the small pond.

My best friend and I armed ourselves (feral dog do roam the area) and proceeded to the other side of the pond. There is a small dike that runs from one side to the other. Halfway across the dike there was a series of frightening growls coming from the edge of the treeline. Immediatley after bushes and medium size trees were being violently shaken, as if in a warning for us to stay away. (We took the advice and retreated back to our side of the pond)

The rest of the night was spent listening to soft moaning, somtimes howls, and on one occassion rocksw and tree limbs sailed across the pond towards us.

The next morning we once again armed ourselves and checked out the area across the pond. There were no trail-signs, no hair, nothing that would indicate a track. (And-I am a decent enough tracker).

Throughout the next few years I returned to that area many times, and always had this very keen sense that I was being watched. Sometimes to the point that my hair would stand on end. There are still certain deep hollows (600' deep) that I ABSOLUTELY) will not go into. In one particular hollow; everytime I go down into it, there seems to be a sense that I am in danger.

A survey of the area was startling: The hollows; which range from 25' to 900' deep, run along the entire region into WV and parts of PA. One could litteraly walk state to state, and never emerge into sunlight.

I have since moved from Ohio to Wyoming. and I am sure the locals (many of whom have substantiaed my thoughts on this) still hear the screams and wolf-like howls.

ALSO NOTICED: In the bottom of a certain hollow; it always seems like I was being hunted, or warned by some sense. My gut instinct was always of HIGH ALERT when I went down this hollow. There was a prevailing sense that my life was in danger if I stuck around. I armed myself a few times and retuned to this hollow with the intention of seeing what was scaring me so bad. In all cases; my intution would kick into high gear the moment I got about 25% of the way into it.

OTHER WITNESSES: Yes-at times while camping; but mostly when by myself bow hunting

OTHER STORIES: Many, many, many times. All the local have tales of their own. Many wont say anything for fear of being labled "crazy", or somehing.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Both Day and Night

ENVIRONMENT: Dense trees, large hills, ponds, less travelled roads.

Bottom of hollows are mostly sunlight straved, dead leaves, and musty odors.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Jeremy Caldwell:

The area in question is extremely rural and very unique. Deep, rocky ravines scar the landscape, and fresh water streams and ponds are everywhere. There is a large sand dune that makes you forget you’re in southeast Ohio.

I grew up in this county, and have heard the stories about this particular area. Friends of mine would sometimes attempt to camp out near Jackson Lake. They would often tell stories of “ghost” sounds and other strange happenings at night in this area. Not until reading this report and speaking to this witness did the memories of this place return. I have no reason to discredit the witness’ report. The sounds and behavior reported are hallmarks for sasquatch intimidation techniques.

About BFRO Investigator Jeremy Caldwell:

Jeremy is an avid outdoorsmen. He's spent his entire life hunting and camping in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in Southern Ohio. Jeremy has an intense love for wildlife and to date has raised and tamed wild ducks, geese, raccoons, coyotes and wolves.

-----

YEAR: 1980

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

STATE: Ohio

COUNTY: Ross County

LOCATION DETAILS: Southeast of Clarksburg, Ohio towards Chillicothe,

NEAREST TOWN: Clarksburg

NEAREST ROAD: Browns Chapel Rd

OBSERVED: I remember the year well enough. It was in the summer of 1980. The reason I remember that so clearly, is because all of the talk that summer was about the eruption of Mt. Saint Helens. I'm not sure of the month of the sighting, but I know it was later in the summer, after the eruption. My father, cousin and I were wading Deer Creek fishing for smallmouth bass. We had waded up the creek approximately one mile or so, and we were heading back down the creek to the car. I had stepped out of the creek, for a few minutes, and my father and cousing were a little ways ahead of me. I stepped back into the creek, and headed down the creek towards them. We were keeping a pretty steady pace, with my father in front, my cousin second and myself in the rear. I remember my cousin asking me what the hell I had just stepped in because of a horrid smell that suddenly filled his nostrils. I laughed and said that I had stepped in some mud along the creek bank. "Mud doesn't smell like that" he replied, then I smelled what he was talking about and he was right. This smell was indescribable. The closest way I could hope to describe it would be to say that it smelled like a mixture of something that had been decaying in the sun covered in rotten eggs. It was after our brief conversation about the smell that I noticed my dad had stopped walking and was not fishing, but looking ahead concentrating on something along the left bank. "What the hell is that?" he asked, more to my cousin than to me. My cousin looked for a moment and replied, "A dead snag" meaning an old dead tree. I looked up the bank trying to see what my father was looking at. Just then I saw it. I too thought it was a tree, but as I looked at it closer I could see hair moving in the slight breeze along it's side and head. It was a reddish/brown color and not extremely long, but long enough that I could see it moving. The creature was standing amid some brush that was growing along the creek, and was visible from just above the waist to the top of it's head. It was very tall, my guess would be about 8 feet high or so. I was 12 at the time, and it was definetely the strangest thing I had ever seen. My father suddenly tensed up and in a very desperate voice, said something I won't repeat here, followed by "That's bigfoot!" Just then, whatever was standing on that bank turned it's head, and looked straight down the creek at us. We scrambled up the right hand bank as fast as we could and started out across the field to the car. To this day, my cousin still says he saw something but doesn't know what he saw. I didn't know what it was either, but to me it just looked like a very hairy, slightly stooped man, especially when it looked towards us.
I do know one thing though. I'll never forget it.

ALSO NOTICED: I do remember one thing. The bank that I had stepped out onto was soft. I sank maybe two to three inches in the mud. I had taken maybe three steps in the mud and my left leg sank to the depth of just above my knee. I didn't think too much about it until after we seen what we did.

OTHER WITNESSES: My father and my cousin. We were all wading and fishing.

OTHER STORIES: My father went to work the following Monday and told his foreman what he had seen. Of course the foreman asked him what he had been drinking prior to the incident. My father had drank nothing before the incident. It was funny though. The same foreman came to work on Tuesday, and told my father that he didn't have any doubts anymore. It seems the forman's son and the son's girlfriend were riding horses on Sunday, the day following our sighting, right along the same area of our encounter. when the horses suddenly spooked and threw the riders off and bolted out across a field. The creek that we were fishing in, is the tailwater to that lake. I don't remember any more details about it other than that, except to say that the foreman's son was very puzzled by a strange smell and the fact that the horses threw them off, when they had riden horses there several times before without incident.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: The weather was clear and slightly breezy. It was around noon or a little after.

ENVIRONMENT: Kind of brushy, along a creek. The water wasn't real deep where we saw it. In fact it almost looked as though it were looking in the water in hopes of catching a fish or something.

Follow-up investigation report:

The witness said it was hard to notice the creature until it moved its head in there direction. Once it moved they became frightened and quickly left the area.

Follow up Field Investigation by B.C. of Ohio.

The witness and I set up a day for an on the site interview. The father agreed to join us and we walked to the site on Saturday, January 3rd, 2004. He was more aware of where the location was and led the whole way. About a mile from our car we came to the area and I took several pictures. The father related that they were all fishing and wading deer creek on a hot summer afternoon. He left the water and walked into the woods, probably to relieve himself. He noticed a very foul odor which he described as rotting flesh in the sun, only worst. He saw a crane fly over the creek but it did not land, then out of the corner of his eye he saw something big in the creek. It was watching the boys who were fishing upstream. Its height was estimated to be extremely tall-10-12 feet and extremely bulky-800-900 pounds-it was hairy all over except for face which seemed dark. It was on two feet and appeared like a giant man figure. The father moved to get back to the boys and it turned and looked at him, its head was enormous-he went back to the boys about 50 yards upstream and told them-its a f------ Bigfoot lets get out of here. The boys then saw it and they all climbed the steep bank of the creek and started back to their car a half mile away or so. The father told the boys not to run as animals can sense fear. At one point they turned around to look and it had stepped up onto the high bank and was watching them as they walked away. The father described color as brown with gray tips and the hair was moving in the breeze. The cousin to this day will not talk about the incident. Both (edited) and his dad were happy to discuss this with someone who did not belittle them. It was not an easy walk to this site, I will forward photos when I get film developed. One more thing its face was described as more human than apelike.

**********

Cryptid Fest

Another opportunity for Rick Dyer to tell the world that the government stole his Bigfoot


Click for video

ATOKA, OK -- The quest for big foot has taken trackers across America.

The mysterious monster was first reportedly seen in the forests of the Pacific Northwest.

The most famous siting was recorded in 1967 by Rodger Patterson in Crescent City, California.

Now, the hunt for Bigfoot is on in Texoma and it brought enthusiasts out to McGee Creek state park on Saturday for "Cryptid fest".

Tracker with BigFootTracker.com, Rick Dyer says, "It started with us finding the body in 2008 and then the government took it."

Tracker Jeremy Ware says, after finding the body in a forest of Pennsylvania, tracking the monster became their life, "This is something we do everyday, you know this is not something we just do for fun."

Author Nick Redfern travels the world in search of strange creatures and he comes to Texoma seeking Bigfoot.

Redfern says, "I think there's a genuine Bigfoot phenomenon. The big question is, what is it? Some people view it as a type of ape that science hasn't classified yet, but other people take it to be a paranormal thing, like a ghost and that explains why we don't catch him."

Despite the mystery, Redfern says an important part of being a tracker is to rely on scientific methods.

Redfern says, "for the most part you need to be in a location where these things are being seen and if we find evidence like hair samples or tracks."

Trackers say, there's an unusual amount of Bigfoot activity in McGee Creek Park. Some say it's due to the forest, other say, it's the water.

Trackers Nick Redfern and Ken Gerhard took us deep into the woods, following what were believed to be tracks.

Moments before arriving, trackers claim to have spotted something in the distance.

Gerhard then attached a camera to a tree in hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive creatures.

Gerhard says, "I attach the camera right here and then when something passes by, the inferred light will detect the motion and snap a picture."

The camera was set to take photos throughout the night and trackers can only hope its evidence will be as compelling as Patterson's. - kxii


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