(Original headline: Researchers find Bigfoot evidence in the High Country )
There may be Sasquatches living in Western North Carolina, according to an expedition launched by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization in Madison County.
“There’s more than one of these things in Madison County,” President of BFRO Matt Moneymaker said.
BFRO spent four days beginning Sept. 6 searching for Bigfoot in the Hot Springs area.
After two days of searching with no findings, a portion of the 25 researchers claim to have heard sasquatch noises while camping in a very remote part of Madison County.
“They make very distinctive noises,” Moneymaker said.
According to the BFRO Web site, Madison County is “the most reliable sighting area in the state.”
“I’ve never heard anything about Bigfoot,” junior social sciences major and Madison County native Ashley Metcalf said.
Moneymaker said there is a history of reports not far from the Appalachian Trail and Sasquatches may begin using the trail at night.
Amateur paranormal researcher Dakota Waddell said there are several different types of sasquatches.
The west-coast Sasquatch is thought to be 7 to 12 feet high and weigh between 800 and 900 pounds while the east-coast Sasquatch is thought to be much smaller, somewhere between 4 and 6 feet tall and weighing between 200 and 500 pounds.
“It’s not your typical ‘Harry and the Henderson’s’ type ape,” Waddell said.
The expedition has excited many researchers because they believe it may help gather more information about the creatures.
“This may inspire people to come forward with their stories,” Micah Hanks, chief field investigator for the League of Energy Materialization and Unexplained Phenomenon Research, said.
While a good number of the Sasquatch reports made are false, many of them are taken very seriously by organizations like BFRO.
“Over the years we’ve become pretty adept at spotting your average story-telling fool,” Moneymaker said.
The organization classifies evidence into class A and B. Class B evidence is secondary such as a footprint, whereas Class A evidence is more concrete, such as confirmed eyewitness accounts.
However, not everyone is convinced.
According to an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times, Sasquatch research suffered a major blow in Seattle four years ago when family members of the late Ray L. Wallace announced that he had started the Bigfoot legend in 1958 by wearing an ape costume.
Despite these claims, Bigfoot researchers continue to look for evidence of the creature.
“There’s a huge percentage of land and water that remains unexplored,” Waddell said. “So many creatures out there get discovered every day.”
One of the biggest obstacles for Bigfoot researches is that there have been no actual Sasquatches captured.
