HOW I STARTED RESEARCHING BIGFOOT --- In a Nutshell

It all started in July of 1984 when I went to the Tuscarawas County public library to pick up, of all things, a book on UFO's. Why, you might ask? Because in July of 1976 over 10 members of my family had an excellent sighting of a saucer shaped UFO which followed us for approximatly four miles, then hoovered just over treetop level for at least 10 minutes. But that's another story!

Yea, that't me standing beside a tree in Coshocton County in early 2002. I wasn't looking at the camera, I was watching the Bigfoot climb the hill behind the person who took the picture. [Just kidding.]

As I was scanning the paranormal book section, I spotted Sasquatch... The Apes Among Us by John Green of Harrison Hot Springs, B.C., Canada. I picked up that book instead of the UFO book I was searching for and I read it cover to cover in less than two weeks. (Now those of you who know how much I hate to read, will realize that it was quite an accomplishment for me to read this book of 500 plus pages!!) After reading the book, I called Mr. Green to speak with him. To ask him what he thought of all the reports in his book alleging huge humanlike prints in the dirt on mountain roads. What he thought of the hundreds of hundreds of alleged eyewitnesses who calim to have spotted this Sasquatch creature.

I had an interest; but I didn't have an obsession or a fascination with the topic. I was simply CURIOUS!! Well, you know the old saying "Curiosity killed the cat". That it did!

Nearly a month after reading Greens book and speaking with him on the phone, an article came out in the Newcomerstown News dealing with strange animal sightings in the area. They were a large charcoal colored colored cat, such as a cougar. A large bird seen flying the neighborhoods, resembling the large Parrot type birds in foreign countries. Finally, a strange animal, upright on two legs, seven to eight feet tall and it was standing beside a tree pulling leaves off it and eating them. The creature was even referred to in the article as, you guessed it, Bigfoot

I contacted the reporter at the paper, whom I knew well. I told her of my new found interest in the Bigfoot phenomenon, and asked her if she could point me in the direction of the three alleged eyewitnesses. She said certainly. I contacted all three teenage boys. I interviewed them independtly, then as a group. I found no variences in their stories, either as a group, or as an individual. I was convinced. They probably had seen something described as a Bigfoot.

After the original article appeared in the paper in late August of 1984, I sent a copy of it to John Green. About two months later I received a phone call. It was a Mr. Thomas G. Archer of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. Hey, a guy in my own home state with a similar interest!! Fantastic!!! He asked if he could come and visit, I said sure, and as they say, the rest is history.

As a result of our relentless searching and trying to get alleged witnesses to come forward and report their sighting or track discoveries to us, I was fortunate enough to have Floyd Wylie of Newcomerstown contact me. As a result of his contacting me in late July of 1985, I had what I consider to be a very good sighting in mid-September of 1985. Below is a photo taken on August 25'th of 2002 of the location of the sighting I had on what was then Floyd Wylies residence. Things have changed quite a bit since then on the property. (A full detailed account of the Floyd and Dave incidents as well as my September 15, 1985 sighting may be read in the book "The Sasquatch Triangle Revisited". Contact me for ordering information.

This is the scene of my 9/15/85 sighting. "A" denotes where the old barn was. "B" denotes where the old chicken pen was. "C" denotes where the creature was first seen. "D" denotes where it was seen to have advanced to the nearest point to the chicken pen. "E" denotes where it was last seen and "F" denotes the approximate location I was standing.

I decided to establish this brief biography on how I got involved with the Bigfoot phenomenon for two reasons. This first of which is that I answer the question "How'd you become involved in Bigfoot research?" countless times in a year. The second of which is that a friend of mine in Alabama recently asked me the very same question. As I was replying to his question, the idea came upon me to do this link. I have.

Located on this site are a few pictures. One is of myself in the woods in March of 2002. The other is the location of my sighting of September 15'th, 1985 just south of the Guernsey-Tuscarawas County line. If you have any serious questions or comments, please e-mail. I thank you for taking the time to read this very brief biography.