Bigfoot is out there!
By:Jeremy McBain
Petoskey News-Review, MI
Friday, October 28, 2005 2:33 PM EDT

There is nothing like a good campfire during a cool fall night.

The air is crisp and still, the fire is warm and comforting and the time of year reminds you of the mysteries that could be watching you in the darkness. It is a situation perfect for telling ghost stories.

With this column, I am finishing off this three part series in nature mysteries and chills with some of the mythological beasts of Northern Michigan.

Bigfoot

Tales of Bigfoot go back to Indian times, when legends told of a man of the woods. Bigfoot - or Sasquatch - is over 8 feet tall, covered in dark black, gray or reddish fur, walks on two feet and is similar in appearance to the great apes. They are known to let out horrible screams in the night or loud, deep human-like growls.

People all over the state have reported sighting this mysterious creature, and there is at least one man who is hunting them.

Wayne King, of the Michigan/Canadian Bigfoot Information Center in Caro, said he has been tracking and hunting these creatures since the 1970s. King claims to have seen three of the creatures and has collected footprints, hair and feces.

King said each time a report is made of Bigfoot, he is contacted by the Michigan State Police and he interviews the witnesses.

The first time he saw one - actually two, a mother and child - was in 1982 in Tuscola, near where he lives. The second was in 1985 also near his home.

Both times he said he was struck by these animals' eyes. They were large and bright white.

King said there were sightings of the creature in Grand Traverse County in 1977 and he has heard of reports from conservation officers of the creature in the Upper Peninsula chasing down and killing deer. However, King believes the creature is an omnivore.

Because he wants positive proof of the animal, he said the only resort he has is to try and kill one. He said he had one in his rifle sights once, but did not shoot because he could not see its eyes and thus be sure it was a Bigfoot.

He added he has been threatened with imprisonment and prosecution for murder by the Department of Natural Resources if he kills one.

I called the state headquarters of the Department of Natural Resources and was told that they have never heard of King.

Furthermore, Sgt. Brian Newcomb of the Michigan State Police Caro post said neither he nor any of his officers have ever worked with King on a Bigfoot case.

“We wouldn't even waste time of it,” he said.

As for Bigfoot and King, King said he has not heard of any Bigfoot sightings in the past 6 or 7 years.

Jeremy McBain can be contacted at 439-9316 or jmcbain@petoskeynews.com.
 

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