WATCH: Local News Covers Finding Bigfoot's Thermal Investigation in NM

Albuqurque's KRQE News covers Finding Bigfoot's thermal investigation in NM

“I saw a tall, dark, broad figure, and it just walked right up against the truck..." -- a New Mexico resident

After watching the news packet covering the Finding Bigfoot investigation of the thermal video recorded in New Mexico, you can read the report that was posted on the website. 

Here is the article on the KRQE News website:

Hunt is on for Bigfoot in northern NM
Updated: Thursday, 16 May 2013, 9:05 AM MDT
Published : Thursday, 16 May 2013, 6:51 AM MDT
Jessica Garate
ALBUQUREQUE (KRQE) - The Valles Caldera is an enormous volcanic crater in the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico, known for its elk herds.
Now the area is getting attention for what else may be living there.
   
According to some field researchers, the area has perfect living conditions for Bigfoot.
   
They even provide proof, a video that brought investigators from the Finding Bigfoot TV series , that airs on Animal Planet, to New Mexico.
On an episode of Finding Bigfoot, the team from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization heads to the Jemez Mountains in northern New Mexico.
       
The BFRO came to New Mexico late last year after a thermal video was taken in 2011 by another man on an expedition to find Bigfoot.
   
Now, the team is trying to figure out the size of the image to make sure it's not just another camper by comparing it to a picture of Bobo, one of their researchers, who is standing in the same place.
   
It is not just the video that has the team convinced Bigfoot lives in northern New Mexico.
 
In 2008 a KRQE News 13 reporter followed another Bigfoot hunter, Tom Biscardi, who's been on the creature's trail for 40 years.
   
He has been looking for signs of the hairy beast all across the four corners area where there have been dozens of Bigfoot sightings since 1998.
Biscardi pointed out to us then what he thought were Bigfoot’s footprints near Farmington.
“I saw a tall, dark, broad figure, and it just walked right up against the truck," a New Mexico resident said, "I want to get out of here now."
       
The BFRO heard more stories from New Mexicans during a town hall meeting they held in Jemez Springs during their visit.
”I woke up in the middle of the night, went to get out of the bed. My window faces this way, and there was something in my window. It didn't have a neck at all,” another resident said.
   
Despite this evidence, Ben Radford, managing editor of Skeptical Inquirer Magazine, told KRQE News 13 in 2008 there is still a huge hole in the Bigfoot theory.
.
”If the creatures are out there they have to die somewhere why hasn't anyone found them?” Radford said.

SRC: KRQE.COM

You can see the thermal video below

WATCH: Exclusive Preview Video of Finding Bigfoot Cast on Jeff Probst Show

(James "Bobo" Fay, Ranae Holland, and Cliff Barackman on Jeff Probst Show)

Fans, when the mainstream media's industrial entertainment complex needs to get the word out they rely on Bigfoot Lunch Club. Whether it is an upcoming movie, a new Jack Link's commercial or the Jeff Probst show featuring the cast of Finding Bigfoot, they need the Bigfoot bully pulpit known as Bigfoot Lunch Club. And fans, we oblige.

We already mentioned there may be a debate with Ranae and Jeff Probst on one side and Bobo and Cliff on the other regarding Bigfoot proof. (read: Jeff Probst Interviews Finding Bigfoot Cast). It looks like, based on the video preview that they have a lot of fun too!

Enjoy the preview below.

Do you work during the day? Set you DVRs! with this nifty Jeff Probst Show Finder. Select your state and it will tell you where to find the Jeff Probst Show. 

truTV: Top 5 Reasons Bigfoot Will Be Found Soon

Bigfoot doing what Bigfoot does best, tree peaking.

"Which one of these five people will be the one to come up with conclusive proof that Bigfoot exists?" --Norma Lee Jennings, truTV

On the truTV website, Norma Lee Jennings suggests that we are close to finding Bigfoot. So close we can attribute the finders to 5 people/groups. Below are the Top 5 Reasons Bigfoot will be found soon and the reasoning behind the picks--at least according to truTV.

5. Melba Ketchum

What makes Ms. Ketchum’s project unique is the amount of faith she has in her findings. She even submitted her paper to a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Unfortunately for the advancement of cryptozoology, “Novel North American Hominins: Next Generation Sequencing of Three Whole Genomes and Associated Studies” was not accepted to any journal.

4. Dr. Jeff Meldrum's Bigfoot Blimp

In order to track the elusive creature and record his actions in his natural environment, Meldrum is looking for $300,000 to fund the purchase of a blimp onto which he intends to attach thermal imaging devices. The blimp will then be launched over the Blue Mountains and other parts of Idaho’s wilderness. Professor Meldrum is eager to find Bigfoot, but won’t believe in its existence until he has conclusive proof.

3. Sharon Lee's Kickstarter Campaign

Lomurno wants to draw attention to the grueling nature of authentic Bigfoot research – when she is in the field, she goes out all day to look for signs of something large in the area. “That [first] night, you do your night surveillance. You can’t get into your tent and go to sleep at 11pm,” she says.

2. BFRO

Their website says that one of the best ways to get over the fear of a possible Bigfoot encounter is to look for him in a group. Apparently this strategy has been working, as former participants have testified that they saw footprints or heard calls during their trips. This summer, are some big expeditions is planned for British Columbia that may prove fruitful.

1. Finding Bigfoot

The series Finding Bigfoot has served as a spark for reigniting the popular imagination about Bigfoot’s existence. This show follows the work of renowned BFRO researchers as they travel around the U.S. and across the globe to investigate any cryptid hominid sightings.

It is kind of curious how Norma Lee Jennings came up with this list. As far as we know the Sharon Lee Kickstarter campaign is now defunct. You can read her full explanation at the truTV blog.

Jeff Probst Interviews Finding Bigfoot Cast

(James "Bobo" Fay, Ranae Holland, and Cliff Barackman on Jeff Probst Show)

This Thursday (Mar 21st 2013) you will see 3/4ths of the cast from Finding Bigfoot. According to our sources, the conversation gets a little heated when Jeff Probst pushes back against the cast regarding lack of Bigfoot proof.

A blurb from the Website is below:

James "Bobo" Fay, Cliff Barackman and Ranae Holland, stars of the hit Animal Planet show "Finding Bigfoot," talk to Jeff about their quest to find one of the world's most mysterious creatures. They share some of the greatest adventures they've had looking for Bigfoot around the world, react to criticism from skeptics, and teach Jeff some of their favorite Bigfoot tracking techniques. Plus, special guest Yvette Nicole Brown (NBC's "Community") joins Jeff for a chat.  And, two contestants try to distinguish truth from lies in the game "Who's Right?"

SRC: The Jeff Probst Show

In case you work during the day, you can watch full episodes after they air here.

UPDATE: The Jeff Probst Show provided Bigfoot Lunch Club  with a teaser trailer for Thursday's Finding Bigfoot clip.

Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Speaks at Mt. St. Helens Event

Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman to speak in Vancouver, WA

"My presentation will cover some of the most compelling reasons why I believe bigfoots are a real species." --Cliff Barackman

Cliff Barackman (pronounced bear-eck-man) will be speaking in Vancouver, Washington at an event sponsored by the Mount St. Helens Institute's Volcano Views and Brews Events. This monthly event started in 2008, it is a popular lecture series about the great outdoors. Fascinating topics, lively speakers as well as excellent food and libations make for an enjoyable and horizon-widening evening.

Tomorrow, February 12, 2013, Cliff Barackman's presentation will be a brief analysis of the best photos, videos, footprints, and vocalizations captured so far, as well as prospects for gathering more data. Data from around Gifford Pinchot will be included. 

From Cliff Barackman's North American Bigfoot Blog. Cliff shares a preview of his presentation...

Tuesday, Feb. 12
My presentation will cover some of the most compelling reasons why I believe bigfoots are a real species.  Topics will include video footage, photographs, vocalizations, and detailed analysis of footprint evidence, including the London prints.  I will bring several of the original London casts, as well as a variety of other casts from my collection.  Some specimens will be available for sale.

You should show up before 6:00, because that is when Happy Hour ends, Cliff speaks at 6:30. We hope to see you at  Tommy O’s Pacific Rim Bistro - 801 Washington St,  Vancouver, WA.

Directions to Tommy O's in the map below.


View Tommy O's Locations in a larger map

Visit the Official Cliff Barackman Website
Read Cliff's North American Bigfoot Blog

Finding Bigfoot to use Dogs to Find Bigfoot in East Texas.

Universal K9 training Caesar the dog to find a  Sasquatch

“If Bigfoot really exists, I can guarantee you our dogs will find him,” --Brad Croft, Universal K9

Faith Harper, a Tyler Morning Telegraph reporter, writes about the Finding Bigfoot crew using dogs in East Texas to search for Bigfoot. Providing the dogs is Universal K-9, a national trainer and supplier of drug, protection and weapons dogs. We were able to find videos of two dogs they are training for the task. Looks like these dogs have been training at least since mid-December.

Orbee the gorilla scat sniffing dog

Fans, you'll remember we suggested a safe way to use dogs to find Bigfoot when we introduced you to Orbee, the Gorilla scat-sniffing dog. Orbee is trained to sniff scat and find endangered species in a non-evasive way. They already used Orbee, a border collie, to track down the world's rarest Gorilla! Orbee's resume does not stop there, she has also found wolverines, grizzly bears and endangered kit foxes.  wont be as cute that's for sure! Will Universal K-9 be able to provide a dog as effective as Orbee? Probably not as cute, that's for sure.

Read the Tyler Paper article below followed by the Sasquatch training videos uploaded by K9 Universal.

Animal Planet's "Finding Bigfoot" seeks Bigfoot in East Texas woods
BY FAITH HARPER
fharper@tylerpaper.com

Bigfoot could be alive and well in East Texas and some enthusiasts are going to try to find him.

A crew from Animal Planet’s hit show, “Finding Bigfoot,” is slated to be in the Tyler area this weekend searching for the creature.

The show’s team and producers will join a group from Universal K-9, a national trainer and supplier of drug, protection and weapons dogs, to search for the creature. 

“If Bigfoot really exists, I can guarantee you our dogs will find him,” Brad Croft of Universal K-9 said, according to a news release. 

One of the places they could be searching is the Mineola Nature Preserve. The preserve is on the Sabine River and has 2,911 acres of city-owned land.

More than a dozen man-made ponds are speckled on the property as well as walking trails and pavilions. 

Mineola Mayor Bo Whitus said hunting is not allowed on the property, with the exception of periodic youth deer hunts. This was attractive to the “Finding Bigfoot” crews, he said.

Whitus said the locals tell stories of bear and cougar sightings in the preserve, but they never have been validated. 

He had never heard the subject of Bigfoot come up until seven or eight months ago when a maintenance worker spotted a strange vehicle far into nature.

The maintenance worker “was at the river and coming back up close to a slough,” Whitus said. “There was an old car sitting there, and it concerned our guy, so he called the police department. They ran the tag, and it was from the Dallas area.”

As officers got close, they noticed fruit on top of the car and found a young man lying in the grass near the area.

“We don’t know how he got his car that far down into the preserve, but he did …” Whitus said. “He heard a radio announcer say there was a sighting in East Texas, and the guy took out a map and mathematically deduced this was the place for him to be.”

The man was not ticketed but was given a talking to and sent on his way, Whitus said.

Since the sighting, a newly constructed bridge near what is called the people’s pavilion was named for the alleged visitor.

“It was a coincidence that we had just finished one of the bridges, (so) one of them is called Bigfoot Bridge,” Whitus said. “We were trying to reinforce the story to try to create a little interest in what is going on in East Texas.” 

The name must have worked because Whitus said the city received a letter from “Finding Bigfoot” before Christmas on its interests of filming a show on the property.

Staff writer Emily Guevara contributed to this report.

SRC: Tyler Morning Telegraph 

Universal K-9's Tira Learning to Find a Squatch!

Universal K-9's Ceasar [sic] Learning to Find A Squatch!

Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman is Interviewed by CBS Atlanta

CBS Affiliate in Atlanta interviews Cliff Barackman

Cliff Barackman does it again. With each new interview he continues to be the representative of a pragmatic approach to bigfooting. He must on a mini media tour via satellite. Earlier today, Cliff was interviewed by an Indiana news station.

Below is the companion story, info on the upcoming Bigfoot conference to be held in Dahlonega, and the video interview with Cliff Barackman.

ATLANTA (CBS ATLANTA) -

Stories have been passed down for generations about the hairy ape-like creature known as Bigfoot.

MORE

Bigfoot conference to be held in Dahlonega

The city of Dahlonega is holding the Southeast's first-ever Bigfoot conference.

Believers or skeptics can attend the event on Jan. 12 and 13 at the R Ranch.

Blogs about Bigfoot sightings and photos of footprints have spread across the internet like wildfire.

The mystery of the larger-than-life creature is so popular that Animal Planet is kicking off another new season of Finding Bigfoot.

The series investigates evidence that may prove the existence of the elusive creature.

This season, investigations take the team farther across the globe and further into Sasquatch history than they've ever traveled.

CBS Atlanta's Jennifer Banks spoke to Bigfoot researcher Cliff Barackman who is a star on the show.

Barackman said he has always been fascinated with the subject of Bigfoot.

The researcher said he believes that Bigfoot is an actual species.

If you think Barackman is crazy, he doesn't care.

He said the evidence speaks for itself and data suggests Bigfoot is a North American primate.

If you want to search for a Bigfoot for yourself, Barackman suggests you head to a natural preserve or state park.

You will need to research if there have been sightings around your area.

"Look for food, water and cover," said Barackman.

You also want to look for a concentration of animals because, wherever that happens, there is more likelihood that a Bigfoot might wander through that area once in a while.

If you want to learn more about Bigfoot, on Jan. 12 and 13 the city of Dahlonega is holding the Southeast's first Bigfoot conference.

The Midnight Walkers Southeastern Bigfoot Conference will feature an interdisciplinary panel of speakers who will address Bigfoot language, field research and other topics.

CBS Atlanta 46

Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Interviewed by Indiana News Station

Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Interviewed by Indiana's WISHTV news 

In a five minute live interview Cliff Barackman answers questions to Indiana's WISHTV. He seems to be in  location in Texas. You can watch the video after the companion article below.

Finding Bigfoot
Updated: Thursday, 10 Jan 2013, 2:49 PM EST
Published : Thursday, 10 Jan 2013, 2:49 PM EST

It was in college that Cliff's curiosity in Bigfoot moved from a quirky interest to an obsession. Having a sizable break between classes, Cliff started spending time in the college library reading books on his various interests. After researching Bigfoot, he realized that not only was Bigfoot interesting, but it might actually be a real, biological creature.

The Team of Bigfoot Researchers expands its search in North America and beyond to investigate the sasquatch phenomenon known as "yowies" in Australia and the "orang-pendek" of Indonesia.

Legends of bigfoot-type primates persist in cultures all over the globe. So the bigfoot team attempts to campture proof of these elusive Australian and Indonesian creatures by immersing itself in local yowie and orang-pendek culture and lore and using that information in their investigations. With the knowledge of the locals and their own experiences researching sasquatches, the team is hot on the trail to locate these distant cousins of the North American bigfoot in the remote terrain and jungles of these far-off lands.

Finding Bigfoot

CNN reports Bigfoot DNA Using Footage Mostly from TV Show Finding Bigfoot

CNN Carol Costello reports the Bigfoot DNA study that says Bigfoot is part human
using  mostly footage from Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot

Now you know it is really news. CNN had picked up the Bigfoot DNA study that claims Bigfoot is part human.

The choice of mashing up the Melba Ketchum Bigfoot DNA study and the TV show Finding Bigfoot is ironic (perhaps even amusing) to most Bigfooters. Matt Moneymaker, co-host on Finding Bigfoot,  has been very vocal, most recently on twitter, about his lack of confidence in Melba Ketchum's Bigfoot DNA study that claims Bigfoot is part human.

Below are some choice tweets from BFRO founder and Finding Bigfoot's co-host, Matt Moneymaker.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 28th)

@chucker58 @Zite I think the DNA study in Texas will be exposed as a hyped up publicity stunt and scam. I've been monitoring it for a while.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

Bald-faced mendacity of Melba Ketchum. She told Lee Speigal the DNA samples "came to me. I didn't go after them, that's for sure." Bullsh*t.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

More than 5 years ago she pitched her BF DNA testing to the producer of Monsterquest, and later pitched herself to the producers of MY SHOW!

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

@GregPrice13 Yo Greggy, Melba's study won't be taken seriously by any real scientists. It's all fake. Her "team of scientists" doesn't exist

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

Yes, she received a few legit samples but her "DNA analysis" and documentation was a sham and a scam. She made ridiculous excuses for years.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

@FatherBruceW When hoaxers and charlatans succeed it getting news media attention, they can use the attn to swindle people who want to help.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

@CharbyPaul All three of those guys [Paulides/Randles/Carpenter] are dealing w/ Melba because she is telling them exactly what they want to hear about their own samples.

Matt Moneymaker ‏@MattMoneymaker1 (Nov 29th)

The only silver lining to Melba Ketchum's scam: It helped encourage Dr. Sykes at Oxford (England) to seek BF DNA samples. He is very legit.

Happy Birthday to Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Pt.1

Happy Birthday Cliff!!!

In celebration of Cliff Barackman's Birthday, we are showcasing the behind-the-scenes videos he created with Craig Flipy for most of  Season One of Finding Bigfoot. Watch each video after the episode summary.

"Bigfoot Crossing in Georgia [1]" May 29, 2011
The team, in their first episode, are in northern Georgia investigating cases with Bigfoot. One thing they investigate is what a police officer believes to be a Bigfoot running across a road. Also, Cliff and Ranae find two possible footprints, and the Georgia chapter of the BFRO is called on to help a search.



"Swamp Ape [2]" June 5, 2011
The team visits Northern Florida investigating some mysterious cases with the Florida subspecies of Bigfoot, the Swamp Ape or Skunk Ape. They investigate a case about a couple that believes there is a Bigfoot living on their property and is bothering them. Also, the team talks with the Seminole people, asking about some experiences some members of the tribe have had with Bigfoot, and Matt and Bobo see a strange figure in the distance on a search.
NO VIDEO FOR FLORIDA :(


"Caught on Tape [3]" June 12, 2011
The team travels to North Carolina, specifically the Uwharrie National Forest to investigate supposed Bigfoot sightings. Also, Matt's leadership skills are called into question, and the largest search for Bigfoot ever is organized.



"Fishing for Bigfoot in Oregon [4]" June 19, 2011
The team travels to Oregon the investigate multiple cases with sightings of Bigfoot. A group of rafters accidentally capture a video supposedly having a Bigfoot in it. Also, the team makes its first visit to Bigfoot and Beer, and then use a rabbit to try and lure out a sasquatch.



"Frozen Bigfoot [5]" June 26, 2011
The team heads to southern Washington to investigate cases involving Bigfoot encounters. One man caught a picture with an animal that may be a Bigfoot that is on a snowcapped mountain. Also, Matt and Bobo claim to hear what sounded like human voices during a night investigation, and Cliff and Ranae ride in a small raft to see if they can see a Bigfoot.



"Alaska's Bigfoot Island [6]" July 10, 2011
The team heads to southeast Alaska because the mayor of the town of Hydaburg asks them to investigate compelling footprint photos . Also, Ranae and Bobo find a possible footprint, and talk with a woman who claims to have had a log thrown thrown at her taxi and spotted a Sasquatch in a tree the next day.



"Behind the Search [7]" July 17, 2011
The team returns to a gathering in Oregon at Ike's Pizza, called "Bigfoot and Beer" to talk personally to fans. The team talks about their excursions to find Bigfoot and reflect on them, answer questions from their fans, and play footage that was not aired on previous episodes.


If you enjoyed these Finding Bigfoot Season 1 debriefs check out, "Happy Birthday to Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Pt.2" for Finding Bigfoot Season 2 debriefs!

Happy Birthday to Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Pt.2

Happy Birthday Cliff!!!

In celebration of Cliff Barackman's Birthday, we are showcasing the behind-the-scenes videos he created with Craig Flipy for most of  Season Two of Finding Bigfoot. Watch each video after the episode summary. If you landed directly on this page, make sure you watch season one first at "Happy Birthday to Finding Bigfoot's Cliff Barackman Pt.1"


"Baby Bigfoot [S2 09]" January 1, 2012
The team travels to New York state to investigate the New York Baby Footage. Ranae also spends some time alone near the site of the film, and dozens of witnesses come forward.



"Big Rhodey [S2 10]" January 8, 2012
The team travels to Rhode Island to examine video of a roadside sighting of a bigfoot.



"Canadian Bigfoot, Eh? [S2 11]" January 15, 2012
The team travels to Canadian Rockies to investigate a unique bigfoot encounter caught on tape.



"Peeping Bigfoot [S2 12]" January 22, 2012
The team travels to Minnesota to investigate howls recorded at a bigfoot hot spot and a sighting of what may be the tallest Bigfoot ever seen (11 feet tall).



"Buckeye Bigfoot [S2 13]" January 29, 2012
The team heads to Ohio to investigate an encounter with a bigfoot that is caught on tape. Along with a team of volunteers, they search the surrounding forests for evidence of a bigfoot.
NO VIDEO FOR OHIO :(


"Virginia is for Bigfoot Lovers [S2 14]" February 12, 2012
The team travels to Virginia to investigate video of what the locals are calling "the Beast of Gumhill."

Cliff Barackman Expands on Hair Sample from Finding Bigfoot Oklahoma Episode

Possible Sasquatch Hair Sample from Finding Bigfoot

Cliff barackman continues his excellent re-caps of the Finding Bigfoot Episode. In his current Finding Bigfoot Cliff Notes, Cliff Barackman covers his meeting of Roger Roberts who had investigated Bigfoot sightings next to a nearby Indian reservation. Below is a short excerpt from his notes on the possible Bigfoot hair sample.

Of most interest to us was the hair sample. The hair sample had been found by a tribal game officer on an animal trail leading from a location where a bigfoot had been recently seen. It was found on some broken branches more than eight feet above the ground, which would seem to rule out that it was buffalo (which are kept nearby), bear, deer, or human hair. Roger had in his possession enough hairs to spare some for us to have tested for DNA material. In hair, all of the viable DNA is found in the medulla, or hollow center shaft of the hair. This is a bit problematic because bigfoot hair tends to have fragmentary medullas, if any is present at all. However, a DNA lab in Oklahoma City called DNA Solutions offered to test the sample to see if any material could be extracted for testing. If nothing else, they could examine the hair and tell us what animals the could eliminate as a possible source for the hairs.  Also of value is that they could get the results back to us in about a week.

Dr. Brandt Cassidy of DNA Solutions was unable to extract any DNA material from the hairs. He said that the samples were just too old and had not been stored in the the optimal way to prevent the gradual breaking down of the DNA material. However, he was clear about a few things. While superficially similar to a person’s hair, the hair did not appear to be human in origin. First off the hair shafts had tapered ends which would indicate that the hairs had never been subjected to a hair cut. Another difference that was found was that the medulla width was different than what is commonly found among humans. I was supplied with photographs of his microscopic analysis, and I was interested in the fact that the hairs showed to have a reddish tinge when lit from behind, even though the hair appeared to be black when viewed against other backgrounds. This reddish tinge is another distinct characteristic of bigfoot hair.

How the hair was delivered

Here is a clip from Finding Bigfoot's Bigfoot CSI episode

You can read Cliff Barackman's entire Oklahoma Episode recap at his website CliffBarackman.com

Animal Planet Staff Weighs In on Bigfoot's Existence

Hilary Tholen, Associate Producer for Finding Bigfoot

A creative director, producer, associate producer, executive producers, and a publicist from Animal Planet all weigh in on whether or not they think Bigfoot exist. Watch as the crew behind the scenes of Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot weigh in in this video provided by Yahoo! news.

SRC: Yahoo! News

Finding Bigfoot to film in River Bend Illinois in Late November

Finding Bigfoot is filming in Illinois this November (2012). More specifically Madison County in the River Bend area. 

"Producers and organizers will hold an invitation-only [Bigfoot] town hall meeting during the last week of this month." -- The Telegraph, November 13th 2012

The River Bend is a small region in western central Illinois and Southern Illinois that includes three counties: Madison, Calhoun, and Jersey. Madison County, with 15 encounters according to BFRO.net, tops the list as the county with the most sightings. Calhoun and Jersey? Only 3 between the both of them.  

It is reasonable that Madison is a hot spot for Bigfoot. If you look at a map the River Bend is where the Illinois and Missouri river feed into the Mississippi River making for the greenest part of Illinois.

The Telegraph, a local Illinois paper, has published a staff report requesting Bigfoot experiences on behalf of the cast of the TV show, Finding Bigfoot:

Posted: Tuesday, November 13, 2012 8:00 am | Updated: 12:38 am, Tue Nov 13, 2012.
Telegraph staff report

ALTON — The cast of “Finding Bigfoot” is asking River Benders if ever they have had a Bigfoot experience.

If anyone has one, “Finding Bigfoot” producers ask that they send their stories to bigfoot.illinois@gmail.com. Producers and organizers will hold an invitation-only town hall meeting during the last week of this month. Bigfoot experiences sent to the email address should include the date that it occurred and the location.

This will be the first time “Finding Bigfoot” has appeared in person in Alton. They will be filming the town hall meeting. Anyone interested should email the above address.

So if you are in the area and you got a Bigfoot encounter to share contact the Finding Bigfoot crew at  bigfoot.illinois@gmail.com.

Finding Bigfoot's Pocatello Idaho Expedition Takes Cliff Barackman by Surprise

Promotional photograph for season three of Finding Bigfoot
(Clockwise starting left: James "Bobo" Fay, Matt Moneymaker, Cliff Barackman, Ranae Holland)

"The Idaho expedition was one of the first times I really was taken by surprise as to where bigfoots hang out." --Cliff Barackman

Last night's episode of Finding Bigfoot took place around Pocatello, Idaho. We covered this student-filmed footage in our post Dr. Jeff Meldrum Discusses Pocatello Idaho Bigfoot Video. Click the following link to read our entire coverage of Finding Bigfoot.

Cliff Barackman, co-host of Finding Bigfoot, does the best job filling in the blanks and supplementing the TV show with behind-the-scenes information. At his site (CliffBarackman.com) he has posted field notes from the Pocatello, Idaho episode of Finding Bigfoot. 

When you read his field notes, you quickly realize why Cliff Barackman is one of the most respected Bigfoot researcher's. He is not afraid to share his initial thoughts and how they evolve as he has access to more information. In a community that can be filled with vitriol and hyperbole, Cliff Barackman is breath of fresh air. Well, we should really let him speak for himself. Below is a short excerpt from his most recent field notes taken from the Idaho expedition of Finding Bigfoot.

I came into this investigation thinking that this could very well be a case of hoaxing by teenagers, especially with the concerns I had with the footprint photograph. However, after speaking with the witnesses, I am pretty convinced that they are not lying about what happened that day. They proved themselves to be people of religious morality and intelligence with future aspirations that mirror this. In fact, their wish to remain anonymous is partly due to their concern about sports scholarships and pending acceptance to universities. At worst, this might be a case of a misidentification, but I think it’s very likely that they filmed a bigfoot.

The town hall meeting was pretty interesting. Dr. Meldrum attended with a couple of his sons. There was a botonist that saw a large sasquatch many miles back in a wilderness area. Another man had photographed footprints just the weekend before in an area of frequent bigfoot activity, which is where Ranae went for her solo camping excursion. Many Native Americans from the local Fort Hall Reservation came out to hear stories of bigfoots from the area, but almost none of them shared encounters… until after the meeting ended. We were then overwhelmed with both the number and quality of sightings from the local Indians. As is often the case, they just didn’t want to share their encounters on camera out of respect for the sasquatches.

The Idaho expedition was one of the first times I really was taken by surprise as to where bigfoots hang out. While the mountains surrounding Pocatello, ID are typical bigfoot habitat, the flat lands look like about the last place a bigfoot would want to hang out. Yet, there are very credible sightings from these flat, largely-treeless areas. These sightings usually happen in farm lands that are not far from waterways. Some of the reporting witnesses are law enforcement officers who have seen the sasquatches both with their eyes and with thermal imagers. Once again, bigfoots do some very unexpected things in some very unexpected locations. They are full of surprises, to say the very least.

SRC: Cliff Barackman's Idaho Field Notes

As in seasons past, these Field Notes (he should call them Cliff Notes) will be a crucial supplement to every episode of the TV show Finding Bigfoot. We are big fans of the show and understand the obligatory necessity to entertain, but we are also bigfooters through and through, and we are thankful a respected researcher from the community adds context to each episode.

Don't forget to visit our Pocatello, Idaho Bigfoot Video coverage from June.
And click the following link to read Cliff Barackman's Idaho Field Notes

Keep Your BigFeet Warm with Official Finding Bigfoot Socks

Now available at the Discovery Store, Finding Bigfoot socks

The socks above are the official sock of the TV show Finding Bigfoot. They actually seem like great socks, not just something Discovery slapped a logo on. Seriously, some of you know I used to work for Pendleton Woolen Mills, I know a good wool product when I see it, or at least when it is described to me. Merino wool is made from sheep that have been bred over several generations that grow wool follicles only 16 microns thick creating the softest wool imaginable. When manufactured with a synthetic blend, it gives it an elasticity that comfortably hugs your foot. Those are my words, read their words below:

Made from TurboWOOL-- a superior blend of 50% Merino WOOL and 50% polypropylene. This blend is 5 times the strength and durability of Merino wool alone. Shrink-resistant and itch-free our Wool socks will keep your feet drier and provide excellent insulation in all weather conditions. Our Wool socks also feature our "Easy-Fit" cuff and "Stretch-to-Fit" sizing system for maximum fit and performance. Our WOOL socks out-wick and evaporate moisture better than any other wool sock on the market today.

The Holidays are coming, this could be the perfect stocking stuffer--get it? Stocking? As of this post, this sock is out of stock at the Discovery Store ($14.95 + $6.95 S&H). You can but it cheaper at Amazon.com ($11.30 +$4.07 S&H)).

Matt Moneymaker in Ten Ways to Meet a Monster: Bigfoot

Matt Moneymaker sporting a crew cut on the TV show "10 Ways" circa 2008

In 2008 Discovery UK had a show called, "Ten Ways". It included episodes that started with the phrase "Ten Ways," as in Ten Ways Get Abducted by Aliens, Ten Ways to Contact a Ghost, Ten Ways The World Will End, or in the case of the video we are showcasing, Ten Ways to Meet a Monster

Discovery UK uploaded this clip last night (10/31/2012) which starts with Matt Moneymaker, of recent Finding Bigfoot fame, talking about Bigfoot around a campfire.

Yes this is Matt Moneymaker sporting a crew cut and camouflage.

Read the complete "Ten Ways" Episode Guide
Watch clips from other Ten Ways Episodes

Lauren Zima Reviews Baby Bigfoot Episode of Finding Bigfoot

Lauren Zima is the host of AOL's TV replay

Hosted by Lauren Zima, TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Posted today, Oct 22, 2012, AOL/Huffington Post decided to review the New York Baby Bigfoot Episode of Finding Bigfoot. After showing clips from the episode, Lauren Zima shares critical tweets of the show regarding it's possible longevity to 5 seasons. Watch the video below after the article.

'Finding Bigfoot': Did The Team Find Evidence Of Baby Bigfoot? (VIDEO)

The "Finding Bigfoot" team headed to upstate New York to look into the famous footage from 1997 of an alleged "baby bigfoot." The footage showed what was described as "either a case of a pet ape or a Sasquatch."

The team explained, though, that chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall looked at the footage and was certain that the creature seen in it was not a chimp. So they ventured into the woods and tried to lure the creature -- or one of its brethren -- by whistling.

They heard a knock in response, which James explained is a Sasquatch communication technique. "They’ll do knocks to keep track of each other where they are, alert to danger, alert to other ones in the area," he said.

It was enough to convince the team that there were Sasquatches in the area, but viewers of the show seemed less certain. Matt Braiman tweeted, "Fifth season of Finding Bigfoot? If you haven't found him yet he's probably not there."

"Finding Bigfoot" is actually heading into its third season -- though the argument could still be made -- premiering Sunday, November 11 at 9 p.m. ET on Animal Planet. A fourth season has been commissioned, with a fifth likely, according to the show's Wikipedia page.

Click to see Cliff Barackman's Behind-the-scenes of the Baby Bigfoot episode

SalonDotCom: Finding Bigfoot is Robust Inanity

Cliff Barackman, James "Bobo" Fay, Ranae Holland and Matt Moneymaker in "Finding Bigfoot"

"'Finding Bigfoot' on Animal Planet is currently filming its third season, an enigma, indeed, considering the robust inanity of this program..."--William Giraldi, Salon.com

Salon.com is a progressive online magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon magazine covers a variety of topics. It has reviews and articles about music, books, and films. It also has articles about "modern life", including relationships, friendships and human sexual behavior. Today they took on Bigfoot, more specifically Finding Bigfoot.

In an article titled Let's Get Bigfoot! Journalist William Giraldi critiques the new batch of reality shows that follow Bigfoot and aliens. As usual he does the whole armchair psychology to describe why he thinks people pursue bigfoot and why people watch them.

 

All across cable television, earnest man-boys are frenetically hunting Bigfoot, ghosts and lake monsters — when they aren’t investigating UFOs and alien abduction. The past several years have seen such an onslaught of these paranormal programs that one wonders what took cable so long to barrage our species’ soft spot for the fantastical and absurd. In the mid-1990s Leonard Nimoy narrated the relatively tame A&E series “Ancient Mysteries,” a show spawned from the success of the series “In Search Of” that ran from 1976 to 1982. Both programs offered the standard fare of sasquatches and flying saucers, poltergeists and voodoo priestesses, as well as the occasional episode that transgressed against the OED’s opinion of “mystery” — killer bees, hurricanes, tidal waves — because, let’s face it, there really aren’t that many unexplained phenomena anymore. In 2003 a show named “Unexplained Mysteries” aired for a single season, and the only actual mystery was how anyone could have allowed such a flagrant redundancy for a title.

Part of what makes modernity so much safer and saner than the Middle Ages is the noble function of science to unshackle us from superstition and hocus-pocus of every stripe. And yet it appears a goodly number of us prefer those shackles to rationality and fact because they’re simply more titillating, because some lives grow lame if they lose the possibility of communion with forces outside the norm. Harold Bloom has written that “it is hard to go on living without some hope of encountering the extraordinary,” and so outfits such as Animal Planet and National Geographic Channel have given a platform to jejune dreamers who refuse to have a hard time living, who transform hope for the extraordinary into unintended burlesque and cash for their CEO shepherds. Ours is a culture that doesn’t mind swiping credit cards for malarkey.

“Finding Bigfoot” on Animal Planet is currently filming its third season, an enigma, indeed, considering the robust inanity of this program, an inanity so pronounced — and of which its participants are so proudly oblivious — that the minds at “South Park” felt compelled to skewer it. (If you’re getting skewered on “South Park,” you probably deserve it.) The four-person team of Bigfoot hunters consists of three men with sketchy credentials — Matt Moneymaker, founder of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization; Cliff Barackman, who pretends to be “level-headed and analytical”; and James “Bobo” Fay, a gargantuan, hirsute human specimen who’s as close as you’ll ever get to seeing Sasquatch — and the obligatory “science-minded” female, Ranae Holland. They scamper through various wooded environs wearing irksome green night-vision equipment, declaring every twig snap an indication of an ambling “squatch.” They hold impotent and yawnful invigilations. They howl in petition of a return howl that never comes. They interview backwoods dwellers and look upon them with arrant credulity as these unknowing folk describe a bear they believe is Bigfoot. Each one of these monster hunters gives off a medium-strength air of having been picked on psychopathically as a teenager.

After his criticism of finding Bigfoot he takes to spend the rest of the article plugging his book, "Busy Monsters"

In a novel called “Busy Monsters,” I ridiculed Sasquatch hunters, ghost chasers and alleged alien abductees, and was pleased when I received hostile missives from supporters of the paranormal who felt offended by these satiric portrayals. If a novelist isn’t offending someone he isn’t writing honestly enough. This anti-fan mail confirmed for me the irrational religious fervor with which believers invest in their darling aliens and sprites, because only insecure individuals religiously devoted to nonsense look to be insulted at every turn. You can’t insult a geneticist by mocking the double helix. She might pause to laugh at you or perhaps lament the woeful public education apparatus that turned you so doltish, but she won’t be insulted and anyway doesn’t have time to scribble you hate mail.

During my first year of high school I had a beautifully cynical Englishman for a science teacher, Mr. Foster, who replied to my question about UFOs with a droll sentence I’ve never forgotten: “If they’re smart enough to get here they’re not dumb enough to be seen by you, much less crash in New Mexico, whose terrain strikes me as perfectly navigable.” When I informed him that aliens are abducting us for test purposes, he said, “You aren’t that special, my dear.” That cuts to the uncomplicated core of the issue, does it not? Take a look at those who claim to have been bodily hijacked by oval-headed spacemen: They are the ostracized and neglected, the unfit and lonesome, those hapless outcasts who can’t get a date. How special, how unique, how worthy they must really be if aliens traipsed a trillion light-years to beam them up and insert objects into their anuses.

The tremendous success of “The X-Files” from 1993 to 2002 both confirmed our ceaseless interest in the otherworldly and disseminated on a mass scale these new versions of old myths. The motifs were the same but the faces had changed as technology advanced: not angels but aliens; not luminance from heaven but lights from UFOs. When the old gods don’t work anymore we make new ones, or, as G.K. Chesterton has it, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.” One way or another we will have the sublime. The UFO phenomenon is mytho-religious both in its very narrative fabric and in the quasi-heroic quest for transcendence that believers embark upon.

If you’ve ever viewed the famous Patterson footage of Bigfoot you might understand how someone might develop a religious devotion to its capture. Filmed by Roger Patterson in 1967 in Bluff Creek, Calif., the 50-second footage shows a female Sasquatch striding away from the camera in a decidedly non-human gait. And then the creepy, gorilla-like turn of her shoulders and head to glance at the camera. Sitting crossed-legged on the carpet as a child, transfixed by this footage on our television, I felt a literal shiver move through me. That was no gagster in a monkey getup, and it meant that monsters were real, that existence was magical, an occultist’s thrilling playground. The memory of that emotion has never waned in me: ecstatic with the possibility of extraordinary events, excited by mystery and surprise, vivified by the unknown. My Catholic education at the hands of Latin-speaking nuns never inspired those feelings of awe.

It didn’t occur to me as a kid that the name of the creek in which the footage was shot, Bluff Creek, was a clue to Roger Patterson’s shaky relationship with veracity. Still, educated experts with the best software ever devised haven’t been able to prove conclusively that the footage is a hoax, and so grown men with a child’s inextinguishable wonder — they call themselves cryptozoologists — continue to pursue a North American apeman. Half of me wants to help these unemployable man-boys study for the high school equivalency test, but the other half quietly applauds their dopey dedication and yearns to join their rowdy jaunt.

Pursuit of monsters is a male obsession, as it was during our Paleolithic past. The adrenalized hazard of hunting mastodon and perhaps Gigantopithecus — the extinct giant bipedal ape bearing uncanny resemblance to Bigfoot — has never left the recesses of male memory. History Channel’s “MonsterQuest,” which ran from 2007 to 2010, was mostly male imbeciles stalking shadows in faraway nooks, and its “Ancient Aliens,” currently in its fourth season, is perennially hard-pressed to land a female investigator of such unmitigated buffoonery. (“South Park” lampooned this program as well.) All of those men stomping after noises in the night appear unaware that they are living out an eons-old endeavor while trying to resurrect the wonder they felt as children. They don’t seem to notice or care that the real monsters, the truly dangerous ones, are the devils dancing inside every human heart.

Barry Hannah once told an interviewer, “Privately we are all monsters, if we’d only look at our obsessions.” The human animal began as a quasi monster of his own, Australopithecus, on the African savanna roughly 8 million years ago: a diminutive brute hoping to survive among beasts. This was what offended so many of the Victorian fainthearted about Mr. Darwin: A reminder of the monster in us didn’t mesh well with their proper, stodgy rhythms, with their erroneous conception of themselves as seraphim not far from the polish of God.

Fun to mock for their unmolested sincerity, those hunting monsters, aliens and apparitions are nevertheless enactors of our collective id. The paranormal or supernatural resides within our own psyches because our dread and wonderment are ancient and encoded, because we need monsters to give shape, sound and scent to our dark interiority, to the jungle we were born in epochs ago, the jungle that still sways in us. We are indeed a monstrous tribe — look at what we’ve done to one another across the hell of history; look at the holocausts we continue to inflict upon the animals and earth — but we are monsterful, too, on occasion. Chaucer uses “monsterful” to mean extraordinary, gravid with wonder and possibility. Our immortal monster myths and skyward wishes are just that: the wondrous stories we tell ourselves in order to live, to rise above the doldrums of our everyday.

We omitted his criticism of the new show chasing UFO's on National Geographic Channel, which we agree with him, it is an exact blueprint of the Finding Bigfoot format.

Read the whole article at http://www.salon.com/2012/08/09/lets_get_bigfoot/