Has Bigfoot ever been found? Local authorities share their insight following recent Animal Planet broadcast of television series segment filmed locally in Yellow River State Forest

by David M. Johnson

Extreme northeast Iowa, especially Allamakee County, is famous for its deep valleys and high ridges. Meandering streams working their way into the smaller rivers that cross the county into the “Mother of all waters,” the Mississippi, add that essence and aura of a land as it might have been decades and centuries ago. Deer, raccoon, eagles and wild turkey are among the abundance of wildlife that crisscrosses the deep country and are now joined by black bear and the straying cougar or mountain lion.

The airing of a recent television show suggests that a legendary creature that has stirred the imagination of many may have also established roots in local timber tracts and hills that have made Allamakee County famous. The legendary Bigfoot has corralled a following of a group of individuals who believe the creature is real and is making its presence known here in the county.

Several weeks ago, a segment was aired on the Animal Planet television series, “Finding Bigfoot,” where the “stars” of the program traveled to Allamakee County and, in particular, the Yellow River State Forest. There, members of the state chapter of the Bigfoot Research Organization (BFRO) claimed to have encounters with this creature.

One of the individuals of the state BFRO chapter stated that every time they have excursions into the woods of Yellow River State Forest they encounter the animal, or whatever it is. However, local perceptions indicate that the television show ended with more questions than answers. So does it exist, is it prowling about, or did this episode make for good drama more than finding answers?

BIGFOOT BACKGROUND
In North America numerous Indian tribes have their many names for this Bigfoot legend of the wild. Almost if not all Indian nations, from the Seminole in Florida to the Cherokee in the middle south to the Navajo in the southwest and the Alaskan Eskimo, have in their different languages and dialects a name for this creature.

The Lakota call it Chiye tanka, “Big Elder Brother,” with the Iroquois referring to it as Ot ne yarn eh or “Stonish Giant.” The name Sasquatch, the other common American name for Bigfoot, is from the Halkomelem island dialect of the first native peoples in British Columbia. The Native Americans look upon Sasquatch as a more spiritual being than something that is meat and bones.

But this entity is not exclusively in North America; there have been sightings all over the world for hundreds of years. There is the Yeti in the Himalayas, and aboriginal tribesmen have reported and recorded sightings in China. So, if this creature is part of the heritage of the American Indian and other worldly cultures, is it something that exists or does it belong to the realm of trolls and leprechauns? Better yet, if it is real, has it put down stakes in the local backyard? How could something this big be so elusive and how could so many people believe in its existence?

Many believe that this phenomenon is media influenced but older cultures did not have exposure to such an influence. Those that believe in Bigfoot always remind skeptics that there was no belief in the mountain gorilla until it was discovered in Rwanda in 1902, and then there have also been the discovery of animals many thought did not exist, such as the giant Panda and the giant squid. There is also on record the remarkable 1938 catch off east Africa of the coelacanth, thought to be extinct for millions of years.

Science has individuals such as Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, a full professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, who believes that a creature such as Bigfoot belongs to a yet to be classified mammal species.   A team of scientists, led by Melba S. Ketchum, can verify that its five-year long DNA study, under peer review, confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species. The DNA was extracted from collected samples of hair and supposed skin taken from the wild and are purported to belong to Bigfoot. Other scientists believe this evidence is sketchy at best and does not support any proof.

What about the hundreds of Bigfoot sightings? Even though eye witness testimony is enough to convict in the criminal justice system, in science the eye witness testimony of Bigfoot sightings is not considered credible in scientific circles. These scientists believe the sightings are either misidentification of other animals, distortions or hallucinations.

So, is this mythical giant of the forest just that, a myth like the Lock Ness Monster and UFOs? Even those who believe in flying saucers are no longer considered so crazy or weird when scientists such as computer scientist and astronomer Jacques Vallee, nuclear physicist Stanton Friedman, and the late J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer at Northwestern, consider UFOs real. There are the numerous astronauts that believe that UFOs are something more than imagination, plus the Vatican has stepped into the fray with individuals like Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitt commenting that the “visitations” are real.

So, while many have thought, including those in academia and scientific circles, that fringe elements like Bigfoot and UFOs do not exist, some are slowly coming around to accepting the possibility that such phenomena might be real.

LOCAL INSIGHT
If it is real, what about Bigfoot in Allamakee County and its presence in Yellow River Forest? The Yellow River area is not exactly like the forest regions of Washington state or British Columbia where more prominent sighting have been claimed.

Roger Bublitz of Waukon, who was an employee at Yellow River State Forest for 32 years, was asked to weigh in on the controversy. Bublitz is adamant that he believes it does not exist, at least in this county. In his career that covered the very area where the "Finding Bigfoot" segment was recently filmed, he confirms that he has never  seen any physical evidence, footprints, scat, or any other tangible evidence that this creature is residing in that neighborhood.

Bublitz admits he has seen black bears, rare in the region, and has seen pictures taken by witnesses of cougar prowling about. He has seen footprints of these elusive animals but not one print from the giant creature suspected to be making its home in Allamakee County.

“We have camera phones, yet no pictures. We have trail cams, but no pictures. Where is a dead body or why hasn’t anybody shot one? We have deer hunters in the area for years and there has been nothing,” observed Bublitz, adding, “Why is it always being seen at night and never once in the daytime?”

Allamakee County Sheriff Clark Mellick has no record of reported Bigfoot sightings in the county and is on record that there have been no reported sightings to the office before he became sheriff. Even as something as rare as the black bear has been reported to the Sheriff’s Office.

“It is assumed that these bears may be young or older males that have been pushed out of an area by more dominant males and travel through the county,” observed Mellick of the occasional bear sightings. The Sheriff’s Office has also received periodic reports of cougars. Mellick added that he has also received no reports of Bigfoot sightings from any of the surrounding county sheriff jurisdictions.

Bruce Blair, the area forester for the Yellow River State Forest, concurs with Mellick’s observation of bear and cougar just moving through the area and not really making residence. Again, he believes these animals exist in the county due to the evidence, tracks or pictures or scat.   What one is witnessing is a pattern, animals not really common to the surroundings but at least leaving evidence.

All of these officials are noting, however, that this same pattern is not something being seen with Bigfoot, a supposed rare animal but no physical evidence to support its residence or existence in the county or the state forest.

Blair says he has no opinion one way or the other, but he believes there will be little impact on visitors coming or not coming to the area even with the publicity due to the attention brought about from the Animal Planet program.

The BFRO state chapter offers individuals the opportunity to participate in their sanctioned expeditions to the Yellow River State Forest.   Individuals will have to pay a stipend and be equipped with camping gear and the other essentials necessary for an outdoor outing. The chapter's “expertise” will supplement any absence of experience by anybody involving themselves in these outings, so it is up to those people who are curious and want to discover more to go further with their interest.

So, has Bigfoot been found in Yellow River State Forest? It appears from the testimony of some individuals that have worked or know the area well that there is a lack of any real physical evidence. Most would agree that for Bigfoot to be found, he or she or it has to first exist before discovery is imminent.