Yukon Villagers say they saw Bigfoot, CBC article Options

[Susan]

http://north.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?...bigfoot07062004

Yukon villagers believe they saw Bigfoot
WebPosted Jun 7 2004 04:03 PM CDT

WHITEHORSE - A Sasquatch sighting has tongues wagging in the Yukon village of Teslin.

 
Village of Teslin, 160 km south of Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway

Two people say they saw the fabled bushman, also known as Bigfoot, cross the highway at the construction zone near the Teslin airport.

Marion Sheldon and Gus Jules were driving down the side of the highway on an all-terrain vehicle on Saturday evening.

They reported the sighting to Conservation Officer Dave Bakica.

"They claim they thought it was a person standing beside the road, but couldn't tell from all the dust," said Bakica.

"By the time they turned around to look back they said this person was completely covered in hair and took just two strides to get across the whole Alaska highway."

Bakica said the pair told him that by the time the got back to the location, the person or animal or thing had disappeared into the bush.

Teslin is 160 kilometres south of Whitehorse.

The conservation officer said he searched the area for tracks but they may have been wiped out by Saturday evening's rain.

Both witnesses appeared very shaken by the sighting.

Sheldon and Jules say they don't want to talk about the experience until they have consulted with local Teslin Tlingit elders.

For thousands of years sightings of the elusive, bipedal ape-man have been reported, throughout North America's Pacific northwest and as far away as China.

The creature has long featured in First Nation oral traditions.

Bigfoot believers, a small group of dedicated scientists among them, say the primate is likely the offspring of an ape from Asia that wandered to North America during the Ice Age.

LINK:For more information on other Bigfoot sightings The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

Some believe there are at least 2,000 ape people walking upright in North America's woods today.

An adult male is estimated to stand at least 2.4 metres (8 feet) tall and weigh 360 kilograms or 800 pounds.

The hairy creatures are described as shy and nocturnal.

The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization web site reports a sighting in south-central British Columbia, near Kamloops on May 17.

A resident said that while driving he saw what he believed to be a father and son Sasquatch near the side of the road, getting a drink of water.

[flightmedic]

Wonder if they migrate north in summer...... as far as Canada goes......go south for the winter..........or just stay in their own territory year round?

[AnotherPullTab]

I think if anything, the remoteness of Alaska is probably more inviting than sticking around where there might be a lot more people.

[GrandCherokee]

Anything north of the Washington border is pretty remote. 70% of our population in BC lives right at the border! The rest, by comparison, is a lot of emptyness all the way to Alaska!

[flightmedic]

GC ........you got a point..........in fact the west Coast through lets say Bella Coola etc to Alaska probably really never gets too cold etc.........no -35C stuff anyways. So why not hang there all year long..........Salmon......berries etc .............lots of food and no people.

[belleoftheball]

Thanks Susan!

Belle

[GrandCherokee]

GC ........you got a point..........in fact the west Coast through lets say Bella Coola etc to Alaska probably really never gets too cold etc.........no -35C  stuff anyways. So why not hang there all year long..........Salmon......berries etc .............lots of food and no people.

Exactly!
You are not gonna get a huge drop in temperatures..seeing as it is on the coast. So we are dealing with a moderate climate. Plenty of food (Shellfish galore) and a ton of privacy. It is only accessible is by water or plane.

This post has been edited by GrandCherokee: Jun 9 2004, 12:47 PM

[Huntster]

Plenty of food (Shellfish galore) and a ton of privacy. The only was accessible is by water or plane.

No doubt about that! A couple of hunting trips on Prince of Wales Island taught me that a person simply can't starve down there. The fish, crabs, and clams are incredible. 20 minutes of clam digging provided us a weeks worth of food.

[the beaver]

Plenty of food (Shellfish galore) and a ton of privacy. The only was accessible is by water or plane.

No doubt about that! A couple of hunting trips on Prince of Wales Island taught me that a person simply can't starve down there. The fish, crabs, and clams are incredible. 20 minutes of clam digging provided us a weeks worth of food.

You guys are making me hungry. :rolleyes:

[Blackdog]

Another article. Whitehorse Daily Star

Witnesses ‘shook up’ over creature sighting
By Chuck Tobin

Conservation officer Dave Bakica is convinced that whatever two Teslin residents saw early last Sunday morning, it shook them up.
Marion Sheldon and Gus Jules were travelling out of town along the Alaska Highway on an ATV, sometime between 1 and 2, when they passed what resembled a person standing on the side of the highway.
Thinking it was a local from their small community who might be in need of a ride, they turned around and headed back, Bakica explained in an interview Tuesday, recalling his conservation with Jules and Sheldon.
As the two lifelong Teslin residents and members of the Teslin Tlingit Council approached to within some six metres, they noticed the figure was covered in hair, but standing upright – the entire time.
Though natural light was dusky at best for that time of the day, with the aid of the four-wheeler, Jules saw what he believed to be flesh tones hidden beneath the mat of hair, as he relayed to Bakica.
Sasquatch, Big Foot?
“I have no doubt they saw something, and are convinced it was not a bear or anything in the ordinary,� the conservation officer said. “They are convinced this was something out of the ordinary.... And they are pretty shook up over it.�
Jules, Bakica emphasized, is an experienced hunter.
He described the figure as standing about seven feet tall, but hunched over. They could see it was not a person.
And as the two parties went their separate ways, the dark-haired figure took but two or three steps to cross the width of the Alaska Highway, about two kilometres northwest of town, near the airstrip.
Bakica said ground conditions, mixed with a few rainfalls, made it impossible to pick up any remnants of definitive tracks, and there was no hair on branches or the like to be found.
As well, by the time he’d talked to Sheldon last Sunday night and went to the scene Monday morning, half the town had been out to the site to have a look for themselves, as the conservation officer put it.
But Jules has launched an additional, more in-depth search for any evidence that could substantiate their experience.
“I have no doubt in my mind that they believe what they saw was a Sasquatch,� said Bakica. “Whether it was or not, I do not know.
“Just because you can’t prove something was there, does not mean it was not there.�
Sheldon and Jules could not be reached for comment.
Folklore and eyewitness accounts of the Sasquatch, Big Foot or whatever names there may be for a large, ape-like animal which was walks upright, have around for decades.
In April 1991, three Pelly Crossing residents reported seeing a Sasquatch while driving between Pelly and Stewart Crossing.
The creature fled back into the woods as the vehicle passed, but they did take picture of what they claim to be footprints measuring 37.5 centimetres (15 inches) long in the melting snow.
On the other hand, it was reported in December 2002 that the creator of the Big Foot myth died at the age of 84.
Ray Wallace is said to have started the myth in 1958 by having a friend carve wooden feet measuring 40 cm.
It was later claimed by Wallace’s family that tracks around a construction site had been faked.
But the myth caught like wildfire, and was quickly embraced by the North American lust for its own legend of the unexplained, just as the Himalayans had the Abominable Snowman.

This post has been edited by Blackdog: Jun 10 2004, 12:26 PM

[GrandCherokee]

Good read...until the last paragraph!
Why do they do that?

[Blackdog]

You kind of get to expect it after a while, don't you?

[mysterious monst...]

Yeah.
It's almost as if they have to throw things in like that at the end of an article as if to say"Don't think I'm crazy I'm just writing what I heard""I don't believe in that stuff."
Peer pressure I say!

[Huntster]

Why do they do that?

"Journalists" call that "balanced reporting".

[GrandCherokee]

Why do they do that?

"Journalists" call that "balanced reporting".

....also..covering your reputation's ass!

[Huntster]

....also..covering your reputation's ass!

Like the "scientists".

[Susan]

This story was just reported on my local news tonight. I thought maybe it was yet another story coming out of this area but it's the same one.

"Journalists" call that "balanced reporting".

Of course, the reporter had to add at the end of the story that "no information regarding "hangovers" was mentioned", along with smirking at the weather guy and exchanging knowing looks. (gag) That's pretty rude comment considering these were native people. why play that particular card????? pathetic.........

This post has been edited by Susan: Jun 11 2004, 12:39 AM

[Ken Y.]

The AP picked up the story.

on yahoo news page

[JayleeD]

Of course, the reporter had to add at the end of the story that "no information regarding "hangovers" was mentioned", along with smirking at the weather guy and exchanging knowing looks.  (gag)

Crap like that just pisses me off. Wouldn't you just like to slap that smirk off the face of a jerk like that? My sincere hope for people like that is that they grow the b***s to go camping once in their lifetime, and a big ole stinky, hairy, hungry bigfoot pays their candy asses a visit.

[Susan]

Damn straight, Jaylee!!! I wanted to strangle the guy after he added that stupid comment, it was UNECESSARY!!! There was nothing in the story about anyone drinking, why say it??????? Oh, of course, it's because we all know that BF doesn't really exist and there must be some other explanation for the sighting, right?


sheeeeesh......

[Terry]

Do you realize what a 7 or 8 foot creature would look like crossing the Alaska Hwy. with 2 to 3 steps? Not 6 steps...2 steps! I never understand how that can be possible and I wonder why people say that if the 'animal' is not running? Impossible imho but I suppose one never knows... :rolleyes:

t.

[jon a. larsen]

One of the things which seems to almost be a constant is....the disparity between size estimation and counting...........the average person can count the number of steps a sasquatch takes to cross a road...but has real difficulty in estimating and admitting that his estimation was close to correct..... that what he saw was a lot bigger than 7 ft tall.......heights SHRINK when they tell their stories......

How big is a monster, the boogeyman, a sasquatch.....7 or 8 ft tall... of course....

Seems big enough to be impressive....and it MIGHT even be believed by some....but to say it was 10 ft tall ... or 11....or 12.....puts it beyond what the viewer is capable of admitting....even to himself......must less state to somebody else.....

Of course...some may miscount steps....or may not recognize running........my $.02.....................

[JayleeD]

Seems to me counting steps, or even THINKING about how many steps it took to cross a road, etc. wouldn't be on the mind of the witness. The shock factor of seeing this animal, plus the speed at which they probably travel across a road would be enough to try to take in without trying to count the steps, IMO.

[Susan]

So Jon, do you think people are underestimating the height of the creatures they are seeing? I'm curious. I'm usually a pretty good judge of height, I'm 5'11" myself, and so a tall person always catches my eye. I've never seen a sasquatch though, and I"m sure if I did, I might make a mistake in height estimate. My brain cells would probably be busy sending messages to release muscles in other parts of my body. It always confirms things in my mind when I hear people using trees and/or branches to guage the height of a creature. It's something they can measure later. It would certainly be interesting if some of these stories of 10+ footers were actually true.

[InRepair]

Those folks at Snopes are already pshawing the sighting over here: http://www.snopes.com/message/ultimatebb.p...3/t/000697.html

For being an inconsequential subject only an antisocial misfit would consider discussing, they've sure been discussing sasquatch a lot lately. It's almost like they're attempting to will the topic a joke, lest a rug be pulled out from beneath them one day.

[Howlingmad]

This made the local news this morning on the morning show in DC.
(Elliot in the morning, DC 101)

Quoted the local sheriff as saying he believed them.

[jon a. larsen]

Susan.....i've seen more than one that was over 10ft.......one stepped over a 4 strand barbed-wire fence that was chest high on me like it wasn't there and left no hair.......another, or maybe the same animal, stood beside a 42 in. tall highway reflector post which came to the top of its knees.......with 2 others i had no way to judge other than my own admittedly imperfect "guesstimations".....................

interesting enough?......

[Susan]

Oh yes, definitely, Jon!!! I remember reading about your sightings! I'm just wondering if there have been more sightings of 10+ footers that were mis-identified as 7-8 feet because of distance or the person's inability to judge height correctly.

Yes, definitely interesting to me! as is this entire subject!!

[jon a. larsen]

Susan......I wish they had made a statement about footprint size......it said something about having difficulty telling it from the "dust"........must have made some measurable tracks if the dust was on the road and not on the brush.......if it didn't run ...just stepped across ...say a 20 ft wide Alcan highway it would indicate a height of approx. 10 ft......tracks of 20 in. would indicate an approx. height of the same 10 ft......

Maybe we'll get additional information......hope so.....jon

This post has been edited by jon a. larsen: Jun 11 2004, 03:52 PM

[Huntster]

The AP story made the Anchorage Daily News today. I noted no snide additions.

"Yukon men convinced they saw Sasquatch on highway"

http://www.adn.com/

[Susan]

That's cool, Hunster. I think people in Alaska take the subject a little more seriously. They know first-hand the remoteness of the area.

[jon a. larsen]

Susan...........

Just read the other thread......footprint size seems to indicate an animal just a bit over 7 ft tall..........3 walking steps would get it a little over half way across the highway, assuming a 20 ft width...........so, what are we to think?.....

This post has been edited by jon a. larsen: Jun 12 2004, 12:35 PM

[tugboatwa]

The story appeared in the Vancouver Columbian on June 11th... my wonderful wife sent the clipping to me on the boat.

Found this version - http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/custom/fr...fla-news-fringe

Big Foot spotted in Yukon Territory

Associated Press
Posted June 11 2004, 11:52 AM EDT

WHITEHORSE, Yukon - Conservation officer Dave Bakica is convinced that whatever two men saw early last Sunday morning, it shook them up.

Marion Sheldon and Gus Jules were traveling out of town along the Alaska Highway on an all-terrain vehicle between 1 and 2 a.m. when they passed what resembled a person standing on the side of the highway.

Thinking it was a person from their small community who might be in need of a ride, they turned around.

As the two lifelong Teslin residents and members of the Teslin Tlingit Council approached to within 20 feet, they noticed the figure was covered in hair, but standing upright the entire time.

Though natural light was dusky, Jules saw what he believed to be flesh tones hidden beneath the mat of hair, he told Bakica.

Sasquatch? Big Foot?

"I have no doubt they saw something, and are convinced it was not a bear or anything in the ordinary," Bakica said. "They are convinced this was something out of the ordinary ... And they are pretty shook up over it."

Jules is an experienced hunter. Jules described the figure as standing about 7 feet tall, but hunched over. They could see it was not a person.

As the two parties went their separate ways, the dark-haired figure crossed the highway in two or three steps.

Bakica said ground conditions mixed with rainfall made it impossible to pick up definitive tracks and there was no hair on branches or other vegetation. Also, by the time he went to the scene Monday morning, half the town had been out to the site, he said.

Jules has launched a search for evidence that could document his experience.

"I have no doubt in my mind that they believe what they saw was a Sasquatch," said Bakica. "Whether it was or not, I do not know.

"Just because you can't prove something was there, does not mean it was not there."

Sheldon and Jules could not be reached for comment by the Whitehorse Star.

Teslin is about 90 miles southeast of Whitehorse.

It would not be the first suspected Yukon sighting of the folklore beast.

In April 1991, three Pelly Crossing residents reported seeing a Sasquatch while driving between Pelly and Stewart Crossing.

The creature fled back into the woods as the vehicle passed. The residents took a photo of what they claim were footprints measuring 15 inches long in the melting snow.