Posted On: January 17, 2023

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is one of North America's most enduring legends. The scientific community largely dismisses the idea of a large, unknown ape-like creature sauntering through the forests because there's never been any hard evidence that such an animal exists. 

Nonetheless, there have been thousands of reported eyewitness accounts over the last half century from people all over the U.S. and Canada. Here are some of the most famous Bigfoot sightings.

William Roe encounter: 1955

One of the most famous Bigfoot sightings allegedly occurred on Mica Mountain in British Columbia in 1955, when a man called William Roe claimed he saw a "partly human and partly animal" creature while hiking. He swore an affidavit in 1957 that the creature was about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and covered in brown silver-tipped hair, with thick arms reaching down to its knees, broad feet, and breasts, according to the Alberta Sasquatch Organization website. 

"As I watched this creature, I wondered if some movie company was making a film at this place and that what I saw was an actor, made up to look partly human and partly animal." Roe wrote in his 1957 affidavit. "But as I observed it more, I decided it would be impossible to fake such a specimen." 

According to "Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids" (Columbia University Press, 2013), Roe's ape-like sighting marks a change from earlier Sasquatch accounts in British Columbia, which repeatedly described Sasquatch as a giant-sized Indigenous person. In other words, it was the birth of modern Bigfoot — though that name wouldn't emerge for another year. Scientists argue that eyewitness testimony isn't always reliable, so this and other sightings are not conclusive evidence.

Ape Canyon: 1924

The Ape Canyon incident of 1924 wasn't so much an alleged sighting as a supposed battle. A group of gold prospectors claimed they defended their cabin against multiple "gorilla men" in a gorge — later named Ape Canyon — on the side of Mount St. Helens. One of the miners, Fred Beck, allegedly shot at a Sasquatch during the day, which prompted a gang of its hairy brethren to seek revenge come nightfall. The creatures are said to have pelted the miners' cabin with rocks and boulders, and one even reached an arm inside. The miners survived the onslaught, and as the sun rose the beasts retreated back into the woods, possibly after Beck shot one. 

Beck returned to the scene with U.S. Forest Service rangers after news broke of the attack. The rangers couldn't find a Sasquatch body and apparently weren't impressed with the large stones they found next to the cabin or the supposed giant footprints nearby, the local Oregonian newspaper reported at the time. The rangers seemed to think the miners placed the stones there themselves and that the footprints were made by a human hand. 

One popular explanation for the Ape Canyon story put forward by skeptics — other than the miners simply making it up — is that the miners were actually set upon by a gang of local youths throwing rocks at the cabin for fun, according to the travel website Atlas Obscura — although this doesn't account for all aspects of the story.

Highcliff skunk ape: 2013

Skunk apes are supposedly swamp-dwelling versions of Bigfoot that are rumored to roam the southeastern U.S. On Oct. 28, 2013, a YouTube account named "Josh Highcliff'' uploaded one of the most popular skunk ape videos. In it, the cameraman films a potential skunk ape foraging in a Mississippi swamp. 

"It looks like a gorilla squatted down, big broad shoulders, little peaked head and it's pulling off chunks of wood that seem to demonstrate extreme strength. Then, all of a sudden it stands up and it's got these long legs," Meldrum said, impressed by the video but yet to examine it in detail. 

The last shot of the creature in the video comes just as it stands up, similar to the 2012 Provo Canyon video. Unfortunately, people filming Bigfoot have a tendency to suddenly jerk the camera and run away just as they're about to get a good view of one — understandably fearful if the creature exists, but convenient if they're creating a hoax. This is one of many reasons why skeptics decry such videos and ask believers to produce a body.

There are an awful lot of incredibly detailed sightings of these mysterious creatures. Can they all be crazy or lying? I find that unlikely.

Posted On: January 17, 2023

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is one of North America's most enduring legends. The scientific community largely dismisses the idea of a large, unknown ape-like creature sauntering through the forests because there's never been any hard evidence that such an animal exists. 

Nonetheless, there have been thousands of reported eyewitness accounts over the last half century from people all over the U.S. and Canada. Here are some of the most famous Bigfoot sightings.

William Roe encounter: 1955

One of the most famous Bigfoot sightings allegedly occurred on Mica Mountain in British Columbia in 1955, when a man called William Roe claimed he saw a "partly human and partly animal" creature while hiking. He swore an affidavit in 1957 that the creature was about 6 feet (1.8 meters) tall and covered in brown silver-tipped hair, with thick arms reaching down to its knees, broad feet, and breasts, according to the Alberta Sasquatch Organization website. 

"As I watched this creature, I wondered if some movie company was making a film at this place and that what I saw was an actor, made up to look partly human and partly animal." Roe wrote in his 1957 affidavit. "But as I observed it more, I decided it would be impossible to fake such a specimen." 

According to "Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie, and Other Famous Cryptids" (Columbia University Press, 2013), Roe's ape-like sighting marks a change from earlier Sasquatch accounts in British Columbia, which repeatedly described Sasquatch as a giant-sized Indigenous person. In other words, it was the birth of modern Bigfoot — though that name wouldn't emerge for another year. Scientists argue that eyewitness testimony isn't always reliable, so this and other sightings are not conclusive evidence.

Ape Canyon: 1924

The Ape Canyon incident of 1924 wasn't so much an alleged sighting as a supposed battle. A group of gold prospectors claimed they defended their cabin against multiple "gorilla men" in a gorge — later named Ape Canyon — on the side of Mount St. Helens. One of the miners, Fred Beck, allegedly shot at a Sasquatch during the day, which prompted a gang of its hairy brethren to seek revenge come nightfall. The creatures are said to have pelted the miners' cabin with rocks and boulders, and one even reached an arm inside. The miners survived the onslaught, and as the sun rose the beasts retreated back into the woods, possibly after Beck shot one. 

Beck returned to the scene with U.S. Forest Service rangers after news broke of the attack. The rangers couldn't find a Sasquatch body and apparently weren't impressed with the large stones they found next to the cabin or the supposed giant footprints nearby, the local Oregonian newspaper reported at the time. The rangers seemed to think the miners placed the stones there themselves and that the footprints were made by a human hand. 

One popular explanation for the Ape Canyon story put forward by skeptics — other than the miners simply making it up — is that the miners were actually set upon by a gang of local youths throwing rocks at the cabin for fun, according to the travel website Atlas Obscura — although this doesn't account for all aspects of the story.

Highcliff skunk ape: 2013

Skunk apes are supposedly swamp-dwelling versions of Bigfoot that are rumored to roam the southeastern U.S. On Oct. 28, 2013, a YouTube account named "Josh Highcliff'' uploaded one of the most popular skunk ape videos. In it, the cameraman films a potential skunk ape foraging in a Mississippi swamp. 

"It looks like a gorilla squatted down, big broad shoulders, little peaked head and it's pulling off chunks of wood that seem to demonstrate extreme strength. Then, all of a sudden it stands up and it's got these long legs," Meldrum said, impressed by the video but yet to examine it in detail. 

The last shot of the creature in the video comes just as it stands up, similar to the 2012 Provo Canyon video. Unfortunately, people filming Bigfoot have a tendency to suddenly jerk the camera and run away just as they're about to get a good view of one — understandably fearful if the creature exists, but convenient if they're creating a hoax. This is one of many reasons why skeptics decry such videos and ask believers to produce a body.

There are an awful lot of incredibly detailed sightings of these mysterious creatures. Can they all be crazy or lying? I find that unlikely.