Bigfoot no myth

[Wobbly Goblin]

Body proves Bigfoot no myth, hunters say

(CNN) -- A policeman and a former corrections officer say that on Friday they will unveil evidence of what they claim is their biggest find ever: the body of Bigfoot.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, a pair of Bigfoot-hunting hobbyists from north Georgia, say they found the creature's body in a wooded area and spotted several similar creatures that were still alive.

The carcass of the furry half-man, half-ape is 7 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs more than 500 pounds, they say. However, the two are not disclosing the exact location of their discovery to protect the remaining creatures.

Tom Nelson, chairman of the biology department at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, said he's "pretty skeptical" the world will feast its eyes on a new species Friday.

"That would certainly rock mammalogy," joked Nelson, who specializes in the study of mammals. "I see a research grant in my future."

Whitton and Dyer plan to unveil what they say is DNA and photo evidence of the discovery in Palo Alto, California, in conjunction with a group called Searching for Bigfoot Inc.

A photograph on that group's Web site shows what appears to be the body of a large, hairy creature with an ape-like face, stuffed into a large freezer.

According to a written release, the two announced the discovery on an Internet radio show, "Squatch Detective," several weeks ago. iReport.com: Do you believe in Bigfoot?

"The only person we would allow to come down and verify the body was 'the Real Bigfoot Hunter,' Tom Biscardi," Dyer said, referring to Searching for Bigfoot's CEO, who has been looking for the elusive, legendary creature in the United States and Canada since 1971.

Whitton is a Georgia police officer who is on administrative leave after being shot in the wrist during a pursuit. Dyer is a former prison guard.

DNA tests on the body have begun, said the statement, and "extensive scientific studies" will be done on the body by scientists, including a molecular biologist, an anthropologist and a paleontologist.

Nelson, the university professor, acknowledged that new species of animals have been discovered in recent decades and that, in science, "we always acknowledge the possibility of something new."

But he said that even in north Georgia, home to the Blue Ridge Mountains and the foot of the Appalachian Trail, it stretches the imagination to think a family of 7-foot-tall creatures could have eluded hunters, hikers and creeping development until now.

"To the average person, these places just seem like extreme wilderness where you'll find lions and tigers and bears," he said. "The reality is that you're never more than a mile from a road."

The group says the animal is male, has reddish hair and "blackish-gray" eyes and human-like feet, hands and teeth.

Source: Body proves Bigfoot no myth, hunters say - CNN.com

[fred114]

yea right

[LOOON]

Ive been following this for a few days. I was hoping like hell it wasn't a hoax. I have always wanted to believe since I was a kid.

It's a sham.

[Wobbly Goblin]

Well, I'm incline to believe them...we'll see. They were on our local news yesterday. Apparently they're looking to make some money. I guess you can't blame them if it really is a Big Foot.

YouTube - Bigfoot Body Press Conference Bigfoot...

[Wobbly Goblin]

Well they certainly had me fooled!

Officer Fired Over 'Bigfoot Discovery' Hoax

Officer Matt Whitton has been fired for claiming to have discovered Bigfoot's corpse, turned out to be a Halloween costume. (Photo: Bigfoot Global LLC)

San Jose Mercury News via YellowBrix

August 20, 2008

PALO ALTO, CA – Melting ice uncovered a hoax this week, as the “Bigfoot” found in a Georgia woods turned out to be . . . a rubber Halloween costume.

Bigfoot hunters Matt Whitton and Rick Dyer had tossed their find in a freezer and frozen it in a solid chunk of ice – to preserve it, they said. The two men finally turned over the freezer and on Sunday, Bigfoot enthusiasts waited with bated breath as the apparent 7-foot-7 inch “body” slowly defrosted at an undisclosed location.

After hours of waiting, a dark patch of hair emerged. Steve Kulls, executive director of Squatchdetective.com, told Fox that he extracted a hair sample and burned it. It was apparently made of synthetic fibers and “melted into a ball uncharacteristic of hair,” Kulls said. An hour later, the group’s fears were confirmed when further melting revealed a rubber foot.

“It’s heart-wrenching,” said Bob Schmalzbach, vice president of Searching for Bigfoot Inc., in an interview with Fox News. “We thought it was the answer to a mystery that’s been going on for too long.”

As of Tuesday, the two Georgia men who perpetrated the hoax were nowhere to be found. According to the Searching for Bigfoot’s Web site, the organization plans to pursue legal action against the men.

Whitton, a police officer in Georgia’s Clayton County, and Dyer, a former Georgia corrections officer, claimed they stumbled upon the beast while hiking in northern Georgia in June. They participated a press conference Friday in Palo Alto to announce their find.

On Tuesday, Clayton County Police Chief Jeff Turner said he has not spoken to Whitton but processed paperwork to fire him.

“Once he perpetrated a fraud, that goes into his credibility and integrity,” Turner told the Associated Press. “He has violated the duty of a police officer.”

Not everyone is upset about the news of the hoax.

The Bigfoot “body” is thought to be a $450 Sasquatch costume from online costume retailer TheHorrorDome.com. Owner Jerry Parrino declined to release any numbers, but said business has been good.

“Sales of our Sasquatch costume have gone up,” he said.

Source: Officer Fired Over 'Bigfoot Discovery' Hoax - PoliceLink

[LOOON]

Im glad he was fired.

Idiot......

[Wobbly Goblin]

Originally Posted by LOOON

Im glad he was fired.

Idiot......

Looks like they may have gotten paid before handing over the rubber costume.

After igniting heavy debates, the discovery of the Bigfoot has proved to be just a hoax, as many have thought all along. The alleged corpse of Bigfoot has been ruled as a hoax, a rubber costume trapped in ice.

Although the motives behind this fraud are still unknown at this time, apparently Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer, the men who claimed they discovered the body, are no where to be found.

According to a story posted on SearchingForBigfoot.com by Steve Kulls, Executive Director of Squatchdetective.com and Host of Squatchdetective Radio, requested an undisclosed sum from Tom Biscardi, CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, as an advance, expected from the marketing and promotion.

On August 16th Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer delivered the freezer containing the alleged corpse to the Searching For Bigfoot Team. However, as the ice started to melt down, Kulls was quick to discover that the alleged corpse is just a rubber costume.

After discovering the fraud, Tom Biscardi contacted the alleged Bigfoot trackers at their California hotel and set up a meeting. Obviously enough, when the time came for them to face the consequences of their actions, the two were nowhere to be found. They had vanished and so had Tom Biscardi’s money.

Apparently, little to nothing is known about their wehereabouts, as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the calls to Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer weren't returned.
Matthew Whitton, 28, is a police office who had been on medical leave after being shot in the wrist by a robbery suspect this year, but was fired after his boss heard about the charade.
"He's disgraced himself, he's an embarrassment to the Clayton County Police Department, his credibility and integrity as an officer is gone, and I have no use for him," Chief Jeffrey Turner said. "His behavior is unbecoming of that of a police officer.”

The whole story started last week when Matthew Whitton and Ricky Dyer claimed that they had discovered a specimen of Bigfoot in a remote forest in northern Georgia.

Bigfoot also known as Sasquatch, Chiye, Yeti, Yeren and Yowie is considered the Holy Grail for cryptozoologists. The creature is sometimes described as a large, hairy bipedal hominoid without knowing for sure whether it existed or not. Some experts consider its existence as a combination of folklore and hoaxes. But alleged witnesses have come out with a description of this creature. Its head seems to sit directly on the shoulders. It has large eyes, a pronounced brow ridge, and a low-set forehead.

Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer , along with Tom Biscari, have put together a press conference to announce their findings. At the news conference, attended by over 200 people, Matthew Whitton, Rick Dyer and Tom Biscardi, who assured everyone that the story of the discovery couldn’t be more real, handed out two new photos, but the doubts have started to emerge since the first seconds.

“It looks like a costume, a waterlogged costume that's been stuffed into a freezer. It just doesn't have the hallmark of a real corpse,” Jeff Meldrum, an associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, and one of the few PhDs conducting Bigfoot field work, said.

Anatomy professor Jeffrey Meldrum told the Discovery Channel that the creatures in the photos presented by Whitton and Dyer did not look "natural" but instead appeared to be a gorilla costume widely available for purchase.

Alleged sightings of Bigfoot have made headlines for years, including in 1958 when a forest worker claimed to have come across its footprints in Northern California and in 1967 when another American took fuzzy film footage of a large, hairy creature walking in a Northern California forest.

In 2002, a Bigfoot hoax was uncovered after the death of Ray Wallace in the United States. His son confessed that Wallace had donned self-made wooden feet to tromp through mud in a Bigfoot "discovery" that made the local newspaper. Wallace also faked photos and audiotapes of what were supposed to be the creature with the help of friends, his son said.

Update: AP reported also that telephone calls to Whitton and Dyer were not returned on Tuesday, but the news agency also noted that the voicemail recording for their Bigfoot Tip Line, which proclaims they also search for leprechauns and the Loch Ness monster, has been updated. It announced the two former police officers were also looking for "big cats and dinosaurs".

Source: Update 2: Bigfoot Was Just A Hoax, A Rubber Costume

[fred114]

Originally Posted by Wobbly Goblin

Well they certainly had me fooled!

Come on, look at the photo. Look at the eyes and tell me you could believe it was anything other than a gorilla costume.

It was a poor attempt.

I wanna believe, but this sucked.