Big on BigFoot

Eric Altman, the director and co-founder of the Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society, said he doesn't have any concrete answers when it comes to Bigfoot, a subject that has fascinated the 35-year-old Pennsylvania resident since he was 10 years old. "I have studied hundreds of reports, spoken with hundreds of witnesses, investigated over 100 cases and have traveled all over Pennsylvania and parts of Ohio during my investigations," said Altman.

What he has learned, however, is that there is a common thread among the reports, including those filed through the society's Web site at www.pabigfootsociety.com or 24-hour hotline at (888) 718-9818, ones that include claims of odd, unfamiliar sounds and screams from the woods and big footprints found in the soil and snow.

"The creature's description is usually the same — an upright walking animal covered in hair that is described anywhere from black, brown, gray or white in color. The animal has been described as closely resembling humans and primates, shows traits of being nocturnal and is very elusive and shy," said Altman, who earlier this summer pursued reports of a sighting in Erie County, Pa., as well as possible footprints found by hikers at Salt Fork State Park in the Cambridge area — bigger than Altman's size 13 boots.

Altman's enthusiasm for what he says is not a paranormal creature or something from a UFO or another dimension naturally spills over into the more than 85-member PBS, which he helped organize in 1999 with a very specific mission: To investigate reports of Bigfoot sightings and activity.

Doing this means using audio and visual equipment to record any evidence, then using the data collected to further help study and protect what Altman said are yet-to-be discovered creatures although reports of the Sasquatch date back hundreds of years.

The society gets media attention from time to time, usually around Halloween but also during the fall when press releases go out to announce its East Coast Bigfoot Conference/Expo, a tradition of seven years that averages anywhere from 250 to 500 people.

This year's event will be held Saturday at the Pitzers' Townhouse and Restaurant at 101 S. Fifth St., Jeannette, Pa., east of Pittsburgh. Doors open at 11 a.m. for the conference that runs from noon to 6:30 p.m. Admission is $5 per person with children age 18 and under admitted for free.

The conference/expo will feature displays of photographs, collected evidence, vendor tables for Bigfoot researchers and authors and organizations that sell Bigfoot-related merchandise.

There's also a "Big Bigfoot Auction" to help raise money to defray the cost of the event. Everything from Bigfoot T-shirts, hats, artwork, movies, books and bumper stickers will be up for bid.

Several speakers from Washington state, Maine and Maryland will discuss Bigfoot-related sightings and news, too, according to Altman.

They include:

• Rick Noll — The Washington state resident has been investigating reports as far back as the late 1960s. He is a former Bigfoot Field Research Organization member and is well known in the Bigfoot community, Altman said.
• Scott Herriott — The Californian is an investigator who in 1992 claims he captured a Bigfoot on video during an investigation. He has two documentary short films on the subject.
• Bob Chance — An environmental studies teacher, Chance investigates sightings from the Maryland and southern Pennsylvania area. He has been investigating reports as far back as the 1960s.
• Tim Cassidy — An environmental studies and biology student at Unity College in Maine, Cassidy has worked as a Department of Natural Resources officer in many state parks across the United States and had his own experience of sighting a creature during the 1990s. Knowledgeable on wildlife and the outdoors, Cassidy has been investigating Bigfoot sightings and reports for more than 25 years.

"The conferences are open to the general public and we see attendance by other Bigfoot investigators, researchers, enthusiasts and curiosity seekers," Altman said, noting the event is designed to educate the public about serious scientific studies being done on these animals.

"Groups such as ours are collecting data to prove the existence of these animals and to educate the public about these animals," Altman said, emphasizing that his goal is to first prove to himself that Bigfoot truly exists. "Conferences like this help to get the world out to the public that groups such as ours are investigating these creatures and reports and trying to educate the public that these creatures exist and it's a matter of time before they are proven."

The society, which dismisses the tabloid aura of Bigfoot, conducts year-round expeditions and investigations on Bigfoot sightings in Pennsylvania and the surrounding areas and invites people who suspect they have seen a Sasquatch to contact the hotline or submit a report through the Web site. Names are kept confidential.

Not all reports pan out, according to Altman.

"Some people report what they think is a Bigfoot. Some reports are misidentifications of bears, other wildlife or humans. People also report hearing strange sounds and noises in the woods they think might be a Bigfoot," Altman said. "We really have no proof that these sounds the person is reporting is Bigfoot, unless we see the animal making these sounds."

Suffice it to say, though, that there are sounds, footprints and sightings of an unknown nature and until all possibilities can be ruled out, and known causes or animals eliminated, the likelihood of Bigfoot is alive and well.

People are interested in the Bigfoot phenomenon with good reason. "I suppose because it hasn't been proven to exist yet and it is an animal that is so closely related to humans," Altman said. "People want to know why for so many years an animal can continue to be reported and sighted, yet science has not listed the animal as a known documented series," he added.

The society has about 50 active members — those who are physically able to go out on field investigations, according to Altman, who said Bigfoot sightings involve an upright walking animal anywhere from 6 to 12 feet and weighing between 300 to 1,000 pounds, very broad-shouldered, barrel-chested and curious.

The earliest reports of Bigfoot sightings in Pennsylvania date back to the 1830s, according to Altman, who said the Chestnut Ridge area of Pennsylvania in Westmoreland County has had many such reports since the 1950s. "We continue to monitor this area and hike and camp there," he said, noting the society is a pro-active group, not a re-active one because the investigators are out in the field looking all the time, at least as much as their schedules of work and family allow. "We have found footprints in that area on three different occasions and some of them look pretty impressive."

The society's Web site lists links to other Bigfoot groups, including the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. It has a sightings-by-region section with county listings from all 50 states. In Ohio, it shows four reports in Harrison County, six in Columbiana County and seven in Jefferson County, most recently in 2004 apparently in the state Route 213 area of Steubenville.

"My own experience of seeing footprints and hearing things in the night gets me excited that something's out there. I can't explain it and I can't determine what made it or caused it, but I'm always hopeful that something is out there," he said.

While there are more questions than answers when it comes to Bigfoot, Altman said the research remains in its infancy with possibilities far from ruled out.

"It's going to happen and I hope it does in my lifetime," said Altman who was 10 when he saw a Sunday afternoon showing of the docu-drama "The Legend of Boggy Creek," then "The Creature from Black Lake," then "Sasquatch: The Legend of Bigfoot."

Altman's interest led to the library to read books on the subject, a hot topic especially in the early 1970s with sightings in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

"I read reports of these happening close to my house and I was hooked," said Altman, who notes people who come to the conference discover that "we're not whackos or off-the-wall oddballs.

"We're normal, everyday people who have an interest in this and treat it seriously and scientifically."

From: Herald-Star, 18 September 2005.