GLADWIN, MI — Is there something in the woods of northern Michigan that is part human, part ape?
That question is what the four team members of the Big Foot Researchers Organization (BFRO) sought to find out when they journeyed to several towns in northern Michigan to investigate alleged sightings of the elusive creature for their Animal Planet show “Finding Bigfoot."
The group, headed by Matt Moneymaker, started their search by staking out the woods around a rural road where a father and daughter reported seeing a tall creature at the edge of the trees after the daughter’s vehicle was hit by a log. While the witnesses photographed footprints allegedly left by the creature, no further proof was found by the investigators during their nighttime search.
Joining Moneymaker in the search for Bigfoot were Ranae Holland, Cliff Barackman and Bobo Fay. This was the first visit to Michigan for the team, who was responding to what they called a “spike in recent activity” in the area.
After their first search yielded no sightings or additional evidence, BFRO held a town hall meeting in Houghton Lake to solicit additional leads from local residents. A show of hands revealed that a large group of those gathered had seen what they thought was a Bigfoot creature. One woman had made recordings of what she claimed could be a sasquatch which prompted Moneymaker to investigate further.
During the second night of searching, BFRO was joined by Mike Berg, a Michigan Bigfoot tracker. Berg partnered with Barackman to explore one tract of forest while Moneymaker camped out in a tree stand on the property of the woman who had made the sound recordings. While both locations yielded sounds that were thought to be from a Big Foot creature, no visual evidence was obtained.
Meanwhile, Holland and Fay were investigating woods where a local boy reported a sasquatch sighting. The two attempted to communicate with the creature by making different types of calls at varying pitches. After hearing several wood knocks after the calls, Bobo clapped back, which was followed by more of the wood knocks. The knocks were followed by movement on the road, but their chase also failed to provide a definitive picture of sasquatch.
While the excursion to Michigan failed to provide the evidence the searchers were hoping for, team members did say that they did witness events that convinced them there was at least one sasquatch in the region. Moneymaker also noted that northern Michigan was exemplary of an environment that is “perfect for Sasquatch.”
The episode, which was filmed in April 2012, first aired on Sunday, Dec. 16, and will air again at 12 a.m., 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 17 with additional airings during the rest of the week.
Do you have unexplained creature sightings that could be a sasquatch? Share your experiences with us in the comments, or via twitter by tweeting @bctjoshroesner.