Believers, skeptics and the open-minded joined together in a standing-room-only open forum Sunday afternoon seeking answers to the big and elusive.More than 255 people gathered…
Believers, skeptics and the open-minded joined together in a standing-room-only open forum Sunday afternoon seeking answers to the big and elusive.
More than 255 people gathered inside The West Woods Nature Center’s Oak Room and outside its doors to listen to Bigfoot research in Ohio led by The Southeastern Ohio Society for Bigfoot Investigations founder Doug Waller.
“So as you can see, there are lots of people seeing these mysterious beasts,” Waller said. “My goal is to get the public informed as to Bigfoot’s existence and to encourage people to read books on the subject and become more aware of their habits and behavior.”
The nearly two-hour discussion focused on the history of SOSBI, possible evidence, sightings and encounters.
“I guess there isn’t a strong interest in Bigfoot,” quipped John Kolar, Geauga Park District’s chief naturalist, as he welcomed people who came from about six different Ohio counties and Pennsylvania.
“You can judge whether you’re a full believer or just skeptical,” he said. “GPD is not taking a stance.”
“I am curious,” said Garrettsville’s Vicki Mason, with her mom, Sue Mason. “I want to learn more about it.”
SOSBI started in 2008 with the main intent being to give people the chance to freely and openly talk about Bigfoot without fear or ridicule.
The society’s mission is to educate the public and encourage witnesses to come forward with their stories.
“One of the first, if not the first printed reports in Ohio, was in the Salt Fork region from about the early 1860s,” said Jesse Morgan, special guest and owner of Uncharted Endeavors LLC in Painesville. “As far as Geauga County, the BFRO (Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization) records indicate nine reports as far back as 1977.
“Keep in mind these are reported sightings,” Morgan added. “Based on report timelines and witness investigation, it is very likely that many sightings go unreported for a variety of reasons, a fear of ridicule, job concerns and simply no one to talk to.”
Waller said most researchers believe only 10 percent of them are recorded.
From Animal Planet’s ongoing series “Finding Bigfoot” to the Discovery Channel’s “Survivor-man,” Bigfoot-themed shows and interest continues throughout the states and Canadian provinces for this mystical beast otherwise named Sasquatch.
“With the advent of Bigfoot-related shows playing in a more mainstream part of society, this seems to have not only inspired people to share, but to also seek out Bigfoot’s possible existence,” Morgan said. “We want people to decide for themselves and approach with an open, but objective mind. A good friend reminds us to ‘keep your ‘skepticles’ on.'”
Waller is the author of two books — “Standing in the Shadows: Bigfoot Stories from Southeastern Ohio” and “More Bigfoot Stories from Southeastern Ohio and Beyond” — and is working on a third.
He kicked off with a slide show, explaining his interest in the puzzling subject escalated when he got a job at a library and had access to so many books, eventually reading about 160 on Bigfoot.
“I was like a kid in a candy store,” Waller said.
Waller soon talked and showed visuals focused on possible evidence, such as unexplained missing livestock, deer with only its liver missing stuffed in the back of a cave at Salt Fork State Park, and unusual, but similar tree structures found in the United States and British Columbia.
Audience members shared stories and specific BFRO-reported accounts from 2001. Stories included a second-hand account from a possible sighting in Middlefield, another 2014 possible sighting in the Burton Wetlands area, LaDue Reservoir’s Public Hunting Area and one possible sighting of Bigfoot crossing Wilson Mills Road in Chardon.
Waller encouraged listeners to be on the lookout.
The microphone soon was handed to Mike Rozman, of Orwell, sharing his first-hand account hiking with his sister in Lake City, Tenn.
Audience members remained silent.
“It was a hot autumn day and the mountain was so steep, we had to keep stopping periodically to rest,” Rozman said. “All of a sudden, I saw it near the ridge above us. I looked over at my sister and her mouth was agape as well. She immediately said it was Bigfoot, but my mind couldn’t comprehend it. I was trying to rationalize it as someone sightseeing, but it was no human.
“It was acting like it sensed us below” he added, explaining the accompanying “God-awful” roar they witnessed.
“We were frozen in fear,” he continued. “Upon making it home and retelling our harrowing ordeal, she proceeded to throw up and I broke down in tears.”
“We hear all kinds of howls and noises,” added Vicki Mason.
After listening to all of the stories, she believes they did hear and see something.
“Don’t make fun of people who do report their encounters because many skeptics have been converted to believers when they saw one themselves,” Waller said to the non-believers.
Morgan said as far as they know, outside of what could be multiple sightings of the same white and gray haired Bigfoot, there seems to be no common trait within Ohio.
“Black hair, gray and white, reddish brown, these are all variations of sightings,” she said. “We do not think people ‘should’ believe. We hope people will have an open mind to the existence of not only Bigfoot, but anything unknown that may exist.”
