Bigfoot symposium convenes in Stilwell
BY DALE ANN DEFFER, World Correspondent
Saturday, October 06, 2012
STILWELL — Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Bear Man, Wild Hairy Man, the 7-foot-tall ape-like man has been part of folklore and research for several hundred years.
Saturday in Stilwell, the Mid-American Bigfoot Research Center led by D.W. Lee held a one-day symposium where people from as far away as Alabama made the trek to share information on the mysterious creature. Approximately 150 filled the community center surrounded by concrete castings of large feet, some up to 27 inches.
Various expert speakers led by D.W. Lee, executive director, presented video and audio displays with supporting evidence found through time. Lee, 47, began his research in 1991 when he said “my family and I drove around the countryside looking for tracks.”
He said the basis for this was that there have been approximately 800 to 1,000 sightings of various kinds in Oklahoma and Arkansas. Sightings can mean a large furry creature on two feet running away caught only in a blurry fashion on camera or tracks which are much longer than human, according to Lee.
Also speaking was Abe Del Rio, founder and director of the Minnesota Big Foot Research Team who is also a radio host leading a local two-hour segment where listeners can call in with questions and comments about Bigfoot.
“I was actually chased by one as a kid when I was out in the woods with a friend. I didn’t see it but I heard heavy foot steps behind me, like a monster,” Del Rio said.
Read more in Sunday's World.
Associated Images:
Jim Whitehead of Criner chats with Leann Caughman of Sallisaw as he recreates a Bigfoot foot cast in sand during the Oklahoma Bigfoot Symposium in Stilwell Saturday. Caughman found what she thinks may be part of a mummified foot from a Bigfoot on her land. JAMES GIBBARD/Tulsa World
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