I ventured into the forests of the Buckeye State to find Sasquatch.
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n 11-year-old boy, David, nervously takes the microphone to share something from a family camping trip at Ohio’s Shawnee State Park last summer. On a trail near the family’s cabin, he saw “a massive creature covered in brownish-black fur walking up the nearby hill.”
Next, an elderly woman describes an evening watching TV at her secluded home. The peace was shattered by what sounded like a boulder being smashed against the side of the house. It happened twice and she was unable to recreate the noise herself. Was this an encounter?
Stories such as these are why I find myself on the banks of Pleasant Hill Lake in Perrysville, Ohio, on a Saturday evening in September. Everyone there shares the same hope–to obtain proof of Bigfoot. Several hundred people ranging from young children to retirees have gathered to search and share their experiences. One after another, they stand to talk about the encounters they have had, some telling their stories for the very first time. As they do so, I am struck by the confessional nature of the event.
Guiding us through Bigfoot Basecamp Weekend is Matt Moneymaker, founder and president of the Bigfoot Field Researchers’ Organization (BFRO) and co-host of TV’s Finding Bigfoot. He listens to each of the stories, nodding sagely and offering input. “That’s what we call house-skipping,” he tells the elderly woman. “It seems to happen when there are no men around.” He goes on to suggest leaving some food out for the creature as a means of communicating with it.
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Bigfoot in Ohio?
The creature goes by many names–Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape. Bigfoot is the most common. And here in Ohio, there are plenty of reported sightings. In fact, according to the BFRO, Ohio ranks fourth in the nation for reported encounters. In August 2020, a sighting at the Pleasant Hill Lake Park campground was the first Bigfoot report submitted by a U.S. government ranger. More recently, a Loudonville woman made national headlines with a purported recording of a Bigfoot howl. These events inspired the park’s program specialist, Louis Andres, to organize the Bigfoot Basecamp Weekend. “It encourages people to get back outdoors after COVID,” he says. “And who doesn’t want to find Bigfoot!”
A Lifetime of Searching
I had the chance to sit down with Moneymaker. As we sipped Squash Orange Soda, he recalled being intrigued after seeing the 1967 Patterson footage, shot in California, which showed a large hairy creature strolling alongside a creek. Moneymaker went on to devote his life to seeking out the truth.
When I ask if he thinks he will ever find a Bigfoot, his answer is surprising.
“I already have,” he says confidently. “We found them on half of our episodes. If you get close enough to hear their knocks, you’ve found one.”
The knocks that he mentions are the heavy sounds of something hitting wood. In the 1990s, Moneymaker was the first investigator to focus on the sounds allegedly made by the creature–the knocks, howls, and screams. Screams? There are two distinct types. The females reportedly make a high-pitched call, while the males have a deeper baritone, like the “Ohio Howl” recorded in 1994. Moneymaker describes the sounds as scary “because you know it’s something big making them.” Just as hunters attract their prey with calls, so can cryptid hunters attract Bigfoot: “It’s irresistible to the creatures. They have to check it out if they hear it.”
Sightings fall into one of three classifications. Class C are second-hand reports and the least reliable. Class B reports are based on tracks and sounds, while Class A is the Holy Grail for Bigfoot hunters–a clear visual that could only be Bigfoot or a person in a costume. It is this Class A experience that has been Moneymaker’s ultimate goal since he first saw the Patterson footage at the age of 10. He wants to obtain his own “daylight, clear, close-range footage.”
Moneymaker says that the hilly terrain in this part of Ohio is ideal Sasquatch territory. “It would make sense that something is happening here,” he says. This event will allow him and his team to do things they’ve not done before, namely the use of the thermal drone and the ability to open the search up to the public in a controlled fashion. Modern technology offers “the ability to fly and feed the data from the thermal drone to a big screen somewhere else.”
The Hunt Continues
Back at the lake, as night falls, the surrounding woods take on a rather eerie feel. What might be out there? Up on the stage, Moneymaker issues instructions to a drone pilot.
“There’s something there. Zoom in. Closer…Just a deer. Carry on up the hill.”
The audience sits quietly, eyes fixed on the screen where the drone’s night vision camera is broadcasting. A woman behind me whispers to her husband, “If we see anything, don’t tell anyone. We don’t want them all to know.” Another murmurs, “We’re gonna see it tonight; I can feel it.” Someone sees a heat spot. They excitedly call out and Moneymaker instructs the pilot to investigate. For the most part, we see dozens of deer, taking advantage of the low light to roam the cornfields.
“What’s that?”
Moneymaker’s attention is suddenly drawn to the giant screen. There is a heat spot among the trees. It isn’t moving. Moneymaker explains how Bigfoot is likely to be hiding in the foliage rather than out in the open fields. The pilot tries to get a closer look but the woodlands make it difficult for the drone to get any closer. It is time to call in the ground team.
This event is one of many Moneymaker and the BFRO team are hosting around the country. Additional locations this fall include Iowa, New Jersey, Tennessee, and many other states. The goal is to bring together interested members of the public on guided scientific expeditions at sites where sightings have been reported. Attendees will learn to recognize tracks and calls, as well as hear about previous encounters.
Back at Pleasant Hill Lake, some of the audience has gone home. Several dozen, dedicated to potentially catching a glimpse of the mysterious cryptid, still watch carefully, tracking the movement of both the camera and the volunteers. Could it be? Finally, the report comes back from a volunteer. The heat spot is just a deer taking a nap. There would be no Bigfoot sightings tonight. Nevertheless, Moneymaker deemed the event a success. “It was great to see the audience engaged in finding areas that we should check out.”
Will Moneymaker and his team capture Bigfoot on camera one day? Will they find conclusive proof of his existence? Part of me hopes that they do. After all, isn’t that the goal of any paranormal investigation–to find proof that something else is out there? On the other hand, if there is something tall and primate-like in the woods of Ohio, or indeed in the woods of Oregon, Washington State, or anywhere else, I can understand its desire to remain hidden away in peace. To remain a mystery. Isn’t a little mystery good for all of us?