Is Bigfoot a Buckeye?

By Denice Rovira Hazlett
October 18, 2012
750

Summary: There's something big (and hairy) coming to the Holmes County Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Join Bigfoot expert Marc DeWerth as he shares details about Sasquatch sightings in Ohio and beyond. Marc DeWerth was being followed, and he knew it. He was returning to his vehicle after investigating a report of a badger den near Wills Creek Lake in southern Coshocton county. DeWerth's the kind of guy who's interested in bird and wildlife anomalies, and alleged badgers in Coshocton county was right up his alley. DeWerth had hiked about a mile-and-a-half off SR 83 on an April day in '97 only to find an empty den. But while heading back toward his Jeep on the main road, he heard a rustle on the ridge above him. His first inclination--a deer--was dispelled when he realized this thing was keeping step with him. He grew concerned. Alone in the woods, a mile from his vehicle, and someone--or something--was following him. Had he gotten too close to someone's illegal crops? Could it be one of the cougars or panthers rumored of roaming the area? Either way, he figured, he was in trouble. "I was at a big disadvantage," DeWerth says. "I wasn't packing weapons, and a big cat could easily outrun me." DeWerth came to some underbrush and crouched, motionless, listening to what he now knew were footfalls, waiting as his pursuer passed above him and then, finally, into sight. He was completely shocked by what he saw, and what saw him. Shaking, DeWerth, grabbed his camera. He could hardly believe his eyes, and yet, he believed completely. As a child in the late '70's growing up in Westlake, Ohio, Marc DeWerth often joined his dad to watch In Search Of, a television program hosted by Leonard Nimoy that explored all manner of mysterious phenomena, including the possible existence of large ape-like creatures lurking around the Pacific northwest. DeWerth read every book on the topic in the Hilliard Elementary library which, surprisingly, had a pretty good selection, including journalist John Green's classic, Sasquatch: The Apes Among Us, still considered the premiere resource on all things Bigfoot. "He'd mentioned a report from Mansfield, Ohio, about tracks along the Ohio river, and men in the 1800's cutting down timber who were chased out of the woods by giant monsters." DeWerth had grown up hearing his grandfather talk about Ohio Bigfoot sightings and now he wondered, could Bigfoot really be a Buckeye? Now one of Ohio's leading Bigfoot experts, DeWerth thinks so and will talk about why during his visit to the Holmes County District Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. He'll present details on Ohio sightings and share his own evidence, including the video he captured on that April day 15 years ago, his encounter with what he describes as a very large, bulky, upright-walking creature covered in dark, shiny hair. "I believe that was Bigfoot," says DeWerth, who hosts the annual Ohio Bigfoot Conference at Salt Fork State Park. "I'm 100% convinced they exist here in Ohio." DeWerth said there have been nearly 300 reports of Sasquatch sightings in the Buckeye State, the best coming from our neighbors in Richland, Coshocton and Tuscarawas counties. DeWerth, leader of the Tri-State Bigfoot Study Group, hopes Holmes countians will step forward with their own Bigfoot sightings or suspicions and is ready to help investigate with special surveillance equipment. How does one know if they've really seen a Sasquatch? "They'll know," Dewerth says. "It's an emotional experience. The thing that happened to me that day, every detail about it, I'll never forget." Journalist John Green first began investigating Sasquatch sightings and tracks in 1957. He's the only person still living who witnessed the original Sasquatch tracks found and cast in Bluff Creek California in 1958 which lead to the coining of the name "Bigfoot." He's pleased his book made such an impact on young DeWerth and others, but his intention wasn't to gain adolescent fans. It was, he says, to present real and credible journalistic evidence of Sasquatch's existence. Green, 85, is retired now, but he's still passionate about the subject and doesn't understand why it's not taken more seriously. "I've been a newspaper man all my life," says Green, a graduate of both the University of British Columbia and Columbia University. "Some of the best scientists take the subject seriously, but I can't get anyone in the media to talk about it. The public is being deluded." Skeptics and unbelievers argue that there has been no firm scientific evidence to support Bigfoot's existence--no body parts or remains have ever been found, and the Bluff Creek tracks and famous Patterson-Gimlin film have been disputed as hoaxes--but there are still those, from respected anthropologists to serious scientists, who firmly believe, including DeWerth. "They were here long before we came. Native Americans had legends of ape-like giants with ape-looking faces," DeWerth says. "We don't see them more often because they're so aware of everything around them. They know we're there right when we step out of a vehicle. They can sense us, and they stay away." Bigfoot believers, skeptics, and the just plain curious are welcome to attend the free Oct. 27 event at the Central Library, 3102 Glen Drive in Millersburg. For more information on the program, contact the library at 330-674-5972 or visit www.holmeslibrary.org.

Is Bigfoot a Buckeye?

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