No Takers on $80,000 Bigfoot, Price Goes Up to $85,000

Clifford LaBrecque's neighbor next to his $85,000 Replica

"Any business man could build a museum for it and make his money back. If I don't sell it, that's exactly what I'll do" --Clifford LaBrecque

** UPDATE and CORRECTION: According to Mr. LaBrecque, the image above initially identified as LaBrecque, is, in fact, his neighbor.


LaBrecque also claims to have not shot at Bigfoot and the replica was designed before his encounters. This is a contradiction to the Examiner article written by John Newman we referenced. You can read the full article here.

Fans, when we first briefed you on this Bigfoot ebay item we were certain Clifford LaBrecque was trying to cash in on a 30 year investment, and we doubted if Clifford knew how auctions worked. When we saw the item has recently been re-listed for $5000 more, upping the price to $85,000, we knew we had to call Mr. LaBrecque to get the details.

"You can't make a replica like that today for less than $85,000." LaBrecque said over the phone. Based on what we know about costumes he may be correct. The Hairy and Henderson costume cost several million in 1985, adjusted for inflation it is about $3.9M in today's dollars. Granted, Hairy Henderson had remote control animatronics, but even a Hollywood costume without fancy electronic moving parts would run a quarter to a million dollars today, if it were made by a special effects studio.

As we continued to speak to Clifford Labrecque we realized there really wasn't a price too big for this statue, he had put an enormous amount of effort into it. "I did so much research back then, just so I could get it right. When I pass [and they prove Bigfoot] they will see I was accurate to within two inches"

It began to make sense, this replica was the sum of his research, research he no longer does.

"I got out of the Bigfoot world, because none of the academics would listen to me, sure they are interested now. Now, if Joe Academic goes out in the woods and sees Bigfoot, it becomes gospel." he continued to express his feelings about the TV show Finding Bigfoot, "That show is doing so much damage to the research, when we are out in the woods we don't think every single sound we hear is a Bigfoot"

To be fair in regards to Finding Bigfoot, we know the sensitivity to sound has a lot to do with editing and less to do with the hosts of the show being able to discern strange sounds.

We truly hope Clifford LeBrecque's Bigfoot replica finds a home, whether it is through a buyer on ebay or a museum he builds himself. At least now we know its not about the money, it's about the value the replica has to him. A value that is priceless. 

You can read about Clifford LeBrecque's previous Bigfoot encounters that inspired the statue on our previous post, "Man Shoots Bigfoot, Makes Bigfoot Mad, and Then Builds a $9000 Statue."

No Takers on $80,000 Bigfoot, 2 Days Left

Clifford LaBrecque standing next to his Bigfoot Replica he commissioned for $9000 

"It took three months to get it from my head to his (the sculptor's) head," -- Clifford LaBrecque, 73, of the fiberglass-and-fur model of Bigfoot

Fans, you may remember Clifford LaBrecque from our earlier post, "Man Shoots Bigfoot, Makes Bigfoot Mad, and Then Builds a $9000 Statue". Yes, this is the same man who in 1977 was determined to shoot Bigfoot one fateful night in Des Moines, Iowa.

The event left such an impression he was determined to commission a replica of what he saw. Looks like he's trying to make $71,000 on his $9000 investment. The replica has been available on eBay for a starting bid of $80,000 since July 16th, with two only days left there have been no takers. 

A starting bid of $80,000? Perhaps Mr. Labrecque does not understand how auctions work. 

For $80,000 you would hope he would provide the shipping (at least) -- not so. As the description of the product clearly indicates you have to pick it up in Arkansas:

In 1976, after years of study and research, a young man named Clifford LaBrecque undertook a challenge that stunned the Bigfoot world. Mr. LaBrecque built one of the best detailed "museum quality" models of Bigfoot. How he did it is a mystery that will probably never be known. One look and it shouts this is the "real thing"--eyes that follow you, and hands, fingers, and toes, are all in great detail. This fantastic piece of work has been stored for over 30 years. This is the first opportunity you have to own Bigfoot. It can be a tremendous attraction for showing this part of American folklore.

All inquiries about this piece should be directed to Clifford LaBrecque at 1-870-291-1863.  THE ITEM LOCATION IS IN  ARKANSAS TO BE PICKED UP THERE.

Another interesting line is:

Mr. LaBrecque built one of the best detailed "museum quality" models of Bigfoot. How he did it is a mystery that will probably never be known. 

Fortunately for you, fans, this is not a mystery to Bigfoot Lunch Club. In 2011 The Baxter Bulletin printed an article describing exactly how he came upon the fiberglass and fur replica:

"It took three months to get it from my head to his (the sculptor's) head," said Clifford LaBrecque, 73, of the fiberglass-and-fur model of Bigfoot he commissioned in 1976 at a cost then of $9,000.

Man Shoots at Bigfoot, Makes Bigfoot Mad, and Then Builds a $9000 Statue

Close up of Bigfoot sculpture commissioned in 1976 at a cost of $9,000 (photo: Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin)

"It reached through the window, grabbed me and shook the daylights out of me. It was terribly strong. I could feel its face about 6 inches away from mine and believe me I was in a state of tremendous fear."--Clifford LaBrecque quoted in the Examiner in 2000

Clifford LaBrecque, 73, of Norfork looks at his 8-foot-tall model of Bigfoot, which he keeps in his living room. (photo: Kevin Pieper/The Baxter Bulletin)

Recently the Baxter Bulletin showcased a statue commissioned by Bigfoot researcher, Clifford LaBrecque. Before we get into the Baxter Bulletin piece we found an article describing his initial encounter in detail. The excerpt below is from an Examiner article from 2000:

Clifford LaBrecque, now 65 of Cameron, Missouri told the Examiner he had been watching the creature for about two and a half months on the outskirts of Des Moines, Iowa back in 1977.

The fearful attack took place about 11 pm.

That night LaBrecque decided to shoot the creature. "It was about 25 feet away from where I was parked in my pickup truck." LaBrecque said. "Two of the creatures walked up from behind a hedge. One stopped but the other went to a woodpile, bent down and started to eat with it back towards me. I stayed in the car and waited for it to turn around but it just kept on gnawing at the wood. Finally I decided to shoot it from behind. When the animals turned and saw me, I got buck fever and couldn't shoot. As it came towards me, I couldn't get the window rolled up fast enough. It was really close." LaBrecque was petrified with fear as the creature advanced. He tells what happened next.

"It loomed over the car. It was about 8 feet tall. It reached through the window, grabbed me and shook the daylights out of me. It was terribly strong. I could feel its face about 6 inches away from mine and believe me I was in a state of tremendous fear. I could feel my whole body shaking. I felt a sensation of being twisted around and pushed down onto the floor. The creature's eyes were burning with fury. I was angry, very angry at me for trying to shoot it. Then I pass out. When I regained consciousness it was gone.

Read the whole article at the excellent Bigfoot Encounters

Fast forward to 2011 and Clifford still has his statue in his house and is interviewed about his encounter. Below is the article from The Baxter Bulletin:

NORFORK — What is believed to be the only sculpture in the world created to scale in meticulous detail of an adult specimen of the legendary "Bigfoot" resides in this Ozark town.

"It took three months to get it from my head to his (the sculptor's) head," said Clifford LaBrecque, 73, of the fiberglass-and-fur model of Bigfoot he commissioned in 1976 at a cost then of $9,000.

"It's accurate to the inch," LaBrecque says.

The striking model of Bigfoot stands 8 feet tall in the dining room of LaBrecque's home. He says it depicts accurately what LaBrecque remembers from sightings and a physical encounter with a Bigfoot specimen on June 18, 1977, and from many descriptions of the creature prior to his experience.

The encounter happened, according to LaBrecque, between 9-10 p.m. near a woodpile behind LaBrecque's home in the Windsor Heights suburb of Des Moines, Iowa. Prior to the altercation, LaBrecque says he observed almost nightly a Bigfoot specimen — about 8 feet tall — that sometimes appeared with two apparently juvenile Bigfoot creatures.

He says he called a Des Moines newspaper to tell of the sightings and had argued with the newspaper over copyrights to Bigfoot photographs should the newspaper act on his tip and obtain photographs.

On June 18 he had decided to shoot to kill the larger Bigfoot and had positioned his car for the shot that he believed would furnish incontrovertible evidence of the reality of the Bigfoot creature.

LaBrecque says he had been open-minded from an early age to the possibility that such a creature as Bigfoot existed.

"When I was a little kid, I heard stories about the wild man of the west, and I began watching out for one," he said. The busy youth found countless stories about American Indian legends of the wild man, and stories of similar creatures all over the world. As an adult he interviewed many people who claimed to have sighted a Bigfoot specimen.

First encounter
But it was not until 1977 that his eyes gave him all the evidence he needed to believe in Bigfoot.

"Our neighbors had a big black lab. One night I heard the dog barking around the woodpile. I looked out and saw what I thought was the dog on the wood pile. I remember thinking: 'That (dog) is going to knock my woodpile over.'

"Then it dawned on me that my woodpile is this high and what we were seeing is much, much taller than the woodpile. I got my wife to look and she saw it.

"We couldn't believe it."

An inspection of the woodpile the next day and after subsequent sightings found bark pulled from the split wood and the inner surface of the tree bark gnawed away.

That first sighting set in motion a series of sightings that would lead LaBrecque to spend night after night in the woods hoping to see the Bigfoot party traveling to the woodpile. He even conducted surveillance from settings in trees, but did not see the migration.

Skepticism
LaBrecque understands the skepticism some people may bring to his story. At 73 he can do without it, along with the skepticism the public would bring to a videotape of what he says shows a Bigfoot in its natural habitat.

He has shown the video privately but declines to show it publicly because of the ridicule that some people have for those who claim to have had unusual or paranormal experiences.

"I'm not going to listen to anyone who doesn't know crap telling me I don't know crap," LaBrecque said. "Right now if one of these creatures walked across the back yard and I called and tried to tell about it, people would say, 'Oh. That's the guy with the Bigfoot model in his house.'

"You are done before you start. You're not going to win that one."

A showing of LaBrecque's Bigfoot model at the 1977 Iowa State Fair attracted many spectators, LaBrec-que said, and several with stories of Bigfoot sightings.

After talking publicly about his Windsor Heights experience, LaBrecque says a farmer came forward to share a story of a Bigfoot sighting and to warn LaBrecque about continuing to talk about the incident.

A second witness to the Windsor Heights incident has long stopped talking about it because of the skepticism, ridicule and laughter the story evokes from listeners, he says.

"You have to understand just how hurtful this can be to the people who have seen Bigfoot," LaBrecque said. He says he has been the subject of extraordinary skepticism for his creation of the Bigfoot model before he actually saw Bigfoot. To LaBrecque it is simply good fortune that the sighting confirmed for him all that he had heard about the creature. It enabled him to better endure the scorn people bring to his story, he says.

LaBrecque said he is resurfacing now in the Bigfoot culture only because of a news reporter's call and renewed interest in the creature that he says was sighted four years ago in a rural area near West Plains, Mo.

"They're here in Norfork," LaBrecque said. "I have talked to people who have seen them."

"This is what they say it looks like," LaBrecque says, pointing to his model.
SRC: Baxter Bulletin