Grassroots Bigfoot Legend Ray Crowe in Hospice

Ray Crowe is the consummate Bigfoot organizer, from people,
to events, to research. Ray Crowe has organized them all.

Ray is the type of man that would invite anyone and everyone to share his passion about Bigfoot. At the second annual Oregon Sasquatch Symposium his name was mentioned several times as the man who introduced prominent researchers to Bigfooting. Before social media like Facebook Groups and Blogs, and before you could Google "Bigfoot", Rays Crowe's Newsletter, "The Track Record" was the social media Bigfooters used to gather and learn from.

I have only had the most recent fortune of meeting Ray Crowe. Thom Powell was kind enough to introduce me to Ray via email. We became instant pen pals and since last October I had gotten used seeing him at least once a month at his Western Bigfoot Society meetings located at Patti's Homeplate Cafe.

I marvel when I think how much successful effort Ray put into getting people together, investigating witnesses, and providing compelling research to anybody curious enough to learn about Bigfoot. A lot of what Ray did is still being done today, but not by any one single person. Despite technology allowing us to do many of these things easier, it takes a special personality to do all of these things well. It takes a Ray Crowe.


From Sasquatchpedia:

Ray Crowe
Charles Raymond Crowe (b. 1937) is a bigfoot researcher/archivist from Hillsboro, Oregon.
Ray's initial interest in the bigfoot mystery occurred after he went with a group of bigfoot hunters from nearby Vancouver, Washington (a rather militant group, according to Ray)[citation needed], who dropped Ray off on an isolated road near the forest. Ray found a set of tracks he could not explain, and he decided then and there to start a group dedicated to sasquatch research. He called it the Western Bigfoot Society and held monthly meetings in the basement of his bookshop.

Crowe also organized and held conferences in Carson, Washington called "Bigfoot Daze" in which he invited established researchers to speak. He also established a newsletter called The Track Record which told of the latest happenings in the bigfoot world, no matter how controversial or untrue. Crowe has a very open-door policy when it came to his meetings and newsletter, but he always warns his readers to "wear your skepticals."

Crowe was about to shut down the newsletter and organization in 2006 (by that time the organization had been renamed the International Bigfoot Society), but controversial researcher Tom Biscardi offered to continue the newsletter and the organization with funding, which he did. [The crossed out section is incorrect and should read, "Ray sold the IBS/WBS to David Paulides."] Ray continues to receive reports and media articles from around the world. After closing his bookstore, he continued to hold meetings in various places until he started holding them at Dad's Restaurant in Portland.

There should also be an update. As of October 2011, with the encouragement of Rhettman A. Mullis, Jr., Ray Crowe has restarted his Western Bigfoot Society monthly meetings. Mr. Mullis is President of Bigfootology and Ray Crowe is a senior member and advisor on the Bigfootology team.

Here is how others have characterized Ray Crowe.

[Ray Crowe is] not just a bigfoot hunter, but an editor, event organizer, field investigator, and generalized paranormalist and Fortean. He co-founded The Western Bigfoot Society...He kept an open mind, but always "kept his skepticals on." -- Steven Streufert, BIGFOOTS bLOG

"Crowe spent a lifetime researching Bigfoot, concurrently while establishing the Western Bigfoot Society, publishing one of the first Bigfoot newsletters, The Track Record. The newsletter was filled with valuable information about Bigfoot habitat, sightings, behavior and forensic data." -- Loren Coleman, Cryptomundo

Recently Ray Crowe has been admitted to Hospice. Rhettman Mullins has been updating tghe public through his facebook page. Below our Rhetmans updates:


April 25, 2012 update on Ray Crowe. The news continues to get worse. We have now entered death watch mode. The V.A. Hospital has determined that they are not going to treat Ray further and they are transferring him to a respite/hospice facility. They are expecting Ray to pass on at any time. At this point Ray is in God’s hands. There is still a chance that he may recover, but none of his doctors expects him to recover.

Kate and I talked today and have cried and prayed. She will call me later after they have moved him. Ray and Kate has asked me and my family to come down to Portland, and we are trying to figure out how to make that happen financially and personal time obligation limitations.

Pray for Ray, Kate, and Ray’s family.

April 26th update on Ray Crowe. Ray was actually up and about today. After eating all of this lunch he strolled down the hallway in his wheelchair and then was wiped out so he went back to bed and is sleeping now. He is in a lot of pain and his pain medication is not lasting as long as it is required before the next round of medication can be given. Other than that, Kate reports that he is in good spirit. I did not talk with Ray today because I did not want to disturb his sleep.

I appreciate, as does Kate and Ray, all of the well-wishers, thoughts, and prayers. Please continue to do so.

April 28th update on Ray Crowe. Ray is still doing okay. The vein in his neck is still collapsed and they cannot operate on it. The doctors have reiterated that it is not a good prognosis for him even though he is doing okay at the moment. He has some visitors today, Patti Reinhold, VP of the WBS, and her husband. Please keep your prayers coming and thank you for your continued encouragement and support from myself, Kate, and Ray.

Our thoughts are with Ray Crowe and his family and friends. If you would like to forward messages to Ray Crowe. You can do so at:
Ray Crowe
c/o Bigfootology
P.O. Box 193
Oak Harbor, WA 98277

Below is a n interview Stephen Colbert had with Ray Crowe.

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James "Bobo" Fay Asked to do Conan O'Brien Show

James Fay is one of the co-host for Finding Bigfoot and is commonly, if not almost exclusively, known to the world as “Bobo.” The origins of that name are shrouded in mystery, as is much of Bobo's life, but it seems to have been born from a variation of the name, “Jimbo,” derived from the nick name “Jim.” Whatever the genesis, Bobo is his functional moniker today.

Bobo was born and raised in Manhattan Beach, CA, and has been interested in the bigfoot mystery for as long as he can remember. As a teen, he became interested in big-wave surfing, and this would take him to the best surf spots up and down the entire West Coast. Soon, he would take surf trips to bigfoot habitat in order to get a chance to maybe see a bigfoot from the beach.

On Bobo's facebook page he announced he was asked to do the Conan O'Brien show.

"just got axed if me and moneymaker want to do conan o'brien show. whats the over/under on how many words i'd be able to get in sittin next to moneymaker for a 6 min interview? i'm going with 18.

thanks for the congrats and advice everybody. i told people next tues but i just found out tuesday is preinterview w/producer. i've been rocking at pipe and i don't get reception here so i haven't heard the message yet about exact date."

Conan is no stranger to Bigfoot. In fact he discussed Bigfoot with Steven Colbert once.



In a transcript of Stephen Colbert, interviewed by Conan O'Brien, on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Colbert talks about several Bigfoot pieces he did as a correspondent for "Daily Show." The interview was taped June 27, 2003

CO'B: ...Let's talk about "The Daily Show". On "The Daily Show" you are well-known for going out and getting these amazing interviews with strange characters from across America, and you've interviewed people that actually believe Bigfoot exists, are convinced that Bigfoot exists.

SC: Yeah, I've interviewed a lot of, uh, some of the biggest Bigfoot experts in the United States. Um, I've interviewed the people who believe that Bigfoot is endangered. I've interviewed the people who believe that Bigfoot, um, uh, that the Bigfeet, as they call them, are overpopulating and that they're destroying their environment...

CO'B: How does that become a...

SC: There's not a lot of consensus in the Bigfoot expert community.

CO'B: There's a lot of squabbling, yeah. But how could someone think that there's too many Bigfoots running around when noone actually has proof that they exist? How can someone make that argument?

SC: Um, I think a fair amount of Bigoot experts are, um, early-morning drinkers.

CO'B: Okay.

SC: I met somebody in Florida who believed that Bigfoot was in Florida, as opposed to the Pacific Northwest, and that Bigfoot was stealing his pot of lentil soup... that he would make... and this man greeted me at 10:00am stone drunk, shoeless, shirtless, wearing two albino Burmese pythons.

CO'B: And these are the people you're going to for credible scientific information on Bigfoot.

SC: Aaaaah, yeah, those are my experts.

CO'B: Very nice. I like the Stone Phillips way that you said that too. You just, uh, yeah...

SC: [imitating Stone Phillips, once again] They... are my experts.

CO'B: Very nice. You could hurt yourself with that.

SC: I think that's how he got the big neck.

Below is one of the clips from the "Daily Show" with Stephen Colbert talking about Bigfoot Preservation with Ray Crowe.

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Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien Talk Bigfoot

In our post Stephen Colbert Asked to Join Search for Bigfoot we announced the tourism society of Harrison Hot Springs' request for Stephen Colbert to help search for Bigfoot.

Upon further research, we have realized he is no stranger to the topic.

In a transcript of Stephen Colbert interviewed by Conan O'Brien on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien," Colbert talks about several Bigfoot pieces he did as a correspondent for "Daily Show." The interview was taped June 27, 2003

CO'B: ...Let's talk about "The Daily Show". On "The Daily Show" you are well-known for going out and getting these amazing interviews with strange characters from across America, and you've interviewed people that actually believe Bigfoot exists, are convinced that Bigfoot exists.

SC: Yeah, I've interviewed a lot of, uh, some of the biggest Bigfoot experts in the United States. Um, I've interviewed the people who believe that Bigfoot is endangered. I've interviewed the people who believe that Bigfoot, um, uh, that the Bigfeet, as they call them, are overpopulating and that they're destroying their environment...

CO'B: How does that become a...

SC: There's not a lot of consensus in the Bigfoot expert community.

CO'B: There's a lot of squabbling, yeah. But how could someone think that there's too many Bigfoots running around when noone actually has proof that they exist? How can someone make that argument?

SC: Um, I think a fair amount of Bigoot experts are, um, early-morning drinkers.

CO'B: Okay.

SC: I met somebody in Florida who believed that Bigfoot was in Florida, as opposed to the Pacific Northwest, and that Bigfoot was stealing his pot of lentil soup... that he would make... and this man greeted me at 10:00am stone drunk, shoeless, shirtless, wearing two albino Burmese pythons.

CO'B: And these are the people you're going to for credible scientific information on Bigfoot.

SC: Aaaaah, yeah, those are my experts.

CO'B: Very nice. I like the Stone Phillips way that you said that too. You just, uh, yeah...

SC: [imitating Stone Phillips, once again] They... are my experts.

CO'B: Very nice. You could hurt yourself with that.

SC: I think that's how he got the big neck.

Below is one of the clips from the "Daily Show" with Stephen Colbert talking about Bigfoot Preservation.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Bigfoot Fetish
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care Crisis

You can read the full transcript of the Conan O'Brian interview here.

You can see more Stephen Colbert here.
You can see more Conan O'Brian here.

Stephen Colbert Asked to Join Search for Bigfoot

Tourism Harrison is a Canadian non-profit society, incorporated under the BC Society Act (Harrison Tourism Society) and is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. It was formed in 2007 in recognition of the vital role tourism plays in the Harrison Hot Springs region. It employs one full time and two part time employees.

On January 8th, 2010, Tourism Harrison announced, in a press release, an invitation to Stephen Colbert of the Comedy Central TV show "The Colbert Report" to join in the search for Bigfoot.

Below is the shortened version of the press release posted on the Tourism Harrison blog page:

Stephen Colbert Invite
Today Tourism Harrison invited Colbert Nation’s Stephen Colbert to embark on an official search for the Sasquatch during his planned trip to Richmond, BC for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.

In late 2009, Mr Colbert announced he’ll travel to Richmond BC to accept the city’s offer to become the official Richmond Olympic Oval ombudsman during the Winter Games.

If Mr. Colbert accepts our invitation, we will provide him transportation, accommodation and guidance. The search would be led by Sasquatch Investigator Bill Miller who began researching the creature in the early 1990’s. He attended a BC Sasquatch Conference in 1998 and has since been spending much of his time tracking the creature in the Harrison Hot Springs area.

Harrison Hot Springs has been the focal point of the mysterious ape-like creature, usually described as a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid which has intriqued millions of people since the late 1800’s.

We are in direct contact with Mr. Colbert’s team and will make an announcement on his decision to take part in the Sasquatch search as soon as possible.

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We also have a newer post where Colbert and Conan O'Brien Talk about Bigfoot here.