The following three articles are updates for Michigan Town Hall meetings conducted by the crew at Finding Bigfoot. To catch up to the news before the town hall click the following link to read our entire
In chronological order we will repost the three articles that address the town hall meeting held in the Houghton Lake area. The town hall meetings have become a staple of the television series, it is set up as an opportunity to find encounters to investigate. Although sometimes they find new encounters, it may be interesting to know, some of the investigations are already pre-picked and planted in the town hall. Its TV, you don't complain when the dish is pre-cooked in the oven during a cooking show.
FIRST: DETROIT NEWS
Bigfoot show seeks close encounter of a hairy kind
By Tom Greenwood
Bigfoot in the Big Mitten?
Producers from the Animal Planet TV program "Finding Bigfoot" have been filming in the Houghton Lake area this week, looking for signs of Sasquatch.
Phil Shaw, a member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, said there have been more than 130 Bigfoot sightings in almost every county in Michigan, and they got some leads at a town hall meeting April 5 at the Houghton Lake Playhouse.
"I'd say there were at least 350 people at the meeting," said Shaw, 69. "Many people had stories that they shared: My favorite was from a lady who lives south of Houghton Lake that actually had been able to record 'whoop howls' from a Bigfoot.
"They only howl on a limited basis, so that was very rare and impressive."
Bigfoot is a general description of a huge, hairy, ape-like — and what most believe to be mythical — creature usually covered in dark brown or reddish hair.
They are usually described as having a huge brow ridge, a gorilla-like face, a jaw-dropping aroma and reportedly have left footprints as large as 24 inches long and 8 inches wide.
According to Shaw, the average male Bigfoot is 8 feet tall and weights 800 pounds; females are 6 feet tall and a petite 600 pounds.
Many scientists have largely dismissed the idea of an ape-like hominid living in the backwoods of America.
Tim Barnum, news editor for the Ogemaw County Herald, says there are many reports of the big guy in the area, but often people keep the sightings to themselves rather than face potential ridicule.
"I've heard stories, but personally I've never seen one," Barnum said. "Then again, I'm not much of an outdoorsman."
For many Americans who want to believe in Bigfoot, the truth is out there.
"People might think it's crazy to believe in Bigfoot, but there have been sightings like this for years in every culture all over the world," Shaw said.
The episode featuring the search near Houghton Lake will run sometime this summer, Shaw said.
tgreenwood@detnews.com
(313) 222-2023
SECOND: THE HUFFINGTON POST
'Finding Bigfoot' Takes Search To Houghton Lake, Mich.
The Huffington Post | By David Sands
Posted: 04/12/2012 3:37 pm Updated: 04/12/2012 4:15 pm
The stars of a popular cable show are combing the woods around Houghton Lake, Mich., for signs of the the giant bipedal ape-man known as Bigfoot. Animal Planet's show "Finding Bigfoot" is filming in the area and drew 350 people to an April 5 town meeting held to gather clues about the whereabouts of the elusive cryptid, according to the Detroit News.
Phil Shaw, a member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization told the News that some of those who showed up for the meeting shared stories of personal encounters.
"My favorite was from a lady who lives south of Houghton Lake that actually had been able to record 'whoop howls' from a bigfoot," he said. "They only howl on a limited basis, so that was very rare and impressive."
Shaw's organization has records of around 140 Michigan Bigfoot sightings since 1910 -- including a November 2011 report by a hunter who heard "resonant vocalizations and bipedal movement" while camping in Roscommon County.
"Michigan has been a hotspot for sightings since the 1960s, especially areas like Sister Lake and Monroe, where there were reports of very aggressive creatures and people being attacked," said Loren Coleman of the International Cryptozoological Museum in Portland, Maine.
Coleman said the high number of sightings makes sense because of Michigan's extensive wilderness.
"It's in the boreal forest, the heavily tree-covered area that goes from the Pacific Northwest across the U.S.-Canada border to Maine, but it has more sightings than other places because there are more people," he said. "You need people to see Bigfoot and Michigan has a higher population than, say, the Dakotas."
The Houghton Lake episode of "Finding Bigfoot" will air on Animal Planet this summer.
THIRD: NPR
Searching for Bigfoot in the mitten state
by MICHIGAN RADIO NEWSROOM
April 12, 2012
In terms of hotspots for giant, bipedal ape-men, Michigan might not come to mind, especially compared to states in the Pacific Northwest. But the mitten state is not without its share of alleged Bigfoot sightings.
According to the Detroit News, some high-profile Bigfoot hunters are paying visit to Michigan with camera crew in tow, hoping to catch a glimpse of the elusive cryptid.
From the News:
Producers from the Animal Planet TV program "Finding Bigfoot" have been filming in the Houghton Lake area this week, looking for signs of Sasquatch.
Phil Shaw, a member of the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, said there have been more than 130 Bigfoot sightings in almost every county in Michigan.
The episode including the Michigan investigation is set to air sometime this summer, the Detroit News reports.
-John Klein Wilson, Michigan Radio Newsroom
