KETK: 'Bigfoot' comes to East Texas

KETK, a local Texas NBS affiliate files this report on the 10th Annual Texas Bigfoot Conference In the segment they focus on Daryl Colyer, co-founder of The Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy

'Bigfoot' comes to East Texas
Conference in downtown Tyler unites enthusiasts

By Casey Claiborne - Reporter
Saturday, October 30, 2010 - 10:29pm
TYLER - After Daryl Colyer and his wife left a southeast Texas baseball game one night in 2004, Colyer says they actually saw what many call "Bigfoot."

"I saw this figure, about 40 yards in front me jump across the trail. It was upright, the size of a man, covered with reddish brown hair from top to bottom - jumped across the trail, took a little skip-hop into the woods," Colyer said.

But Daryl Colyer isn't your average Bigfoot enthusiast.

He's a Bigfoot investigator and vice-chairman of a non-profit organization called the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy.

On Saturday, the 10th Annual Bigfoot Conference was held in Tyler.

Apparently East Texas is a hotspot for Bigfoot sightings.

"East Texas is the part of Texas where most of the reported sightings come from. In fact, I would say as many as 90% of the reported sightings that we deem to be possibly legitimate reports are from East Texas," Colyer said.

Jack Wheeler and his friends attended Saturday's conference - they all believe "Bigfoot" exists - they just aren't sure what one might really look like.

"I think there's definitely something out there, I don't know if it's like a big huge hairy thing that attacks people, but there's probably something out there," Wheeler said.

"Out there" according to Daryl Colyer is 65 million acres of timberland in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. That's roughly the size of the state of Oregon. Plenty of places for the nocturnal primates to hide, Colyer says.

"It's a big world, and you know we're pretty much stuck in the cities and the interstate highways. There's a lot of timber out there," Colyer said.

And to Colyer, skepticism about Bigfoot is not only expected, it's a good thing.

"Have that skepticism, but have an open mind. Question it, look into it for yourself," Colyer said.

*** UPDATE ***
KLTV also covered the event. We added their coverage below.

Does Bigfoot live in East Texas?

Posted: Oct 30, 2010 3:46 PM PDT
Updated: Oct 30, 2010 10:09 PM PDT
By Layron Livingston - bio | email

TYLER, TEXAS (KLTV) - Tyler's Caldwell Auditorium played host to the 10th Annual Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy Conference, Saturday.

Bigfoot aficionados came from across the country to sort through latest findings and to separate what was fact and fiction surrounding the legend. A 44 inch lock of hair was also on display, reportedly found hanging in a tree in the Sabine National Forest.

"We certainly think that it lives [in East Texas]," said Alton Higgins, a wildlife biologist. Higgins is also board chairman of the TBRC. He said there have been a number of very credible sightings in the East Texas area, and the habitat is sufficient.

Daryl Colyer detailed his encounter with Sasquatch before an audience of conference goers. Colyer is now an investigator with the TBRC. "It's good to be skeptical about something like this," he said. "We expect people to have difficulty with this, after all, what we're talking about is extremely unusual."

Proceeds from the conference go to help the non-profit continue investigating future sightings.

Copyright 2010 KLTV. All rights reserved.

EXTERNAL LINKS
SRC: KETK's Website
SRC: KLTV's Website
Texas Bigfoot Researche Conservancy

Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group

Discovery Magazine has an article that tries to determine what makes "paranormalist" tick. Yes, according to them all Bigfooters are "paranormalist". Some are, but it may be inaccurate to blanket all Bigfooters with this notion.

Although they cover Ufologist, Ghost hunters and the rest below we reprinted the stuff about Bigfoot.

SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEFS GETTING MORE COMMON
Believers range from free-spirited types to high-powered businessmen. Some were drifters; others were brain surgeons.

By Emily Sohn
Fri Oct 29, 2010 07:00 AM ET
(Discovery News) -- To understand what drives some people to truly believe, two sociologists visited psychic fairs, spent nights in haunted houses, trekked with Bigfoot hunters, sat in on support groups for people who had been abducted by aliens, and conducted two nationwide surveys....

...The numbers also showed that different types of paranormal entities appeal to different demographics. Women, for instance, are most likely to believe they live in haunted houses. College graduates are most likely to have out-of-body experiences. Unmarried white men are most likely to believe in UFOs.

Bigfoot hunters were perhaps the most surprising group, Bader said. They defied all stereotypes of paranormal pursuers who wear flowing clothes and commune with spirits.

Instead, they were very serious, extremely conventional and often highly professional. In fact, their beliefs contradicted their lifestyles so much that many of them were plagued by anxiety, which drove them even further to stick to their beliefs.

"Their friends and family consider them kooky," Bader said. "Everyone is saying they're nuts. So, they have a real aggressive style and seriousness of purpose. They want to prove everyone wrong."

For one hunter, the search began one day when he was out in the woods and, he swears, he saw Bigfoot cross his path.

"Imagine the stress that would put on your life," Bader said. "You consider yourself a normal, smart guy, and you think you just saw a giant monkey walk in front of you. Now, you have to fit that into your life."

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CNN Psychoanalyzes Bigfooters

EXTERNAL LINKS
SRC: Discovery News

5 Sylvanic Bigfoot Posts

Take a journey with us back in time all the way back to December of 2009. If you click on this magical link you can read all six of our previous Sylvanic Bigfoot Posts.