Tracking the Bigfoot trackers

Fri, 08 Jun 2001 19:00:00 +0000

Three concrete molds of large feet lie in the grass at the base of Richard Knoll's truck. They're about the size of a frying pan, and stand out distinctly against the dry, brown grass. Knoll says they are impressions left behind by Bigfoot as it walked alongside a riverbank somewhere in the dark recesses of the Pacific Northwest. He won't say exactly where. It's claimed by believers like Knoll that Bigfoot, also known as Sasquatch, is a living species of giant primate. The annual Bigfoot Daze conference, held on the fringes of Carson, a small town in Washington state, is a gathering point for a loose community of Sasquatch enthusiasts. Knoll arrived the day before and, in the late afternoon, explained to a group of about 50 believers how to determine whether a footprint is a hoax.

Like hundreds of other Bigfoot enthusiasts, Knoll is fiercely independent, but at the same time drawn to a community that provides a stage for him to express his unwavering belief that Bigfoot is out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered.

"It would be kind of sad if we found Bigfoot," Knoll says suddenly, unexpectedly. "Without the possibility of Bigfoot there is no wilderness left." He pauses again and adds, "The possibility of Bigfoot is the possibility of wilderness."

The killer cocks of Oregon

Wed, 18 Apr 2001 19:00:00 +0000

The small, unassuming barn sits just below the horizon from Interstate 5, about 10 miles north of Eugene in Junction City, Ore. Since the beginning of the year, the Lane County vice squad has been snooping around the building. The barn's owner, Hector Santiago, allegedly purchased the barn for tens of thousands of dollars, cash on the barrel. It was suspicious; Santiago had connections with meth producers and drug runners. His lover's brother was reputed to be one of the top meth lords in the Willamette Valley.

At about 7 in the morning in late January, as darkness faded into a winter gray, a dozen officers stormed the barn. They expected to find a web of tubing, beakers and other meth-producing paraphernalia, but what they discovered was far more alarming. Except for a large, square mound of dirt ringed by ropes, the barn was nearly empty. But the cavernous interior of the barn was alive with squawking. Along the walls were nearly 30 metal cages, each stuffed with robust game hens.

"We're a bunch of drug cops," detective Keith Seanor said about his surprising find. "I didn't know exactly what was going on, but it looked suspicious."

Salon.com > Phil Busse

Tracking the Bigfoot trackers

The killer cocks of Oregon