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Geographical Index > United States > Florida > Volusia County > Article # 655
Media Article # 655
Thursday, November 1, 2012 Return of the Mole ManThe City Observer
Return of the Mole Man
Lake Helen’s Bigfoot Activity
November 2012
Last month the talk of the town was a story The City Observer reported, which was a Bigfoot or a Sasquatch was allegedly seen around Lake Macy by two men. The two men reported their sighting to the Bigfoot Researchers Field Organization (BFRO) and an investigation of the area began.
BFRO Investigator, R. Monteith learned during the initial search that a homeowner and family members near Lake Macy had experienced some strange unidentifiable sounds for several nights, and then had had something terrify them by hitting the house and causing damage to the siding well over the 7 foot mark.
“Although the family never saw anything that would resemble a sasquatch on their property, the fact that they have lived there for many years and have never heard those sounds before or since is worth investigating. Sasquatch have been reported many times to slap or hit homes, trailers, RV’s and even cars leads me to think they may have been visited by what us Investigators call, “a Local.” Even the siding damage is the right height and its shape is the size of a large palm.”
Last month Monteith asked for the public’s help in reporting any unusual or unidentifiable occurrences to her during her investigation. “If folks are willing to speak to me – and they do remain anonymous – I am always willing to lend them an ear and answer any questions. I received a call from a gentleman that wasn’t sure what he and his friends had heard in early August. It was a week after the original sighting and he too lives near Lake Macy. The man and his friends were in the backyard around midnight, and heard what sounded like “a gorilla in the woods, huffing.” A few weeks later when the story broke, he called to tell me about it after reading the paper. Although we can’t recreate that noise, it does seem thought-provoking it again, was at the same time and area as the other reported activity.”
Monteith also wanted to add that although several people in town feel that the Bigfoot sighting is a certain tall, bearded resident that frequents the area, it’s not. “The description is clearly not of a man who wears eye-glasses and clothing.”
“I also received information from a woman who may have actually seen one in her back pasture. She said last July or August she was awakened around 1:00am by her horse “screaming” and stomping the ground. She went outside with a flashlight and saw what she thought was the largest bear she had ever seen. It was standing upright on two legs next to the 8 foot high stable with what appeared to be its hand resting on the roof. When she flashed the light on it, it dropped down and ran off much faster than she’s ever seen a bear move. The woman claimed she’d never thought it could be anything other than a bear until she read the last month’s paper.”
“Now, this is where it gets fun to be an investigator,” Re explains, “I asked her a few more questions and learned a great deal. One, being that bears have been through the area before and her horse had never reacted in such a way. Also, two weeks prior her horse had made some noise one night and in the morning she’d found her “animal proof” barrel of feed open. It had been taken off the pallet and left upright, with the top off; it had had a twist top she described as difficult to open. What is fascinating is that it had not been spilled, chewed, or left in disarray. It had been neatly opened but some had been eaten.”
Black Bears in Florida are a sub-species and the average weight being just under 250 lbs., with the largest ever recorded being 624 lbs. “This woman claims the “bear” she saw was far larger than that,” adds Monteith. “And she now thinks she has finally solved the mystery of her vegetable garden. For years, she has tried to grow tomatoes, squash and peppers. She could always tell when certain animals got into the garden because they would leave parts of the vegetables with tooth marks. It was the bounty that was plucked and taken completely from the vine without remnants that puzzled her. She eventually gave up trying to grow them.”
Monteith went out to the property to take a look a look around. “I walked the area and a neighbor’s property and found a track of 15 ½ inch prints. A left and right print, with a 38 inch stride between the two. In the last 48 hours the area had heavy rains from Tropical Storm Isaac. These prints were less than 24 hours old as they had not been washed away.”
“The latest phone call I received was from a woman who claims to have seen a very tall, dark head peeking around a tree two nights in a row while she weeded the lawn. When I went to the property and spoke to her I was able to find several footprints in the nearby woods. And it was not too surprising to me that her property borders Lake Macy,” Monteith states.
“The most interesting story I heard about was an old one. About 40 years ago a legend began in this area because someone experienced an unusual sighting of an unknown animal,” Monteith states. “Most beliefs, legends, or what we refer to as myths, begin with a truthful story. Over time or with embellishment it can change – but it usually starts with some truth. Apparently, back in the early 70’s a story was started about a resident creature referred to as the “Mole Man. It was tall, bipedal, hairy, and had red eye glow. It lived in the orange grove off Ohio and Prevatt Avenue. During this time people would go into the groves with guns looking for it. I spoke with several people who lived in Lake Helen at that time and remember seeing or hearing about footprints. One man who had been a police officer at the time, was acquainted with a “character” now deceased, who had claimed to have hoaxed the town. Apparently many took the Mole Man story as truth considering many were toting guns around with them.”
It seems the Mole Man got his name not from digging, or living underground, but from just being in an area where there were mole hills. The dirt road into the grove was commonly referred to as, “Mole Hill Road.”
“Although, we have a very credible person stating the entire Mole Man incident was a hoax, I want to point out that the man claiming to have hoaxed the town wasn’t so credible,” Monteith says. “I also find it astonishing that the orange grove where the Mole Man lived is one street or less than 800 yards from the latest sightings, the siding damage and the “gorilla sounds.” I also think when a creature gets fabricated - especially back in the days before Bigfoot was well known - imagination would have made it scarier. Perhaps with claws, a tail, horns, and fangs. Not one person I spoke to added that to the description. This Mole Man is described as a Bigfoot would look, and it had red eye glow. Red eye glow has been reported many times, and it is different from eye shine which is what happens when a light is shined on the eye.”
And to add to the story and that particular orange grove is that in 1989 two girls saw what they thought was a very tall black naked man running through the grove one night. It ran through the beam of their headlights. They assumed he was naked because they didn’t see any clothes.
LAKE HELEN AND THE “Halibut Effect”
The “Halibut Effect” is a phenomenon that has been documented in nature. It is a term coined by bigfoot researcher and Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot host, Cliff Barakman, to describe how large halibut can be found in areas where they were once caught frequently, but were thought to have been eradicated from over-fishing. It seems marine habitats with all the right factors and ingredients which allowed the halibut to grow large decades ago, would eventually attract more halibut and allow them to grow very large again.
It’s also a good analogy for bigfoot sighting locations. If the natural character of an area has not changed much since the last sightings, or the area is more forested, there’s a good chance that bigfoots will still use the area from time to time.
“Your quaint little town, which by the way has a great surrounding habitat for bigfoots, may be experiencing this very phenomenon,” Monteith adds.
“If you’re still confused about just what to believe, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization website (BFRO.net) lists several undisputed facts about bigfoot, as well as thousands of credible reports and stories,” Monteith adds.
Here are just a few of the facts the BFRO lists:
It's a fact that for more than 400 years people have reported seeing large, hair-covered, man-like animals in the wilderness areas of North America.
It is a fact that sightings of these animals continue today. Real or not, these reports are often made by people of unimpeachable character.
It is a fact that, for over seventy years, people have been finding, photographing, and casting sets of very large human-shaped tracks. Most are discovered by chance in remote areas. These tracks continue to be found to this day.
It is a fact that the cultural histories of many Native American and First Nation peoples include stories and beliefs about non-human "peoples" of the wild. Many of these descriptions bear a striking resemblance to the hairy man-like creatures reported today.
These are some of the facts. There is, however, much disagreement as to what these facts mean.
To many, these facts, taken together, suggest the presence of an animal, probably a primate, which exists today in very low population densities. If true, this species, having likely evolved alongside humans, became astonishingly adept at avoiding human contact through a process of natural selection.
To others, these same facts point to a cultural phenomenon kept alive today through a combination of the misidentification of known animals, wishful thinking, and the deliberate fabrication of evidence.
The BFRO, and its members, take the former view.
The BFRO will continue with its investigation of the Lake Helen/Casadaga area. If you should see, hear or experience anything unusual, which you may think might be bigfoot related, you can contact R. Monteith, at the BFRO at contactus@bfro.net. All reports and information remain confidential.
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