Media Article # 656
Article submitted by Stan Courtney
Article prepared and posted by Stan Courtney

Monday, November 14, 2011

Team Investigates Bigfoot Sighting Here

The Journal News - Hillsboro / Litchfield, Illinois

Did researchers find evidence of Bigfoot near Hillsboro last month?

Investigators from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) were in Montgomery County near the end of October, looking for evidence of the giant, bipedal, hairy creature.

The team, which included official investigator Harold Benny of Hillsboro, was asked to look into incidents in Montgomery County, including a daylight sighting by two people.

The BFRO has gained attention since the Finding Bigfoot television show on Animal Planet.

BFRO.net tracks Bigfoot sightings throughout North America. The website lists one sighting in Montgomery County (Report #10197 Class A), from Sept. 14, 1993, in which two squirrel hunters around McPherson Bridge near Panama saw a seven-foot-tall, light reddish-brown unidentifiable animal running on two legs, arms swinging.

The website lists six sightings in Macoupin County.

"Most all of our work is done in complete darkness without white light in the middle of the night," Benny said.

The nine-man team assembled to investigate here in October included four official investigators including Benny. Others in the group had a PhD in anatomy and physiology, a MS in zoology, and MS in anthropology, a BS in archeology, and a BS in nursing.

Benny said the team investigated two locations within 10 miles of Hillsboro.

"Three of us were examining an area and saw a bipedal animal move between trees at about 1 a.m.," Benny said.
"We also saw several instances of nonreflective eyeglow about the same time. Two large footprints were found
but were not distinct enough to cast."

That, however, does not necessarily lead investigators to believe Bigfoot is indeed in Montgomery County.

"I don't believe anything we saw was unexplainable," Benny said. "Anytime a simple explanation is possible, that is the best explanation."

He said, though, that after analyzing a recording of night sounds, the team disagreed on the sources of some sounds.

"We did agree the area was worth returning to, and I will continue my own observations," Benny added.

• Submit a report
• Submit a comment or article