‘Squatch investigations in the U.P.

ISHPEMING — The Upper Peninsula has countless miles of wooded area which is ideal for a one very large human like creature. It’s neither a bear nor any other commonly seen animal but in fact a Sasquatch.

Abnormally large footprints, unusual howling, and intricate stick structures, that is what Bigfoot investigators are looking for when searching in the woods. Stories involving sightings of Sasquatch have been passed down from generation to generation and one hot spot for this mysterious creature is right here in the U.P.

One local organization is dedicated to finding evidence involving the mysterious animal like creature.

“I created the organization because when I started researching Big Foot, there was nothing that had just the U.P. or a good listing of all the U.P. sightings. So I wanted a place where people could go find the sightings and see they aren’t the only ones who have things like this going,” said Upper Peninsula Bigfoot Research Investigation Organization Founder, Richard Meyer.

The organization was founded back in 2012 and has since received a great amount of attention from across the state. Meyer is contacted frequently about possible Sasquatch sightings in the U.P., especially in Marquette County. While researching, there are some things that the investigators are keeping their ears open for.

“You listen for different sounds, different howls and then you have to decipher whether that is a wolf, or a coyote, or an owl, or something else that makes noises in the woods, but once you start to break it down and run it through different audio software, you can see the different frequencies and you can say that it’s definitely not anything else. This is a good possibility that it’s Sasquatch,” said Meyer.

If you happen to be looking for a Sasquatch yourself, they communicate through wood knocking sounds just like this.

“I’ve gone out into the woods and will be standing there listening and will hear a knock to my right off a couple hundred yards and then you’ll hear a knock to your left off a couple hundred yards and then they’ll move and knock again. We’ve gone out there and knocked and got return knocks,” said Meyer.

Sasquatch are allegedly between six and a half to 9 feet tall and weigh around 1,000 pounds. Although these are large and fast creatures, it is believed they are not harmful hence why they prefer population dense areas.

“We don’t know if they are man or human, they could be primate or remnants of giganticus pithecus,” said Meyer.

Meyer has never personally experienced a class A witness of Bigfoot, this of which entails a face to face encounter but remains hopeful for future investigations. If you believe you have evidence of a Sasquatch or would like to assist on a local investigation, the research team can be contacted through their Facebook page. Although Meyer has noticed an increase in people willing to report sightings, there are still skeptics.

“It’s not my job to make them believe, it’s my job to bring the evidence out so if they choose to open their minds to believe, they have some evidence to back their belief,” said Meyer

The first ever U.P. Bigfoot convention was held in 2015 and the organization is already planning on having their second annual convention sometime in 2017. In regards to believing in Sasquatch, that is up for you to decide.