Bridgewater Triangle Bigfoot
Posted by: Loren Coleman on August 14th, 2009
Jason Lorefice (the man shown below in the photo) says, “The tracks were in Bridgewater MA outside the Hockomock swamp near Lake Nipp.
I was down there last month on vacation, and I was mountain biking in the swamp area. I found a series of tracks going accross a corn field leading into the swamp.
The stride was approximately 87 inches in length. The cast came out to be 18 inches x 7 inches.”
For me, this print raises several questions…
1) Why is it so perfect?
2) Were others found nearby? Why aren’t they pictured?
3) Where is the evidence of a trackway?
4) Why, reportedly, have the facts of the story changed over time?
5) Who is this person and what do they have in mind by presenting this “evidence.”?
Frankly, the toes do seem too good to be true, all separated like they are, with no litter in the print, and so nicely appearing for a photograph and to be casted. It reminds me of the old Ray Wallace-Cliff Crook trophy prints.
Note the raised ridge of dirt at the back of the photographed track in the soil? That appears to indicate extra pressure from a static form (a fake foot?) being pushed into the ground.
Is the track cast maker trying to embarrass someone, seeking attention (there are hints of his involvement in future radio shows and attempts to be on “monster hunts”)?
Thanks to Joe Citro, for passing this along.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
Why would he only photograph one print if there was a series? I can’t help but feel the print he photographed is just a bit too pristine for being in a muddy cornfield.
Yeah, I do understand. I was thinking that myself, mostly of the toes. Although I will give him kudos for putting a measuring tape and his foot next to it. Does that “prove” that he thought this one thru? I dunno. I do apologize if he did not set up this one, but it is just too good to be true.
The pictured print looks stamped to me. I wish we had photos of some of the other prints to review, especially a picture showing the stride of the individual. This might help us come to a conclusion that the creature stopped at this point momentarily, leaving the clean, pristine footprint that we see in the photograph provided.
Come on. An 87″ stride? Thats 7.25 feet. In all the BF reports i have seen I have never seen a stride approaching that length. Fake all the way!
Also, nice velcro shoes.
Having lived in Massachusetts my whole life, the “Bridgewater Triangle” has always struck me as something of a reach. There are reports of strange things happening there (UFOs, Black Helicopters, ghosts, ect.) but I don’t think they have anything to do with cryptozoology.
-For all the reasons previously mentioned, the “print” is a pretty lame effort. So are the circumstances surrounding its “discovery”. The Hockmomock Swamp and surrounding area is not a place people commonly go for vacation.
-Current investigation into the “legend” of the “triangle” seems to be the work of a single person. I’ve heard him speak and didn’t find him to be particularly credible.
-You have to wonder if you couldn’t create a two hundred square mile “triangle” just about anywhere and find reports of strange goings-on inside of it. Put it in a well-populated area with historic significance and you likely won’t be disappointed.
-Massachusetts is notable for it’s nearly complete absence of Bigfoot sightings. Based on the info presented in the recent Monsterquest round-up of Bigfoot evidence, I’d say this probably has something to do with migration patterns.
-The Thunderbird has reportedly been seen there. The presence of a Thunderbird in Mass seems even more unlikely than a resident Bigfoot.
-UFOs, mysterious lights, and “black helicopters” have been reported in the “triangle”. Perhaps not surprisingly, at night the sky over the area is full of all sorts of lights because it lies underneath a busy approach to Logan Airport.
Although an interesting area folklore-wise, I don’t expect to see Jeff Meldrum prowling the Hockomock swamp anytime soon.
I’d have to go hoax on this as well. My first impressions were much the same as others: Too perfect, too narrow and too human. From what I can see it looks as though the step was placed straight down instead of a natural action.
Either this guy is pulling a fast one or somebody is having fun at his expense.
@gr8shot: Don’t forget that stride is left foot to left foot, or right to right. Step is right to left, or left to right.
Wasn’t the stride length from the Patterson sighting ~81-82 inches?
A stride length of 87″ I believe translates to a creature little over 7′ tall, definitely within ranges describe for Bigfoot.
I don’t see a pressure ridge behind the toes, which would likely be there if made by a living foot.
I’ve walked in muddy areas without shoes on several times before (what can I say, the mud feels good between my toes) and I have never seen that kind of separation between the toes in the prints I make, nor would I expect to from anything with human-like feet that was actually walking – now, if a Bigfoot walked up to that point, then spread his toes, made that print, and moved on (a highly unlikely scenario), then maybe I could see this being real.
It rained for the better part of July in Southeastern Massachusetts. When first reviewing this photo, I attributed the angled heel to the alleged entity slipping in the mud as it put its foot down, but upon further evaluation, I conclude that this is a hoax. The only 7 – 8 foot creature that could leave a SHALLOW imprint like that (in mud) would be former stringbean thin NBA centers Chuck Nevitt who stands 7′ 5″ at 250 lbs (on Mars) or Manute Bol who stands at 7′ 7″ and 225 (on Jupiter).
Right now I am following up a lead that Manute Bol was seen at a Hess Express gas station in Bridgewater recently buying a pack of Marlboro Light 100’s and a Red Bull. I’ve a better chance of proving that story true than Jason proving his.
Hey, it’s Summer 2009, and it seems that we always get one Bigfoot hoax when the warm weathr arrives. This is it.
Having lived in Massachusetts, I exhausted many weeks exploring the northern region of the Hockomock Swamp. I spent whole nights there on more than one occasion. Reports of past Bigfoot sightings in the Hockomock (as well as other bizarre happenings) piqued my curiosity.
After becoming thoroughly familiar with that particular segment of the Bridgewater Triangle, I concluded that it is probably not well suited for a large creature such as Bigfoot. At least three traffic-congested roads (The 138, the 123, and the 24), and one major highway (The 495), very closely surround the northerly Hockomock, extending to the North, South, East and West. A myriad of local businesses and private residences encompass this famed swampland as well.
Although the area is quite large, it’s simply not remote enough to effectively hide a lumbering, eight-foot Sasquatch, even if it was merely passing through. It’s highly unlikely that a cautious and wily Sasquatch would risk exposure by entering an area sporting such a heavy human population (25,185 in 2000).
I know that the Hockomock Swamp is extensive, but I’m talking about the specific area in West Bridgewater where Mr. Lorefice claims to have discovered his 18-inch-long Bigfoot track.
In years past, the Hock has been a place of many strange happenings, but this man’s new Bigfoot “track” originates from an area that has been more recently “hemmed in” by modern progress. The ever-increasing numbers of cars on the roadways and children playing in their backyards is slowly but surely overtaking this region. ATV’s and motorcycles are clearly heard and their tracks are seen, albeit I’m not sure if they’re even allowed to be there. Hunters and trappers frequent the muddy marsh-ways with increasing regularity. Blueberry pickers and trail-strollers seem to be on the increase also, walking, jogging, and bike-riding their way down the various trails that supply access to the 3,300 acres of wetland that embodies this specific location in West Bridgewater. When I was there, it bothered me that the trails around Lake Nippenicket (Lake Nipp) seemed to sport more bootprints than I desired. The Hockomock Swamp that exists today is probably not the same as it was 50 years ago.
Looking at the northern Hockomock on a map, and considering the location of the fast-growing community that has surrounded it over the last 50 years, I’m not convinced that the area could support Sasquatch activity even back then.
My conclusion: The track is hoaxed. The region in question is simply not fit for the habitation of Sasquatches, nor is it conducive to the idea of Bigfoot travel or migration.
That is my unpolished opinion, and I stand by it.
I agree that the print could be “stamped.” It looks too clean.
Let’s hope that if this is a hoax, it just goes away.
I’m not a cryptozoologist, I’m just a fan of the subject, so this question may sound silly …
I’ve always wondered why so many of the cast footprints are so perfect. The toes are always in just the right positions. They always seem to have a perfect stair-step formation going from the great toe down to the wee toe. I can’t even get a good footprint of myself! I can walk in the sand or mud and my toe prints are always smeared and messy, the hell sloshes to the left or the right, yet most of the Bigfoot prints I see look as if Bigfoot had stuck his foot into cement at Mann’s Chinese Theatre.
Are there any Bigfoot prints with misshapen toes. For example, my second toe is MUCH longer than my great toe. Have there been any casted tracks that show non-uniform toes?
@groovyghosthunter
Yes, most notably is a Sasquatch/Bigfoot known as Crippled Foot.
There are several casts of this specimen, and the left foot is badly disformed or injured. The left cast seems to show a partial missing toe and most of the rest are misaligned/bent. Additionally there are bulges along the outside of the foot. I believe some of suggested that perhaps this one got its foot caught in an animal trap. It was in Grover Krantz book where he compared it to human foot anatomy and he was convinced the deformities do correlate with foot anatomy.
Yeah, it does look a little too “perfect.”
Doesn’t mean there might not be Ole Hairys in the Triangle, though. But to reiterate, the footprint does look “fishy” to me.
The absence of “trash” around the track is indeed troubling, as Loren so insightfully pointed out.
Praetorian:
There have been sightings of UFOs and other weird lights around the area that cannot be explained away as MERELY lights from “nearby” Logan airport. I do not claim to know exactly what is going on in this “hotspot,” but I CAN tell you this—there is “something” going on in the Triangle. And it is NOT totally explainable to “mundane” stuff.
why would the toes leave such a deeper imprint than the ball and heel of the foot? I think “stamped” is an accurate description of how it looks. I would be interested in seeing the cast from the side to get a better idea of the depth of the impression.
I agree with the trend in the comments so far. Also, it looks kind of uniform in depth — no indication of an arch whatsoever, let alone indication of pressure changing from heel to toe.
But I’m not sure how relevant your own muddy footprints are, CryptoInformant 2.0. Mud can have varying amounts of water, sand, clay, and organic matter, and how well it preserves a print will depend in part on the composition of the mud.
Not to play Devil’s advocate, but there may be another print in the photograph.
It looks like the man’s left foot is in a left print, which means the print he decided to photograph appeared when the animal was standing still, which would explain the extra pressure in the back and would explain why it was so perfect.
It would also create more holes in an already compromised story, so there’s that.
Take a look at the print with the guy’s bare foot next to it. Does his “bent” foot not look exactly like the bigfoot print in reverse????!!!!!!!
Great pictures.
Perhaps a Bigfoot has moved into a Bridgewater neighborhood. A health-conscious Bigfoot who enjoys jogging his or her weekends away under power-lines, listening to soundsoftheforest.mp3 on an ipod. Just trying to get away from it all.
This is a wonderful fiction.
If no one has ever actually gone out and faked a Bigfoot encounter, I highly recommend it. Sculpting a footprint in the mud. Casting it in plaster. Taking some pictures. Yeah, the measuring tape really helps validate it. The best kind of art project. Creation of a fiction, which becomes a phenomenon, disinforming and propagandizing an idea… powerful stuff. What a rush.
This guy is having a great time. At whose expense? His own. Somebody wants attention.
IMO – Fake.
Reasons:
It appears the “print” was stamped “toe to heel” to get a good, solid, non-smeared outline of the toes (also, slippage is shown in the heel).
Photo of just one print, not the entire alleged track.
No perspective (take notes, would-be evidence collectors)…yes, congrats for including a measuring device, but how about a wide-angle to put the print in perspective. There is nothing that links photo 1 to photo 2 by way of evidence. The “print” could have been in the person’s backyard, and then the picture of him with the cast taken by some random cornfield. For evidence, you need to LINK your photos. (I’ll take some of this back IF that is some “left over” plaster in the lower left corner of photo 2)
No litter. Any print/track caster knows that this SET UP would be a “dream scenario” for a common animal print, let alone a sasquatch print.
Too narrow.
Too much like the naked foot in photo 3 (same wide, bulbous first toe & and narrow, oddly curved foot)…reeks of one of those gel/petroleum fake enlargements.
All this just MHO…take it for what its worth.
I think this guy is testing us to see if we are stupid enough to believe this bogus print. We need to move on and quite giving this jerk air time.