Georgia Dash Cam Footage a Hoax?
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on June 1st, 2011
It seems like the footage featured in the first episode of Animal Planet’s Finding Bigfoot series has some serious questions about it.
Bigfoot ‘sighting’ lures TV network
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 8:46 AM EST
Although it’s not writ in stone, Animal Planet is making plans to visit Lumpkin and Union counties. They are stalking the legend of Bigfoot.
The Discovery Channel, which produces Animal Planet, called local resident Mary Scott, requesting an interview with her. Scott, as well as a Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office deputy with whom she was riding during a Citizens Law Enforcement Academy ride-along, reportedly saw a Bigfoot about a year-and-a-half ago and captured it on the dashboard cam.
Scott said they were out in the Frogtown area when the sighting occurred.
“We were going about 55 mph on a curvy road. It was really late-after midnight, I think. We hadn’t passed any other cars, and this thing came out of nowhere,” Scott says. “The officer hit the brakes and we both jumped out. We looked on both sides of the road but didn’t see anything, and we looked at each other kind-of like, ‘You saw that, didn’t you? I saw that.’”
Realizing the event had been recorded by the patrol car’s dash cam, Scott and the officer returned to the Sheriff’s Office where they viewed the happening on a larger screen.
“We were both just shocked,” Scott says. “It was really tall, and it really looked like the pictures you’ve seen of Bigfoot.”
The film found it’s way onto the Internet, and that’s how the Discovery Channel tracked Scott down, she says.
“I told them it all happened in seconds. It just came and went,” she says.
The TV representative told Scott they are planning to visit the area in February and plan to camp out in the area where she and the deputy made the sighting.
They may change their minds, however, when they learn that Sheriff Stacy Jarrard claims to have proven the sighting to be a hoax. Jarrard said he went out the next day to question homeowners in the area. At the first house he stopped at, he says, there were two young men, students at North Georgia College & State University, who were “acting really nervous. You could see their hearts were beating really fast,” he says.
The two did not admit to the prank right away, but later in the week they copped to one of them donning a gorilla suit and running across the road in front of vehicles on the night in question. Jarrard says he even has a photograph of the two boys with the gorilla suit.
If Animal Planet does decide to not to visit Lumpkin, they will probably still most likely visit the North Georgia area.
“They sent us a letter requesting to film at Track Rock in Union County,” said John Campbell with the National Forest Ranger Station in Blairesville. “The area is an archeological site, and is purported to have the footprint on Bigfoot.”Sharon Hall
The Dahlonega Nugget
Notice in the above quoted article how soon that the video was called into question, the next day.
Then within a week, the culprits admitted to it.
So we have kids in the neighborhood that had a gorilla suit in their possession and admitted to the hoax AND the video was still used as evidence?
Hmmm…
Co-founder of Cryptomundo in 2005.
I have appeared in or contributed to the following TV programs, documentaries and films:
OLN's Mysterious Encounters: "Caddo Critter", Southern Fried Bigfoot, Travel Channel's Weird Travels: "Bigfoot", History Channel's MonsterQuest: "Swamp Stalker", The Wild Man of the Navidad, Destination America's Monsters and Mysteries in America: Texas Terror - Lake Worth Monster, Animal Planet's Finding Bigfoot: Return to Boggy Creek and Beast of the Bayou.
Who helped produce this show now that this fact has come out, Jay and Grant from the Ghost Hunters? They find ghost evidence every episode and have even been called out on fake evidence. Is Moneymaker doing the same to make money? Or is Animal Planet to blame? Whatever the case, this takes away from credibility of the BFRO and more importantly it’s another step back just when the “costume in the freezer” mess has faded away.
If this is a hoax, then it is a real shame and confirms the skepticism about this program expressed by me and other Cryptomundians a couple of days ago.
However: I have problems to believe the guy in the gorilla suit can run the distance of somewhere between 7 and 12 meters in about 1.4 seconds (and why didn’t he just walk the distance?). If he really can: every football or soccer team in the world will spend millions to get this college student – my congratulations to this super-athlete!
I had already saw this footage on another reality show. On that show they actually did reveal it as a hoax by the 2 college students. I saw this show maybe 6 months ago but I don’t remember what show it was. Destination Truth?, Fact or Faked? or some similar show. If I remember correctly they even interviewed the hoaxers and they showed the costume that they used.
The comments by Jarrard were not true, as we discovered while we were there. He wouldn’t take questions from us when we tried to nail down his story.
No one from the sheriff’s department went out to speak with any of the neighbors after the incident … We spoke with the neighbors though when we were shooting the episode. There was never any college students living in the area, and there was no photo of college kids with a gorilla costume. Jerrard’s story sounded unlikely from the beginning, and apparently it didn’t happen.
None of the other sheriffs had heard about this story that Jarrard told to a reporter. It seems he came up with the story to quell any fear that local people might have about a monster in the woods, and to prevent hunters from going to look for one.
How could anyone make a guess at what that was? It is a blurry blob. This isnt evidence of a BF. This example is exactly why I did not watch the show.
There was no other show that aired the dashcam footage. Finding Bigfoot was the first program to air the footage. Lotsa false nonsense coming up on this site today, but anonymous people claiming things they kinda sorta recall but can’t quite put their finger on it.
Apparently, if you want to hear the uncensored rebuttals to some of these bogus assertions, you’ll have to come over to the BFRO’s Blue Forum. Coleman and Woolheater can’t take the heat of me replying to correct the false statements, because it embarrasses them too much.
The first time we saw the dashcam video was on March 14, 2011 on Youtube. Sorry matt.
Where’s the photo? Where’s the suit? Sorry, I trust reporters as much as I trust a hoaxer. They screw up and get the facts wrong too many times. Not saying video is real, but I have visual evidence in front of me, all she has is testimony. How many times have we heard that testimony is not proof?
Like I said, Sharon, Finding Bigfoot was the first TV program to air the footage. You saw it on Foss’ FB/FB page because it leaked out of our group when we were shooting those episodes. Being on a Facebook page is not the same thing as being on TV, Sharon. The guy above (“gghg”) who claims he saw it on a different reality show, along with the costume and college kids … is just outright lying about it. Our show is the only show that has ever aired the footage.
Also, there were no college kids with a costume in this case. We went around in the neighborhood and found out that no college kids had ever lived in the area, and no sheriffs had ever come around asking about it.
I stand corrected then, Matt, good work, Matt! Hey I am not attacking you in the least.
I upgraded Matt Moneymaker’s comments to a separate posting, to give them more visibility, of course, not to “censor” them. Indeed, I left them completely unedited. It appears someone jumped the gun.
See here.
Well I may be mis-remembering where or when I saw it (happens alot at my age) but I am sure I saw at the very least a video showing exactly what I described above. I am not trying to come down on the Finding Bigfoot show nor Mr. Moneymaker. I actually really enjoyed the show and I do believe that bigfoot could be a real creature. I just thought that if this particular video had been shown to be hoaxed that it needed to be disclosed so the parties involved could look into it further to try and keep any backlash to a minimum. I am sorry that my comment upset Mr. Moneymaker. I look forward to all future episodes of Finding Bigfoot.
The dash cam footage was taken from a youtube video and was shown on Fact or Faked, but they dismissed it as a hoax and did not investigate. I have the show taped so I’m quite sure of this. Either way though, they didn’t investigate the video and that’s too bad, as we only have someone’s word that it was faked, and not someone involved with the alleged hoax. Matt it’s good to see you responding to these btw, guess I need to head on over to BFRO and see what there is to see, as I’ve not visited that particular site much in the past. Loved the show though, and always glad to see more cryptozoology on TV, keep up the good work!
That link to a private YouTube page that was created to share the Georgia dashcam video among BFRO people while our episodes were in production. Someone in the group from Georgia (who is now dismissed from the BFRO) circulated that private YouTube link to you, and you made it public … It won’t happen again, Foss, or should I call you “Jack Barnes”.
Why don’t you comment on the other questions raised?
What size were the footprints? Why didn’t you state the size on the show? Were the footprint casts taken to Dr Jeff Meldrum for analysis?
Did you have a sound analysis done on the howl you recorded?
Why did you send all your helpers home after one of them had that thermal hit on her camera?
This show was taped months ago, you should have more follow up info for your viewers.
Very Tom Biscardi like.
Matt, I’m not sure but are you saying I’m Jack Barnes? I’ve been around online a very log time as mikfoss pretty much everywhere, my website is mikfoss.com and my Facebook is mikfoss as well. Sorry if I stepped on some toes, this was not my intention. Liked your site by the way, and sorry if my online handle confused you.
Let’s go through these presumptuous questions point by point.
Q1: Why don’t you comment on the other questions raised?
A1: Raised by who? You? Who exactly are you?
Q2: What size were the footprints? Why didn’t you state the size on the show?
A2: Do you think the 4 researchers edited the show? Do you think we didn’t measure the track casts when we were being taped? Do you think Cliff didn’t state those measurements on camera when we were being taped, just because you didn’t see it? Are you assuming that because you didn’t see it in the show that it didn’t happen? Do you think we asked them to exclude the measuring of the track casts from the show? Are you assuming that the researchers have final say as to what the producers include and what they don’t include in an episode?
Q3: Were the footprint casts taken to Dr Jeff Meldrum for analysis?
A3: Why don’t you just assume that we didn’t do that, so I can tell you that you are wrong about that too. Meldrum has copies, and has had them for months. Are you going to say he has been “concealing” his analysis because you haven’t heard him mention that?
Q4: Did you have a sound analysis done on the howl you recorded?
Q4: We don’t have copies of any of the relevant sounds recorded during any of the episodes. The only item of evidence we’ve had control over were the track casts from Georgia, and that’s because Cliff shipped them out of GA before they could spirited away from us. As for the recordings … It’s not our material, and they certainly don’t want to release anything from the show before the episodes are released.
Q5: Why did you send all your helpers home after one of them had that thermal hit on her camera?
A5: Another assumption. We didn’t send anyone home. The producers decided who would stay and who would go. It was their gig. They couldn’t film a bunch of people spread out in the woods at night. Not enough NV scopes for that.
Q6: This show was taped months ago, you should have more follow up info for your viewers. Very Tom Biscardi like.
A5: As if we have control over the audio/video recordings … and as if we knew what would be included in the episode … and as if we’re supposed to have every bit of follow-up ready for impatient people like you before the network rushes an episode onto the air. I don’t think so. Yeah, go ahead and compare that with Biscardi, you dimwit. This series wasn’t supposed to be on the air until October. The network moved it forward to pick up the audience of River Monsters after its season finale. I’ve spent more time on your presumptuous questions than I should have. You’re just gonna have to wait for everything else.
MM
Thank you mikfoss for proving that I am not crazy. I was pretty sure I had seen the footage on some other reality show previous to Finding Bigfoot. I may have gotten some of the details crossed from different sources but the crux of my memory was correct.
Now personally I think the existence of Bigfoot is a bunch of BS. It is pretty funny reading all of these post by Bigfoot “experts” dissing one another. Calling each other names or what not. Slamming each other to save face or make themselves look good. I really got a kick out the guy who thinks there was this massive Bigfoot “massacre” when Patterson got his “footage”. A TV show should be made on that alone. 😉
Now the Cadborosaurus is the hands down favorite out of all the cryptids to be the real deal. Consistant descriptions. A few photos of dead specimens from different places and times looking the same. And now hopefully footage that helps in one step closer to sealing the deal on its existence. You don’t see anyone dissing another in proving its existence.
Just my 2 Cents!
Now is calling someone who has questions about the information given on the show a “dimwit” really necessary? This is what I mean from my previous post. Bigfoot researchers calling each other names, making each other look bad and now calling viewers of the program “dimwit” is not helping you or your cause of searching for Bigfoot any good. No wonder why the general population laugh and scoff. It’s become a joke.
The Animal Planet Channel will get as much science and entertainment if they followed me & my “team” around Snipe hunting. I invented the method of banging two sticks together to make the Snipes come out you know! 😉
Hey Matt, I too would like to know some of these details that the editing process/producers omitted-footprint size, audio analysis etc. Tough to do on an an hour show with tons of commercials, So I understand they can’t include everything,
But a section on your web site WOULD be cool. Let us know if that is a potential development or if you already have something on there. I use to read your forum section but can’t find it anymore…? Anyway it was a Cool show…looking forward to the upcoming episodes.
Thanks!
Wow, you seem too sensitive for your own good. I asked simple questions and you attacked me, and you only gave strange answers. You asked me more questions then you answered.
You asked, “Who am I”, well, I’m just a viewer of YOUR show. As a viewer I would hope you would look to answer questions not avoid them.
What is the BIG secret about the footprint size anyway? As viewers it is a legitimate question. If they were 12 inches or shorter, they could very well be human tracks. If they were 22 inches long then that would be a interesting find. Either way, by you STILL not telling us, again you come off like a hoaxer.
You asked me tons of question any viewer wouldn’t know. We see you as the team leader on the show, then you come here and whine that you had no control over what the producers did.
I will contact Animal Planet to get straight answers as I see you are afraid to say ANYTHING concrete.
A simple yes, Dr Meldrum has seen the prints would have been enough, but you attack me with a very smart ass attitude like you are wasting your time with some one who watched your show.
I have let friends and family read your reply and most are very disappointed in your attitude. They all say you sound like a con artist and I have to agree.
No need to act like a tough guy here Mr Moneymaker, we are here because we hope there is such a thing as a Bigfoot creature. Your defensive attitude is not wanted, we as believers have seen so many hoaxers in the past, you should expect tough questions. If you have solid evidence…it won’t matter what questions you are asked, your evidence should speak for itself.
I am sorry if I am a “dimwit” to you, I will let Animal Planet know that you don’t want “dimwits” watching you show.
I also saw the footage on Fact or Faked? So the statement that Matt’s show was the first TV show to air the video was not true. It took them about 20 seconds to say it looked fake. Way too blurry and too sketchy to say its anything other than interesting.
You know Matt, I too take offense in your smart mouth answers to simple questions. You make claims that are to say the least silly, and when simple questions are asked you get defensive. Well you sir can not prove beyond a doubt you were the discoverer of anything bigfoot related such as wood knocks or calls. Until you show us the body you studied to obtain the body size comparison or show us the text book you learned from or show us a degree in Cryptozoology since there is no such thing, everything you claim is no more substantiated than anything claimed by anyone else. If you use photos as comparisons where did you obtain photos proven to be beyond a doubt real? There are none, so get off your high horse and show some class, if possible.
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