New Bigfoot Video Footage?
Posted by: Craig Woolheater on November 18th, 2005
I received an email from someone today stating:
I’m not a professional like you guys, but I think I got something real exciting on tape. It was in California, not Texas. But I’ve put up a Web site. Can you give me your professional opinion?
This is the link to the website: Bigfoot sighting!!!
The video is hosted on an Angelfire site, so it may be unavailable at times due to traffic.
Text from the website:
November 14, 2005
The Story:
Last weekend my girlfriend Jill and I were hiking in northern Sonoma County (in CA). We had our video camera with us so we could try to tape some elk. We’d been going for about a couple hours when Jill said she heard a strange noise. We stopped, and then I heard it too.
At first, it sounded like a deep growl, kind of what a bear would make, but higher pitched. Jill wanted to run away, but then we heard it again. I thought it was real strange. So I took out the camera to try to zoom in on where the noise was coming from, and there was this weird creature. It must have heard us, because it moved away real fast! It was gone in about 15 seconds.
The thing was like 8-9 feet tall, with reddish brown colored hair, and dark eyes. I ran after it, but it moved real fast. When I got to the spot in the ground where it had been when I first heard it, I noticed that the grass was smashed down, and there was this strange, skunky kind of smell.
Afterwards, Jill was real scared, so we turned around and went back, and we didn’t see it again. But that creature was like nothing I’ve ever seen before – if it wasn’t Bigfoot, then I don’t know what it was.
And one more thing – when I got home, my Mom’s mutt Brownie kept sniffing and barking at my hiking boots. They must have smelled like the creature. Brownie was going totally crazy. Luckily, my buddy Jeff has a buddy Alex who works in a lab, so we’re going to have him analyze them.
About Me:
My name is Mark Nelson, and I’m an amateur naturist. I love hiking in the woods and spending time outdoors. I also like photography, and I play bass in a rock band called Total Nutcase.
I sent a copy of the video to fellow Cryptomundo blogger Rick Noll to take a look at. I’m sure that he will have some thoughts to weigh in on this video soon.
Link to stabilized image done by Rick Noll.
UPDATE
It turns out that this video was hoaxed by Penn and Teller for the Showtime series. Details here on Cryptomundo.
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.
Not a bad video, of course it would be nice to see it from begining to end. One thing that seems odd to me is the arm swing, why does everyone assume a bigfoot makes such big swings with its arms. Freeman has a set of photos that show the arms being flung like in this video. Also the arm length seems human just from looking at second half of the video where we see the bigfoot? moving to the right. Also the beginning of the clip seems like the camera man is waiting for a cue but that could just be due to the cut to make the mpeg. Very interesting but we have to remember that there is a contest running , can’t remember who is doing but i think its a fantasy card game, they are looking for the best hoaxed monster video.
As the camera swings down to where he heard the sounds , is that another creature way down the hill? It looks like there could be 2 different creatures in this video. I see a darker creature move from right screen to left way down near the bottom of the hill thats being taped. Then the reddish brown creature comes out of the brush midway up the hill.Do any of you see this?
If there is a contest going on like Squatchworks says this will be disappointing if it turns out to be fake. Hopefully Rick Noll will analyze this further to determine its authenticity.
After looking at this more and more. There is another creature down near the bottom moving from right to left. The one thing that could prove this to be real is that the person taping this doesn’t even see it or mention it in his report. Bigfoot are usually in pairs, at least in communication range of a mile . They help out each other by diverting attention away from you when you spot one and it can’t get away. Could the one at the bottom of the hill be moving in for such a distraction?
That video couldn’t look more fake if you could see the zipper. First of all, in no way is the guy in the suit even close to 8-9 fet tall. And furthermore, the movement of the arms looks so rediculously fake, I can’t believe he thought he could pass it off as real.
My gut tells me this is a hoax. After watching several times, the camera person pans straight to where the second “bigfoot” comes out. It looks like the camera person knew right where to go. However, I would like to be wrong. Maybe they can find something on his boots which I doubt since I’m sure he didn’t just take them off after walking in this area.
hi everyone this is a very interesting possible sasquatch filmfootage more research needs to be done to it. the area in the footage does look great for sasquatch. thanks bill please keep me definetly posted ok about this.
I think the key would be seeing more of the video. If the situation is as described on the website, there should be some sounds that the pair heard just prior to the start of the video as provided.
Sadly, I’m inclined to agree that this one feels like a hoax. Without more of the video to back up his claims, I’m inclined to call it unverifiable.
hi craig & researchers here good evening. i see this new interesting sasquatch filmfootage is starting to be mentioned on certain bigfoot messageboards etc. it would be great to see if the man who took this footage of 2 creatures to invite him on the bigfoot forums so he can talk about his new filmfootage. only time will tell. i think this filmfootage is authentic. i think the eyewittness was suprised of what he saw. but like said before more research needs to be done to this footage. i dont think its a hoax either. thanks bill 🙂 please keep me posted ok..
I too see the “second bigfoot” that everyone is talking about and actually its the same bigfoot. It walks to the left as the camera man gets into posistion and then the camera man zooms into the area where it disappears then it stands up and walks away to the right.
Perhaps a tactic employed to elude would-be followers?
Lets see the rest of the video. I say this is a big fat fake.
Immediately before the film subject moves right the camera operator swings the camera to the right. Is this just random motion or does the camera operator KNOW the subject is going to go right?
why is it only 10 seconds long??? why dont the guy release the whole tape and prove that it is real or fake
hi researchers good evening maybe you all should call this man on the phone and a serious interview with him about his sasquatch filmfootage. please keep me posted ok.
Gut tells me this is a hoax. I wonder why most of the video found is so blurry and shaky. Yeah, I get that, if one encounters a large, genuine cryptid like Bigfoot, it would a scary, exciting time but I am inclined to think it is more of an attempt to hide the flaws of their hoaxes.
Do not get me wrong, I am a “believer” I would just prefer more signal and less noise.
Other than what is on the copyright holders web site I know nothing else about it. I made a small looped file after stabilizing the clearest frames, altered the brightness and contrast, sharpened it a bit (except for the last four loops) and then downsized it all by going to 10 frames per second. I don’t know if it is real or a hoax but those who know about this stuff have reservations on it so far after viewing it. Seems that technology has caught up with this creature and now recreations could be this good… my question is that true though on the amateur level? Not that I know anything about the person who made this video.
It would be nice to go to the site and get measurements and I would be more than willing to do so if contacted about it… but right now I have done about all I can do with it.
I do not have a problem with anything I see in the video. I take it that the reason the cameraman panned left to the creature below him is because he heard something… thinking it some type of animal and proceeded to try and video it. Then after seeing it (and one must realize that what he saw in the view finder would be quite small) pursued it for a better view, possibly capturing the same subject again on a return trip to it’s origin point.
The behavior of the animal isn’t a problem with me either. It may have seen the cameraman looking in the opposite direction and made it’s move in back of him, then heard the man following and turned around for the safety of it’s original hiding place.
Thinking that one knows the behavior of these animals is a little presumptuous and my logic thoughts may be clouded on this… but that is my opinion right now.
I would post my edit of the sequence but am working out the bugs for others to see.
If that’s a video of a real Sasquatch, my name is Loren Coleman and I’ve got a bridge to sell you! Sorry, that just doesn’t look real enough for me.
First of all the video is way too short, what is it 10 seconds max? Why? Did his batteries conveniently run out? Why didn’t he follow it further into the brush? He doesn’t say.
Secondly, if I saw a Sasquatch in the woods, any video I’d shoot would be proceeded by something like: “Holy crud, what the heck is that”! Which would be audible on the tape. You can hear brush crackling as the cameraman or “creature” moves through the brush, but no other audio. Isn’t that a bit odd? Wouldn’t he be saying something we could hear, or the “Jill” who was so scared, be screaming at him to “get away from it?” I would think so.
Thirdly, the guy plays in a band called Total Nutcase; that alone should shut the door on this “footage.”
I’m not ready to write this video off as a hoax or a fake. But, until further investigation is done, if it’s ever done, I’m not ready to say it’s the real deal either.
hi rick noll good evening im realy looking forward on seeing your inhantments etc of this sasquatch fimfootage i hope you can get it more clearer. have you talked to the man took this filmfootage of sasquatch resently. please keep me posted on your investigations into it. thanks bill 🙂
hi craig & everyone good morning i would say the creature in this filmfootage is at 5 1/2 ft tall or 6ft tall. it has black hair all over its body. i agree mark nelson should take a break from the media etc becouse of the thanksgiving then after that he can give full statement about the filmfootage. i hope ca sasquatch researchers are keeping the filmfootage location under close watch with cams and camtrackers. please keep me posted ok. thanks bill 🙂
Mark Nelson’s story gets better and better as time goes on. He originally told me via phone that he was camping at Lake Sonoma. When they left, he headed towards highway 101 for the return drive to his home in Oxnard, CA. On the way out of the park he located a large turnout, pulled over and found a game trail. He followed this trail up a hill and continued to hike about a 1 hours. At this point, he claims he and his girlfriend heard a grunt. He says he thought it was a bear at first, so they waited about ten minutes and started taking landscape video again. As he was taking a video shot, he heard something on his left side; this is when he captured this “thing”…
I asked him specifically where this turnout was and he said it was going towards Lake Sonoma 15 minutes from highway 101. He said it was private land and he had to climb through a three-strand barbwire fence to gain access to this game trail. I also asked him to send me a video file of a minute before and a minute after this event, Mark became nervous and said he would rather not do that. I asked him why, and he could not come up with any reason other than he didn’t want to do it.
This conversation was cut short when he said in a whisper “I have to go now, my girlfriend just got home and she is really jealous of the time I am taking on this video”. I explained that I would need to talk with her also, as she is the only other witness. Mark started saying “I don’t know, she is getting real jealous”. I explained to Mark that the film is worthless if is not authenticated, and he said he would try to talk to her. He said he was interested in selling this film, and I explained that I knew of one producer, national news reporter and a talk show host that would be interested in this video IF a few questions were answered. He promised to call me back in a day or two and then hung up the phone.
A few days past and after I had left several more messages on his phone, he finally called me back on my cell phone at around 8pm. This time I was on my way towards LA. I told him that I was having trouble locating the turnout 15 minutes from 101. Mark then changed the location and said it was 15 minutes on the south side of lake Sonoma towards the ocean. I asked Mark could we meet Sunday so I could see the whole video since I was coming to the LA area, he immediately started to back pedal on me saying that he promised to spend the day with his girlfriend and he just couldn’t meet with me. I told him it would only take 10 minutes…then I asked for only 5 minutes…and he still refused.
Mark stated he is afraid to meet new people. This seems to contradict his claim of playing guitar in a local band, or holding a job for a temporary agency where you meet new people/employers on a frequent basis. I asked Mark what his landline phone number as it would be easer to get in touch with him if needed, but he refused to give it to me saying “that’s my DSL line and I use it just for the computer”.
I asked Mark what his girlfriend did for a living and he hesitated for a second and said “she works in a doctors office”. I asked him what he does for a living, and again he hesitated and said “I work for a temp agency”. I asked mark what he does for the temp agency and again he hesitated as if he was thinking about what to say, and said “I work in a office as a clerk”.
After all that transpired, I told him if this was a hoax to let me know now and I would go my way, and he would go his; no harm done. There was silence for 10 seconds….(this is classic textbook behavior of deception) He became verbally flustered and nervously said “it really happened”, and added that MAYBE we could get together at a later date, but said he was interested in knowing how much the film was worth. He then said out of the blue, he wanted to arrange a “group showing”. When I questioned him about who is in this “group”, he again hesitated and said “um, well, I mean you”. I then said, again, I could be there Sunday. He again declined to meet with me, but said he’d call me by December 5th with a time and date and to have me go ahead and arrange the live radio interview. He then said he was at work and needed to get off the phone immediately. This, again, was after 8pm in the evening. A strange time to be working as a temporary clerk in an office. This was the last contact I had with Mark. He has not responded to my phone messages, nor e-mails.
Without going into more detail, Mark’s statements during both phone interviews were consistent with someone fabricating a story.
Yesterday (12-09-2005), I spent several hours searching for the area where Mark said the turnout and barbwire fence was. The entire fence on this road is field fence and nowhere is there three strand barbwire used exclusively. This is true from the park and 15+ miles south on the road. At one point, I thought I located the site because the terrain seemed familiar. I took a roll of pictures, but once developed I could not match the peak shown in the video.
Some other facts:
1. I asked Mark if he has ever heard of Art Bell and he said “no” , although he posted his so-called experience on Art Bell’s message board 11-16-2005
2. Marks prefix is Santa Maria, CA although he states he lives in Oxnard, CA
3. Mark wrote another investigator and said he was in San Luis Obispo, CA
4. I located a picture of a peak in San Luis Obispo County that looks almost identical the mountain peak in the video
5. Mark now states he was on a fire road (as per Moneymaker’s website), although Mark clearly stated he was following a “deer trail” ready to cross a gully
6. Mark claimed to be an expert with a compass, although he could not tell me the name of the peak in his video (this is taught in basic map reading)
7. There is NO distinctive peak that was displayed in the video in the area he claims he obtained the footage
8. Where is his girlfriend’s voice when this happened?
9. Why are there not two sets of footfalls when he runs after this thing?
The rampant inconsistencies with Mark’s story, his inability to answer questions freely, his contradictory statements and his unwillingness to show the video in the original format all have raised large red flags. The fact that the scene does not match the terrain is in itself deception, and therefore it is my professional opinion this video is a hoax.
— John Freitas
Im abit late on looking at this footage but from my eyes there just one creature and it walks out of the view then walks back. I think its a fake because the creature wasnt going as fast as he said, the arms were swinging to much to try an act like the patterson footage and he just stood there with a camera an its like he is waiting for the person to put the thumbs up to him to move. Its a fake but a weird one.