Women Take On Bigfoot

On MonsterQuest on Wednesday, November 28, 2007, it is all women on the track of “Bigfoot.”

The show’s description has this to say: “Bigfoot has been sighted in Washington State more than any other place on earth. Join an all-female expedition as they try to lure a Bigfoot within range of their cameras. The 1967 Patterson footage will be reexamined using digital microscopes that could reveal details that might prove if the beast is real or a hoax.”

I asked one of the members of the expedition, Monica Rawlins for some details. Her answers to my questions are below:

Loren: “Besides you, who were the others along on the MonsterQuest shoot?”
Monica: “The women who were there are: Melissa Hovey, Kathy Strain, Kristine Walls, a temporary employee at the UW botany department, and her friend from the BFRO, Tracy Herigstad. Rick Noll was with us and suppose to be the director and the camera crew consisted of one guy who insisted he was a woodsman but he had to be in bed by 9 every night. All of the shots were staged, no actual research, as the cameraman read off a shot list we had to get done. It was a real trial. We had three other researchers join us, although they were not shown or mentioned in the show. They were: Brian Brown (of the BFF), Jerry Riedel and John Witherspoon.”

Loren: “Could you tell me a little about yourself?”
Monica: “I was born in Santa Rosa, California on January 3rd, 1973. I was raised in Santa Rosa, but vacationed every summer at my uncle’s place in Douglas County, Oregon. It was there that I had various experiences that I believe were Bigfoot related, throughout the years.”

Loren: “How did you get interested in Bigfoot?”
Monica: “Of course The Legend of Boggy Creek played into my becoming a researcher, but I have always been interested in the stories and their origins. I remember my Grandfather telling me stories about Bigfoot and incidents that happened to friends of his. He encouraged my brother and my interests in various ‘mysterious’ subjects. I had experiences while in Oregon that led me to research, and I use that term loosely, through out my teen years. When I moved to Texas, I had given up on any expectations of researching here until I saw the movie The Legend of Boggy Creek again. I had seen it many times while growing up, but did not pay any attention to it’s location until that night. It dawned on me that the location was not too far from my home, only about two hours. It was that night that I went on the internet and looked up Bigfoot + Texas and found the TBRC; to which I am currently on the Board of Directors.”

Loren: “How are you raising your kids in your Bigfoot-aware home?”
Monica: “I have three children who I encourage the same way my Grandfather encouraged me. If they have questions, I answer them honestly and hope they grow to view the world with open-minded skepticism. If this mystery is not solved within my lifetime, I hope to see one of them carry on investigating. If it is solved, I hope they find mysteries of their own to pursue, this has given me the opportunity to meet some wonderful and unique people and I would like for my children to have the same opportunity – no matter what their quarry.”

Loren: “What are your future objectives in Bigfoot research?”
Monica: “My own future goals are simple – keep investigating. I love the thrill of the hunt. I am planning an expedition for TBRC members next summer, which will keep me occupied making travel arrangements for a large group of people. I am also the Chair of our training committee, which holds two training camps for members every year, the next being in late January 2008. I keep busy training, organizing and executing events within our group and investigating sightings within my region when they happen.”

I appreciate Monica Rawlins giving a little insight into whom she is before the show tonight.

Loren Coleman 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.

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