Searching For the Ropen in New Guinea: “Destination Truth” Makes Contact From Rainforest

I have heard from Neil Mandt (above), the executive producer for "Destination Truth," the new series that will be appearing on the Sci Fi Channel this spring. He’s been corresponding with me for some months now, and decided to give Cryptomundo an exclusive on what he and his crew are up to right now.

One location the series explored was Johor (above) to investigate reports of the Malaysian Bigfoot. Another they are going to deal with is Mongolia.

Incredibly, thanks to modern technology, Neil emailed me yesterday – from the rainforest – to give me an update and exclusive on where he is currently and what cryptids they are gathering information about. Neil and the "Destination Truth" team are on-site, shooting for a future episodes, out-of-the-US for a few weeks.

Neil said that the crew, including host Joshua Gates (above with investigators in Johor), are "in Papua New Guinea right now."

The Mandt Brothers production company, writes Neil, has been "shooting shows on the Ropen, Igwonadon and the Mermaids that have been seen here. We’ve found some pretty interesting stuff."

I’ll be getting together with Mandt and the team to examine the physical evidence they are bringing back, later in the spring.

The local people call it the ropen of Umboi Island and say it is similar to a long-tailed pterosaur. Jonathan Whitcomb’s book, Searching for Ropens notes the many similarities between African and New Guinean native eyewitness accounts. Ropens appear featherless with long tails, and reports indicate they eat fish.

The "Destination Truth" group will be in Papua New Guinea for the next few weeks, then on the road, before returning to the States in early March.

Not certain if our transmission was corrupted as I must assume the "Igwonadon" is some reference to the word "Iguanadon," and the old reports of dinosaurs (sauropods) from New Guinea. Stay tuned on that one. We also discussed the fact that some of the best reports of Thylacines during the 1980s, came out of the rainforests of New Guinea.

Neil, btw, noted that the earlier reference to a "Fire Worm" show in their series "was a mistake made by a publicist somewhere in the NBC/SCIFI/UNIVERSAL/TV world. Since we are out of the country and were unable to review the press release, it was an honest mistake made by someone unfamiliar with the creature."

Neil Mandt and his brothers have been involved in several programs that may be familiar to viewers, including the "ESPY Awards" shows and "Jim Rome Is Burning" on ESPN. His credits, from the Internet Movie Database, are:

1. Last Stop for Paul (2006) (producer)
2. "ESPN Hollywood" (2005) TV Series (producer) (unknown episodes)
3. Friday Night Lights Lost Scene (2005) (TV) (producer)
4. The ESPY Nomination Show (2005) (TV) (executive producer)
5. "My Crazy Life" (2005) TV Series (executive producer) (unknown episodes)
6. "Speed Dating" (2004) TV Series (executive producer)
7. I Am My Resume (2003) (producer)
8. ESPY Awards (2003) (TV) (contributing producer)
9. "Rome Is Burning" (2003) TV Series (executive producer) (unknown episodes)
… aka Jim Rome Is Burning (USA: second season title)
10. "Beg, Borrow & Deal" (2002) TV Series (executive producer)
… aka Beg, Borrow & Deal 2 (USA: second season title)
11. ESPY Awards (2002) (TV) (contributing producer)
12. Reel Classics Uncut (2001) (TV) (executive producer)
… aka ESPN’s Reel Classics UNCUT (USA: complete title)
13. Any Given Wednesday (2000) (producer)
14. Hijacking Hollywood (1997) (producer)