Posted by: Loren Coleman on September 11th, 2006
Have you heard that the young Bigfoot caught in Maine has been sold to a mystery buyer for $17 million dollars? Don’t laugh. Yet. That’s what I’m being told has happened. When a Vegas casino or secret international corporation announces they have a baby Bigfoot in the near future, I don’t want anyone to say they weren’t informed here first!
The capture and transportation of a baby Bigfoot (a/k/a "Yarwen" – whatever that is) would not have been an easy activity to accomplish. Above is part of the relocation, imagined, comically but sadly, by Peter Loh.
Okay, okay, your credulity has been challenged, right? You think I have gone over to the darkside or at least the tabloid side of cryptid-reporting, humm? Well, consider this. In the role of a reporter, one should convey to you what is being fed to the media without taking in everything, hook, line, and sinker, correct? Besides, this baby Bigfoot is "breaking news," if you know what I mean, and someone is putting a lot of energy into developing the plot. Therefore, with no value judgement tied to whether this material is worthless or informative, here is what is known, up to this point.
In the end, could this be an interesting critical analysis experience? Is there a kernel of reality in any of this? Or can we at least understand that the first step in exposing a hoax is sharing all the data from various sources, in one place?
Perhaps lessons to learn are there in the future. For now, here’s a summary of what I’ve gathered, from interviews and emails, arranged in a third-person timeline to try to make sense of this, if there is any sense to be made. Hopefully, the revelations seen in this timeline may be instructive and assist each of us in deciphering this together.
Chronology of Baby Bigfoot Capture Story
August 22, 2006: The date of an alleged Maine-based "baby Bigfoot" sighting is posted in a webstory.
August 26, 2006: Informant "New Jersey B" receives an email from "Tuck Hayes" of New Jersey saying: "Who do I contact to sell a Bigfoot body? I will have a complete body to sell soon. The bidding starts at $1,000,000.00 tax free. It will go to the highest bidder." ("New Jersey B" is a BFRO investigator who shares this email with Loren Coleman after September 4th.)
August 28, 2005: The “General Hunting Season” for Bear in the State of Maine opens and runs through November 25, 2006. Hunters are allowed “one bear” per season, with a license.
September 1, 2006: Email reveals to Loren Coleman that two Bigfoot are allegedly confronted in "north woods of Maine" at "dawn on Friday." One of the Bigfoot is said to be 8.5 ft tall with orange-brown hair is killed and buried. Another Bigfoot called a "cub" – said to be 3.5 tall, weighing 121.5 pounds, and docile – is captured. Informant, "dominick perez" says this is "no hoax."
September 1, 2006: This young Bigfoot (called "Yarwen" by this individual) is reportedly transported back to New Jersey via restraints, using handcuffs on a rollbar. (This information comes out in later emails when "perez" writes Loren Coleman: " i drove the thing all the way home in the back of my truck handcuffed to the roll bar.")
Handcuffs? If the individual is truly linked to law enforcement work, he might have naturally had some with him. But would they be useful in restraining a baby Bigfoot?
September 2, 2006: Loren Coleman receives an email on this Saturday, offering a first look at the young Bigfoot. But no information is given about the writer or the Bigfoot’s exact location, and no confirming photographic proof is shared. The emailer, "dominick perez" is determined to be "psychologically erratic" in emails.
September 2, 2006: A million dollars is "no enough money" for the emailer, but person signs himself as "dominick perez" wishes to have Loren Coleman represent him anonymously for much more. He wants "$100,000 for photos which you can come and take." This "perez" claims he will "list the creature on ebay with an opening bid of $10,000,000" and he "will give" Loren Coleman "10% of whatever we eventually get, and you will have the honor of breaking the story."
September 2, 2006: Although emails are signed "dominick perez," the person says that "’dominick perez’ is not my real name."
September 3, 2006: After trying to calmly talk to "perez," during a flurry of Sunday emails, Loren Coleman gets this message – "i’ll tell you what… look on ebay in about a week and you will see a live video. i will give the exclusive story to one of your competitors..[and]…check ebay periodically and you will have all the photo evidence you need. this ends my communications with you."
September 4, 2006: New Jersey "perez" ends emails and thus Loren Coleman is released from any "confidentiality," so the first of two "Yarwen" columns are written on Cryptomundo.
September 4, 2006: After the Cryptomundo item is published, backchannel communication to Loren Coleman are of two kinds, (a) Bigfoot contactees who wish to talk to "perez," and (b) investigators who volunteer to backtrack the ISP on "perez." Bigfooter "Dan" quickly discovers that "perez" lives in Paterson, New Jersey. Sasquatch detective Steve Kulls discovers that "perez" who says that is not his name actually has an email address that is owned by "Dominick J Perez…Paterson, NJ," who has an internet footprint of dental and health insurance "recommendations" to others in chatrooms and on email lists.
September 4, 2006: "New Jersey B" uses the Perez email address, which was shared with him by Loren Coleman for identification purposes only, to directly email Perez.
September 4, 2006: Perez writes back to "New Jersey B." His email contains the following info: "yes indeed i have the beast in my possession…if a woman can sell a piece of grilled cheese in the image of the virgin mary for thousands imagine what this is worth. my fee for viewing the creature and photographs is $100,000….we can sell that but the cub is going nowhere for less than 10 million."
September 4, 2006: Perez writes "New Jersey B" that he (Perez) works "in law enforcement. if you want to see this thing it will be done on MY terms. i risked my life to capture this thing not you. i cannot believe this. i would think that you would be jumping through hoops at the prospect of being able to validate your research. would you like me to mail you a hair sample that you can have tested?"
September 5, 2006: Tim Cassidy and others tell Loren Coleman about Andy Davis’ August 22 posting about a "baby Bigfoot." Filmmaker Andy Davis is producing an indie film about a young Sasquatch.
The text of the "August 22, 2006" sighting posted is:
Over the past week, while in pre-production for our latest film, we learned that a Baby bigfoot was found in Maine…which happens to be the state we live in…and also happens to be the one of the subjects of our next film. As we speak, we have assembled a team of hunters that will be working around the clock for the next few days to see if they can "drag one in" for us…I think we’re going to be successful in our venture. Check back soon for more updates and evidence on baby bigfoot.
Davis discusses in several conversations and confirms on September 5th to Lore
n Coleman that what was posted was really about the Turner "Mystery Beast" before Davis understood the initial reports were merely about a dead dog killed on Route 4. Someone mistakenly told Davis about the Turner "dead body" find by using the phrase "baby Bigfoot." It turns out to be an unfortunate mistake, as Andy Davis feels wrongly accused of being behind a publicity stunt for his new movie. He knows nothing about Perez or the New Jersey story, and no emails link to him.
September 6, 2006: Perez emails "New Jersey B" – "i found one of you competitors who was wise enough to take me up on my generous my offer. he has seen the creature (he actually fainted!), a 10 minute video has been made and you will see a huge announcement in the coming days. you blew it. i believe deep down you have no faith in your ‘research’. you don’t really believe they exist. you have seen countless disappointments and hoaxes and you have given up on believing. nowit has cost you millions and the legitimacy and recognition you so desperately seek. that honor has been granted to another. you losers profess to be cryptozoological investigators but you’re naught but a bunch of frauds. no wonder people think you are a bunch of [deleted profanity] nuts. you aren’t even intelligent enough to cash in on a sure thing.
September 6, 2006: Perez says "this competitor" whose "name you will soon know" has no respect for other Bigfoot researchers.
September 9, 2006: Loren Coleman receives a new email, which says, "loren you fool! …you were given a once in a lifetime chance to see a live one (Bigfoot)? you passed up a killer offer… the…captured…bigfoot… sold..to a mystery bidder for 17 million. you could of had 1.7 mil! anyway, the body of an adult (Bigfoot) is buried on the northermost banks of the royal river. wanna go a diggin’?"
Is this merely a new "captive Bigfoot" story from you know who?
Commenters have assumed using a rollbar to restrict the movement of the baby Bigfoot would have exposed the creature to being seen by the public, but some rollbars are inside of vehicles.
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading. 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.