Georgia Bigfoot: Anatomy of a HOAX

How could the Georgia Bigfoot hoax have gone so far, and what were the motivations behind the whole fiasco? The answers are even now still unfolding, but the complex scenario and the entangled plot are a fascinating study in and of themselves.

The story begins with two residents of Georgia, Matthew Gary Whitton and Ricky Traylor Chuck Dyer, who began posting videos on YouTube advertising themselves as "Bigfoot Trackers" and offering their services as guides for expeditions to find a Bigfoot, or Sasquatch. At first they made no claims of possessing a body of a dead Bigfoot. On about June 10th, 2008 reportedly after a conversation with Bigfoot researcher Chris Harper, also from the state of Georgia, who asked them sarcastically if they had a Bigfoot corpse, they began making claims of actually having a deceased Bigfoot kept preserved in a freezer. They also set up a website, bigfoottracker.com, registered on June 10th, advertising their services and reiterating their claim of having a Bigfoot body.

An incident that brought considerably more attention to the matter was that Matt Whitton, an officer with the Clayton County, Georgia police department was wounded on duty on about July 3rd or 4th while pursuing an alleged felon. Accounts of the incident differ, but there is some speculation that he had accidentally shot himself in the hand or wrist. As the story was picked up locally, the website and YouTube posts were discovered in connection with his name, and the publicity began to spread across cyberspace. Their claim was focused on with great interest by members of Bigfoot or Sasquatch researchers and related interest groups and followers. The image of a police officer, wounded in the line of duty, lent credence to the claims, although the YouTube posts were rife with unprofessional content, contradictory claims, and divergent story lines.

On July 28th, Rick Dyer appeared as a guest on Steve Kull's Squatch Detective radio show. Rick reiterated his claims, and gave descriptions of the "body" and extended an invitation to Steve Kulls, Tom Biscardi of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. and Chris Harper to come to their location and view their alleged specimen. On August 1st, Tom Biscardi was given a sample specimen, purportedly from the body, to be sent off for DNA tests.

The sample was sent to a qualified molecular biologist, Curt Nelson of the University of Minnesota for DNA testing. Mr. Nelson had previously run DNA tests of possible Sasquatch tissue gathered from a site on Snelgrove Lake in Canada. Dr Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University, one of the foremost degreed professionals active in Sasquatch research was present when the Snelgrove samples were gathered. (See link in Resources section below.) Sending the alleged Georgia samples to Mr. Nelson was an attempt to have an authoritative scientific analysis performed. Three basic results were obtained from three tests. One indicated a close match to human DNA. A second was inconclusive. The third indicated a match to an opossum. The match close to human DNA was considered significant, in that the Snelgove specimen's DNA was also a close match to human DNA. The match to opossum DNA was considered as possibly derived from the intestinal contents and most likely the remnants of a meal. So there appeared to be a positive DNA result matching a human or higher primate, and the subsequent acquisition and transfer of the freezer containing the hoaxed dummy was initiated.

During all of their contact dealing with the Searching for Bigfoot's team, Whitton and Dyer's demeanor appeared to be sincere, respectful and forthright. Incredibly, they signed binding legal agreements that may now put them in serious legal jeopardy in regards to their fraudulent claims and sale of material not as described. Their willingness to sign the legal documents despite the clear, considerable risks made their claims seem legitimate at the time.

A press conference was scheduled for Whitton and Dyer to present their claims, along with a photo they said was taken at the scene of the recovery. But there were other layers of deception that the hoaxers had set up to trick those that had trusted their word. The dummy that was encased in a block of ice was a bizarre conglomeration of real animal parts that were inserted into and placed on a Halloween costume. In another coincidence that initially favored the hoaxsters, one of the first areas that was freed from the ice was the eye socket, which contained a real animal eye. The tongue and teeth were also real animal parts. Acting on the information from the DNA tests and and the partially defrosted animal parts, the press conference went forward as planned. The hoaxsters recounted their tale with straight faces and the same apparent sincerity and lack of concern for the consequences of their deception.

Meanwhile, the melting of the ice block containing the dummy stuffed with animal remains continued, and the whole hoax was exposed, but unfortunately it occurred after the press conference had taken place. If only more time had elapsed, the hoax would not have succeeded to the extent that it had. The hoaxsters were still at the hotel in Palo Alto, CA, where the conference was held, when the news of the dummy's true nature was received, and they consequently confessed the deception and signed documents admitting to the fraud before they suddenly and prematurely left the hotel.

The hoaxsters may be in legal jeopardy, but they are still up to their tricks. As of this writing they have posted three videos on YouTube that might be construed as a mockery of those that put their trust in them and gave them due consideration when others were hostile to them and their claims. Their website, bigfoottracker.com was shut down by their ISP, but they have posted a new website, bigfoottrackeratlanta.com, where they state that they will reveal their story of the perpetration of the hoax. And so the tale is not yet finished. Legal proceedings and court appearances may be in the future. Stay tuned.

Resources:

Searching for Bigfoot website for in-depth details

DNA results of Snelgrove Lake Bigfoot Samples