OregonBigfoot.com

Oregonbigfoot.com Photo Research Journal
June 12 , 2002
Diamond Lake, Douglas County

Follow-up investigation

On June 11, I received the following report via our website submission form:

Date: 06/09/02
Time: 8:00 p.m.
County: Douglas

Diamond Lake Resort turn off

We were heading west on north umpqua hwy when we observed what we first thought was a bear on the side of the road. It was very similar in color to a grizzley bear. That is when I realized there are no gizzley bears in this area. It then ran across the road on its rear legs, something a bear could never do. We came so close to it we had to slow down so we didn't run it over. I would say we probaly came with in thirty yards of it. It ran into the trees on the other side of the road with out even slowing down. It moved like no other animal I have ever seen. We never got a look at its face, but it was definetely something out of the norm. We turned around to go back and look for it, but it was no were to be seen.

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looking east on Diamond Lake Rd. at a black bear

On June 12, Bob and I made the approximate 2 hour and 15 minute drive to Diamond Lake. We arrived in the area at 7:30 p.m. We stopped to the east of the Diamond Lake turnoff, and I got out to test the roadside debris for trackability. 300 yards down the road I saw a black shape and exclaimed, "What's that?!" Bob said it was a car, and I laughed, saying, "On four legs?". He needs glasses. It was moving across the road, not down it. It turned out to be a large black bear. We piled in the van and drove down to the spot, but lost sight of it and couldn't be exactly sure where it had entered the trees. (This was an excellent opportunity to check out reaction time. Had it been a Sasquatch, we would have missed the filming opportunity of a lifetime!) We zoomed in and got some blurry camcorder footage. Again, had this been a Sasquatch, this film sure wouldn't be the proof everyone's been clamoring for. We maxed out the zoom on our Sony (which has a 360x zoom, BTW) and you can barely see what it is! And everyone wonders why there's no good photographs...

looking west on Diamond Lake Rd. at the same (?) black bear

A few minutes later, the bear (who had apparently circled around us, or has a twin) crossed the road on the west side of us. I got more camcorder footage as we floored the van trying to catch up with it. This time, notice how ethereal it looks through the nearly-opaque bug guts on the window. Two chances at bear footage and this is all I get?

At any rate, after the excitement the bear(s?) caused, I got down to work, scouring the sides of the road for tracks. There were clear elk prints and some disturbances likely caused by the bear, but the ground cover was composed of gravel and pebbles... not optimal for tracking.

At one point, on the right side of the road I was growled at, likely by the bear. I got back in the van, and headed down the road a bit.

We saw two women doing something alongside the road (at, it turns out, the EXACT location of the sighting, and the exact time of day) and stopped to visit with them. We thought perhaps they were looking for tracks, too. They were looking at flowers. Unfortunately, if there were tracks left over from the sighting, they were trampled by that time.

One of the women, when told of the recent sighting, mentioned that she had been horseback riding at Lake Selmac once and had seen three bears (?) run across the trail on their hind legs. She said two cubs had crossed the road, then a female had stood on its hind legs, sniffing the air and waving its head back and forth (this is typical bear behavior). The bear, spooked my the horses, then remained on its hind legs and ran across the trail, followed by two other (?) bears also running across the trail on their hind legs.

Not that I doubt that the witness saw what she says she saw, but this is VERY odd behavior for bears. Having worked at Wildlife Safari managing the traffic in the bear compound, I've had occasion to watch many black bears. I have seen black bears stand up and use their paw to bang on a door to be let in, and I've seen a black bear stand up and take a few steps on their hind legs. But although I have "heard" from a few people that black bears can RUN on their hind legs for short distances, I have had a difficult time finding any official documentation that this is the case. If anyone has knowledge of this, please email me. (For reference: one of the best websites available regarding bear behavior is BearSmart.com)

At any rate, back to the Bigfoot sighting. I received a message the following day from the female witness, that they had heard that there were high schoolers in the area playing "pranks" on people so the sighting was likely a hoax. She gave me the number of her male companion on that day. I called him and questioned him. The witness indicated that he had told a friend of their sighting. The friend called another man who lives in Honey Creek, which is up toward the sighting area. This man had mentioned something about having heard that some high school kids were playing pranks and caused a man to wreck his truck. He discounted the couples' sighting as another victim of this "hoax". However, whereas most people would immediately file this away as a hoax at the first mention of the word, further questioning of the witness points to the HOAX possibly being a hoax!

The witness related that, after hearing this story, he checked with local papers to see if there were any news articles about teen shenanigans resulting in a car accident up near there. He watched the local paper for three days and saw nothing to indicate a story of that nature. He called the Diamond Lake resort, explaining what they had seen and asked if they know anything about it. The resort staff laughed at him. I mentioned to the witness that, had there been a car accident, there would likely be flare marks and/or skid marks on the road. There were none. (I also researched this at the News Review website - the closest large daily publication - and found nothing. My subsequent calls to the Oregon State Police, Douglas County Sherrif Dispatch and US Forest Service also yielded NO information about pranksters or an accident)

The witnesses' view of the road and sighting location (the road veers to the left and the sighting occurred just before the corner)

Next, I further questioned the witness about the sighting. He gave me this additional information: They were travelling west in a Ford pickup, the subject crossed from the right to left (heading TOWARD the resort). They first saw it at about 500 yds, were travelling 65 mph, slowed to 30 mph and were within 30 yds of it. It was light-cinnamon, "buff" colored. When asked if it was covered with hair or fur, he said "fur", indicating a thick coat. The hair was straight. The witness mentioned several times how it "happened so fast". There was a car coming the other direction. He said the occupants of the car "had to have seen it, but didn't stop". It was hunched slightly as it ran, and was 6 1/2 tall or so, hunched over. The witness clearly said that it did not turn its head at any time and look at them. When I asked the witness if HE had been running across the road, was the car close enough that he would have looked at it to be sure he had gauged the speed right and would not be hit and he replied, "definitely". They drove on about a mile, then turned around and came back to the spot but saw nothing. The spot was just to the west of the berm which is right past the Diamond Lake turnoff (see photo). When asked if HE thought it was a kid in a monkey suit, he said, "That's not what I thought when I saw it. At first, we thought it was a grizzly, because of the color. Then it ran across the road." When asked if it was a bear on its hind legs, he laughed and said, "No way. That's the one thing I AM sure of!"

The witness plans to contact the man who claimed to know of the teenagers and their prank. He said the man is reliable, but he doesn't know where he heard it or if HIS source was reliable. I'm waiting to hear from the witness on this issue.

The June 9th sighting location

Was it a hoax? Possibly. The fact that there was mention of a hoax could indicate so, or it could simply be someone's "logical explanation" for something they don't understand or don't believe in. The fact that the sighting occurred so close to a resort could indicate a hoax. But what are teenagers doing 60 miles from home at 8 p.m. perpetrating a hoax when they have school in the morning? Where would they procure a "buff-colored" monkey suit? And why would the teen not turn to check the proximity of the car, or to see the look on his victims' faces? If it was a hoax, I suppose we'll know soon enough. Teens like to brag when they've pulled a fast one. Anyone having knowledge of a hoax, or of another sighting in the area, is encouraged to contact us. Proof of the hoax, of course, including the suit used to perpetrate the hoax, would be necessary to close the case on this one.

We won't be conducting any further investigations in this area unless more sightings ensue. However, readers are welcome to visit the area and contact us if any indication of further presence is found. Take plenty of mosquito repellent, though. The clouds of blood-suckers are so thick they sound like rain on the windsheild as you drive down Hwy 138. :)

Text and photos by Autumn Williams

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