Print

[BigRedDog]

Thank you for all the information whispers.  A very interesting post to say the very least

For anyone interested I did find this interesting article on the encounter in SW Michigan whispers mentions above:  http://www.sisterlakes.net/monster.html

And here's some info on the book whispers mentions:

http://www.nabigfootsearch.com/missing_411.html

Again, thanks for the info whispers...   

I hope you'll stick around to share more with us on this...  or any other topic

[Skittelroo]

Interesting read, whispers!  Thanks for contributing. 

[rwwjr]

Finding Bigfoot on Animal Planet just aired like 3 weeks ago their investigation of the Houghton Lake area

[whispers]

Hello Folks,

Stories are like fingerprints. On the face of it, all fingerprints seem alike, but the reality is that the six billion or so people on our planet have unique lessons and experiences behind them. I am a proud Michigander of southeastern persuasion with a penchant for history. I am not a geologist and I have no degrees in the sciences other than my degree in Community Development. I hold a degree out of Central Michigan University and I am a retired law enforcement officer and a skilled investigator. That is it. As you already know I am not a BF hunter, nor have I ever been a member or any Bigfoot organization, but I was an investigator of a different kind of bipedal creature months ago and hope to learn more about this sapient humanoid roaming Michigan.

Many of the folks who are BF (Bigfoot researchers) that I know are indeed far more insightful than I on this matter and they themselves are extremely educated professionals retired and currently employed in a variety of occupations. Very credible!

Do I believe they exist? Indeed I do! Do I know what they are? No, and nobody seems to know at this point. Have I seen strange unexplained things over my career? Yes…  Are there others like me with similar backgrounds who believe they exist, unofficially yes. Are there other like me who do not believe these creatures exist? The answer is yes again.

I have never seen this super intelligent sapient creature and do not know if I really care to but strangely, I instinctively know it exists in whatever form, we cannot or do not understand. Somewhere it said that once they see you, they own you. Well, I take that mean something strange occurs when folks have these encounters with this animal. Some who do experience a chance encounter are forever changed... Many of those who see this creature repeat the encounter years later and are known by this beast. They do not forget, for they are the watchers. Curiously, though, many folks who do have the unlikely experience of encounters report observable differences that leave forever different in ways difficult for to describe. In my career, I have seen some oddities that would stand your hair on end and send spikes of chills down your spine in a most unnatural way.

In one short example, I sat and watched very clearly what I thought was a thief, a prowler or some other miscreant walking across a driveway one cold chilly early morning, and I was prepared to radio out for assistance until something occurred. I was glad I did not! The clothing this individual wore was of period dress early century not something you would commonly see walking around outside of a play or carnival. Its movement and stride were fluid and natural even human like. It walked complately across this wide lighted driveway before it sort of faded from sight into or next a parked car.

Another short illustration is a phone call to 911 central dispatch claiming a heart attack, her name, address, and telephone address appears on dispatch counselboard and they radio an available unit to assist rescue paramedics. The old woman even speaks to dispatchers offering her and age. She is in her 90's and she's frightened. We are all afraid of dying alone I suppose. My partner and I grab the call and radio back that we were inroute and gave our best estimated time of arrival there. Two more calls come in from the same aged woman and dispatch radios us the information repeating the address. Rescue notified and they are inroute they said. The call the old woman made repeating her cry for help, "I'm having a heart attack, I need help"! and she disconnects.

I radioed out that I was arriving and noticed the rescue just a few blocks back approaching fast and I braked hard and stopped. My partner asking where is her house as the rescue pulls alongside my passenger door lights flashing and siren still whaling loudly. Both occupants stooping to get a better view asking me where is the house? I looked at them, they glanced me following my pointing finger. Right there, I said pointing to a parking lot.

I thought the name and address sounded familiar but only when I arrived did I realize that woman passed away five years earlier, from a heart attack! Her tiny little home went into probate and was later sold. The city purchased the property and razed the home and turned it over to the local schoolboard for an employee parking lot. Nothing was said at the time, my partner cleared the call as "unfounded," we shut off the flashing lights turned off into the nearest side street. The paramedics doing the same except they sped away in confusion. Nobody ever spoke of that again. The question remains how her correct name, address, and phone appear on the board when she died five years earlier? And, who was the voice on the phone?

One more, a little boy calls "911" reporting his dad on fire. Any available units are responding and experience tells me they will be there before fire arrives. Two units call out at the address on this cool October lat night, as I swing to the curb doing the same. The front door is open lights are on but I see nobody inside and no activity. In fact, I don't smell smoke or see any fire. As I crossed the lawn stepping up on the porch two officers are running out of the door practically knocking me out of the way to get to their cars.

I asked what was going but they mumbled something and continued to their cars. I stepped in side calling out my presence and found noboby there to greet me. I took a stroll through the livingroom still calling out and still nothing. I returned back to the front door stopped and paused. Something I never seen before caught my attention. There was a dark ring around the entire perimeter of the livingroom wall where the ceiling meets and I never seen anything like.

While still waiting for family or fire to arrive and while thinking about the dark ring I felt somebody close and turned and seen this little blue eyed dark haired boy stroking this black kitten. Startled at first, I said hello, and asked if his Dad or Mom was home but he said nothing just stared. A few minutes I left him there and made another inspection of the kitchen and the ajoining bedroom still not locating anyone I stopped in the kitchen.

In the distant night I hear the Detroit Diesels whinning under strain and knew the fire folks were close outside. I was giving the kitchen a second glance when I looked down and noticed black legs underneath the kitchen table. I pulled the chair out and there on the old linoleum floor was a darkened figure of a man. The skeletonized figure gazed upward at me in a frozen smile, completely charcoal.

Firemen stormed the front doors battle dressed ready to slay a dragon that night but I glanced over shoulder and said not tonight guys. One by one they huddle around gazing down at what I was looking at. Slowly they began to back away and pack before fire arson arrived and finally the detectives. I could not explain how that occured to that man, being that nothing else burned, we no indication of freebase drug use or paraphernalia, nothing.

I do know that a human will burn if the heat is in excess of 900 degrees farenheight that according to the folks who I spoke with at funeral homes and having seen first hand carnage from a metro jet airliner crash, I believe it. So, what caused that man and cause flames so intense to burn like charcoal, but yet not so much scorch that tinderbox of a home?

And who was the little boy? I never learned who the little boy was or even if there was one but I often wonder about that too. Once again, you walk away with those experiences never talking about but they occur. There is more, so much more.   

But with that said, I am not saying anything I seen or experienced could be any worse than encountering one of these.

There are a farily large number people who claim their dogs cower, hide and run the opposite direction when they sense them in the area. Others have witnessed the sheer strength of the beast but if a dog attacks them they will destroy the animal without hesitation. Some folks reported seeing a large beast carrying a huge buck over its shoulders while out for stroll in a state park, another husband and wife couple reported seeing three of them crossing a road at nighttime. In the far out state county some years ago, the very of this beast scarred some migrant workers out of a field and they refused to return.

However, my interests are now with this illusive humanoid seen by thousands for centuries. Are they good or evil?

Are they good or evil? Well, the answer to that question I suspect will garner some of the most spirited debate. Yet, I have long felt I have known the answer all along since early childhood. I am inquisitive by nature and always have been an open minded individual, relying mostly on reason and logic, and my own raw instincts.

To that end, suffice it to say there are very good reasons for governmental bodies to post signage reminding people not to feed wild animals especially predators. I was in the Great Smokey Mountains on vacation last summer and there were signs everywhere accusing visitors of causing death to a bear because somebody fed it and it mauled somebody. I did not feed any wild predators but some people will. More specifically any wild animal six, seven, eight or nine foot tall full of hair stalking you, growling at you, peaking at you from behind trees or in your window, shaking trees violently while growling  or resorts to throwing large rocks or sticks at you with pinpoint accuracy leave them be. 

I personally would not feed them anything. No blueberry bagels, fruits, peanut butter, smoke fish, sardines, Copehagen chew, coffee or anything of the sort as some do. They have been known to be less understanding and forgiving even a bit angry when an individual forgets or misses their routine feeding they come to expect. 

Is Michigan Bigfoot nomadic? Do they migrate out of the state beginning with the changing weather and do they travel southward during inclement temperatures for more suitable even milder states? Do they inhabit Michigan's vast numbers of abandoned ore and copper mines and gypsum mines or stone quarries? There are many reported sightings placing them in close proximity to these areas so, is there a connection? These are questions that I defer to people more educated than I to say but I have my own opinions.

History points to their existence even before our early ancestors so we have to believe they procreate. What are their numbers and will a growing human population in competition for food and resources place them and us on a collision course for survival?

Do variances in colors from Black to brown, gray and white demonstrate a biological age for these creatures or do they somehow show some evidence of cross breeding with human species in captivity? If early Native American knew of their existence and some even referred to them as cannibals how does that change anything for us living here and now.

Fix and Mentel Roads were more than crossroads, for me personally, as an innocent eleven-year-old child, living in a world of wonder with all my life ahead, it is as real as it gets. It was less than a mile from home and little more than a half-mile from my third grade school then.

Stories are like fingerprints. The Monroe controversy that caught authorities and public by surprise took place during the hot humid evening of August 13, 1965, and still reverberates deep in my memory. It occurred on the once sparsely populated area steeped in wild game and crop fields, thick woods, farmlands and narrow dusty gravel back roads of Mentel and Fix Roads between I-75 and Dixie Hwy south of Nadeau Road.

Over the years since the infamous 1965 "Monroe Monster," memories wane people pass and the geography changes making way for 21st century progress. As incredibly painful as it was for those brave women to have endured that experience and talk about it only to be ridiculed, I just cannot help but feel some sort of remorse and admiration for them.

To recap, a woman and her daughter travelling the back roads round a curve and begin to slow and speed up when their headlights picked out a huge unnatural hairy black figure standing off the road with glowing eyes. Ruth Owens, Christine Van Acker's mother, is frightened; panics when she spots the creature and both women begin screaming when the car stalls and stops. For Ruth and her daughter Christine, it was the "seven foot tall, five foot wide, 400 pound hairy monster," they say will forever remain part of their memory not as a hoax, not an imagination gone amok, but a reality only they know. With their car unable to start, the snarling dark hairy creature with piercing red eyes leaps from the brush showing teeth at their door. Ruth says a big hairy arm reaches in the window grabbing Christine by the hair in doing so; she strikes her face on the door and faints. Ruth exits the car standing all alone, on a dark lonely gravel road and screams for help into the darkness.

Nobody seems to know why but there are many reports red eyes, yellow and green.

Anyone who delves into this research will be shocked to note there are instances where these beasts have been unkind to humans… Some could argue that humans have also been less than endearing as well. Human behavior such as it is in turn reacts out fear of the unknown unleashes the raw power of firearms and the gulf widens between something mankind know very little about or understands. Something no doubt these animals know well. Some in the study argue that violence toward humans are the act of rogue males acting out in behaviorial patterns similar elephants males... Others agree in part but add, there have been instances when people have actually reported two of these things fighting to the death leading some to believe Alpha males with families won't tolerate solo males acting out violently toward humans... Again, I do not know.
 
Likewise, if they are extremely intelligent as many believe they also have to know humans are far more vulnerable, if threatened though, humans will react in ways detrimental to their way of life and existence. Therefore, I believe it explains why there are so many passive sightings in which both human and beasts show equal surprise and curiosity toward one another in some instances. After all, they have been here on this earth longer than humans perhaps even witnessed great strides in human progress for hundreds of years much to their dismay and marvel. 

Nevertheless, while law enforcement in Monroe county busied themselves with law and order some officials were quoted as maligning the women and their tale both in accusations and unkind words. In what was a modern day "beauty and the beast" scenario, I believe authorities and the public would have been better served by letting the incident play itself out. Remarkably though, just as it was pointed out recently in some books authored by a former police officer of missing people, when large groups of angry men folk and police conducted a search, the Frenchtown region was drenched in a summer down pour that would forever erase any physical traces of the beast that night. 

There are a number fascinating commonalities or signator patterns that appear over and over as spelled out in Missing 411, and the 1965 Monroe case was no exception. In this instance weather coincidentally played a role in destroying trace evidence in terms of prints in the mud by torrential rains that followed. As is pointed out in Missing 411, for reasons yet explained, many search and rescue efforts were hindered in some fashion by inclement weather patterns occur shortly following  those abductions hampering scent dogs. However, in the 1965 Monroe case there were no abductions. Odd as it seems though, it was a strong downpour followed the incident.     

Meanwhile, in 1965 officials at Enrico Fermi I took the reports as credible and hardened down the hatches adding extra security while law enforcement and media downplayed the whole incident as a hoax closer to the scene.. Once again, I am not a Bigfoot hunter but what I do see are some rather stark problems with the reporting and I do not believe it was hoax. In a rare instance of early folksy news reporting at least one police officer reportedly quoted as saying something to the effect they tried to keep the report secret but just got out of hand, paraphrased by me.

Was the Monroe Monster incident Fact or Fiction?

In 1965, the lie detector test administered to the women, which the women failed, was technology from around 1914 and had not changed until the early 1970s.

More than that though, it will always be my opinion that great efforts were made to disclaim the whole incident though it was later learned that at least dozen more incidents - no strike that, hoaxes [said not in anger but tongue in cheek]had been reported that year in both Frenchtown and Ash Townships. So when, as a researcher I reach a point where it becomes painfully obvious that something simply did not add up to the hoax angle widely reported back then. Especially if you consider Michigan had at least 40 such encounters before 1965 dating back to the early 1600s before Michigan gained statehood. Who would call General Hull's memoirs or Michigan's early French explorers a hoax anyways?

Once again I say with a sense of humor of all the Bigfoot reports I have had the opportunity to read occurring in Michigan, I believe the number of hoaxes, are closer to 700.... (hoaxes) sic. That is a staggering account for an elusive creature in a state of about nine million people, and it has demonstrate some intelligence to remain out of eye for that length of time and one we know so little about.

Early Native American Potawatomi tribes inhabiting the great state of Michigan and the Northwest Territory as it was once called, knew very well of this tall hairy creature. Some of the earliest accounts originated from elders who pass these stories on for generations mainly through drawings in cave walls as stories and legends continue. The Monroe incident and thousands more across the country and around the world date back hundreds of years to the days of early American Indians and beyond. Here on a craggy cliff, overlooking the pristine waters of Lake Michigan in Delta County in Michigan's Upper Peninsula there is a cave. Inside the cave near Fayetteville, in Delta County now off limits to public by order of state and federal authorities are petroglyphs of a creature remarkably similar to the 1964 drawing of the Missouri "Momo" monster and the hand drawn 1965 “Monroe Monster.”  Remarkable enough though, it can be said, early expeditions inside of that particular cave are where beautiful hand carved arrowheads dating back thousands of years are believed to have been discovered.

Stories are like fingerprints.

So the question remains if this cave does exist, and it surely does, what inhabited the cave that caused early Americans to shoot arrows or throw spears at it?

Switching gears a moment, the Missing 411 books were recently by a former police officer in California. He is extremely knowledgeable in this particular topic and both books (West coast and East coast) copies deal with thousands of persons who gone missing under “suspicious circumstances” in and around our National Parks and some State parks. Though disturbing, it is a fascinating read that will certainly keep you up reading from cover to cover. And yes, there are some Michigan (hoaxes) encounters in there too. If you have an opportunity to read them, I believe you will never look at the great terra wild flora and fauna the same way again. You will never allow your child out of your sight again.

Stories are like fingerprints! Folks its been my pleasure.

[Skittelroo]

Thanks again, whispers.  I usually don't read such long posts from beginning to end (or might skip through), I have to say that yours captivate me through every word!  Sure hope to read more from you.

[whispers]

As you see the 1965 Monroe Monster tweaked an interest and I would like to conclude this with a foundation for some of the information. I would like to add some excerpts strictly for educational understanding of what I believe took place nearly 50 years ago.

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) — “In Cass County some people are afraid the "Monster of Sister Lakes" will come back. Others are afraid it won't return. The former group includes property owners around the Dewey Lake area who have "for sale" signs up in the community where the 9-foot, 500 pound beast, or whatever it was vanished from the scene two months ago, leaving a trail of shudders and chuckles in his or its wake.” THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8 

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) — “Conservation Officer William Rowe Sunday said he doesn't believe there was one. He said he went along with the cops but couldn't find any tracks. However, the sheriff's department reported on another occasion they found a 6-by-18-inch footprint.”  THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) —  “Among those who reported seeing the intruder was John Utrip, who said he saw it in 1963. His wife reported the monster came back in June this year but was driven away by her dogs. “I didn’t notice at the time when the dogs drove it off but later Chester (one of the dogs) showed up with a puffed eye ball that turned blue and he was blinded for about a month. "Real, or unreal, or whatever it was, the ultimate result is the same," Mrs.  Utrip said Sunday.”  THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Monroe Is Still After A Monster
MONROE (UPI)-   “a ragged posse of nearly 100 combed the woods near Frenchtown Township north of here Tuesday night, armed with baseball bats and rifles, in search of the beast that is described as "seven-feet tall and hairy." So far the posse has made no sightings, but no one seems to care much except the 16 persons who have made official reports with police in the past year. Two have come within the past five days loaded with vivid descriptions of the elusive thing.”  THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Thursday, August  19, 1965, page 8

Many riddles use metaphor and simile to mislead and distract the reader from the real meaning.  Good investigators use metaphor in comparing a solution with subtle nuances that may or may not be related. Some refer to it as “Thinking outside the box,” and reading between the lines.

Monroe’s ‘Monster’ Mystifying
Police Get Reports Of Hairy Something
Nine In Auto
 From the Blade Correspondent
MONROE, Mich., Aug. 17- Cpl. Clair Dechow, of the Erie post, who admitted that efforts to keep the reports secret have backfired, expressed fear that the biggest danger is that someone will get shot.  Toledo Blade, OH Tuesday, Second News Section, August 17, 1965 page 18

Monroe’s ‘Monster’ Mystifying
Police Get Reports Of Hairy Something
Some Trigger Happy
 From the Blade Correspondent
MONROE, Mich., Aug. 17- Reports of contact with the apparent mutation that allegedly rises out of the swamps of  Lagoona Beach have been kept quiet by suspicious state troopers until two terrifying contacts were made last week. Toledo Blade, OH Tuesday, Second News Section, August 17, 1965 page 18

First, I do not believe in coincidences but rather notice things as gambits or opening moves or statements, but there is every reason to be deeply skeptical of some comments made 48 years ago. This becomes clear when one examines statements or comments issued by folks relative to this elusive creature. When analyzed closely I see some interesting red flags popping out all over the place that are extremely interesting to me.  It is important to distinguish carefully what is written between the lines and any hidden meaning that when deciphered, leads one to believe something else. Thus, the publicly known facts clearly establish a course of conduct that goes well beyond the intended story. Here it is spelled out in actual excerpts, witnesses are ridiculed, and the creatures they claim they seen must be “bears.”

 Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) —  "No one wanted to talk about it because they were afraid of ridicule," Mrs. Utrip said Sunday. THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Crowds Seek Glimpse Of Monster
Police Skeptical, Consider Lie Tests
MONROE, Mich., Aug. 18 (AP)
Monroe County Sheriff Charles Harrington also scoffed at the monster scare. “I’d have to see it first to believe it,” he said. The Blade, Third News Section, Toledo, Ohio, Wednesday, August 18, 1965, page 37

Crowds Seek Glimpse Of Monster
Police Skeptical, Consider Lie Tests
MONROE, Mich., Aug. 18 (AP)
The hairy monster of Mentel Road may be a figment of someone’s imagination, and law enforcement officials might resort to lie detector tests to help settle the question. The Blade, Third News Section, Toledo, Ohio, Wednesday, August 18, 1965, page 37

Monster Victims Agree To Polygraph Test
Monroe (AP)- Monroe County sheriff’s men have refused to investigate reports of the monster further but have patrolled Mentel Road to control crowds of monster hunters which have gathered nightly. Monroe County sheriff’s men have refused to investigate reports of the monster further but have patrolled Mentel Road to control crowds of monster hunters which have gathered nightly. The Owosso Argus, (MI) Friday, August 20, 1965, page 8   The Owosso Argus, (MI) Friday, August 20, 1965, page 8   

Hence, it can be inferred that witnesses were mistaken or a fraud and the whole thing was an entire hoax, as some claimed. Strangely enough though, in two separate news reports the words swamps or lowlands pop up as the writer delivers a setting for readers in two separate years, in two separate parts of the state and in two separate stories. Doesn't it seem odd that a witness of something so horrific, so far outside one orthodox reality, would be asked to take a polygraph test? If you were a witness to a crime and reported it, would you expect to be asked to take a polygraph to determine if you seen what you claim? Really?

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) —  “The Dewey Lake area where it was reported seen is swampy, foggy and gives out an erie effect at night in the lowlands, especially in spots where intermittent lights shine. It also is heavy with blueberries which attract animals.” THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Monroe Is Still After A Monster
MONROE (UPI)-   “The past two nights have brought not only monster hunters, sightseers and doubts from police, but also perfect weather for such things. A heavy rain and the resultant mist have hidden the moon in the lowlands and swampy areas between 1-75 and the Enrico Fermi Atomic plant north of here, where the monster has been cited. The past two nights have brought not only monster hunters, sightseers and doubts from police, but also perfect weather for such things.”  THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Thursday, August 19, 1965, page 8

It is important to note that indeed, many in Bigfoot study believe these animals habituate in the deepest least accessible parts of woods and swampy areas so, how was that known nearly fifty years earlier?

Ursus americanus, or more commonly known as the black bear are generally well dispersed throughout the Midwest and eastern seaboard states and into the far reaches of northwest and southwest including Canada. Bear habituation south of the thumb area are rare. So rare that a sighting is topic of the local news and town folk, and according to Michigan DNR black bears have begun to be reported in southern counties in the “past few decades,” not in the past 48 years or fifty years and being bow legged, it cannot run on two legs. The largest Michigan black bears can stand three feet in height and weigh up to 500 pounds for males and they are mainly black in color. 

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) —Mrs Bernice Vanderburg, a newspaperwoman for over 40 years in Dowagiac, took it calmly. “I believe it was a bear," she said Sunday. THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Monroe Police Seek 'Monster’
MONROE (UPI)—
Monroe County Sheriff Charles Harrington said he knew nothing about either the monster or the reports. "We had a bear over there in June but that's all I know," he said. THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Monday, August 16, 1965, page 1

When folks first began reporting the beast animal during the Dewey lakes reports near Dowagiac in 1964 witnesses reported the animal they observed to be nine feet tall, and yet the beast described in the Monroe incident of 1965 placed it in the range of seven feet in height and massively built. All those descriptions are exactly in line with what is commonly reportedly around the state and throughout the lower 48 states at present and past.  Apart from the immediate difference in size, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to extrapolate or confuse a three-foot black bear sighting with a bipedal thing with manlike features standing upright seven or nine feet off the ground.

Let’s take another step forward and read further for more nuances and see if they make any sense. In 1963 two years prior to the Monroe incident a nine-foot creature set off a flurry of excitement and angst in Dowagiac, Mich.  Reports say one little girl completely fainted upon seeing the beast and several farmers reported livestock eaten or missing while others reported their pets gone period. Many described it as being a 9-foot hairy beast. In one instance when asked, a Conservation Officer claimed he did not believe any such reports and denied locating any footprints that would change his opinion. Although it was reported that he accompanied police on their search for evidence of the being and sheriff’s deputies did locate a large 18 inch footprint six inches wide. An 18 inch x 6 inch foot print?

Cass County Residents Still Remember Monster
DOWAGIAC (UPI) — “Conservation Officer William Rowe Sunday said he doesn't believe there was one. He said he went along with the cops but couldn't find any tracks. However, the sheriff's department reported on another occasion they found a 6-by-18-inch footprint.”  THE HOLLAND, MICHIGAN, EVENING SENTINEL, Tuesday, October 6, 1964, page 8

Now there is a formula used to determine the approximate height of a subject if you know the length of the in-step, which in this case was not reported. For example:  A 48 inch stride multiplied by 2 equals 96 inches plus 10 inches gives you 106 inches. Now divide that by twelve and your answer should be about 8.3 feet 3 inches or thereabouts. The size 23 prints in a 1989 Hillsdale, Co., print, had a 72 inch instep which would place the animal at approximately 12 foot! In this 1963-64 case the foot size was 18 inches and smaller than the example above so you decide.

And finally, in both versions (1963-64 Dowagiac and 1965 Monroe) of the elusive beast described as a hoax, the words of “berries” were mentioned, “briar patches,” and “scratches” and so forth. Once again these are significant because many sightings in state and across the lower 48, also point out the same relationships. In fact, for those reading the Missing 411 publications you will be surprised to see the same odd relationships…

Fact or Fiction?
Do you believe in Monsters? Was it hoax?

Potawatomi tribe still remembers original name Lake County Discovery Museum
About the year 1600, Native American tribes living in northern Wisconsin and Michigan began hearing rumors of strange creatures to the east. People who had traveled east told of the arrival of creatures who in some ways looked like humans, but dressed oddly, smelled bad, and had thick hair on their cheeks. The Native Americans came to call these beings "Hairy Faces." In 1634, they had their first opportunity to meet one. By Diana Dretske, Daily Herald, Neighbor Section, March 18, 2001, page1 

The largest of the cave pictures (I do not have pictures) is the "Big Man," a reddish human shape standing two feet high. The land now belongs to the State of Michigan and is closed to public. Since the bluff contains the only known Indian cave paintings in Michigan, it is vital to protect them. In 1963 and again in 1965, University of Michigan archaeologist, James H. Fitting, studied the caves and shelters of the 140 foot Burnt Bluff. They excavated two caves, Spider Cave, and Cave B-95. Over 100 projectile points were discovered in Spider Cave, all with fractured tips, suggesting they were shot or thrown into the cave. These points were all Middle Woodland in style (300 BC to 800 AD). The theory is that passing canoes used the drawings in the cave for target practice. James H. Fitting has published his findings in a book titled "The Prehistory of the Burnt Bluff Area." 
http://fayettemichigan.com/burntbluff.html

[Tiny]

50 years ago while growing up on a farm, my brothers and I would scour the sand hills in the early spring looking for Native American arrow heads, spear heads and other artifacts. My brothers have quite a collection of them. Most of the arrow heads we found were broken or damaged somehow. When we asked a local historian about them he explained that they made their camps on the sand hills because they dried out quickly after a rain, and that is where they made their arrow heads by hammering a piece of flint with a larger stone chipping away the edges to make the unique shape. Some times they would break them or damage them by accident while making them. (It's not easy to make a good tip with a rock to hammer with.) These they would simply discard on the ground, and that was why we were finding a lot or broken tips. The good ones they used for hunting, and they ended up where ever they shot their game.

I think the tips that were found in the caves were mistakes made by Native Americans that lived there many years ago.

BTW, If I remember correctly the hair supposedly from the Monroe Monster turned out to be paint brush bristles when tested by the lab.

[whispers]

Good message Tiny,

I have similar material but there are far too many anomalies and problems with the reports and far too many reported sightings in two years around that area to write it off as paintbrush bristles. As you already know I wasn’t there either but nowhere in any material that I could find shows any indication of paint bristles in any of the other approximately 16 separate reported sightings alleged reports in 1965. Whether or not it was a paint bristle or horsehair does little to explain why numbers of folks before 1965 in Michigan would report similar sightings. If there were a number of reported sightings in Monroe, which apparently there were according to authorities, why would they try to keep them secret?

My friend it simply does not add up.

Moreover, I recall more recently there was an incident out west where an individual dressed in a ghillie suit had died in a failed Bigfoot prank. It was unfortunate and nonsensical but that single incident did little to explain thousands of reports all across the country by everyday citizens, military personnel, law enforcement, and so on and so forth.

In presenting a view on the 1965 Monroe Monster incident my goal was to explain it in way that would provoke thoughtful insight and discussion this very real story. I mean think about it, how can the same animal present itself centuries before in Michigan, but only when it appears in Monroe, it is determined to be a hoax, a bear or a hair bristle… It’s laughable and sorely unbelievable my dear friend.

Whether anyone believes in the existence of these animals is entirely their own affair. What I do believe is that when and if a reader does have an encounter they will know others have worn the path well before them.

Those who refuse to consider it and do experience “loud unexplained howls in the woods,” “strong over whelming musky odors,” “over bearing feelings of being watched,” will understand any confusion or effects that experience leaves with them.

Perhaps finding unusually “large caches of deer carcasses” and or bizarre tree bends or breaks high off the ground or strange formations of fallen trees will allow them to understand mainly because somebody took the time to explain it for them. Witnesses shall find comfort and assurance knowing it is a path well worn by hundreds of witnesses before them. I hope that more people will overcome the fear of ridicule and openly share their experience so that we can all learn more from it.   

Arrowheads found in Monroe

Switching topics now, travel in Northwest Territory frontier including Michigan was hazardous even, deadly in the early 1800's. I have always been extremely interested in the War of 1812, and the role Monroe played in history and that of Shawnee leader Tecumseh. It was believed he participated in the River Raisin fight after creating an alliance with British forces against American settlers and soldiers. He was feared and revered until he was slain in battle on Canadian soil by American insurgencies. Chief Tecumseh was one of the leaders involved in the 1812-1813 war present during the defeat of Fort Detroit.

It was General Hull, and his cowardly surrender that precipitated the fall of Fort Detroit into the hands of foreign British forces and their Native American Tecumseh confederacy. Hull would be the only American general accused of treason yet never sentenced to death for his crime. 

Potawatomie closely related to Ojibwas, the Huron’s and Ottawa’s, and Wyandot are a few who participated in the alliance against American and French settlers during the River Raisin massacre. Many of the American Native groups mentioned above were close cousins and archenemies of the much-feared Iroquois’. Many of those warriors joined their British allies in pulling off one of the greatest military strategies of war in our young history. Using the frigid weather and frozen waters hundreds of Native American groups crossed the icy Detroit river from Canada, through modern day Grosse Ile, moving south along the shoreline. Impressive since it involved hundreds of warriors and British soldiers moving swiftly to reach the River Raisin settlement. It was believed there were several stop over points including Stoney Creek. 

It is along that area that as a young boy I would find numbers of broken and unblemished arrowheads from freshly plowed fields. Some years ago, while walking along the riverbank at Elizabeth Park in Trenton, I found a beautiful black arrowhead perfectly shaped.

[whispers]

Has anyone ever heard of or known of a cave in Monroe County? If so, where?

[The Fuzz]

Non that I am aware of, but I'm not a native of the area either though.

I used to hunt tomahawks and arrow heads when I was young.  Favorite spot was a farm field that was overturned every year for planting, but it was high on a hill top with the best open view of the valley where the Cahokia Indian hunting grounds were.

I used to enjoy and do a lot of things like that when I was a kid......then I caught an interest in the ladies and that all went out the window.

[Mayonnaise]

Has anyone ever heard of or known of a cave in Monroe County? If so, where?

I'm currently working on that now.

[BigRedDog]

Has anyone ever heard of or known of a cave in Monroe County? If so, where?

I can't say that I have heard of any caves in the area...  this is pretty much 'flat land' Michigan and caves are usually in hills or even mountains. 

I'm thinking the Bigelow Road area east of Dundee where the new West County Park is located might be an area to look at.  It was known for heavy use by several Native American tribes over the years.  You have the Saline River joining the River Raisin and some minor hills in the area.

[Tiny]

Has anyone ever heard of or known of a cave in Monroe County? If so, where?

If you dig 3 feet down you get water, any caves would be flooded in this county.

[whispers]

Why BF's Avoid Humans - Spider Hole Theory

During the Vietnam War returning veterans knew all to well about “Spider Hole” guerilla tactics of the Ho Chi Minh days and often spoke about the ethereal feelings of fighting an enemy so adept to disappearing before there very eyes. It was not long before it was discovered that vast networks of tunnels, sinks, and caves were hidden in plain sight all along. Search and destroy counter measures employed by American units designated “Tunnel Rats” to go in and clear invisible tunnels and caves used by their Viet adversaries.

Could the natural waterways underground run dry by manufactured efforts such as mining and quarries the reason for draining these caves and tunnels? Do vast subterranean networks under Michigan hold the secret of the illusive Bigfoot creature? Working backward against known locations for reported Bigfoot sightings from that point makes for extremely interesting anomalies for sure and a good jump point for further study. Please feel to pass this along for discussion.

The subject of caves, tunnels, and sinks, and of course abandoned mines and quarries is a totally new world for me. How I started on this route was by accident during another casual brainstorming session of mine. Sitting here reading and thinking..thinking and reading when a thought popped into my head. What if.. What are the correlations between Bigfoot sightings and caves I thought to myself? I was not even certain there were such things in Michigan, let alone Monroe until I started searching. That’s when I happened upon the Burnt Bluff website [http://fayettemichigan.com/burntbluff.html] of Delta County, Michigan.

The pictogram found way up high on the cliff wall sports a drawing of a large round object with over size arms with shoulders too massive for the small head. It was striking for me since some of the earlier schematic drawings featured an oversized body with tiny head and extremely long arms. Let me know if you were able to few the photo below. In one example, take the drawing of the Monroe Monster for instance it features a figure eerily similar to the 300 BC to 800 AD etching with little imagination. Next, when you compare the “Momo Monster” drawing of the Missouri Bigfoot, with that of the “Monroe Monster,” and the pictogram Whamo! Same thing.

There has been talk of late, as to why or how Bigfoot creatures can seemingly disappear and reappear so quickly. I have wondered privately why there are so many more purported Bigfoot sightings in the lower Michigan peninsula rather than in sparsely populated upper peninsula counties where there are less people, bountiful amounts of plant, fish, and wild life and dense heavily forested parks. The possibility of these creatures deemed “Watchers of Man” who exists and thrive in vast subterranean thorough ways would be one guess.

[Mayonnaise & Big Red Dog] When researching caves through some old Michigan history literature I paused when it mentioned Monroe County. I did not spend a lot time reading it mainly because there was not a lot of information other than identifying a general proximity of southwestern Monroe County near Blissfield or Summerfield.

In lower mid-Michigan, there exists a large upside down “C” stretching diagonally across the lower state toward thumb from Hillsdale. Underground limestone and gypsum substances can create cavernous holes or tunnels when exposed with water over time and follows a path of chain of lakes upward.

The counties below list areas where this area lies in relation to proximity of forested areas, waterways or other protected lands where sources of food and concealment are abundant and large numbers of sightings occur. Genesee County on the extreme north west corner of Oakland County northward through the middle of Tuscola and Sanilac counties and across Huron, upward through Arenac, Iosco, southwestern Alcona, west northwest Ogemaw, Oscoda, Crawford, Kalkaska, Grand Traverse, southwest toward Wexford, Menominee, Mason, Lake, Oceana, Newaygo, Muskegon, Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, Barry, and ending in Calhoun County.

These are limestone and gypsum belt areas where networks of natural caves and sinkholes are created, providing vast spider webs of passageways but they are not the only ones. When limestone and gypsum react to water such in the case of Michigan with vast lakes and hundreds of inland tributaries, an acidic reaction causes the mineral to give way causing pockets of holes and caves.

[whispers]

 If you come across an encounter share it, your not alone. I would like to hear your Monroe experience.