Pinellas Pasco Paranormal/ Hostile Haunts Specialists

Pinellas Pasco Paranormal 's Laurie Champion has participated in an ongoing Bigfoot investigation here in Florida from 1992 through 2000 with a colleague who is a Bigfoot Investigator and Ufologist, a former MUFON leader. This case was actually going on since 1967, but Laurie became drawn into it in 1992. Below is her commentary on the subject.

   The Florida Bigfoot is not a myth. This shy and elusive creature ,whom I jokingly refer to as the Abominable Swamp Slob, is not an aggressive or intrusive creature at all. It is however territorial and will behave according'ly, if it is harrassed. It usually prefers to keep it's distance from people in general. The Florida bigfoot seems to have a habit of getting angry when his habitat is disturbed or destroyed by progress and will take revenge by killing cattle, destroying equipment and putting in the occasional appearance that sends people fleeing in fear.

   This creature's color ranges from black to dark brown and even silver, in the case of an aging creature. Their eyes show red at night as they are very reflective, as these creatures have become mostly nocturnal. They range in height from three to eight feet and can weigh up to 800 pounds according to the depth of footprint casts. They are omnivorous but prefer fruit and plant life. They will kill and consume prey when other food sources are not available or plentiful. They make sounds ranging from loud, gutteral growls, to a sound that resembles  that of a woman screaming. They can whistle effectively and imitate a whistle pattern very well. They lived in the Anclote area for many years until recently when construction and developpment forced them out. They traveled through the Anclote river,wading their way  north and disappeared from there. They are extremely intelligent creatures and their senses are far more superior to ours.

    A bigfoot can smell gun oil on a person's gun from a very far distance and easily avoids hunters in this manner. they are curious and will follow someone through the woods while keeping in the safe cover of the treeline. They detest bright lights and fire, and will not hesitate to kill a dog sent to pursue them. Most dogs instinctually  will not even step outside when this creature is around but others, like the more agressive pit bulls will approach it if ordered to do so. A Florida Bigfoot killed two pit bull dogs by smacking one of them into a tree and breaking his spine and breaking the jaw of the other by pulling it apart at the hinge, after a rancher sic'ed the dogs on it. The Florida Bigfoot does kill livestock, mostly cows and usually breaks their backs, we do not kow whether he uses a large branch or his fist but there had been fourteen cow kilings in the area we investigated in one summer in 1992, which is odd since the Florida Bigfoot is more active in the wintertime.  The cows were partially dismembered and eaten, with other parts carried away and missing from the scene. This was not the work of coyotes or wolves or wild dogs as parts of the carcasses had been carried a far distance from the scene and discovered later in other locations, parts that were far too large to be carried that far by such animals. I would like to mention that the cow killing did not start until the deforestation started on this particular ranch, leading me to believe that it was a possible retaliation for the destruction of the bigfoots habitat and home base. In this same time frame a large tractor, weighing over a ton was pushed through the sand and deposited about twenty feet into a shallow lake on the same ranch. A message perhaps, to the rancher? Other equipment was also being destroyed in a strange fashion that would require a lot of strength, well beyond that of a man or known forest creature.

     From 1987 to 1993 this creature was sighted in the area we investigated 37 times. By 31 different people, from children to adults, who lived in the area along the woodline, on a five mile track near the Anclote river. This case was first documented in 1967, when a man named Bud Chambers encountered the creature in his orange grove several times and did shoot at it on one occasion. Another man in the Anclote area shot at the creature in 1991, claiming that the bullet hit the creature square in the chest from a  range of about 20 feet and the creature walked away, bleeding but not seeming to be very mortally wounded at all by the bullet. Does the bigfoot have a solid breastplate like some primitive apes and men? We don't know but the bullet seemed to have a minimal effect on him. This was the same man who sent his pit bulls after the creature, and found them later  brutally destroyed as I mentioned earlier. I can only assume that this a a strong, creature that can take a bulet and not go down easily. Even more interesting to me is the fact, that on the following night after the incident someone or something threw large rocks at this man's trailor, at 3 am smashing out four windows in the process. The rocks were coming from the woods with a tremendous amount of force, considering their size and the distance they were hurled with pretty good accuracy. Retalliation perhaps? Maybe.

    The creature in the area we investigated seems to have slight differences from the Everglades Skunk Ape, but it smells just as bad. The smell of this creature is a mixture,{ if you can imagine} of cat urine, old sweat socks, mildew,and sulfur. It is a smell that once you smell it, you will recogize it from there on. These creatures carry alot of dead algae in their coats from wading through stagnant waterways and rivers which produces the mildew like part of their offensive aroma.

   People who live along the woodline have discovered that the Bigfoot is an accomplished theif. The creature will take off with whatever strikes his fancy from your yard or shed, and will pilfer your fruit from your fruit trees as well. While the bigfoot loves oranges, he seems to have no use for tomatoes, as one homeowner saw the creature taking the oranges and ignoring the tomatoe plants nearby completely. I found this amusing, so I included it here just for trivial fun. Overall the Florida Bigfoot while he may have scared the pants off some folks, has never actually hurt anyone. They seem to be more comfortable in rural areas that are heavily forested, have a fresh water source, and have low human traffic. We have obtained footprint casts from the Anclote area that are currently in the possession of IPPO. They were found in the wet mud at a river crossing that cattle used to use and obviously so did Bigfoot.

   The Florida bigfoot has been sighted and investigated in the  the Anclote Area, Hudson, Brooksville, Elfers, Spring Hill, and areas north of Pasco county such as Homosassa, and Crystal river. There are other locations where only a rare sighting took place so I am not listing these towns here. With more and more develloppment of Florida  woodlands the creature sightings are becoming few and far between now in these areas. The bigfoot seems to be alive and well in Ocala Florida from reports we have heard but we have not investigated this to say for sure.

   I would like to address a question  that I hear all the time regarding the sightings of this creature. Many people ask..."Why is that that it seems that Native Americans and teenage campers seem to be the ones who see bigfoot all the time, and yet the investgators can't seem to find him?"

I have the following theories which you may consider;

    Bigfoot like all animals has an ancestral memory. This consists of things passed down through the generations that make up a large portion of an animals instincts and perceptions of the world and what is necessary for it's survival. Just as we pass on warnings and information to our children for their welfare, so does this creature. For centuries the Native Americans lived in harmony and respect with these creatures . They did not harass them or consider them to be a threat to them, and most of the names such as Sasquatch came from Native American names for these creatures. Every race has pheremones that are particular to that race and a smell that an animal can detect and remember. The creature learns over the centuries who is dangerous and who  is not. So it only makes sense that Native Americans might get to see this creature more often as it does not feel threatened by them. Add to the mix that most of the time Native Americans still live in the rural areas of the country where the bigfoot also resides.

     As for the teenagers camping, like I said before, this creature has an amazingly highly developped sense of smell as well as hearing etc. The bigfoot hunter or even a group of deer hunters have guns. Guns give off the smell of gun powder and gun oil, and of course make a distinctive sound that spells danger to the wise bigfoot. The teenage camper usually does not carry a gun and while posing curiousity on the part of the creature does not impose danger.  It all comes down to the creatures common sense and his uncommon sensory abilities. It is not rocket science here folks!

   If you have seen A Florida bigfoot recently, please send us an email and let us know where you  saw it. We are hoping to keep track of where the creature stills lives and how well he is faring with so little habitat left in our nearby counties. It is my personal feeling that this creature has a right to live on the earth as much as we do and should not be harrassed for science or killed for science or sport. The expression in the eyes of one of these creatures is more human than apelike, and from information that we have gathered I believe that this creature lives in a Matriarchal society in small groups. They are neither dangerous or agressive unless provoked. To me killing one of these creatures would be like shooting a person, who has a family,  that will suffer tremendously from that loss. There are hunters all over the country whose agenda is to bring back a bigfoot ,dead or alive. I do not worry much about this as this creature is so smart and has such a sensory advantage over us that I think this will not be an easy task. Atleast I hope so, because I do not want to see that happen. I have stood twelve feet from one of these creatures who froze and tried to blend in with the trees, as he stared with curiousity at my friend and I who also froze in awe and amazement for a full minute or more. There was no altercation or agression and the creature was still standing there as our fight or flight impulse kicked in and we left the scene. You face more danger from your neighbor's vicious dog than you do from a bigfoot, from what I have seen, so why shoot such a magnificent creature who has survived for centuries against almost impossible odds?

If you have seen the Florida bigfoot. Send us your story and the location of the sighting as we intend to keep a record of sightings and post them here. Just click on the "Contact us" prompt and title you email Florida bigfoot.

UPDATE:SEPT. 13th, 2008 After receiving a report which is posted on the home page, we fear that Bigfoot may be alive and well in Pasco county. IF not something else is running amok, and we plan to investigate to find out.