Sasquatch Chronicles

Rick writes "I was on your show about two years ago regarding my investigations into the potential paranormal aspects of the Bigfoot phenomenon. I would like to update you on my efforts (Quantum Bridge Project) and the progress we've made to date.
As you know, I used to be the State Director for the Virginia Chapter of the Mutual UFO Network and investigated numerous UFO sighting reports to include purported "abduction" cases. I transitioned to the paranormal realm because of the apparent similarities in certain cases. I've been with the Center for Paranormal Research and Investigations (CPRI) for the past twenty-four years and, within the past eight years, started conducting "cryptid" research for the same aforementioned reasons.
I chose CPRI because of their philosophy and the way they approached the paranormal using the scientific method. The organization has MDs, PhDs in sociology, educators, nurses, chemists, current and former law enforcement officers, etc. CPRI is a Virginia 501(c) nonprofit, educational organization with a Board of Directors.
I approached their Board with a written research proposal requesting that we investigate the "cryptid" phenomena in the same fashion they approach the paranormal; using certain specialized instrumentation and equipment like thermal imaging/ recording devises, remote data loggers designed to measure various EM/ radiological fields, and certain environmental conditions. My proposal involved locating a potentially credible cryptid investigator and working with them in their respected field research areas in order to capture supporting data during a sighting. This would not only validate that something is actually occurring, but to potentially explain certain aspects of the phenomenon. I've attached this particular proposal for your reference.
One of my investigators located Harley Owens; a fairly new cryptid investigator in the East Tennessee area. Some of his sightings have been validated by other independent investigators, so I decided to work with him. His research area is near Cosby, TN, which is one of the areas the late Scott Carpenter used to investigate. Over the past two years, Ive independently investigated this area with Harley to further gauge his credibility before devoting CPRI resources to this geographical area. During that time, I've seen strange tree structures, heard screams, roars, and strange "barn owl" sounds, I have also seen those infamous" lights" that are seemingly associated with the Bigfoot phenomenon.
On one occasion, I saw one of these "lights" at night on my thermal imager. It was moving intelligently through the forest. Interestingly enough, when I tried to see the light without the thermal, it wasn't visible. When I looked through the thermal, it would reappear, indicating it had some type of invisible heat source. Harley was next to me and wanted to see the light through the thermal. When he looked through it, he saw the light and, as it approached a dirt road, he said the light "transformed" into an upright being exhibiting a heat signature. It walked across the road and up an incline towards an adjacent knoll. I didn't see this; however, about one minute later, I heard a loud scream and an "owl' like vocal come from this same knoll. This scream was extremely loud and lasted about two to three seconds. It also sounded like some type of primate. It was immediately followed by an "owl" vocal, which didn't seem right.
On another investigation in July of 2024, Harley and I were in his research area one night when we heard a loud, very intimidating roar (not scream) coming from another Ridgeline adjacent to a cemetery, which is the apparent focal point of the activity. This roar was so intimidating and loud, we were concerned for our safety. You could actually feel "rage" coming from whatever made it. I've never heard anything quite like it before, so we decided to pack everything up in order to make a quick exit if the situation called for it. We didn't stay too much longer before we left the area.
As you probably know, these so called "orb" sightings are very common in both Bigfoot and paranormal cases, which leads me to some information you and your listeners may find very interesting. Back in 2003, CPRI investigated a case near Bedford, VA. This case involved a lady who lived on a farm in a double wide home. The lady reported seeing shadows, hearing voices and reported poltergeist type activity throughout the house. During the course of our investigation, she related an incident that occurred in the early 80s. She was getting ready for bed, had just turned off the bedroom lights when she saw three "orbs" hovering in a level, straight line at the foot of her bed. They appeared to be the size of a softball and each exhibited a different color; one was orange, one was light blue and the last was reddish They emitted light and then moved in unison (line formation) down her hallway and made a 90 degree left turn into her dinning room. She immediately went to the dinning room to see where they went and couldn't locate them. It was as if they just disappeared.
The following morning, she went back into the dinning room and noticed three circular discolored/ burnt marks on her window screen. She believed these orbs went through the screen because they weren't there before, the window was left open and each mark was about the same size of these orbs. We asked her about the screen and, fortunately, she had rolled it up and kept it in her barn and forgot about it. We went to the barn and she pulled it out. The screen still had these three strange marks on it, so we asked if we could have it analyzed. She agreed, so we gave it to one of our members who happened to be a Radiochemist and worked for a federal lab in eastern Virginia. He's no longer with CPRI, so I'm not at liberty to divulge his name or where he worked without permission. He took the screen to his lab for analysis. A few weeks later, he sent us a report with his findings, which were intriguing. I've attached a document containing excerpts of his report to keep him and his employer's information confidential.
According to the report, the discolored sections of the screen were highly irradiated. The areas were so irradiated we decided to ask the lady some health questions. Around the same time as the orb incident, she did experience bad flu symptoms, nausea, fever and general weakness, which lasted about a week or two. She thought it was just the flu, but did reveal additional information that brings doubt to that conclusion. A few years later, the had to have hip replacement surgery. After the surgery, the doctor asked if she had ever had radiation therapy. When she said no, the doctor said the bone structure of her hip was porous. It appeared to have been subjected to a type of radiation. Apparently she may have been exposed to a great deal of radiation that night. This is not to say that all orb phenomena contains radioactive properties, but it appears these lights did.
In March of 2025, I assembled a team from CPRI and we (along with Harley) conducted a preliminary investigation of the Cosby site. The team consisted of Harley, myself, an archeologist, University Professor and another retired law enforcement officer. We did take some instrumentation with us. During the course of three days, we found several unusual tree structures, interviewed a resident in the area and conducted night surveillance. The primary location was the site of an old cemetery, which seems to be the focal point of the activity. We were able to witness unusual light activity in the cemetery. This took the form of small red points of moving light. Another larger red light was also seen depending in a straight line towards the same Ridgeline that the "roar" was heard a year earlier. Our archeologist witnessed a large, indistinct dark mass cross in front of him through the cemetery. He was wearing an Apple Smart Watch with embedded bio sensor at the time. He was able to pull the heart rate data from the watch and, at the exact time he witnessed this event. His heart rate jumped from 66 BPM to 124 BPM. On one occasion, our professor also witnessed a small green light hovering about thirty feet above the cemetery. These lights couldn't readily be explained. They didn't match the will-o-the-wisp (swamp methane gas ignition) phenomena because the weather was cool, it hadn't rained, low humidity and most of the colors seen were red instead of the signature faint blue-violet glow."

A listener writes "My name is Timothy, and I want to say how much I enjoy your show and appreciate the work you do. I'm a Seminole Native American who grew up in South Florida, right next to the Everglades. Over the years, I've had several paranormal experiences.
One of the most striking happened in April 2021, when I had a clear, close encounter no more than 15 yards away with what I believe was a Sasquatch, or what locals call a Skunk Ape. I was out riding my four-wheeler in the woods at the time. After that, I had a few more unusual experiences in the same area with friends, though I'm not entirely sure if those were related to Bigfoot.
I've also been involved in what I later realized was a demon summoning ceremony, during which I experienced some disturbing paranormal activity.
More recently, at the beginning of December, a friend and I heard a distinct wood knock, followed by the sound of something moving toward us from the other side of the woods. And just today, while riding along the reservation line, I came across a set of three-toed tracks. These experiences have stayed with me, and I thought they might be of interest to you."

Laura Krantz is a journalist, editor and producer, in both radio and print, and co-founder of Foxtopus Ink. Her podcast, Wild Thing has received critical acclaim from Scientific American, Rolling Stone, and The Atlantic, which named it one of the best 50 podcasts in 2018 and 2020.
Wild Thing is also the inspiration for a series of non-fiction, middle-grade books from ABRAMS Kids, including The Search for Sasquatch, Is There Anybody Out There?, and Do You Believe In Magic?
In addition to Wild Thing, her recent work includes reporting, editing and production work on Master Plan (The Lever), The Syndicate (Imperative Entertainment/Foxtopus), Side Door (Smithsonian), Air/Space (Smithsonian), and others. Laura's prior experience includes a decade of editing and producing at NPR in Washington, DC, and at KPCC in Los Angeles.

Spoke to the witness and he has agreed to come on the show. A listener writes "I recently attended a meeting of my local Purple Heart chapter for combat wounded veterans. There were six of us in total three from the Global War on Terror and three Vietnam veterans. What stood out was that every Vietnam veteran who had been wounded shared that they had seen what they called a "rock ape."
As they told their stories, the rest of us those from GWOT, myself included remained quiet.  After the meeting, I spoke privately with another GWOT veteran, who admitted he had also witnessed unusual things while serving as an Army instructor on a base.
My own experience happened on the eastern shore of Cougar Reservoir in Oregon. I was camping with my family when, close to midnight, something began approaching our campsite. I first heard heavy footsteps about 100 meters away. As it drew closer, I realized I had to stand my ground. It was moving toward us steadily not sprinting, but deliberately giving my ex-wife time to turn on the SUV's lights and get our two toddlers out of the tent and into the vehicle, about 40 feet away.
I positioned myself between the approaching figure and my family. It came down from a hill toward our campsite by the water, a distance I later confirmed to be about 100 meters. When it got within roughly 40 meters, I fired a couple of warning shots with my 9mm, though it felt completely inadequate. My plan, if it came closer, was to aim for the eye shine to buy my family more time.
At around 20 30 meters, I could feel the vibration of its footsteps through the ground beneath my bare feet. Strangely, it kept its eyes covered as it approached. The SUV's headlights were shining directly at it on high beams, yet I couldn't see any eye reflection. I've never been able to shake the feeling that it understood what I was trying to do.
It stopped about 12 feet in front of me and remained there while we finished loading the car. Once everyone was inside, I slowly backed away, got into the SUV, and drove us out along the narrow road leading from the campsite.
For most of the encounter, I actually thought I was dealing with an elephant something large that could move quietly despite its size. I heard no brush breaking, despite the dense vegetation only the sound of its footsteps. I didn't smell anything, even when it was close. When I finally saw it clearly, my first thought was that it looked almost artificial, like something constructed. It took a while to come to terms with what I saw.
I have no doubt that these creatures exist as living, physical beings. What unsettles me most is the pattern described by the Vietnam veterans each of them had seen one shortly before being wounded in separate incidents. My own encounter came much later, as did the other GWOT veteran's.
Over the years, I've spoken with hundreds of veterans, often asking those with extensive time in the wilderness if they've ever experienced anything unusual. Most say no, or mention only distant, unexplained sounds. But in that room of Purple Heart recipients, only one of the six had not directly described seeing something. The rest of us had encountered what appeared to be a large, upright walking ape. Half of those sightings reportedly occurred just days before being wounded. To be fair, the one individual who didn't share may simply have chosen to remain silent."

Tonight we'll be talking with Jake from Minnesota. Back in the early 1980s, he witnessed something he described as a chimpanzee playing on his tree stand. Then, 30 years later, in the same area, he encountered another creature this time displaying behavior unlike anything he had ever heard or seen before.