Steve Stephens | Special to The Columbus Dispatch
PERRYSVILLE –
Q: Where does Sasquatch live?
A: Sasquatch-ewan, of course.
But seriously, folks. If you were a shy, primitive, 8-foot-tall, 400-pound, nocturnal, bipedal hominid, where would you hide?
Why not Ohio?
Although the Buckeye State seems an unlikely place for a beast reportedly as large as Bigfoot to roam, the extensive forests of eastern and southern Ohio could provide plenty of shelter, according to Bigfoot believers.
Ohio is among the top states for Bigfoot sightings
In fact, Ohio is among the top states for reported Bigfoot encounters, said Louis Andres, a program specialist at Pleasant Hill Lake Park near Loudonville. That’s one reason why the park will host the Bigfoot Basecamp Weekend (https://pleasanthillpark.mwcd.org/calendar/2022/09/09/bigfoot-basecamp) on Sept. 9–11, Andres said.
Ohio ranks just behind Washington, California and Florida in reported encounters, according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (www.bfro.net).
The president of that organization, Matt Moneymaker, will make several appearances at the Bigfoot Basecamp Weekend.
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Moneymaker, who is also a star of the “Finding Bigfoot” TV series on Animal Planet, will host a VIP dinner at Mohican State Park lodge as part of the event. He will also explain and demonstrate new high-tech investigation equipment, including thermal-imaging drones that will be livestreaming Bigfoot hunts during the weekend, Andres said.
A Bigfoot sighting was reported in 2020 by a family camping within the 1,845-acre Pleasant Hill Lake Park, a Muskingum Water Conservation District park, Andres said.
The park adjoins other large natural areas, including 4,500-acre Mohican-Memorial State Forest and 1,100-acre Mohican State Park where other Bigfoot sightings have been alleged.
Encounters with Bigfoot have been reported in the area as far back as 1899, Andres said.
And myths and legends of a gigantic, man-like ape, also known as Sasquatch…