NARRATOR: A mysterious beast is
lurking in the woods of Upstate New York. I know that creature exists. NARRATOR: For over 100
years, eyewitnesses claimed to have seen
an elusive monster-- We've cataloged something like
140 to 150 different sightings. NARRATOR: --that has
terrorized the region. I was terrified. NARRATOR: For the
first time ever, "MonsterQuest" builds a
profile of the creature-- These are people who have
seen something many years ago, and it has stayed
them in the mind. NARRATOR: --subjects witnesses,
including a police officer, to lie detector tests-- It is infallible. NARRATOR: --and
launches an expedition into one of America's
most remote habitats. Tracking these
animals at night becomes like a game
of cat and mouse. Cory, speak to me. [tense music] NARRATOR: Witnesses around the
world report seeing monsters. Are they real or imaginary? Science searches for
answers on "MonsterQuest". New York is the epitome
of man's evolution, a concrete technological
jungle teeming with people and traffic. But away from the
sprawling urban metropolis, the town of Whitehall is
nestled within six million acres of wild country. Veiled in mystery
for over 100 years, the townsfolk have talked
about a towering monster that lives in the surrounding woods. It was close to 7 feet tall. It was something
I've never seen before. It was too big to
be a regular person. The moment I saw
it, I was terrified. This thing is out there. NARRATOR: Eyewitnesses describe
a huge, bipedal creature weighing approximately
800 pounds. Its face is described as eerily
human with flared nostrils, thin lips, and piercing eyes. [growling] The description matches
that of the Sasquatch, a legendary creature that
looks part man, part ape. Although no physical
evidence has ever provided conclusive proof
that the creature exists, reported sightings go
back hundreds of years. The consistent descriptions
are, for some, too similar to discount. This area has a long history
of this type of phenomena, and it's very, very much what
was reported hundreds of years ago is still reported today. NARRATOR: Paul Bartholomew is
a local historian and author of two books on the subject. If we look at the
historical perspective, we have the reports of the
Algonquin and the Iroquois of the stone giants and the
giant men of the mountains, classic reports of the
Sasquatch-type creatures. NARRATOR: The first recorded
account of the Sasquatch living in this region came from the
French explorer Samuel de Champlain in the early 1600s. In his diary, he
recounts stories as told to him by Native
Americans, tales of a giant and hairy human-like creature
that lived in the woods. But with a lack of
physical, verified photographic or
videographic evidence, it is difficult to convince
the scientific community of its existence. Every year, there are millions
of visitors to the Adirondack Park. NARRATOR: Ken Kogut is the
regional wildlife manager for the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation. There are also conservation
officers, forest rangers, and if there was
something out there, it definitely would
have been seen. NARRATOR: And if the
townspeople of Whitehall are seeing anything, Ken
says it's most likely a case of mistaken identity. KEN KOGUT: I would say people
in the Whitehall area who are claiming to see
Sasquatch are really seeing, probably, black bears or
some other local animal. NARRATOR: It's a
possible explanation, but more difficult to dismiss
are the multiple sightings reported by police
officers, men trained in the art of observation
and attention to detail. I would not have pulled that
revolver unless I was afraid. [growling] NARRATOR: Dan Gordon is a
retired Whitehall Village police officer. On February 15, 1982, Dan was
on a routine patrol when he saw something he cannot forget. DAN GORDON: I was heading north
on Route 22 with my partner. And this creature
came from the left. I saw it take two steps off
the road, over the guardrails. I immediately hit the brakes
and pulled the car off to the side of the road. I said to my partner, that
was some bear, wasn't it? And he said to me, you
know that wasn't no bear. NARRATOR: Dan immediately left
the vehicle, armed himself, and went in for a closer look. I could hear the
rustling of the brush as it was retreating from me. Now, if I was to say
I saw this by myself, I would say, OK, that might
possibly be an illusion. But I want to ask
you why two of us saw the same thing
at the same time. NARRATOR: Reports like
these come as no surprise to this local researcher. BILL BRANN: Every year, there's
at least two or three sightings that comes to me. NARRATOR: Bill Brann has been
investigating local sightings and has monitored the movement
and behavior of the creature for more than 30 years. BILL BRANN: And Whitehall will
certainly be one of the areas to consider an
expedition or as a study, because there's been so much
activity in this area for such a long period of time. And there's been
multiple sightings seen by multiple
witnesses at one time. NARRATOR: One of the reasons for
that consistency, he believes, is the region's ecology. BILL BRANN: We're talking about
such a vast area through here. This is vast wilderness area. This is basically wilderness
area all the way back to the Canadian border. NARRATOR: But for
many scientists, there is another, more logical
explanation for the sightings. PHILLIPS STEVENS: There is no
evidence for large primates in the past several million
years in North America. NARRATOR: Dr. Phillips
Stevens is a professor of cultural anthropology
at State University of New York in Buffalo. One of his interests is the
study of belief systems, which includes both
religion and folklore. There is a class of folkloric
belief in hairy, humanoid, or human-like creatures that
is reported from every region of the world, living undisturbed
in a pristine wilderness. It seems to be universal
to the human cognition, the human psyche, to
project images of ourselves out into nature. This is called anthropomorphism. There is something fundamentally
human going on here. NARRATOR: Dr.
Stevens's skepticism is shared by the majority
of biologists and wildlife researchers, but there are
a handful of scientists on the other side of the fence. JOHN BINDERNAGEL: I
look at the Sasquatch as an extant North
American mammal. NARRATOR: Dr. John Bindernagel
has over 30 years of field experience and has served as a
wildlife advisor for the United Nations. He's been studying the North
American Sasquatch since 1975. JOHN BINDERNAGEL: Well, the
Sasquatch is a mythical animal. It's very well established
in myth and legend. Beavers occur in
myth and legend. Killer whales occur and orcas
occur in myth and legend. Eagles-- many mammals and
birds occur in myth and legend but also occur as
real, extant mammals. NARRATOR: Dr. Bindernagel
is in Whitehall to build the first-ever profile
of the New York Sasquatch. He will examine evidence,
interview witnesses, and analyze the region's ecology
while several witnesses agree to a polygraph test to
corroborate their claims and "MonsterQuest" heads out
with NESRA, the North Eastern Sasquatch Research Association,
on an expedition for proof. But this investigator
doesn't need any convincing that the monster is alive
and well in Whitehall. STEVE KULLS: What the
mainstream skeptics need to do is they need to come out
there and get out in the field and see what the
researchers have seen. NARRATOR: Steve Kulls is
a Sasquatch researcher and investigator. He believes that he is closing
in on the elusive creature. [growling] In August 2003, Steve Kulls was
contacted by two young boys who had been playing on
nearby train tracks. They told him that they
heard a hoot, like an owl. But when they looked up,
what they saw instead was a huge, hairy creature
standing on two legs that looked like a gorilla. It stared back at them
before disappearing. [tense music] Steve set out in the
direction where the kids said the creature had been headed. So after entering these
woods and tracking a very large animal that walked
through these woods, it was right here they'd seen
this impression in the leaves. They found a 14-inch track. NARRATOR: The sheer size
and clarity of the footprint left Steve little
doubt that he had made an important discovery. But is it proof of a Sasquatch? After examining the
photo of the print, researcher Bill Brann
seems to think so. You can see the toes. You can see the impression
where something very heavy has walked through there. Everything is matted
down, crushed. I think with the ruler here
gives us an exact example of how long as print is. So I think we got an excellent
example of a Sasquatch print here in the Northeast. Actually, it's the right size. NARRATOR: Steve Kull's track
measured 14 inches in length. Dr. John Bindernagel has spent
the last 30 years studying evidence like this. He meets up with Steve
Kulls and Bill Brann to examine tracks that have
been documented in the Whitehall region. Yeah. This was cast on
November 16, 2006. The track was actually
found about 6:30, and we all thought we had heard
some sort of vocalization. And as we're walking back,
we'd come across this right off to the side of the
trail, like something and walked across the trail. And there is a lot of leaf
litter, so what we did is we cast it. And at that point, when
we left for the night. Yeah, it's quite good. It's interesting
because the toes-- I don't know if they
were actually gripping, but they bent downward. That comes up from
time to time in casts. And yeah, there's-- the width is
so impressive because Sasquatch tracks are not simply scaled-up,
barefoot human tracks. They are proportionately
much broader, and that certainly
shows up here. And often, maximum
breadth approaches half of the length, which
is considerably broader than the human foot. As a wildlife biologist,
when we do mammal surveys, we depend heavily on tracks. When tracks are reported,
they corroborate that this was actually a
physical animal walking across a muddy
field or something. NARRATOR: Alleged
Sasquatch tracks, even when thousands of
miles apart, often have the same identifying
characteristics. JOHN BINDERNAGEL: Superficially,
the Sasquatch foot looks like an
enlarged human foot. And so we get the name Bigfoot. On closer examination, there
are many anatomical differences that we see. [tense music] NARRATOR: Which suggests
that hoaxers would have to have a shared
knowledge of supposed Sasquatch morphology. JOHN BINDERNAGEL: We now have
a large enough collection of track casts that
we can look at tracks and determine, I think, pretty
accurately if they're valid or not. NARRATOR: Dr. John Bindernagel
isn't the only researcher determined to prove the
existence of the Sasquatch in Whitehall. CHRISTOPHER BARTOW:
We would like to get some good documentation
from a film or video standpoint. NARRATOR: Christopher Bartow
is a researcher and one of the founding members of
NESRA, the Northeast Sasquatch Research Association. CHRISTOPHER BARTOW:
This particular area of the Adirondacks,
outside of Whitehall, has a particularly rich
tradition of sightings going back many years. NARRATOR: In October
2007, Christopher Bartow was part of an
expedition team here. He heard something
approach camp with a growl unlike any creature
he'd ever heard. CHRISTOPHER BARTOW: A very
bassy, very low frequency growl, and it had a sort of
a gurgling sort of resonance to it. NARRATOR: In 2005,
another NESRA member claimed to have had a
sighting in this part of the Adirondacks. And this is also the area where
Steve Kulls found and cast the 14-inch track in 2006. NESRA has spent
the last few months monitoring the
region in preparation for this expedition. They have invited "MonsterQuest"
to be part of this expedition, but have asked that the exact
location be kept confidential. [tense music] STEVE KULLS: I think
that as time has gone by, we've gotten very keen and aware
of people playing hoaxes on us. So where we're up
on that, and that's why there's kind of an air of
secrecy of where we're going to be a lot of times or
what we're going to do. NARRATOR: Steve Kulls
is a member of NESRA. With many years of field
experience behind him and an intimate
knowledge of this area, he will lead one of the teams. A team from NESRA's
setting up for expedition. We're going to be camped
50 yards due east of here. There's going to be teams
going out at night patrolling. We're going to be here
for the next few days. And hopefully, we'll
get some action. We're going. We're going to flush
this right out here. [ominous music] NARRATOR: Whitehall, New York
has a long history of sightings and encounters with a
creature that locals can only describe as a Sasquatch. I still had a
hard time believing I had seen such a thing. We've got a history of reports
of this bipedal creature. NARRATOR: The idea that such
a creature exists in New York State is, for some,
simply unbelievable. It just cannot
biologically possibly exist. NARRATOR: But there
are many who disagree. Dr. John Bindernagel
is in Whitehall to build, for the first time
ever, a possible profile of the creature. And "MonsterQuest" is teamed
up with NESRA on an expedition into the heart of the
creature's habitat. Researcher Steve Kulls is
checking the area for signs of unusual
disturbances and tracks while Christopher Bartow sets
up the first trail camera. CHRISTOPHER BARTOW: You can see
up into the surrounding hills here and through a good part of
the trees for at least a couple hundred yards in each direction
from that point over there. So number one-- sound's going
to carry well in this valley. And number two-- we're going to
be at a fairly decent vantage point to be able to document
anything moving through down here. We've got to move
out of the area now because when
that stops blinking, it's going to start
taking pictures. In New York, we have
so much leaf litter and cover that tracks are so
hard to come by, that when we investigate recent sighting
reports in the area or vicinity of the sightings, we
look for fresh breaks in trees. Not so much at this height,
which a buck or a bear could easily do, but we
look for fresh breaks that are more or less this
height or this height, proving that something
large has come through here. [tense music] I've learned from
hunters, trappers, and trackers integrated with
the technologies of today, such as night vision, thermal
imaging, track cameras, live real-time infrared cameras,
and computer technology to help track what's going on and
pinpoint where things are going on. NARRATOR: Meanwhile,
Bill Brann is mapping out the areas that he and Dr.
Bindernagel will survey. BILL BRANN: The
summer, midsummer, through into the fall period
is where most of the sightings have taking place. This seasonal activity is
typical of other large mammals in the area. Seen more frequently in the low
grounds in the summer months, they are forced
deeper into the forest during the winter
in search of food. Bill also believes
that Whitehall just happens to be in the middle of
the creature's migratory path. BILL BRANN: Because it seems
to use these spots more often than others. It's using that area
for whatever reason-- migration, food source. I believe it's part
of the corridor which this animal travels. NARRATOR: While there
was no official study to support the migratory
habits of Sasquatch, the theory is consistent
with the behavior of other large mammals,
including bobcats, bears, elk, and coyotes that make use of
natural habitat corridors, passageways that allow them
to traverse between the best feeding grounds, water sources,
and seasonal habitat areas. Why, then, with such
persistent activity, is there so little physical
evidence of the creature here? This type of
forest floor here, with this heavy layer of
pine needles and leaf litter, is a good example of why
tracks don't register very well in an area like this. A soft-footed mammal
like a Sasquatch could walk through here and
the leaves would spring back and there'd be no sign
of its passing at all. NARRATOR: Pending
scientific recognition, John Bindernagel meet up. They set off to
survey the area that has had the most sightings. As you know, John, this area
has been rich in sightings all around us, actually. But this is where
it all began for me. 1976 was really the
beginning of my career as being an investigator
in Sasquatch research. NARRATOR: The incident
that Bill is referring to is a landmark
case, and one that put the village of Whitehall
on the maps of Sasquatch researchers everywhere. I'm definitely a believer. I was there. I know what I saw. [growling] NARRATOR: Brian Gosselin,
like Dan Gordon, is a retired Whitehall
police officer. In 1976, he also came
face-to-face with a creature he had no explanation for. Well, the night of the
sighting was August of 1976. I was a police officer on
duty in Whitehall, New York. And I had two gentlemen pull up
to the side of my patrol car, and these guys came
in saying they'd seen some kind of a creature,
monster, out on Abair Road. And they were dead serious. I mean, these guys
were really wound up. And I drove my own car
right out into the fields. It was a cool night for August. It was crystal
clear, dead quiet, and we were talking
back and forth once in a while on the CB. And then, all of a sudden,
I hear Jim holler to me. He says, what the hell is it? He said, Brian, he's-- he said, I see something. Well, what is it? Jim come tearing out of the
field with the patrol car, and he headed back to Whitehall. I listen to this
for a few minutes, coming across the meadow. And I'm not scared like a child
seeing the boogie man, but my-- my skin was crawling. My hair was standing on end. I knew it was something
coming at me, towards me. It wasn't avoiding me. I got out of the car, and I
had the door open, had my .357 in my hand, hammer pulled back. And I flicked that
light on, and all I remember seeing was a
creature, 7, 7 and 1/2, 8 foot tall, 400 pounds, hairy. And when I hit it with the
spotlight, it brought hands-- not paws-- brought hands
up and covered its face. And I can remember. It's etched in my mind. It let out such a bloodcurdling,
deep-tone screech. [screeching] NARRATOR: Until the 1800s,
the sounds and sights of this monster
reported by witnesses defied classification. People called it a monster
because they had no way to classify it. Primatology had not started yet. The gorilla hadn't-- wasn't
even discovered until 1847. But then, when-- after
the gorilla was discovered and it became known in North
America, then we had a model. And people started using it as
a reference, saying, you know, this looks like a gorilla. And we started hearing
words like "ape-like" and "gorilla-like." And by now, we're quite--
some of us, at least-- are quite confident in
classifying it as a great ape resembling an upright gorilla. NARRATOR: Will the NESRA crew
and the "MonsterQuest" team finally get the evidence that
the world so desperately needs to see? Night has fallen on Whitehall,
and the team's a-ready. NESRA plans to form a
triangle around the area where recent Sasquatch
sightings were reported. Steve Kulls and fellow
researcher Tom Hollywood head up the teams. They will mimic alleged
Sasquatch vocalizations in an attempt to pinpoint
the creature's location. STEVE KULLS: The
methods of vocalizations are basically trying to
make a primate-like sound and throw it out there in
hopes that we get a return vocalization, purportedly from
these Sasquatch creatures. [vocalizing] Distinguishing
vocalizations over the years is acclimating
yourself to the sounds of the animals in the particular
area you're doing research in. [whooping] OK, I'm going to do a moan howl
in about 20 seconds from now. [radio beeping] [moan howling] Steve to base camp. [radio beeping] TOM HOLLYWOOD: Go ahead, Steve. Um, I don't know if Hollywood
did one whoop or one howl, but I've heard two so far. No, Steve. I think he only did it once. Yeah, I thought
that was Hollywood. I just heard one about,
maybe, 25, 30 seconds ago. Hey, Hollywood, how many
times did you vocalize there? You said you were going
to wait 20 seconds. We had one, like, right after
your first transmission. No, that wasn't me. I just howled once. MAN: OK, that was Hollywood. The one before that,
um, we thought was you. That's negative. [chuckles] I thought
that was Hollywood. And then, we waited and
I heard a second one. NARRATOR: The response that
Steve claims to have heard is not picked up on tape. He describes it as very faint. [ominous music] Then, Steve hears something
rustling in the bushes. STEVE KULLS: I've got movement,
um, behind me on the hill. Something pulled this down. Looks like something
pulled this down. NARRATOR: The townsfolk
of Whitehall, New York are being stalked by a monster
who has haunted the local woods for centuries. Wildlife biologist Dr.
John Bindernagel is here to investigate the phenomenon. And the NESRA, the Northeast
Sasquatch Research Association, is on an expedition in search
of the ultimate evidence. It will probably be a body
that can be cross-referenced and cataloged. NARRATOR: And for many in
the scientific community, that is exactly
what it will take. KEN KOGUT: People have asked
what kind of evidence would I need to make-- to convince me, as
the wildlife manager, that Sasquatch exists
here in Whitehall. And that's probably going to
be a dead Sasquatch that's going to make me-- convince me that
there is this animal. Otherwise, I'm always
going to be a skeptic. NARRATOR: But
without a body, what will it take to convince the
world the Sasquatch is here, in this remote region? ALLEN HILLS: I think the
simplest answer is actually just to verify the truth. NARRATOR: Allen Hills is
a private investigator and a recognized
polygraph expert. He has been retained
independently by "MonsterQuest". We like to call the polygraph
a truth verifier, as opposed to a lie detector. A polygraph is a
scientific instrument. And with the right training
and the right individual, it is very, very accurate,
absolutely accurate. NARRATOR: For most
of the witnesses who claim to have seen the
creature, their encounters have left them
questioning themselves. Did they really see a monster? SUE ROSS: I was very scared. The moment I saw
it, I was terrified. [growling] NARRATOR: Sue Ross
was eight years old when she saw the creature. My brother and I were playing
in a shale pit down the road from where we lived, a
few hundred feet away. And we were walking back home. And I kept getting hit with
these little pebbles in the-- in my right shoulder. And I thought it was my brother. And I said to my brother,
stop throwing stones at me. And he'd-- I'm not
throwing stones at you. NARRATOR: But Sue felt several
more pebbles hit her before she turned round to her brother. He raised his hands
and again swore that he hadn't thrown anything. Right at that
moment, I'm facing him. And a stone hit me in my
forehead, coming from the woods to my left. And I turned and
looked, and there was this creature standing
there and throwing pebbles. NARRATOR: Terrified, Sue
and her brother ran home. I got home and told
my mother what happened. I was crying. And at 8 years old, I
described it as a monster. I was terrified. All these years, I
kind of wondered, maybe it wasn't what
I thought I saw. I've had doubts,
a lot of doubts. ALLEN HILLS: These are people
who have seen something many years ago, and it has
stayed with them in their mind. Do you know for sure that the
creature you saw was not human? Yes. ALLEN HILLS: Could you now
take me to the exact spot where you saw Bigfoot? SUE ROSS: Yes. ALLEN HILLS: Could you have
imagined seeing a creature described as Bigfoot? SUE ROSS: No. NARRATOR: According to
Dr. Phillips Stevens, the imagination is a more
likely place for a Sasquatch to live than New York State. The fact that people all over
the world are seeing similar creatures suggests very
strongly-- not weakly, very strongly, now-- that this is something
that people do, something that the
human mind does. NARRATOR: But for
Dr. John Bindernagel, these collective reports that
are similar in description are critical when building
an anatomical profile of the creature. JOHN BINDERNAGEL:
Fortunately, some people who see Sasquatches
don't just describe them, but they actually make
an attempt to draw them. And these eyewitness
drawings are especially helpful because people will
often see something or remember something as they make a drawing
that they may have forgotten in their verbal description. In this one, for example,
we had-- the muscularity of the Sasquatch is
very, very evident and the short, thick neck. Some are described as
females, either because of visible breasts or
because it was apparently carrying an infant. And that's always of interest. And then, yet others
seem to be young adults or what we call sub-adults. NARRATOR: Variations
in size and gender definitely supports the argument
that in order for the Sasquatch to thrive in Whitehall,
it would have to be a breeding population. PAUL BARTHOLOMEW: The
sizes may vary, yeah. You may have a report in one
area where the creature's 5 foot tall and another area
where it's 7 feet tall. But this would be normal
as a creature would grow. It's very consistent
with a living, breathing, biological creature. NARRATOR: But for those who
are doubtful of the creature's existence, this idea simply
fuels their skepticism. KEN KOGUT: To say that
there is a breeding, surviving population
that goes on definitely is just a fantasy. Claimants say that these
things can exist undetected, and I'm just-- we're just
looking at reasons why this is unlikely, rather
than impossible. NARRATOR: And the village
and town board of Whitehall may not think it's impossible. In January 2004,
Paul Bartholomew lobbied for legislation to
protect the Sasquatch and won. Whitehall is a protective
habitat in the Sasquatch because we've established
such a history for the creature in this area. NARRATOR: In February 2004,
the board passed legislation for a Sasquatch
protective ordinance. It reads, "whereas the
possibility of all endangered species proven and pending
scientific recognition, should be entitled to protection
under the Federal and New York State laws." The legislation supports NESRA's
belief that the creature exists in this part of the country. [tense music] The NESRA team chased
the strange noise for more than a mile
before the trail went cold. Well, what happened was one
of our guys from another team was going to
commence throwing out a vocalization in 20 seconds. Then, all of a sudden,
something vocalized. NARRATOR: They'll try vocalizing
again in the hopes of picking up the trail once more. Once we get
vocalizations, then we can perhaps understand
that there's maybe a creature out there. So that kind of
pinpoints the location of where this creature
may be or, in some cases, to actually go in and
seek it out or draw it in. NARRATOR: And
that's exactly what Steve's and the other
NESRA members hope to do. I'm going to try a
few calls out here, approximately south of your
location about 400 yards. Yeah, go ahead and
start your stuff. [howling] COREY (ON RADIO): A
large thump or wood knock of some kind-- we just want
to know if that was you. That's negative. NARRATOR: Despite its
elusiveness, has NESRA managed to pick up the trail again? Corey, speak to me. NARRATOR: Whitehall, New York
is rich in biology, history, and folklore. It would appear to be the ideal
environment for a creature that purportedly came here
millions of years ago and took up residence in
local mythology, woodlands, and parks. Dr. John Bindernagel is
interviewing key eyewitnesses who claim to have seen
the monster of Whitehall. For some, it has
changed their lives. This man was 18
when he encountered a creature he had no name for. For the first time, he tells
his story to John Bindernagel. He has asked to
remain anonymous. It was back in about 1981,
January, a very cold night, very clear night. [growling] I was out there with
a friend, and we were sitting there talking. And out of the corner of my eye,
I noticed motion in a hay field off to my right. I'm saying, it must be
a cross-country skier. But as I look at
it, it's not moving like a cross-country skier. The gait is like a walk,
but the speed is like a run. As it's approaching us, I can
see it clearly silhouetted against the white hayfield. It's a large, shaggy
man, as far as I know. And that was the point where I
got up and got out of the car. I shut the car door
after I got out. And when I did that, whatever
it was seemed to notice the sound of the car door. And I'm still looking at it,
still trying to figure it out. And the person with me
was becoming quite upset. I did get into the vehicle,
and we departed posthaste. The intellectual discord
there between what you know to be real and what
you know can't be real-- Right. --was, uh, very distinct
and very disturbing. NARRATOR: Witness accounts
are not the only reports that are called into question. One of the biggest
problems I've come to realize is that almost half the
scientific community will not examine evidence if there
is no theoretical basis for that evidence. Scientists want a theory. And the best theory is the
gigantopithecus theory. A fossil ape of Asia may have
migrated across the Bering land bridge along with mastodons, the
giant beaver, bison, a number of animals, including humans,
which came to North America across that land
bridge and persists, either as the Sasquatch,
as gigantopithecus, or as a close relative
or descendant. NARRATOR: Theories have abounded
over the years surrounding the mystery creature
of Whitehall. For the first time
ever, eyewitnesses take a polygraph test to prove
to the rest of the world what they believe they saw. ALLEN HILLS: I do not
determine your truthfulness or whether you're lying until
the entire test is finished, all the interview
process, polygraph itself, and I analyze the
results and determine beyond a doubt for
my satisfaction whether or not you're truthful. On or about January 15, 1981
at approximately midnight, did you see a creature you
would describe as Bigfoot? Yes. Could you now take
me to the exact spot where you saw Bigfoot? Yes. Could you have imagined
seeing a creature described as Bigfoot? No. NARRATOR: Despite the fact that
the eyewitness accounts spanned two decades, each person has
given a similar response. BILL BRANN: The caliber
of the person that's telling the story-- you got
law officers, which are trained observers. This is something there. There is no doubt about it. It was dark. It looked hairy. It was 8 to 9 feet tall. [growling] NARRATOR: Crystle Austin was
walking her friend Melissa Gordon and Dawn Juckett home one
evening when they encountered a 9-foot monster. CRYSTLE AUSTIN: We were
walking over one of the hills, and standing in front of
us was a large figure. [gasping] It looked hairy,
dark colored, brown. It was about 9 feet tall. All I seen was, like,
the black outline of it. It was standing on
two feet with its arms just, like, hanging
down straight. And my heart just
started beating. CRYSTLE AUSTIN: We screamed. We ran up the hill and
looked back, and it was gone. NARRATOR: Around 20 miles
away from where the girls came face-to-face with the monster,
the NESRA expedition team believes that they are hot
on the trail of the creature. The events of the evening
have them on high alert. STEVE KULLS: There's been a
lot of aggressive behavior in certain parts of this park-- escorts, screaming
vocalizations, and now, object throwing. What the hell happened up there? I was on the left hill. There's a little-- a
little dip between us. He's on the right hill. I thought I heard
something moving around on the top of the hill. A couple-- like, two, three--
pine cones came over the top, I'm assuming, or
sticks or something. And then, the last one got
me in the back of the head. OK, We're having movement now. You guys heard it.
We heard it. MAN (ON RADIO): We're having a
tremendous amount of activity up this way. NARRATOR: Could
this be the break that NESRA has been waiting for? [tense music] Corey, speak to me. [ominous music] NARRATOR: The woods
have fallen silent. Whatever was out there has gone. And what happened is we lost
the trail down there coming back because everything is
just knocked down in there. And in this type of lighting,
even with the lighting we use, you can't tell what's
trail and what's not. NARRATOR: Steve Kulls and
the rest of the NESRA team had back to base camp. Although they didn't manage
to catch sight of the creature tonight, perhaps the
trail cameras did. Tracking these
animals at night becomes like a game
of cat and mouse. They have the
tactical advantage. What generally runs through
my head is, did we tape it? NARRATOR: But it is
too dark tonight, and they will have to wait
until tomorrow to find out. While Dr. John Bindernagel
finalizes his report, Allen Hills completes the
final polygraph analysis. One question can be
asked numerous times. And each time it's
answered, you'll think you're answering
it the same way. But your eyes will be different. Your gesture be different. Your tone of voice
may be different. Yes. All these are part
of exactly what's going on inside your head. And they need to be analyzed
properly by a professional. NARRATOR: Could the test
yield a shocking verdict on the existence
of the creature? [tense music] Is the creature of Whitehall a
Sasquatch, a legendary monster that is part man, part ape? Or are the townsfolk simply
mistaking it for other animals native to the region? This retired police officer came
face-to-face with the monster. This man's encounter has
haunted him for 20 years. This man has dedicated 30
years of his life trying to prove the existence of
the Whitehall Sasquatch. And this man believes
it's only a matter of time before mainstream science is
forced to accept the creature as a living, breathing mammal. With more than 150
sightings in Whitehall, only a handful of scientists
accept these claims. PHILLIPS STEVENS: If there is a
population of these creatures, as there very well-- as there must be, if we're
going to see any at all, they've got-- they've got to have
moms and dads, right? And presumably they want
to reproduce themselves. There must be others, and there
must be a significant number of others. Where are they? While Christopher Bartow sets
off to check the camera traps from last night's chase,
ex-state police detective and polygraph expert Allen
Hills reveals his findings. I am 100% objective
in the beginning. I must be trained
to be, and I am. I think that without the
element of objectivity, I'm really useless. If I'm convinced at the
beginning someone is lying, I'll find them lying. And if I'm convinced someone
is telling the truth, I'll find them truthful. So if I'm not going to be
100% objective, why test? These are people who have
seen something many years ago, and it has stayed with
them in their mind. NARRATOR: Can science say
without a shadow of a doubt that the eyewitnesses
of Whitehall are truthful in their testimony? The simple fact is
that, in my opinion, they were not lying
about anything. NARRATOR: For the
residents of Whitehall, the conclusive results
of the polygraph testing is evidence of
multiple sightings. I can believe myself. I'm afraid some people
look at me and be skeptical. But thanks to this program, I
think we can put that to rest. MAN: What the polygraph
did for me personally was let me know that I
hadn't created in my mind a truth that wasn't the truth. NARRATOR: Is Dr. John
Bindernagel's report as conclusive? JOHN BINDERNAGEL: Well, you
know, coming from my position as one of the handful of
scientists that does accept the Sasquatch as
an extant mammal and being aware of Whitehall,
New York and Upstate New York reports, I didn't come here,
perhaps, with the skepticism that some people would have. Nevertheless, I really did want
to hear for myself eyewitness accounts and see some of the
evidence, which I have done, which I was able to experience. And I'm totally convinced that
the Sasquatch does exist here in Upstate New York. There's no doubt
about it in my mind. And the eyewitnesses who
shared their accounts helped with that conviction. The Sasquatch phenomena is
a fascinating controversy, scientific controversy. So it's very, very
interesting to begin with. And then, to have reports,
very credible reports, coming from literally our
own backyard, in a sense, in the Whitehall area, that
becomes almost intoxicating. You just can't ignore
that type of report. And now, we have police
officers, very respectable people in the region
that had sightings. So it's very credible,
it's very interesting, and whatever is
going on here, it's consistent with what's going
on throughout the country and throughout the world. NARRATOR: The investigation
into the monster of Whitehall is revealing startling results. But did the NESRA
team manage to capture any photographic evidence? On this occasion, the images
reveal nothing unusual, a disappointment to the NESRA
crew, perhaps, but not the end. With the intense activity
over the last few days, they are now even more convinced
that Whitehall holds the key to the mystery. What the truthful
witnesses are telling me is the same thing-- how these creatures act,
what they look like, what they sound like,
what they smell like. That, to me, says volumes about
the validity of this creature. CHRISTOPHER BARTOW: In terms
of what's the next level of research, how can we improve
in what we do, certainly, we'd like to provide the base
evidence that will help science get on board. CRYSTLE AUSTIN: People
around the world have been chasing the shadow
of Sasquatch for centuries, and the monster of Whitehall
seems no less elusive. But "MonsterQuest" examination
has proved something, that the people of Whitehall
are telling the truth about what they saw-- This is a living
creature in our woods. BRIAN GOSSELIN: There was
no doubt of what I saw. Now I know they're there. NARRATOR: --and that Whitehall
could both support and conceal a population of Sasquatch. JOHN BINDERNAGEL: People are
quite resistant to the idea that the Sasquatch could be in
New York State, in Michigan, in Pennsylvania. But it is. NARRATOR: For the rest
of us, the mystery will continue until the
much-needed evidence is presented. I think, overall, the
scientific community is starting to slowly
come around to the idea that there may be more going on
in the woods in North America than meets the eye. [ominous music]
