By Ryan Hall, The Daily Times

Nenahnezad, New Mexico 31 August 2005 — A reported “Bigfoot” sighting more than a week ago in Nenahnezad has been dismissed by Navajo Nation Police.

According to Lt. Clarence Bilagody of the Navajo Nation Police, Shiprock District, residents said they had witnessed up to three Bigfoot-like creatures roaming a field.

“Yeah, we had that report come in to the office. Some people out there said they saw something hairy,” he said.

Contrary to rumors, the animals did not attack any livestock, according to police. A member of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Navajo Nation Police took a cast of the footprints left by the alleged Bigfoot.

An analysis conducted by police and Navajo Nation Rangers concluded the animals seen in the field were not the elusive creatures residents thought they were.

“It’s a bear track, no such thing as Bigfoot,” said Capt. Douglas Joe of the Criminal Investigations Division.

According to William Tsosie of Shiprock, Bigfoot doesn’t exist in Navajo culture, per se, but “Yeí’tso,” is a giant, oafish creature similar to the Anglo concept of Bigfoot.
“It means really monstrous,” he said.

Wallace Charley of Shiprock, said according to Navajo legend, Yeí’tso is a “people-eating monster.” He noted the creature is also thought to assist in bringing rain to the Navajo people.
He added there was no such thing as Bigfoot in Navajo legends.

Charley, Tsosie and LoRenzo Bates of Upper Fruitland, all said they had heard of the alleged Bigfoot sighting in Nenahnezad.

Richard “The Bigfoot Man” O’Neill of Farmington said he believes there are Bigfoot creatures in the Four Corners area, including around Shiprock.

“I looked for him for four years,” he said, adding a friend had seen a Bigfoot in the 1980s near Cortez, Colo.

O’Neill, who has conducted interviews with over 200 people claiming to have seen Bigfoot, described the creature as between 10 and 12 feet tall, and “kind of reddish-brown.”
He noted several witnesses describe the creature as being very human-like. O’Neill was never able to catch a glimpse of Bigfoot, but said several Shiprock residents had seen him, particularly in the areas of Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., and the Shiprock itself.

After four years of searching for the creature, he was asked by a Navajo man to leave Bigfoot alone. The man claimed elders had told him to pass the message on to “The Bigfoot Man,” because the creature brought the rain by roaming the mountains near the community.

He stopped his search shortly afterwards when his vehicle’s motor inexplicably shut down at the same spot in the road three times while he was stalking the creature.

The third time, O’Neill said he heard a voice in his head that said “Next time, I’m going to kill you.”

He never searched for Bigfoot near Shiprock following that incident. “I’m crazy, not stupid,” O’Neill said.

Capt. Joe said the footprint found in Nenahnezad was definitely a bear track and the case was considered closed.

Copyright The Farmington Daily Times
Edward Hall for Bigfoot Encounters

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