A Cookeville man recently discovered a mysterious fossil that has residents asking questions. Harold Jackson was walking along his property when he found what looks like a fossil footprint in a rock showing a pressure ridge. Jackson took the fossilized footprint home. The dimensions are 11 inches across and 15 inches long. He thinks it could have belonged to a Native American, while others wonder if it could be from Bigfoot.

September 5, 2008 -- Cookeville, Tennessee -- Harold Jackson is an amateur archaeologist who enjoys collecting arrowheads and other Native American artifacts. But the most extraordinary find of his life came on his property near the Caney Fork River.

For months he stepped on a rock near his house that caught his eye. Finally,
he brought the unusual rock home and cleaned it up. After all of the mud was removed, a remarkable discovery was revealed.

"I don't know anything about archaeology or anything, but if you look at it,
it's a footprint. No animal footprint looks like that. Now, if it's a Native American, an Indian, then he was a big Indian," said Jackson. "(The print) is about 11 inches wide and about 15 inches long."

Jackson said the fossilized print clearly shows the heel and all five toes.

"It's got to be thousands of years old," said Jackson.

About half-a-dozen scientists said they want to look at the print, including Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, a famous Bigfoot professor at Idaho State University. Meldrum collects Bigfoot prints from all over the world.

Jackson said the print has made him a believer in Bigfoot.

"It was just hard for me to believe. But listen, after I found this print, there's a Bigfoot out there somewhere. I don't know what kind of Bigfoot it is, but there's a Bigfoot out there somewhere," said Jackson.

Channel 4 has yet to reach Meldrum or Tennessee state archaeologist Nick Fielder to comment on the artifact.

Jackson said there is another similar-sized large fossilized foot imprint on his property but has been unable to extract it from the rock.

Published in the Nashville News September 2008

Back to Bigfoot Encounters Main page
Back to Newspaper & Magazine Articles
Back to Bigfoot Encounters "What's New" page

Portions of this website are reprinted and sometimes edited to fit the standards of this website
under the Fair Use Doctrine of International Copyright Law
as educational material without benefit of financial gain.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
This proviso is applicable throughout the entire Bigfoot Encounters Website.