In 1980-1981, I was working as a security guard on a high-tension tower project here in California. I met a man who was a "cat skinner" operating a bulldozer, leveling off the pads where each of these high tension towers was to be placed. I noted he had on his pickup truck, 25-30 decals from places he had been hunting and introduced myself.
During the conversation I mentioned ‘bigfoot’ and he told me that in the mid to late 1970's he was doing a little poaching (with the Forestry Official's permission in a locked and gated area near Bishop, California, they had given him a key so he could go in any time he wanted)." This particular time the gate was still locked (as it always was); he let himself in with his 4-wheel drive pickup to the area known as Four Points.
He drove over a hill and there to his surprise were Department of the Interior vehicles and Bureau of Land Management men all in their "Smokey The Bear" outfits (with guns) searching a campground, the hills, mountains, roads, etc. They grabbed this hunter, took his deer rifle away from him and questioned him for 7-8 hours as to what he was doing there.
The local forestry officials identified him as a trusted friend and he was let go, but told to "never come back." He had determined during his interrogation that the reason the BLM and Dept of Interior were there in force was that a Bigfoot creature had gone through there the day before and had torn up the campground; had turned over a "large" trash container (of the type you find behind large department stores – dumpsters), that no man can even begin to move and had killed several people.
Over the years the story was passed through several people, in fact, "quite a few" Bigfoot researchers, but "no one" was able to come up with one single "clue. "
Then in early to middle 1991, a young student also interested in investigating the Bigfoot mystery, called the C.B.F.O.'s hotline to tell me that he had heard that story several years ago and it had "always" stuck with him. He went on to relate that when he was doing some Bigfoot research in the town of Bishop, California (Inyo County), area in 1989-90 he met a former policeman who said that he was on the Bishop police force in the mid to late 1970's. The student related the foregoing story of Bigfoot to the ex-police officer from Bishop, and he confirmed it. The officer said the story was the talk of the law enforcement agencies in that area at the time, but they were under very tight orders not to say anything about the incident and the related deaths. (Richard Grumley)
© Ray Crowe’s TRACK RECORD September, 1992 #21
WESTERN BIGFOOT SOCIETY NEWSLETTER
I remember hearing "parts" of this story from Rich Grumley, the big man himself on October 25, 1999 during a visit to his apartment in Stockton, California on one of my many trips north to Bluff Creek. I didn't know the complete story until Ray Crowe sent this old copy of his 1992 Track Record to me this week. Grumley was well over 6ft 5" - 250 lbs and was recovering from a debilitating stroke when I met him; he was in poor health but it was obvious he had various encounters not only with the Sasquatches but with various government officials over some of his well known trespassing capers. Grumley's voice was on par with Orson Wells in that when he told a story, you couldn't help but believe it. Rich also mentioned the officials were heavily armed and that there was a distinct odor permeating the air; he also said that the turning over of the trash receptacle of that size, wasn't something a black bear was capable of, indicating again, there are no grizzlies in California.
It would seem to me a record of this event might be available through the FOIA with the names of those who were killed or at least there should be some kind of report of this incident made back when it happened if the story is true.....someone with more time than I have ought to chase this report down through the FOIA..... It might be written up as a bear attack........Bobbie Short August 2006
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