Sasquatch Watch of VA Field Research

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Culpeper County Research with Autumn

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia Field Notes...by Billy Willard, Director (Dec 22, 2007)

On December 22, 2007 I took Autumn, my beagle dog in training, on her first research project. I decided to do this in an area the group has been researching for a few years now in Culpeper, VA. Autumn has been sniffing "possible" Sasquatch hair everyday since she was a few weeks old, so I decided to take her out and give her a trial run.

We arrived around 10:00 am. We entered the area by way of a service road that leads toward the Rappahannock River. Immediately upon entering the area, Autumn quickly identified some scat.

A few feet further, a game trail seemed to catch her attention. Her nose nevers leaves the ground, she was constantly sniffing the ground. She leads me up the game trail and we go into the woods about 100 feet. At this point, she stops suddenly, raises her head for the first time and the hair on her neck and tail bone stands straight up! She literally turns around and pulls me out of the trail and back to the gravel road. It was strange, I never heard or saw a thing, but she apparently sensed something.

We proceeded further down the access road. The next item to catch her attention was a freshly broken pine branch laying in the middle of the road. She examined the broken branch for at least an entire minute, afterwards, looking into the woods.

A few minutes later, her attention was drawn to another trail leading off into the woods. As she proceeded to pull me down the trail I put my camera in video mode and recorded some live footage for the readers to see. The following link will take you to that footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8bR8Kc0fn4

Later, as we headed up stream alongside the Rappahannock River, we had to cross a tributary to the river. I picked Autumn up to carry her across. After crossing, I put her down and she immediately became uneasy. As I tried to encourage her to continue, she simply dug her paws into the soil and would go no further. I found this rather odd as well. She began whining vigorously and pulled me back towards the tributary, so I picked her back up, crossed over and put her down on the other side. She immediately pulled me back out the way we came in.

Once out of the woods we were back on the access road. She proceeded into another area of the woods and located a rib bone from a deer. She picked it up in her mouth and wanted to carry it back out (typical of Beagles). However, to my astonishment, once getting out of the woods, she dug a hole beside the gravel road, placed the bone in it and covered it over with soil using her nose! I didn't expect that! I assumed she would want to take it with her and eat it like every other Beagle I've seen, but she didn't.

Other items she found were alot of rabbit droppings, another typical feature of Beagles. We then left the area.

What caused her to react the way she did? I'm not sure, but hopefully I can work this fear factor out of her.

One item of interest, about a month prior to this field outing my older son Frank had called me at work. A friend of his had lost their cat and he called me wondering if Autumn may be able to assist them in finding the cat. Obviously, I was unsure but figured "What the heck?" So I told him to try and locate something that the cat laid on or used. They couldn't find anything so he asked me "What about the litter box?" I told them to go ahead and give it a try. Autumn sniffed the litter box and they took her outside. I instructed my son to tell her "Go Get It!" She immediately pulled him down a sidewalk, found an area of interest within 50 feet of the house where the cat lived and walked around in a circle for about a full minute, constantly sniffing the ground. After a minute, Autumn seemed to pick up something and aggresively pulled him about 100 feet in the opposite direction towards the parking lot. Her attention was placed on a storm drain in the lot and she began scratching and whining. My son found a tool and opened the manhole above the storm drain and lo and behold, there was the cat down in the drain. The cat was fine and simply seemed to be hiding down in the drain. However, I was very impressed with the results. I will continue to work with Autumn and hopefully in the near future she will find me something amazing! Until next time...keep on squatching!

Sunday, December 2, 2007

A Trip to Grottoes, Virginia

Well folks, this is Billy Willard and I figure it's about time to add some new information to the research blog.

Yesterday, on December 1, 2007, I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Adam Frye. Adam recently came home from Kosovo where he was deployed on a mission with the U.S. Army. So, first off, my hat is off to this fine gentleman and his great service to this nation!

After we became aquainted with each other, we were both eager to get out into the field. After a brief drive along the dirt road where Adam lives, we made our first stop at an old abandoned nursery. We parked my truck alongside the road, and walked in carrying some simple equipment. The nursery contains hundreds if not thousands of pine trees that were planted. Alot of these pines create a perfect blind for staying hidden. In some areas, a person would have alot of difficulty seeing anything within 10 feet of them.

One of the first strange things Adam pointed out to me were the strange, almost bipedal looking footprints found on this obviously, well used trail. The footprints do not show up well on the forest ground during the colder months, but I have included a photo that was taken by Adam back during the warmer months to give the readers an idea of what I mean. This was really strange, the impressions were really quite deep and appeared to have been used over and over again. I have to say that this was a first for me, I have never seen anything like this before.

As we continued on, several tree breaks were observed. All of the tree breaks were in locations concealed from any possible wind damage. The pines provide a thick barrier preventing any high winds in these tree break locations. In addition, the tree breaks were concentrated in certain areas. There seemed to be several tree breaks in certain areas, not one here or there. I tried to examine the areas around the tree breaks to identify any possible footprints or other evidence, but most of them appeared to be rather old occurrences. Therefore, any possible prints were probably long gone.

Several piles of feces were discovered. Again, like the tree breaks, the feces seemed to be concentrated in one general area. Items found in the feces were grasses, nuts, corn and seeds. The sizes of the feces seem to be different sizes and quantities.

But, probably one of the most exciting discoveries was some hair found on a tree. This particular tree was bent over in an arch blocking an obvious game trail. Adam with his amazing eyesight, spotted the hair on the tree while investigating it. We collected several hair samples, but one of the hairs were different from the rest. One of them had a reddish color, all the others were black. The hairs were collected using tweezers and placed into a plastic evidence bag for later examination on Adam's microscope.

We crossed over the dirt road and examined some property managed by the National Park Service (NPS). There, we found a FRESH tree break. This was a nice, healthy tree with no disease or imperfections. The tree was about 3-4 inches in diameter with a clean break.

We left this area and went to a local Italian grill for lunch. We had a brief drive around in the surrounding area and went back towards Adams house.

When we arrived back near Adam's house, we decided to take a walk up a fire road that leads towards Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Forest. We decided to climb up to a high point of rock formations as seen in the photo to the top left. We took our time climbing. As we climbed, we jumped something from the brush above us, approximately 50-60 feet away. Neither of us caught a glimpse of what it was, but it sure made alot of noise to get out of there.

Obviously, once reaching the top, it was time for photo opportunities. (Adam Frye in top photo, Billy Willard in bottom photo) There was a beautiful view all around. Both Adam and I saw some wonderful opportunities for future audio recordings within this valley area as well as a good survelliance spot.

Before ending the day, Adam decided it was time for more fun! He knew of a small cavern nearby and decided to see if he could still get through it. (I mean, afterall, caverns do seem to shrink over time, right?) It was a tight fit, but he made it through without me having to break his collar bones to get him out.

We decended the mountain by way of a rock slide area. It seemed to be easier to travel versus the slick, leaf covered forest area. I don't think I would want travel down this during the warmer months. What a perfect habitat for mountain rattlers! The temperature in the valley was getting quite cold by this time as it was approaching 5:00 pm EST.

On our way out, Adam spots a tarp alongside a creek bank. The tarp is rolled up in such a way that it appears to contain something. We first discuss whether or not we want to open it. Of course, bad thoughts are passing through our minds as to what it could contain. The last thing we wanted to find was a dead body. Once making a decision, Adam slowly opens the tarp to reveal that someone has cut off the paws and limbs of a bear. What a shame!

We made our way back to Adam's house to have a look at our collected hair samples. Adam had recently purchased a microscope with a USB connection live video feed to his laptop. What a wonderful purchase from Ebay! Next to follow are some known microscopic hair samples and our unknown hair sample. Further research will be done to determine what the unknown hair sample is and will be provided as an update on this research blog at a later date.

<---------------Domestic Cat

Domestic Dog------------>

<--------------Human

Mink-------------------->

<----------------------Raccoon

Skunk---------------->

<----------------Unknown???

The unknown hair appears to have a segmented type membrane in the center. None of the other hairs appear to have that feature. Further research will be conducted by examining other known area animal hairs. Any updated information regarding this issue will be posted here at a later date.

In summary, I truly enjoyed my visit with Adam. And I am proud to announce that Adam Frye is the newest addition to the Sasquatch Watch of Virginia group. After meeting him I can see that he is dedicated, hard working and devoted to this line of field research. His future plans are to write and publish a book and film a documentary. In my opinion, Adam certainly has the expertise to do all the above. Sasquatch Watch of Virginia will, in the near future, conduct more field visits and we look forward to planning some survelliance projects along with Adam.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia visits Eastern Ohio

Billy Willard and Tom L visited eastern Ohio this past weekend. DB Donlon has put together a nice blog that discusses the findings and activities.
Enjoy the information by clicking the following link: http://blogsquatcher.blogspot.com/

Thanks to DB Donlon for his great work putting together the blog!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia Announcement!!!

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia is pleased to announce the addition of a new member to the group. She is small, smart, walks on four legs and has one heck of a nose. We have in our possession a Beagle puppy that we have named “Autumn”. You may ask “Why?”

We plan to train her to pick up the scent and track Bigfoot/Sasquatch. How? She was picked up when only 5 weeks old. Since then, we have obtained some “possible” Bigfoot/Sasquatch hair from an anonymous source. The hair has been laboratory tested and results were returned as “almost human”. Does that mean that the hair is that of Bigfoot/Sasquatch? No, of course not. But could it be? Sure! Point being, what does it hurt to step out on a limb and try something new?

We have allowed the Beagle to sniff the hair everyday. At first, she was extremely reluctant to get near it, which was very interesting. She would pull back in a jerking motion every time the hair sample was brought near her nose. After a couple of weeks, she began taking more comfortable sniffs of the hair sample to the point where she now sniffs it very willingly. We are hoping, if this hair sample is indeed Bigfoot/Sasquatch hair, that the hair has some type of scent that is similar to every Bigfoot/Sasquatch creature. Could this dog eventually lead us to where these creatures live and dwell? Only time will tell. In the meantime, until she is old enough to be taken out into the field for research and investigation, she will continually be given a scent of the hair sample.

Why was a Beagle chosen for this task?

The Beagle is a breed of medium-sized dog. A member of the hound group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game. They have a keen sense of smell and tracking instinct that often sees them employed as detection dogs for prohibited agricultural imports and foodstuffs in quarantine around the world. They are popular as pets because of their size, even temper, and lack of inherited health problems. These characteristics also make them the dog of choice for animal testing.

Alongside the Bloodhound, the Beagle has one of the best developed senses of smell of any dog.[33] In the 1950s John Paul Scott and John Fuller began a 13 year study into canine behaviour. As part of this research they tested the scenting abilities of various breeds by putting a mouse in a one acre field and timing how long it took the dogs to find it. The Beagles found it in less than a minute, while Fox Terriers took 15 minutes and Scottish Terriers failed to find it at all. Beagles are better at ground-scenting (following a trail on the ground) than they are at air-scenting, and for this reason they have been excluded from most mountain rescue teams in favour of collies, which use sight in addition to air-scenting and are more biddable.[33] The long ears and large lips of the Beagle probably assist in trapping the scents close to the nose.[34]
Although bred for hunting, Beagles are versatile and are nowadays employed for various other roles in detection, therapy, and as family pets.[29] Beagles are used as sniffer dogs for termite detection in Australia,[70] and have been mentioned as possible candidates for drug and explosive detection.[71][72] Because of their gentle nature and unimposing build, they are also frequently used in pet therapy, visiting the sick and elderly in hospital.[73] In June 2006, a trained Beagle assistance dog was credited with saving the life of its owner after using his mobile phone to dial an emergency number.[74]

We know first hand here in Virginia about the usefulness of Beagles.

Marlowe is a certified termite-sniffing Beagle that works for the Pro-Tech Termite and Pest Control Company operating in the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. area. Trained by Master Dog Trainer Bill Whitstine, Marlowe has undergone more than 600 hours of training demonstrating his ability and accuracy in detecting termites. Marlowe is a powerful new weapon against the destructive termites and a welcome new addition to ProTech's team of inspectors. Marlowe can inspect and locate termites in places that human inspectors cannot. He can detect termites behind walls, under floors, beneath the soil, and otherwise inaccessible areas of a home or commercial building. This is a fantastic advantage for the real estate buyer because Marlowe offers a 100% Guarantee against the absence of termites - and no other company will offer that!

Master Dog Trainer Bill Whitstine also trains Beagles as drug-sniffing and arson detection dogs. Mr. Whitstine's arson dog has been instrumental in collecting evidence, which has assisted law enforcement agencies in putting hundreds of criminals behind bars. Marlowe, like all of Mr. Whitstine's Beagle trainees, was rescued from a dog pound. He lives with his handler, Brian Embrey, also a certified inspector.

We here at Sasquatch Watch of Virginia are very excited to try this new approach. We will keep our research blog at the website (http://www.sasquatchwatch.net/) updated with progress reports of our work with Autumn. Autumn will be taken on her first research project at the age of 16 weeks. Until then, stayed tuned…

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Data May Suggest Unnatural Stick Structures are a Navigational Tool, Fauquier County

This research blog entry contains illustrations of unnatural stick structure mapped data and associated photographs obtained in the area around the previously referenced track site. The track data illustration is provided again as a quick reference (print and track pictures are provided in an earlier blog entry further below).

The unnatural stick structure data was collected as a part of a further study of the area around the track site. Please keep in mind, the limited data does not prove anything other than to encourage more data collection over a larger area. At this point, it really is not worth analyzing the limited structure data with an elaborate statistical package. However, it is interesting to note that the random probability of the highest stick in a structure to point to another stick structure next to it along the illustrated trend line is 11%, assuming + or - 10 degrees on your compass. The random probability of the highest stick in each of the six stick structures (ST-1, ST-2, ST-2b, ST-3a, ST-3b, and ST-4) to point to another stick structure next to it and along the illustrated trend line is 0.0016%, again assuming +/- 10 degrees on your compass. That is, there is a 99.9984% random chance that at least one of the highest stick in each of the six stick structures will “not” point at an adjacent stick structure along the trend line.

The hypothesis used in the development a data collection strategy was "unnatural stick structures could have been created by bigfoot creatures as a navigational tool." The idea of researching unnatural stick structures as possible Bigfoot navigational tools, and collecting directional data of the highest stick in the structure are wonderful ideas that originated from another researcher.

The possible trends illustrated in the second map (below) have inspired a more extensive future mapping of unnatural stick structures using a more comprehensive data collection strategy over a larger area (i.e. square miles) around the track site.