Texas Among Best Places For Bigfoot Sightings

AUSTIN, TX — Looking for Bigfoot? Texas has emerged as one of the nation's top states where you might spot the elusive, hairy beast. That's according to Travel Channel, which published its list of the eight best places to catch a glimpse of the fabled creature.

The list is drawn using "never-before-released data," analysts from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (yes, it's a thing) wrote. "This exclusive tracking information comes from BFRO's Follow-Up Log and Tracking System (FLATS) — the world's ulimate sasquatch database of compiled sightings and testimonies."

Researchers scoured through reports of 23,000 Bigfoot sightings from across the country in achieving its state-to-state compilation. With 806 sightings, Texas emerged as the eighth-ranked state for such sightings.

And those living in East Texas have the best chance of running across the mysterious creature. Researchers provided an example of such an encounter — a harrowing account from a hunter that also involves a hog.

"East Texas, especially the areas that border Oklahoma and Louisiana, is the site of countless Bigfoot reports each year," Travel Channel researchers wrote. "One of the most horrifying encounters comes from a hunter in Panola County. The witness claims that while he was hog hunting, he watched a sasquatch leap out of the woods, grabbing one of the hogs. The report states that the Bigfoot began making loud whooping noises, which were met with more howls from somewhere off in the distance. Before walking back into the woods, the creature stared directly at the hunter and growled."

It's unclear from the report if the Bigfoot growled or whooped with a Texas accent.

Despite such first-person accounts, the Lone Star State was at the bottom of the list in terms of sightings. In descending order, these are the states yielding the greatest likelihood for Bigfoot sightings:

• WASHINGTON. With 2,032 sightings, the state of Washington is the world's most active region for Bigfoot encounters, according to Travel Channel. The most popular spots for Bigfoot hunters include the Blue Mountains, Okanogan County and Ape Canyon. The latter is the site of one of the most aggressive Bigfoot encounters ever reported, researchers said: "In 1924, a group of miners reported being attacked by multiple sasquatch, which allegedly threw rocks at their cabin and tried to break in. Years after the notorious attacks, an experienced skier vanished near the very same locale. Making these events even more intriguing is the fact that native legend has long told of a species of ape-men living on nearby Mount St. Helens." That's right: Ape men.
• CALIFORNIA. "California has long been home to the hairy cryptid," Travel Channel researchers begin, giving us a new tidbit and vocabulary word in one fell swoop. Among the 1,697 sightings recorded was one involving construction worker Jerry Crew in 1958, who is said to have stumbled across a massive set of footprints on a dirt road. Using the full extent of his handyman powers, Crew made casts of the prints and thus introduced the creature to a wider audience via the media which first dubbed the creature as "Bigfoot."
• PENNSYLVANIA. There have been 1,340 sightings across the Appalachian range amid its hundreds of miles of connected forest lands, Travel Channel researchers said. This is where a bicyclist once decided to take a rest only to awake to see what he thought was a bear rummaging through a downed tree, researchers wrote. When the 7-foot bi-pedal creature stood up to reveal its seven-foot height, the biker knew this was no bear.
• MICHIGAN. While this state is most associated for the legend of "Dogman," it has logged 1,131 Bigfoot sightings. A high concentration of sightings has centered on the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the state's rugged Upper Peninsula, according to the Travel Channel. One woman here reported pulling into a rest area with her infant only to wake up to see a large, hairy creature staring at her child through the windshield, according to the report.
• NEW YORK. Whitehall, N.Y. has long been known as the Bigfoot capital of the East Coat, researchers noted. With 1,068 sightings of Bigfoot recorded, locals have dubbed the creature the official town animal, Travel Channel reported. This is where the "Abair Road Incident" occurred, involving a group of teenagers who claimed a large and hairy creature charged at them, according to researchers. Police who were dispatched to the scene are said to have also seen the beast, giving the incident that much more currency to researchers.
• OHIO. The eastern portion of the state is particularly teeming with sightings, Travel Channel reports. All told, there have been 1,042 sightings in Ohio. Weird creature aficionados also enjoy searching for what the locals call "The Grassman," a large ape-like creature said to roam the hills and forests of Ohio's Appalachian plateau, according to Travel Channel. The "Ohio Howl" is often heard from the thicket, a jarring series of screams and howls believed to be the call of the sasquatch.
• OREGON. Among the most convincing accounts among Oregon's 1,009 sightings is that of a psychiatrist who was vacationing with his family at Oregon Caves National Monument, as Travel Channel noted. As they left the caves, researchers said, the family watched as a sasquatch ran through the trees.

Skeptics of Bigfoot's existence might want to study the research of a Nacogdoches, Texas, scientist from a few years back, as Texas Monthly reported. In a statement published by DNA Diagnostics Inc., details are provided on a 5-year study that purportedly “confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called ‘Bigfoot’ or ‘Sasquatch,’ living in North America" as buttressed by scientists' claims of having successfully sequenced the Bigfoot DNA. Needless to say, there were some doubting the claims.

Still a non-believer? More information on the Bigfoot will be shared at the upcoming Original Texas Bigfoot Conference staged by the Texas Bigfoot Research Center on Oct. 18-19. The annual gathering has convened since 2001, this year taking place at the Jefferson Tourism and Visitor Center, 305 E. Austin St., in Jefferson, Texas. Conference admission includes a catered barbecue dinner that we're fairly certain is beef.

The truth is out there. Increasingly in Texas, that truth may be lurking in the Piney Woods or across the Panola County expanse. Behold: