Geographical Index > United States > Colorado > Park County > Report # 4897
(Class B)
Submitted by witness D. Pfohl on Friday, September 6, 2002.
Family finds and hears compelling evidence near Leadville
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YEAR: 2002
SEASON: Summer MONTH: August DATE: 31 STATE: Colorado COUNTY: Park County NEAREST TOWN: Leadville OBSERVED: Was hiking around a lake in the Leadville Colorado area. This lake is well above treeline, 13,000 ft area? Found what appears to to be a footprint in some mossy areas between the glacial rocks. Further investigation around this lake found more depressions and tracks. ALSO NOTICED: Moss, to be torn off rocks and eaten, then piled on top of rocks neatly. OTHER WITNESSES: Wife and daughter, used our camcorder and recorded the tracks and eaten moss. OTHER STORIES: no TIME AND CONDITIONS: Day, around 11 am. ENVIRONMENT: Rocky, tundra no trees.
Follow-up investigation report:
Over the course of three days leading up to Labor Day, this family found and heard several types of evidence. This includes three tracks of varying degrees of distinction and piles of apparently chewed moss stacked on boulders. They also heard what is interpreted to be communication by rock-rapping each of the three times they arrived at this location. It seemed that their arrival was announced and, perhaps, acknowledged from opposite sides of the basin. Rapping was heard in combinations of three and four.
I have spoken at length with the two adult witnesses - the daughter was unavailable. Myself and BFRO Curators have examined the videotape, a moss sample and track cast. I personally examined the places they were found. We are more than impressed.
The moss has been identified as Fontanella spp. by a University of Colorado bryologist. One particular sample exhibits index finger and thumb impressions where it apparently was held while the green portion was chewed off. The nibbled-down remains were found in piles. While pikas and marmots are known to leave piles of vegetation on rocks, I don't believe these animals are the culprits partly because they leave the greenery to "cure" in the sun before storage, whereas, these moss piles were found with the green portions already eaten. The pika/marmot hypothesis is also suspect due to the walking-and-eating pattern of the piles. That is to say, where the moss came from is not where it was left. In addition to this, the videotape shows what appears to be a 4-finger scrape mark in a muddy area where moss had been scraped from a boulder.
A cast was made of the first track found by the daughter. Measurement is inexact due to the difficult-to-cast, mushy substrate. Approximate measurements are 15" length, 3" at the heel, and 5" at the ball. According to analysis by Dr. Henner Fahrenbach, a foot of this length would correlate to an animal 7'6" tall (see Statistical analysis of Sasquatch Dimensions and Traits, table 1.) Investigator's note: track measurement corrected from earlier version of report.
I personally viewed more impressions that are not conclusive enough to call footprints. They were, however, adjacent to the cast track, followed one another as if left by walking, and the stride measured 4 feet if, in fact, they were additional tracks.
Following their experience, this family has become very active bigfoot investigators. They were quite impressed by this experience and experiences to follow, as I have been. Investigations are ongoing in this historically active area near Leadville, Colorado.
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