Media Article # 131
Article submitted by Richard Noll

Thursday, April 1, 1971

The confessions of a Colville Sasquatch

Seattle Times

Colville, Stevens County - AP

Sasquatch tracks which have appeared around Colville since mid-February were not Sasquatch tracks, says a bricklayer who "just wanted to show that anybody could fake them."

Besides going to the woods on six occasions to "make tracks," Ray L. Pickens, 39, said yesterday he also made a 7-foot-4 plywood likeness of the legendary beast.

"It was just wood, painted brown with a little dirt thrown on. I carried it out right behind my house and snapped a picture under the trees," Pickens said.

"I showed the picture around town and had a real hard time convincing people the creature wasn't real. I had a hard time to keep from laughing,” he said.

The tracks were cut from lumber and nailed to boots, said Pickens, who lives south of Colville.

"I wore the first set just after I made them February 13th, Then the Sasquatch hunters around here started saying there was a family of the creatures. So besides Big Foot, we made Middle Foot and Little Foot," he said.

The "Sasquatch feet" measured 16, 14 and 12 inches and each set weighed about 11 pounds, he said.

Pickens declined to name the individuals who wore "Middle Foot" and "Little Foot" but he said they were an adult and a child.

"The stride I made was about 54 inches - not at all hard to make. You can do the same - just trot."

"We weren't really concerned about stride. We just decided to make some tracks, look at 'em, laugh and go home." said Pickens.

He said "hundreds of people" have found out about the fake tracks and "They've encouraged us to keep doing it". Pickens said he "concocted" the idea of manufacturing the Sasquatch feet "about a year ago after some were spotted" near Bossburg, a short distance from Colville.

"I think someone else made those," he said.

"I've never denied making the tracks. If someone asked me, I'd say 'You bet' and then they'd want to know more." Pickens said.

"Before I started, I checked with an attorney to see if there was anything wrong with it and I was told there wasn't" he said.

"I'll give up on it now, but I've proved my point."

A picture of this wooden figure appears in Dr. Grover Krantz's book "Bigfoot/Sasquatch Evidence", page 294, Figure 2. It has a caption reading:

"What is it? This photograph was discovered, already old, somewhere in western Washington in 1971. There is no information on it's origin, and no one has shown clearly that it is, or is not, a sasquatch."

• Submit a report
• Submit a comment or article