Media Article # 56

Sunday, October 28, 1979

By Donna Gehrke
Des Moines Register

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa - Bryon Davis 48, of Webster City was looking for raccoon tracks early Friday morning near here in a wooded area by the Boone River. Instead, he found a seven-foot tall animal that he said is Bigfoot.

The creature, which had long, thick, red hair down its shoulders and weighed about 450 pounds was "just lying there asleep," Davis said.

But he said he must have spooked Bigfoot because "he walked away quite fast in five-foot strides."

Davis said the creature "stands straight like a man", but doesn't like a human or an ape. He shined a flashlight on the departing creature, but only was able to see his backside. He said he was able to get within 18 feet of the animal.

After the creature departed into the brush, Davis contacted authorities, who checked the area but found nothing. Meanwhile, Davis has volunteered to take a lie-detector test to prove the validity of his claim.

"There's no joke about this, " he said. "I suppose a lot of people don't believe ... and are laughing. I could care less."

He said he was too dumbfounded to be scared once he spotted the animal. "If he had been walking towards me, you bet I would have been scared," he added.

Davis is determined, once he gets free time, to search for the animal. He suspects the animal could be staying in the ravines near the river, which he said is "a pretty wild area."

He is planning to buy a "good camera" to take pictures as "positive proof that (Bigfoot) does exist, then he hopes to sell the photographs.

"I'm a poor man," he said. "I could use the money."

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