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Bluff Creek Maskerade

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Loki:
For nearly 40 years, Bob Heironimus of Yakima has figured prominently in speculation over whether a legendary creature called Bigfoot exists.

But always before Heironimus has never been named publicly.

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is one of the most famous legends of the Northwest — and beyond. Similarly to Scotland's Loch Ness Monster, there have been numerous "sightings" of the ape-human creature for decades.

Heironimus, 63, leapt into the limelight this week because of a newly published book called "The Making of Bigfoot," written by paranormal investigator Greg Long, who lives north of Seattle.

In it, Heironimus bares all — including, he says, one large, hairy suit — telling the author that he donned a gorilla costume in 1967 to pose as Bigfoot in a film clip.

The 60-second, blurry clip has been copiously studied by Bigfoot investigators.

The film was shot in Bluff Creek, Northern California, by two other Yakima residents, the now deceased Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin.

When it first became public, the film put Yakima at the center of on the Bigfoot controversy (does it or doesn't it exist?); details emerging this week about Heironimus' story will no doubt keep it there.

Heironimus, who is retired from Pepsi, is currently staying mum (he didn't return phone calls from the Yakima Herald-Republic), but Long's agent, Kal Korff, said Heironimus will provide details later, possibly at a news conference.

But the controversy by no means stops there.

And everyone is sticking to their own version.

First, there is Long's. Korff, a journalist and investigator for Fox-TV's "World's Greatest Hoaxes" noted that there is more to the story than just a man who says he wore a gorilla suit coming forward.

Rather, for the last 37 years, the filmmakers have foisted an untruth on the American public, according to Korff.

"I want Bob Gimlin brought to justice. It's called consumer fraud," said Korff.

"If he's smart, he'll come forward and confess."

Yet, a lawyer for Gimlin insists that the film is authentic.

Tom Malone (who also didn't return a phone call) from Minneapolis, told the Washington Post that Gimlin (who also didn't return a phone call), maintains that no one ever donned a costume to appear in his and Patterson's film.

But Heironimus' mother, Opal Heironimus, who lives in Union Gap, stands by her son.

"He was the real Bigfoot and that's the God's own truth," she said Monday.

Not so fast, contends Berkeley-trained researcher Erik Beckjord of the San Francisco-based Sasquatch Research Project.

Beckjord, who runs a Website called www.beckjord.com/bigfoot, is convinced the footage is the real thing.

He said he's bothered by the fact that Heironimus has not publicly told his story.

"If he has nothing to hide, he should come forward and hold a press conference," said Beckjord.

Heironimus took and passed a polygraph test about wearing the Bigfoot suit several years ago, said his lawyer, Bruce Woodard of Yakima.

"I have zero doubt in Bob's version," Woodard said.

"I've met family and friends of Bob's, and they've substantiated everything he's said," Woodard added.

But Beckjord is not convinced.

For one thing, he scoffs at Long's mention in the book of tracing the gorilla suit to a man in North Carolina who said he sold it to Patterson.

"They didn't even have gorilla suits, comparable to the one in the film, to buy or rent in 1967," Beckjord said.

He also questions Heironimus' timeline.

"Heironimus said he went to Bluff Creek (where the movie was filmed) two days after Gimlin and Patterson, but their wives both said it was three weeks later," said Beckjord.

"I've been studying this for 25 years," said Beckjord, who has no doubts that Bigfoot exists. He said he has seen the creature four times, at least twice in Washington state.

"This is an 'X File' kind of thing," said Beckjord, referring to the former television show about paranormal events. Bigfoot, he believes, can change form, partly to conform with what the viewer is thinking.

Korff, for one, believes the controversy over the existence of Bigfoot will be put to rest soon. It will all come to light, he said, when author Long, Heironimus and several other people — including the man who claims he made the gorilla suit — tell their account on a national television special.

"This is a huge story" Korff said. "And the Bigfoot market is now dead."

The Tick:

Bigfoot has become as much of a icon as to say the Beatles. Though placed in two very difdernt rings of exposer both are just as popular. It is my beliefe that the BigFoot market is not dead but thriving. Any geek in and through high school makes these type of parnormall cryptodes a part of there lives, much like a jock and his second sport he loves doing it but it is not his true passion. We as a poeple, geeks, will allways have a speciall place for BigFoot and will allways in our hearts believe, if only for sentamentall reasons that the the Sasquacht does exist.

jong:
beckjord is a crude ass who if you intelligently criticize his ideas responds with nasty insults. at best he's a lunatic clouding the field of crypto-primate research with his inane theories. it's types like him which draw the mockery of skeptics against those investigating unknowns. don't bother with his sight if you're a serious crypto-searcher cause it's a big waste of time and mind.

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