BFRO #1355: BFRO Investigator, Keith Foster's evaluation of tracks found on the south shore of the Eagle River. App. 1 mile east of the town of Eagle.

📍 Location

📝 Description

EAGLE RIVER, COLORADOTrack Find Investigationby Keith Foster; BFRO - Colorado/KansasPhotos by Bill B. of Eagle, ColoradoIn early April 2000, Colorado resident Bill B. noticed three large human-like tracks while fly fishing along the south shoreline of the Eagle River, approximately one mile east of Eagle, Colorado. The tracks caught Bill's attention because a different Colorado fisherman (Vern P. of Grand Junction, Colorado) reported finding a number of 18 to 20 inch long human-like tracks along the same river a few days prior. Vern had reported his find to the Vail Trail Newspaper. An article mentioning the tracks appeared in the 3/28 edition of the paper. Vern's tracks were found on 3/21/2000, on a sandbar/silt/gravel area just west of the town of Gypsum, on the Eagle River. Gypsum is approximately 7 miles west of the city of Eagle. Bill B., a resident of Eagle, thought someone should know about his find of similar tracks along the river, so he reported it to the Eagle County Sheriff Department. Officers from the Sheriffs Department eventually went to the scene of the tracks. Bill B. also submitted a report of the track find to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization via their web site (BFRO.net), upon the recommendation of Sergeant Kaufman. As a Colorado investigator for the BFRO, I spoke with Bill B., Sergeant Kaufman, and Vern P. to confirm the details. Bill B. returned to the site a few times and documented the scene thoroughly. The photos below are low-res, reduced-sized versions of the photos he took. Track casts were not made because of the poor condition of the tracks at that stage. The measurements and photos clearly showed that the tracks were not superimposed bear tracks. Photo of track path(Click on photo for larger version)Note: Close-ups of individual tracks belowThe area of the track site is north of White River National Forest and Holy Cross Wilderness. Track site is accessible from two approaches: 1) By wading across the Eagle River2) By crossing private land or hiking down a steep brushy hillside from a road approximately � mile above. The Sheriff himself did not make it to the site until some days after the find because of the difficult access to the site. Bill B. lives about � mile west of the site, and fishes that stretch of river often. He mentioned that he has seen only one other fisherman in that area this year. It is not an area used by the public, and therefore an unlikely place for a prankster to leave fake tracks for someone to find. In checking with Forest Service contacts in Colorado I learned that Holy Cross Wilderness Area occasionally receives sighting reports from visitors. There are reports from this area extending back over 100 years, including an 1881 article in the Leadville Chronicle newspaper. Reports made to state and federal government employees in Colorado are typically disregarded and not documented. Overview of the Tracks There were three (3) discernable tracks at the site. They were not consecutive tracks. The labelling of the photos (track 1, track 2, and track 3) represent the order in which they were photographed. Track 1 proceeds in an easterly direction, parallel to the south shoreline of the river. At this point there is an abrupt left turn by the animal, toward the river bank. Track 2 is north of track 1. It is also a right footprint. The intervening left footstep between tracks 1 and 2 is not clearly discernable in the soil, and was not photographed by Bill B. Track 3 is a left footprint -- the next footstep after track 2. The heel-to-heel distance between tracks 2 and 3 is 38 inches. The next footstep after track 3 would have brought the foot down into the river. If the animal had continued in an easterly direction, paralleling the river, for another step or two, it would have walked into some softer soil where tracks would have been much more visible. Apparently it prefered to walk in the frigid river rather than the softer soil ... Some bigfoot investigators have described other track finds where the individual appeared to avoid leaving tracks where possible.Evaluation of TracksThe most common potential causes were eliminated by visual examination:Human footprints Bear tracks Superimposed human footprints Superimposed bear tracks Hoaxed tracks Tracks of a real animal are distinct from those that a hoaxer would be able to produce. Without revealing all the elements one looks for in trying to identify fake tracks, I can say these tracks had none of the obvious signs, nor any of the more subtle signs. They were clearly produced by real feet on a very large, heavy animal. Misidentified Bear Tracks? Colorado has native black bears. Adult black bears leave tracks about 4.5 inches wide. The toes are arranged in an arc around the front of the foot pad, on both the front and rear feet. The largest grizzly bears in the world -- Kodiak Island (Alaska) bears -- leave tracks up to 8 inches wide at the toes. The shape is roughly similar to those of black bear

🔗 Sources (1)

👥 Community Contributions

Help improve this case by adding notes, observations, theories, or tags. Your contributions help the community understand patterns and connections.