Keep going with the research!

I don't post very often like I should. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone out there for the encouraging email messages and phone calls.

A recent blog would like to picture me as an attention grabber. On the contrary, for the most part I keep to myself with the exception of a few very close friends in the research. In all honesty, the media for the most part comes looking for YOU when something interesting is going on. The bad part is they typically come looking for you so they can poke fun at the subject and the person or persons involved.

Sasquatch Watch of VA, as many already know, along with 4 other Bigfoot research groups recently had an expedition in VA. It was a huge success! No...hard evidence was not discovered. The success was having 5 different groups from 5 different states (over 30+ participants) all come together for one common goal...research of the mysterious being we all call Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

I don't go out looking for national press releases, I don't put Halloween costumes in freezers stuffed with possum guts and call it Bigfoot, I don't run around the nation with a bear paw in a jar and call it a Bigfoot hand and I most certainly don't go around excavating Native American burial grounds and claim finds of a Bigfoot body.

I am honestly just a common man with a goal. My goal is to try to prove once and for all that all the people who have seen this being...be vindicated. Many of them have suffered ridicule for speaking about their encounters. It's time for them to have the last laugh.

We...the many Bigfoot research groups out there...are hitting the woods doing the best we can. We are not "experts", we are just plain human beings doing the best we can with what we have. There is no money in this research (unless someone knows something I don't). No one is becoming a millionaire doing this...well, no one that's legitimate anyway.

My point is this. I'm a really easy person to get along with. If you have a question, email me. It may take me a while to answer you due to my other family and business obligations, but I will answer you.

Thanks to all the supporters out there.

Billy Willard
Sasquatch Watch of VA

22nd Annual Bigfoot Conference/EXPO

DATE... MAY 15TH, 2010

TIME...4 p.m. to approximately 10 p.m. There will be a 1 hour dinner break included as well.

ADMISSION... THERE WILL BE A $5 DONATION REQUIRED AT THE DOORS TO ATTEND.

LOCATION... SALT FORK STATE PARK LODGE located just off of US Route 22 in Guernsey County, Ohio.

YOU MAY NOW RESERVE VIP SEATING, RECEIVE INFORMATION ON ROOM PRICES, ETC, BY CONTACTING DON KEATING AT THE FOLLOWING E-MAIL ADDRESS eobic@yahoo.com

Folks coming to the conference...

BOB GIMLIN ... from Yakima, Washington. Need I say more? Bob is the only living eyewitness to the events of Friday October 20th 1967 at Bluff Creek, California when Roger Patterson took film of what appears to be a Bigfoot. I am not 100% sure if he will be speaking but he will be in attendance for you to meet and maybe ask a question or get a photo taken with him.

LARRY LUND ... from Vancouver, Washington. I was born NW of Mt. St. Helens in Tacoma, Washington on April 1, 1947 and along with my Mother and two brothers, moved to Vancouver, Washington, due South of Mt. St. Helens, at age four. Other than my three years in the Army, 1966-1969, I have lived in this general area. So it is no wonder much of my Bigfoot/Sasquatch Research has been all around not only Mt. St. Helens, but Mt Rainier, My. Baker and Mt Hood. We are blessed with many large forests, giving us a very large research area.

My deep interest in the subject started at a very young age as we heard about much of the activity in British Columbia, Canada directly North of us. While on my first deer hunting trip in 1960, again at the base of St. Helens, my Dad and two of my uncles and I, were sitting around the campfire one night when we heard a very distant, yet loud and guttural roar coming down from up on the mountain. When I asked if that was a bear, they told me no and it certainly wasn't a large cat sound either. My uncle Dick said to me..."Maybe it's that big monster your always reading and talking about." Well, so much for sleeping that night. I was 13 and my head was full of thoughts of Bigfoot/Sasquatch from then on.

I was fortunate over the years to meet and work with several of the well know investigators and authorities on the subject. Early on I got connected with Rene Dahinden who became a very close friend and introduced me to the deep forests in B.C.

I then met Peter Byrne in the early 70's for a brief time. It wasn't until the late 80's that we would meet again and actually start doing research together. That continues today.

Over the years I met most of the people I had only read about. Grover Krantz became a good friend, though I had to keep him and Rene at different ends of my research.

I have attended many conferences in different areas of the U.S. and Canada. I have also been part of many of the early TV productions which were often fun, but not always informative or laden with true facts. I tend not to accept invitations to do many appearances in the last few years.

I still believe in the existence of this creature and though I am referred to as "The Sasquatch Sleuth" I am also known as "The Skeptical Believer"

I must admit, that other than the "Patterson/Gimlin Film" we have not gotten much closer to proof that this creature exists. There certainly is a lot of fine evidence, but as of this time, we don't have that definitive proof that we so desperately need.

ROB MC CONNELL from Ontario, Canada (Bio coming soon!)

TOM YAMARONE is a singer/songwriter from Pleasanton, California. Tom is also an independent Bigfoot / Sasquatch researcher throughout California and the Pacific Northwest. He has written “Bigfoot songs” that are both historical and humorous since 2003. During that time, he has also attended and organized Sasquatch/Bigfoot research conferences in California, Washington & Idaho. He is involved with several Bigfoot organizations including the Alliance of Independent Bigfoot Researchers and the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. For more information, go to www.bigfootsongs.com or find him at his YouTube channel bigfootsongs04.

OTHER ACTIVITIES...

The weekend will kick off with a meet and greet on the evening of Friday the 14th. Those speakers or special guests that have made it in to that point will be there. The meet and greet will begin at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m. a buffet dinner will be available in the lodge. (Location of the buffet to be announced). I added this to the Friday meet and greet as I though it would be a great way for everyone to hang out longer without having to worry about going somewhere to grab an evening meal. The cost of the buffet will be about the same as it was during the conference in 2009, which if I recall was $14.95.

On SUNDAY the 16th of May there will be other activities take place. Announcements on those are pending.

ACCOMMODATIONS...Salt Fork State Park Lodge has once again agreed to give attendees who attend the conference and stay at the Lodge a HUGE discount on room rates! Just contact SFSP at (740) 439-2751 for rates. Make sure to tell them you are attending for the Bigfoot EXPO. Or you may check the RATES LISTING for details.

November 2, 2009: Guest is Michael Worth

Upcoming Shows: "Join Sasquatch Watch Radio hosts Billy Willard and Mike Killen as we bring you the latest news and information from the field of Bigfoot/Sasquatch research every Monday night at 9:00 pm eastern time. This will be a 90-minute show!

On Monday night November 2, 2009, we will invite Michael Worth to the show. Mr. Worth is writer and producer of the SciFi film, 'Sasquatch Mountain' aka Devil on the Mountain. Michael also acted in the film as 'Acapulco H.E.A.T.'. Michael has been a big Sasquatch fan for many years. This should be a great show, please call in if you have questions for Michael about the film or his own Sasquatch interest!

Show Page: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sasquatchwatchradio

The call in number to the show is (347) 237-5070. Feel free to call in and ask our guest some questions.

You can email questions or comments for guests and hosts at
bwillard@sasquatchwatch.net

Hope you can join us for the show!

Billy Willard

(If you want to be removed from our email list, please send an email to bwillard@sasquatchwatch.net. Let us know what email the invitation came to and we will gladly remove you from our list.)"

Sasquatch hunters hope to find proof in Dolly Sods

Story by: Erica Peterson, West Virginia Public Broadcasting

October 27, 2009 · Have you ever been in the woods and wondered what could be there, lurking behind the trees? One group thinks they know.
On a cool but sunny October day, Dolly Sods is beautiful. The sun shines through the trees and off the endless boulder fields.

But in its endless wilderness, Dolly Sods is a little bit spooky, too. It’s a still, quiet place. And according to Billy Willard, it’s a great place to search for Sasquatch.

“Typically we go out and visit sites where there’s been previous sighting reports,” Willard said. “We do get encounters called in to a hotline that we have, and we go out and we’ll research those areas looking for evidence such as footprints, strange stick tree structures and that kind of thing.”

Willard is the founder of Sasquatch Watch of Virginia, a group made up of Bigfoot enthusiasts who collect information about the legendary being in their spare time.

They’re camping out in Dolly Sods, traipsing around in the wilderness area’s forests and bogs looking for signs of Sasquatch.

“As large as they claim this creature is, it’s got to have some weight to it. And if it’s walking around out here, it’s going to leave a footprint,” Willard says.

He finds something he thinks resembles a Sasquatch print in the bog, deep in the mud.

“It could be a small track right there,” he said. “We’ve got a track right here, not as big as the other one we saw over there. And again, it’s old, you can tell it’s been here since the rain. But that might actually be cast-able. There might be some toe impressions in there.”

He pulls out some plaster of Paris and makes a cast.

Some of the members of Sasquatch Watch of Virginia have actually had a sighting—where they’ve come face-to-face with a creature they believe is a Bigfoot. But even those who haven’t believe the creature exists.

Bruce Harrington is the self-described skeptic of the group.

“I think one of the biggest arguments that people have against the existence of Bigfoot is there hasn’t been any proof,” Harrington said. “From a logical standpoint, absence of proof is not proof of absence. So just because we don’t have the proof that these creatures exist doesn’t mean they don’t exist.”

The men—and the group is made up solely of men—have an impressive amount of gear with them. They pull out GPS navigators, trail cameras, regular cameras, voice recorders and evidence bags.

The latter is used when a team member finds suspicious droppings. Into the bag it goes, to be sent off to a lab for testing.

Everybody has their own theories about what kind of creature Sasquatch is. Though he’s been hunting for years, Willard has never had a sighting.

“I could accept that this thing is human, whether it’s an undiscovered Native American tribe of people, I could accept that this is some kind of North American ape that just simple hasn’t been documented yet,” he said. “Those are the two main theories.

“Now you have some more out there theories, like these things are aliens and came off a UFO. That they go through dimensions and can walk through different portals. I think this thing’s flesh and blood, whether it’s human or more ape.”

Though their weekend in Dolly Sods didn’t lead to any sightings, Sasquatch Watch of Virginia is still looking for proof. They say it’s out there.

Response to Previous Post

When I wrote the following post, I was very upset. I have had time to
now think over some things. First of all, I apologize to the person I
directed it at. Secondly, I apologize to everyone of you who had to
read it. Please remember though to always use caution with who you trust.

The members involved with the Fox News clip worked hard to accomplish
a good, positive story about Bigfoot. It's not often that the media
has a positive spin on the subject. So, when it was removed from the
network, I got pretty heated.

This doesn't deter our efforts. Right now, we have alot of work to
do. We have alot of good leads to work on and alot of great areas to
research.

Keep up the great work everyone!

Billy Willard
Sasquatch Watch of Virginia

We all learn the hard way!

It's not often that I post random thoughts and feelings about some in this field of research, but due to recent events, I feel compelled to do so. It took many days for me to decide to write this up.

In the short three years I've been actively doing this research, I've learned some things the hard way.

Be careful who you associate with. Let your gut feeling about folks guide you through your decisions. Even people who you "think" are your friends, WATCH OUT. The big let down is when someone you look up to looks for ways to hurt you. That cuts pretty deep.

Some people are in this for the "fame" it seems. They are afraid that someone else is going to get the better of them or find some hard evidence that they were not a part of. Really, does it matter who finds it first? I could care less who discovers this creature we all look for.

I want to stress this point, particularly to all those scanning the internet for places to report their Bigfoot sightings and encounters to. When you have someone or a group start asking you if you've reported your sighting or encounter to someone else...BEWARE!!! These are typically the people or groups who are in this for the fame and attention. Sasquatch Watch of Virginia is in this for the study of an unknown species. We are in this to bring a scientific approach to this ridiculed phenomenon. There are way too many people in this world reporting sightings of an unknown, bipedal creature in the forests of world.

Our group has been accused of...and I quote...having a "seemingly technical capability" in this field of research. This quote is taken from someone who we "thought" was a good friend, someone we looked up to. Now the group feels as if it were stabbed in the back. The name of this individual or group will be kept confidential, as our group does not and will not stoop to the same level.

This group does and will continue to treat everyone with respect. No one deserves to be treated in this fashion. I hope this information helps others out there who may just be coming into this field of research. These are the type of things that keep people from reporting encounters and pursuing this field of research.

Bottom line is this...

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia will continue to treat each person with respect. There will be no ridicule of witnesses or other researchers. A scientific approach WILL be taken on each and every sighting or encounter report. Your information is safe with us, we never share any information without your permission. Our group currently has folks who are professionals in the field of science.

I thank each and everyone who continues to support our efforts!

Billy Willard
Sasquatch Watch of Virginia

Fox 5 News Coverage of Sasquatch Watch of VA

Sasquatch Watch of Virginia recently took Fox 5 News (Washington, DC) into the woods near Culpeper, VA for some night surveillance. To see the video clip, click on the following link below.

FOX NEWS COVERAGE