MonsterQuest’s episode entitled Sasquatch Attacks took an in depth look at the possible Sasquatch encounters at a fishing cabin in Snell Grove Lake Ontario, Canada Though the episode did not find any conclusive evidence it provided a lot of information about the possible existence of Sasquatch.
In 2003, several instances occurred at a fishing cabin on Snell Grove Lake that have been attributed to the creature known as Sasquatch. Chuck Mosbeck owns the only single cabin fishing camp on this remote lake that in located 250 miles north of Ottawa. The cabin is accessible only by float plane. Mosbeck has video of damage that was done to the cabin while it was unoccupied. This damage included overturned appliances and sink fixtures being ripped off the wall. To prevent this from happening again, Mosbeck used a common bear deterrent at the front door. He placed a board with numerous protruding screws down outside the door. He later found the board to be bloodied as if something had stepped on it.
Joe Frascella had an incident occur at the same cabin while visiting in 2003. While fishing at the cabin, Frascella and friends felt that they were being watched all day. In the evening, they heard the sounds of pieces of wood being knocked together. Later that evening, they felt the cabin being shaken and scream like sounds outside.
While the damage to the cabin might seem attributable to bears, wildlife biologist Dr. Lynn Rogers disagrees. Rogers reviewed the footage of the damage done to the Mosbeck cabin and did not think it was consistent with the damage done by bears. He states that since the damage was done in the time frame of late October into winter, most bears would have been in hibernation. He believes that most bear intrusions would have led to claw marks and more damage to the refrigerator as bears find that refrigerator insulation to give off an odor similar to the one given off by ant colonies.
This MonsterQuest episode examined the possibility that these instances could be attributed to the action of a creature known as Sasquatch. The common description of Sasquatch is that they are creatures that can be up to eight feet tall, up to 800 pounds, hairy, walks upright, has long arms, and a human like face. The use of the name Sasquatch can be traced back to the 1920s when J.W. Burns collected the tales of tall man-like forest creatures from several native American tribes. Burns decided that the different tales were all about the same creature which he referred to as Sasquatch.
There have been many famous encounters with the Sasquatch creature. In 1811, explorer David Thompson recounted finding the large human like footprints of the creature. Journalist John Green keeps a database with over 3000 Sasquatch sighting and track reports. Green also interviewed Albert Osmond who alleged that he was kidnapped by a group of the creatures in 1924 while prospecting in British Columbia. According to Osmond he was followed for 3-4 days by the creatures until one night a Sasquatch grabbed him up in his sleeping bag. He encountered two large creatures along with two smaller ones until he later made his escape.
An experienced tracker named Keifer Erwin recounts her tracking experience with a Sasquatch. In August of 1984, she found some unidentified tracks while out in the Yukon. These tracks measured 16” by 7” and were human like in appearance. Erwin is familiar with grizzly and other native species tracks and these did not match. Erwin showed pictures of the tracks that she had found.
Cryptozoologist Tom Steenberg was interviewed about Sasquatch sightings. He believes that this area of Canada is a great location for the possibly undiscovered creature. The wilderness area of this area of Canada is larger than the entirety of most other countries.
The MonsterQuest team sends University of Minnesota biologist Curt Nelson and University of Idaho anthropologist Jeff Meldrum to the Snell Grove cabin to investigate. They examine the screw board that Mosbeck had placed outside the door for DNA evidence. They are able to collect what appears to be tissue samples from the board along with some hair samples. They are then able to use the screw board blood and tissue sample locations to trace the outline of a footprint on the board. The outline appears to be in the shape of a traditional Sasquatch footprint that is 17-18 inches long.
The MonsterQuest team decides to place numerous camera traps around the cabin to see if they can capture any footage. The team uses both infrared and thermal cameras in the area around the cabin. At night, the team attempts to draw in the creature by making loud noises and wood knocking sounds.
Dr. Curt Nelson tries his luck by setting up a secluded camp site at the Broken Mouth River Portage. He hopes that setting up alone and away from the cabin that he would have better luck drawing in a Sasquatch. He surrounds his campsite with camera traps in order to capture any potential footage. He utilizes rock banging and yelling in his attempt to attract the creature but has no luck.
Dr. Jeff Meldrum attempts to verify that the area could support the dietary needs of a large ape like creature. He finds that the area has berries, lichen and roots that would aid in feeding the creatures. He also find that the native bird population of spruce grouse would provide a good source of food. Meldrum demonstrates that the spruce grouse are fairly easy to catch by being able to approach them at very close range without using much stealth. Meldrum does theorize that a Sasquatch population in the area would have to nomadic and follow the food supply.
Throughout their stay at the cabin, Meldrum and Nelson do not see any potential signs of a Sasquatch until the last night. On the last night at the cabin, the MonsterQuest team hears a rock that is thrown at the cabin. One of the crew throws a rock back out into the woods and another rock is then thrown at the cabin. The cameras do not pick up any footage of what is throwing the rocks but only primates are known to use tools as weapons such as throwing rocks.
Once the MonsterQuest team leaves the cabin, the tissue and hair samples are sent out for testing. New York University Professor Todd Disotell agrees to test the samples for DNA evidence. Unfortunately, they are not able to recover any testable DNA from the samples brought back.
Wildlife biologist Lynn Rogers, who is an expert in hair morphology, agrees to test the hair samples that were found. He found the hair samples did not match any known North American animal. The hair closely resembled human hair but it did not contain the spongy center mass called the medulla that is found in human hair. The hair also had a tapered end like it had never been cut.
Dr. Curt Nelson has tried new techniques on the recovered tissue samples. He has tried to purify the samples for contaminents from the galvanized screws. Once he did this, he was able to recover some DNA samples from the tissue. The DNA appeared to be very similar to human DNA but there was a variance in one of the base pairs. This would make the owner of the DNA into a primate that is closer to human than ape. Nelson hopes to refine his tests to provide more precise results.
This episode had very mixed results. While the team was not able to capture any Sasquatch footage they were able to collect some valuable evidence. The hair sample and the results of Nelson’s DNA test were both very interesting but not really conclusive. The Sasquatch question still lingers.
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