That’s Vance Winsor’s take on Bigfoot as he recently began research on Bigfoot sightings in Clarion County .

Winsor, a former machine operator from Connecticut , now resides in Clarion with his wife and daughter.

“I’ve had an interest in Bigfoot for about the past 10 years or so,” explained Winsor. “I had a series of strokes and was left unable to work because of some of the damage to my body and that’s when I really started to look into researching Bigfoot.”

Winsor met some people at a New York retreat who are affiliated with Chapel on the Hill Church near Emlenton. That meeting led Winsor to move his family to Clarion where the cost of living is lower than it is in Connecticut .

Moving to Clarion County didn’t diminish Winsor’s interest in Bigfoot and his discovery on the Internet of Bigfoot sightings in Clarion County prompted the 44-year-old Winsor to run an advertisement in the Clarion News and The Derrick seeking information from anyone who believes they might have seen a Bigfoot in the area.

“I haven’t heard from anyone so far,” said Winsor. “Not anyone who believes they saw something. My website got a lot of hits, though.”

Winsor has formed the Clarion County Bigfoot Research Organization and maintains a website at www.geocities.com/ozmtnmall.

According to the website, “The Clarion County Bigfoot Research Organization conducts year round expeditions and investigations on Bigfoot sightings in Clarion County .

“We are a non-kill group and collect field data and evidence through means of audio, video and photography,” Winsor states on the website.

Winsor’s website lists three Clarion County Bigfoot sightings:

4February 1999 near the Clarion River : While fishing a man claims he witnesses a Bigfoot sitting on a rock eating a rabbit.

Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society members investigated and found no evidence to support the sighting.

4July 7, 2002, in Brady Township : The temperature was 60 degrees. “Witnesses were camping near State Route 68 east when they heard loud screams like someone was being murdered.”

One of the witnesses only caught a glimpse of the creature running past the tent and the fire. No odor was detected.

4Early 1972 near an unidentified location near the Clarion River : “A 14-year-old boy was hunting squirrels. He was sitting on a rock when he heard a sound behind him. When he turned to look, he saw a big hairy animal approximately 6 to 7 foot tall, walking upright. The witness watched it walk about 200 yards till it was out of sight.”

Winsor’s website also links to the Gulf Coast Bigfoot Research Organization’s website which lists a Clarion County Bigfoot sighting.

That listing states a Bigfoot was sighted around 2:30 p.m. one day in July of 2001 at an unspecified location in the county.

The person reporting the sighting said he or she was bicycling in a wooded area and observed something “at least six feet tall, standing bipedal and leaning against a tree.  Seemed to be resting or waiting.  Was colored a mottled gray and brown similar to salt and pepper hair.  Overall, the creature was rather blob shaped, with little definition other than the four limbs.  Walked hurriedly and bipedally away into the woods, with much confidence of the terrain.”

The person reporting the sighting continued, “In the 70s, my uncle is said to have encountered a Bigfoot behind his mother's house, about a half mile away from this
area and in an adjoining woods.  He never speaks of the details of this encounter and is still frightened enough to not venture into the woods there. This year, not too distant neighbors have reported seeing a gray-brown creature crouching in their yards and fields behind their homes that then quickly vanish.”

Winsor said he knows most people are skeptical of Bigfoot.

“That’s no big deal,” said Winsor. “I don’t care if people make fun of me. I’m not out to convince people Bigfoot exists. I just want to know what people saw. I know there are hoaxers out there.

“There are people out there who think Bigfoot lands in UFOs. I don’t believe that. I believe in unidentified flying objects, but I don’t believe in little green space aliens or that Bigfoot lands in a UFO.”

Winsor said he believes if there is a Bigfoot in Clarion County , his time here is part of his nomadic wanderings.

“I think he’s probably just walking his territory,” said Winsor. “When researching Bigfoot, you’ll see most people only find his tracks. I’m hoping people will visit my website and tell me what they’ve found or what they’ve seen or what they’re heard.