St. Helen, MI 1979

The following incident occurred near an abandoned lumber town in Roscommon County, MI, known as Geels. It is roughly between the towns of St. Helen and Roscommon, on a road known as old M-76.

Most often sighting reports are just that, fleeting sightings of a creature that looks or behaves in a way that is unlike a known or familiar animal. Sometimes, they come with sketchy physical evidence, or a fuzzy photograph. In over 20 years of collecting these reports, I have never seen evidence this compelling. For the story behind the photos that follow, I quote from the niece of the man who had this experience:

"My uncle Dave made these casts about 30 years ago. Sadly, he passed away in Jan. 2008 so I can't get any more details directly from the source. But as our family 'legend' goes he was bow hunting near St. Helen when he heard loud noises in the brush, like heavy footsteps. When he stopped to listen the noises stopped. When he started walking again it sounded like something big was stalking him.

My uncle was an outdoorsman all his life and had no fear of the northern woods, until then. He ran to his car as fast as he could and left, then returned the next day to find the prints & make the casts. The DNR was unable to identify the tracks."

The casts were made - quite ingeniously - using expanding foam insulation from a spray can. The family brought the foam casts to me to examine and photograph. They appear genuine. There are dermal identations, hair impressions, and very distinct claws. The best formed of the casts measures just under 6 inches in diameter. The pad and toe impressions are very rounded and very deep, suggesting either a heavy animal, or one that was bearing all of its weight on two legs.

As stated, the DNR could not, or would not, identify the tracks. After viewing these images, a wildlife expert told me simply, "They are not from a bear, they are not from a cat, and they are too big for a wolf."

Status: Open

Sources: One eyewitnesses, physical evidence.