Whether you call it Bigfoot or a Sasquatch, the debate surrounding the existence of this mystical creature has raged for decades.
According to officials, sightings of a 7-foot-plus beast were first recorded by North American settlers all the way back in the late 1800s. However, the History Channel reports that it wasn't until a 1958 article in the Humboldt Times that public interest really ignited.
At the time, journalist Andrew Genzoli thought it would be fun to highlight a reader's letter about "loggers in northern California who’d discovered mysteriously large footprints".
Little did he know the wave of myths, spurious sightings, and lost legends that would follow.
And back in 2021, a mysterious video out of Michigan sparked a wave of speculation among Bigfoot enthusiasts and skeptics alike. The footage, reportedly filmed by an individual identified only as "Eddie V," has left even seasoned sasquatch investigators scratching their heads.
According to a report by the Mirror, Eddie V claims that his cousin encountered the legendary creature while kayaking in Michigan's Cass River.
The video shows a hairy figure wading through the water, seemingly carrying a smaller creature in its arms. Eddie V posits that the smaller creature could be a "baby sasquatch" or a deer.
Eddie V turned to the experts for insight and shared the perplexing footage with the Rocky Mountain Sasquatch Organization (RMSO), a group committed to finding Bigfoot. The RMSO - which boasts over 270,000 followers on social media - shared the clip on its official Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Check out the video below:Kyle Shaw, an investigator with the RMSO, had a chance to analyze the footage, and his take on the matter is as puzzling as the video itself. He confessed, "I'm not saying this is Bigfoot, and I'm not saying it isn't."
Further elaborating on the video's quality, he continued: "This is obviously shot with a cell phone at 880×656 resolution. It's 30 frames per second. It isn't the greatest footage. It's all we have to go with so you be the judge on what you think it is. I don't know what it is."
Yet, Shaw did delve into more specifics, adding: "A lot of what's going on in this says to me it's something moving through the river, pushing a wake, and it appears to be carrying an infant."
While the YouTube community had varied reactions, many commenters were quick to call the footage into question. One unconvinced user pointed out: "It's a man in waders with a mosquito net over his head."
However, one person argued: "I am from northern Michigan and the rivers up here have very strong currents. There is NO way a person could walk that fast across that river...This is the real deal"
Despite the divided response, Bigfoot's cultural presence remains strong in Michigan, as evidenced by the 224 reported sasquatch sightings cataloged by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO).
Beyond this video, Bigfoot continues to be a hot topic in Michigan.
TikTok user Casey Dostert has been sharing alleged encounters with a mysterious creature for nearly two years on his channel, amassing millions of views.
With the RMSO leaving the question open-ended and the public divided, one thing is certain: the legend of Bigfoot continues to capture the public's imagination.
