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Creature record / 1980

Robert Gardiner's Bigfoot hunt in Wayne National Forest and Larry Cottrill's shooting, McArthur, Ohio, 1980

August 24, 1980 · Wayne National Forest, west of McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio, United States
22Thinly documented Cryptid Creature 12 sources

Southern Ohio. Autumn, 1980. Robert Gardiner of Columbus led a party of hunters into the Wayne National Forest west of McArthur. A big-game hunter of twenty years, he believed he had found the lair of Bigfoot. Footprints 17½ inches long. A sign on a tree. Then barking in the woods. One ahead, one behind. No more than 25 or 30 yards away. Weeks earlier, a local man named Larry E. Cottrill said he had come upon three Sasquatch-like animals near his home and fired at them. Later, a team of Ohio researchers camped at the site and studied the evidence. Their findings told a different story.

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Context

Summer and autumn, 1980. Across southern and central Ohio, people were reporting Sasquatch sightings. One cluster centred on McArthur, the seat of Vinton County, beside the Wayne National Forest.

Sources (12, most influential first)

  1. Tracker claims 'Bigfoot' sighting · UPI· 1980-10-07 · Press, book, documentary · news
  2. Oh Romeo · Cleveland Scene· 2008-12 · Press, book, documentary · news
  3. Woman doesn't want second look at 'Bigfoot' · UPI· 1980-10-09 · Press, book, documentary · news
  4. Ohio Magazine article (reprint) · bigfootencounters.com · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
  5. Mason County KY 1980 · bigfootencounters.com · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog