'Bigfoot' corpse is really rubber gorilla

Published on Wednesday 20 August 2008 22:46

NO WONDER Bigfoot failed a DNA test. Researchers say the hairy heap claimed by two men to be the corpse of the mythical half-ape, half-human creature was actually a full-body rubber gorilla costume.

The discovery adds another dimension to what appears to be an elaborate hoax by Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer, the owners of a company that offers Bigfoot merchandise, that sparked an internet frenzy last week.

The pair said they discovered the Bigfoot corpse while hiking in the woods of northern Georgia, with a dubious photo – and the commercial interests of the alleged discoverers – drawing interest from Australia to Europe.

The men held a news conference last Friday which revealed the results of tests on genetic material from the alleged remains, which were frozen in ice and placed in a freezer, did not prove the creature's existence.

Bigfoot creatures are said to live in the forests of the US Pacific north-west. Steve Kulls, executive director of the website Squatchdetective.com and the host of Squatchdetective Radio, said in an online statement that the rubber suit was discovered after the researchers thawed the "corpse".

He said he was part of a team that involved Tom Biscardi, host of a weekly online radio show about the Bigfoot who was contacted by the alleged discoverers. "This (discovery) has since been proven a lie," said Mr Kulls.

He explained researchers had used heat to speed up the thawing of the shaggy remains. Within an hour, they realised at least part of the head was hollow and, over the next hour, a break appeared near the feet.

"As the team and I began examining this area … I observed the foot which looked unnatural, reached in and confirmed it was a rubber foot," said Kulls.

The whereabouts of Mr Whitton and Mr Dyer were not known yesterday.