Granite Falls Sighting: a Summary

The following is a summary of an article written by Leslie Moriarty, Herald Writer

You can read the actual article at:

www.heraldnet.com/Stories/00/0/28/13009418.cfm

Moriarty starts her article with the statement,  "...it wasn't human." probably quoted from the two men who seem to show up together in all the right places.  Cliff Crook and Fred Bradshaw manage to find their way to and end up working together on many Bigfoot sightings. 

The Granite Falls sighting drew the two men to this wooded area, where they used their detective talents to try to find something that would validate the report as an authentic Bigfoot incident.

Moriarty reports that Granite Falls resident, Chris Wright, age 29, was the actual witness and reported the incident.  He lives in a mobile home on the outskirts of town and had decided to have a smoke out on his front porch around midnight.  He has security lights installed on his home and a sudden movement somewhere in the shadows triggered the lights to come on.  It was at that moment that Moriarty reports that the witness heard a scream that he describes as, "un-human".

In the soft glow of the security lights he could see the form of a "fur-covered creature", Moriarty reports in her article.  Wright estimates that it seemed to be taller than 6 feet.  Wright also reports that it was standing on two legs.  Wright thinks it was a Bigfoot.

When Bradshaw and Crook heard about the sighting, they both headed for Granite Falls.  Wright took them through the whole incident from where he was when he spotted the creature to the scream and the creature's features.

Crook, who always carries a tape measure, got busy measuring the distance from where the man first laid eyes on the creature to where Wright estimated the creature was standing.  (having the security lights set to turn on when something steps into a certain spot will no doubt help in deciphering the distance). Crook measured approximately 110 feet. 

At that point Wright led the two Sasquatch hunters into the woods which encompassed the property where the trailer sat.  Moriarty reported that the three men found broken tree limbs which could have been broken during the creature's flight after the lights came on.  They also discovered some hairs that had been caught on a tree branch, however, it was decided they belonged to Wrights dog.

Wright explained that his dog has always been an excellent watch dog, that is, until the night of the sighting.  Since then, the dog has been displaying an uneasiness and doesn't stray far from the house.

Another strange occurrence is in the wildlife that normally frequented the woods.  It was not unusual for Wright to see deer and other animals around his home on the outskirts of the woods.  Now, Moriarty reports, they seem to be staying away. 

Moriarty reports that Crook thinks this phenomena is normal for an incident site.  Crook says, "They (animals) usually move out when there's been a sighting," he said.  "There's an eerie silence for a day or so, and then the animals come back and things return to normal."

As they trekked farther into the woods, they may have found some partial prints.  Moriarty reported that they  didn't seem good enough for the Sasquatch Hunters to cast.   However, the partial prints did give them some good clues to the creature's size.  Crook estimates that his stride was about 36-inches, as reported by Moriarty.  With that information they figure his height to be about 6 ft, which is about what Wright estimated when he saw the creature.

Bradshaw concluded that the width of the foot width was too wide to be that of a bear, Moriarty reports.  The three men hiked into the woods for approximately twenty minutes.  They estimate they were north of Mount Pilchuck where the Stillaguamish River runs through the area.  Moriarty reports that they were on the southwest bank of the river.   After 20 minutes they walked back to Wright's house.

"Whatever it was, it wasn't human," Moriarty reported Crooks verdict.  Bradshaw concluded that it was huge..."and it wasn't a bear."

Wright, Moriarty reports in the article, was relieved to hear that his sighting had been validated, but it left him somewhat scared.  Wright was quoted in the article, "I know what I saw, and I know what I heard," he said.  "But I know people are going to think I 'm crazy."  Moriarty reports that Wright has overhead just such conversations in a cafe and a local gas station.  Wright  said his phone has not stopped ringing.

Moriarty describes Wright as being "Clean-cut with boyish looks."  He is a Communications tower manager, Moriarty reports in the article.  Wright has been overrun  by reporters, Moriarty says,  and quotes from Wright, "When they start questioning me, I just tell them that if I was going to make up a story, I'd have had a UFO land in my backyard and take me off to outer space."

Like most witnesses, Wright just wants his normal life back.  However, he realizes that it will be some time before things die down.  In the mean time, he hasn't been able to return to the porch for his nightly smoke. 

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