Earlier this month a Pennsylvania man put in a call to police claiming he had evidence of bigfoot — the large, hairy creature that is the subject of decades worth of legends.
John Winesickle of Somerset County had a set of tracks to show police who showed up at his home, according to WTAJ-TV.
Tracks in Pennsylvania Spur Bigfoot Rumors but Police Say They Belong to a Bear
What some consider to be a bigfoot track but police have ruled is a bear track. (Photo via Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society/Facebook)
Here’s how the dispatch call went down:
Person: “[an individual] called 911 advising that he contacted the Game Commission to call him back; wants a police officer to come to his residence. Apparently he has proof there of Bigfoot.”
Officer: “Bigfoot, right?”
Person: “That’s affirmative, he has evidence, uh … proving Bigfoot. He would like a police officer to come there.”
Officer: “Apparently there’s a large amount of smoke in that area…”
But were they the real deal? For Winesickle, who has believed in bigfoot his entire life, they sure are. But not so fast: the police report identifies the tracks as from an ordinary bear.
This doesn’t weaken Winesickle’s beliefs though.
“The police have been very nice to me,” he told WTAJ-TV. “It wasn’t a bear, it was Bigfoot.”
Winsickle explained further in a separate article by WTAJ-TV that a bear couldn’t go down a steep bank, like that where the tracks were found, on “all twos.”
“This is Bigfoot,” he said again.
Tracks in Pennsylvania Spur Bigfoot Rumors but Police Say They Belong to a Bear
Police paperwork regarding the investigation. (Photo via Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society/Facebook)
Even with the police’s final verdict on the issue, rumors of bigfoot began to spread and like the children’s game of telephone — the one where the story ends up drastically changed as it is whispered down the line — more than footprints were said to have been found. According to Discovery News, rumors included that a hunter had shot and killed bigfoot.

Here’s a look at how some of the rumors were developed and resolved as posted on Pennsylvania Bigfoot Society member Eric Altman’s Facebook page (via Doubtful News):
On May 14, 2013 at 2:41 pm,
The PA Bigfoot Society received its first email in regards to the case:
The email read “Today in Somerset county PA a turkey hunter shot and killed an animal he claimed is a Sasquatch. The state police were called and responded to the scene, according to chatter on the local police frequencies the officers confirmed there was an unidentified animal shot and killed. Details are a bit fuzzy at this time. Any investigative assistance would be appreciated.”
May 14, 2013 at 3:20 pm.
The Pa Bigfoot Society received a second email. This one had a name and contact phone number attached. The email read “Hello, YES this is legit, a strange report came over the scanner here in Somerset, Pa. just a few miles from Flight 93memorial. The message went to the local Police department. The report stated that a hunter had shot a Sasquatch while hunting turkey this morning. This is the first day of Spring Turkey in Pennsylvania. Later a second confirmation message on the scanner stated that yes there was a body but was unable to identify who or what it was. This all started about 10:30 AM and continued through most of the day. The location was stated as Russell or Rustic Road (too fast to be sure) here in the local area of Somerset County, Pennsylvania. Just wanted to let someone know.”
[...]
Ron placed calls to a trooper he knows that worked in the State Police Barracks at Somerset, and a contact he knows in the Somerset 911 call center. His contact in the Somerset barracks he knows was not available. Ron called the Somerset 911 call center and it was confirmed there was a call to the center but it did not involve a Bigfoot being shot. It was in regard to a gentleman that discovered large human like tracks, and that he believed were Bigfoot prints.
Ron then was informed of the municipal police department that investigated. Being that Ron has contacts at the Paint Township Police Station, Ron called and spoke to the Police Chief about the incident. . It was at that time, informed him of the situation and invited him to meet in the office on 5-16-2013, to discuss the case and findings. The Chief also told Ron they had photos of what they believed were bear prints. No discussion or mention of a Turkey Hunter shooting a Bigfoot was discussed at that time.
Winesickle’s believes he has heard the alleged creature in the past.
“The voice is so deep,” he said. “I’ve heard bass singers on television and they can’t even come close to the bass sound it made to me.”
He also said he was close to actually spotting bigfoot in the area once but whatever it was ran away. Winesickle said it is “deathly afraid” and won’t hurt people.