http://www.nwanews.com/dailyrecord/story_news.php?storyid=15996
Bigfoot talk puts town in global spotlight
By Jeff LeMaster Staff Writer newsroom@nwanews.com
Wednesday, October 8, 2003
DECATUR — Decatur has drawn international media attention in the last week because of alleged Bigfoot sightings.
Police Chief Coy Hendrix said he has received phone calls from CNN, CBS and ABC in New York and has participated in a phone interview for a live radio show in Chicago. And a United Kingdom Web site, www.forteantimes.com, has a story about the Benton County town.
Hendrix said he believes the media is blowing the situation out of proportion. "They must be hurting for news," he said.
While eyewitness reports of the animal do not depict it as a nine-foot-tall ape-man, a retired nurse in Siloam Springs has a theory, which she hopes will prevent ruling out the animal as being a Bigfoot.
Jacqlin Castillo, who has participated in expeditions to track Bigfoot in Oklahoma, said that what has been seen in Decatur could be a baby Bigfoot. "They’re not born nine feet tall," she said. "Usually only a juvenile Bigfoot would allow itself to be seen. The adults are too smart to allow themselves to be seen."
Castillo said she is hoping to receive authorization from the Bigfoot Field Research Organization (BFRO) to investigate the possible sightings in Decatur. According to the BFRO Web site, a Bigfoot is defined as "a large, hairy, bipedal non-human primate" that is distributed over the North American continent to varying degrees of concentration. "
"(Bigfoot) are a fascinating species," Castillo said. "They are absolutely out there, but they’re so elusive … I think people need to be educated about them."
Castillo said this is not the first alleged sighting in northwest Arkansas. She said a Bigfoot was allegedly seen by a beekeeper near Siloam Springs two years ago. In addition, she said someone in Elm Springs reported one a few years ago.
Castillo encouraged anyone interested in Bigfoot to go to the BFRO’s web site at www.BFRO.net.
The Benton County Daily Record reported the sightings on Oct. 1. In that story, Hendrix said the creature was a small monkey.
In the Oct. 1 story, an employee at the Wild Wilderness Drive-Thru Safari, who did not wish to be identified, said no animal matching the description had escaped from the park. The safari is three miles southwest of Decatur. The safari official said the animal would probably try to find a consistent food source. "I imagine it’s scared to death," he said. "It will probably try to shack up near some cattle feed."
Farms may be a specific target for the animal, as they would supply a consistent food and water source, he said.
If the animal has been raised in captivity, it may be acclimated to human contact. This does not mean, however, that if someone sees it he should get close to the animal. Hendrix encourages anyone who sees what they believe could be the described animal to call the Decatur Police Department at 752-3911.
This is not the first time a primate has been loose in the area. In the fall of 1995, a monkey was shot and killed by Gentry police after being cornered on the playground of Gentry Elementary School. Students at the school had to be kept inside while police dealt with the situation.
For a time in the spring of 1999, Gomer and Glory Alsup’s farm near Centerton became the home for a Rhesus macaque. The animal lived in the farm’s barn, riding on horses and swinging from the rafters. Centerton is about 10 miles east of Decatur. In a Daily Record story published in 1999, Glory said, "He'll look through the windows and grins with a face that will stop a clock. He sits on the tractor and acts as if he's driving it down the road. He pets the cows. He loves the dogs. He just does everything. Oh … he's a good one," Glory said.
