Like a bad off-OFF-Broadway production, the so-called body of Bigfoot will be on tour this year. Perhaps another name for this post could be “Rick Dyer Strikes Again.” You remember Mr. Dyer . . . he’s the self-proclaimed professional Bigfoot hunter that pulled a dandy of a hoax back in 2008, touting that he shot a Yeti and was selling his body to the highest bidder. It didn’t take long to recognize a rubber ape costume from an actual mammal.

Dyer claims that this time it’s the real deal. “Bigfoot is not a tooth fairy, Bigfoot is real,” Dyer said. “The most important thing to me is being vindicated, letting people know that I am the best Bigfoot tracker in the world and it’s not just me saying it.” 

Hmmm, I think vindication involves proving that you’re right about something. Lying to the world and trying to sell it to the bidder with the deepest pockets is more akin to perjury than being tragically misunderstood. And although Mr. Dyer is getting some media attention, I think those of us that are serious about Sasquatch fear it’s more of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.” And Texas may be one of the Top Ten states for Bigfoot sightings but I’d be surprised to find a Yeti in San Antonio where trees are short and scarce. These dudes like heavy-duty woods.   

For now, I’m taking the wait-and-see approach. When the body of Bigfoot comes to a town near me, I’ll make a trek and ask a lot of hard questions. In the meantime, I’ll watch what unfolds with a large dose of skepticism. It seems the fame Rick Dyer seeks may be as elusive as the animal he hunts, although he could become famous as the next “Pinocchio.”