Bigfoot researcher shares experiences with Mexico audience

MEXICO — Full-time Bigfoot researcher Mike Familant spoke to local residents Friday evening about his experiences tracking down the truth behind North America’s most iconic cryptid.

New Jersey native Mike Familant speaks Friday evening at the Mexico Town Office about his research on Bigfoot. He is camping at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, where he is also doing Bigfoot investigations. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

The 34-year-old New Jersey native addressed 25 people at the Town Office at the invitation of Marilla Couch, director of the Mexico Public Library.

Familant, an emergency medical technician with New Jersey Search and Rescue, is camping at Mt. Blue State Park in Weld, where he is also doing Bigfoot investigations.

He drives a Subaru Outback with lettering on the side identifying it as a Bigfoot Mobile Command Center.

Bigfoot, Sasquatch, Grassman, Skunk Ape or Big Red Eye, whatever name you choose to call this large, bipedal hominid, Familant has probably tried to track it down.

He said he got into the research in 2011 following an expedition with a friend in northern Florida, an area known for Bigfoot sightings. Familant said a small rock was thrown in their direction while sitting around a campfire, so he decided to throw a small rock back into the woods. That was followed by a laptop-sized boulder thrown in their direction.

Since that time, he said he has made it his personal goal to find out exactly what is roaming the woods of America.

In 2016, Familant created a YouTube show, “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye,” because other reality shows did not depict Bigfoot correctly.

“With a passion for bigfooting and a history in video editing, I decided to make the first real show about what expeditions are truly about,” he said. “You’ll see raw, uncut, footage of what bigfooting actually is.”

Two years later, Familant also created a docuseries titled “Squatchables,” which was created for people who are just getting into bigfooting, sort of a “Bigfooting 101.”

He said there have been 58 documented sightings of Bigfoot in Sussex County, New Jersey. He believes there have been around 2,000 sightings in the U.S.

Familant also talked about field equipment necessary for bigfooting and what to look for in finding footprints. He said areas where there are gas lines and power lines make great “highways” for Bigfoot.

Ken Couch of Mexico talks Friday evening about an encounter he experienced with Bigfoot in Bethel 24 years ago. Bruce Farrin/Rumford Falls Times

Ken Couch, husband of the library director, described an encounter he and young people had 24 years ago at a cabin “in the middle of nowhere” in Bethel. He said a Bigfoot at least 9 feet tall was outside a cabin window and youngsters saw as many as three more.

Asked about his best evidence of Bigfoot, Familant noted a case in Whitehall, New York, where two teens observed a pair of Sasquatches. Two officers were dispatched to check out the area and they reported sighting them as well. There were a total of 10 sightings that day.

“If there is one thing I hope people gain from this show,” he said, “is for families and friends to get off the couch and outside into nature to explore what this amazing world has to offer.”

People can see all of Familant’s shows, including his docuseries “Squatchables” on his YouTube channel, Sussex County Bigfoot, and follow his Facebook page “In the Shadow of Big Red Eye” to keep up with the team’s expeditions and to see their newest evidence.