Set to Stun - The First & Biggest Story: Bigfoot body found?

I've been wanting to do a section of my blog devoted to the paranormal, and just haven't been able to find the right story to start it off with. I guess you could technically call my post on the Vatican the first paranormal post, but this is the first one in a series/section I'm calling "Set to Stun". I've had the title of this particular section chosen for a while. Since paranormal things often leave us surprised or "stunned", and part of the theme of my blog is lasers I thought it would be an appropriate homage to Star Trek and the moment in Star Wars where Leia is captured by the Stormtroopers.

Like I said, it has been hard finding a story that I was interested in enough to write about for my first Set to Stun, but I think I may have finally found one, and what better way than to start off with what may be the biggest story in paranormal news yet. This story is so big that it kind of demanded that I write about it.

According to a press release from Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., a press conference will take place on Friday, August 15 from noon to 1pm that will give the results of various tests, including DNA and photo examinations, of what may very well be the true, genuine body of a real Bigfoot. That's right people, A REAL BIGFOOT!

The "body" is said to have been discovered in the woods of Northern Georgia by local residents Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer. Credibility of the finding is already being discussed on paranormal websites and forums across the internet. Whitton is a Clayton County police officer, currently on administrative leave after being wounded in the course of duty, and Dyer is a former correctional officer. This would make them somewhat credible, but Whitton and Dyer are also co-owners of bigfoottracker.com and Bigfoot Global LLC, a company that offers Bigfoot expeditions. Whitton and Dyer are working with Tom Biscardi, a well known Bigfoot hunter and owner of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., to present and conduct scientific study of the evidence and information this body could offer. If it is indeed a body and not a hoax they've concockted to promote their businesses.

These are facts about the "body":

The "creature" is a male, stands seven feet seven inches tall and weighs over five hundred pounds. It's appearance is described as part human-like and part ape-like. It has reddish hair and blackish-grey eyes. It has two arms and two legs, with five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot. The feet are flat, similar to human feet, and leave footprints sixteen and three-quarters inches long and five and three-quarters inches wide at the heel. It's hands, from the palm of the hand to the tip of the middle finger, are eleven and three-quarters inches long and six and one-quarter inches wide. The teeth are more like human teeth than those of an ape. Most significantly of all - it walks upright.

Apparently it wasn't alone, because several other creatures with similar features were sighted on the same day that the body was found. Pictures of the carcass can be found at Cryptomundo.com, it's a site I frequent for paranormal news. More info about the story can also be found at Cryptomundo.com. Just follow the links.

I REALLY want to believe that this is the real deal, but I also don't want to get my hopes up only to have them dashed by it turning out to be a hoax. What jumps out at me the most about these pictures is how much the face resembles that of an ape mask from the original Planet of the Apes. While this may be due to decomposition, as it has been suggested due to the tongue hanging out, it leaves me with mixed feelings. (1) It could be a hoax, with an old Planet of the Apes mask for a head, or (2) the guys who made Planet of the Apes were closer than they or we realized. There is also this "Cryptids are Real" thing that's been going on, promoting this new show on Cartoon Network that has me suspicious. With this going on and this discovery taking place at the same time makes me doubt it is just a coincidence. But like I said, I REALLY want to believe it. There is one more important fact I've been considering: Why would they arrange a press conference for an obvious hoax instead of just brushing it to the side?

I'll be counting down the hours until the press conference on Friday, and I just hope and pray it's not a hoax. I am so sick of hoaxes distracting people from exploring the real possibilities of creatures like Bigfoot existing. Especially since hoaxers never really seem to face any consequences or the people they fooled. I'd even call it exploitation. However, if this is real, then anyone who has ever believed will soon be vindicated. It could even be the start of a plethora of paranormal subjects being confirmed. Get ready to come out of your Loch Nessie, and prepare for your close-up ET. I can't wait to see what happens.

I'd like to take the time to thank the Phantoms & Monsters blog for bringing this issue to my attention, and way before any of my other preferred paranormal news websites. Way to go man! ;)

UPDATE - Body was a hoax.