Does Bigfoot exist? Upcoming conference aims to find answers

Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Conroe, Texas

By Kassia Micek

Conroe Courier staff

Anyone looking for Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster may want stop by the fourth annual Southern Crypto Conference June 18 at the Lone Star Convention Center.

The conference is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and will feature seminars by leading cryptozoological researchers.

"This is not a paranormal conference," conference organizer Chester Moore said. "It's a biological pursuit of animals not known yet. A lot of these so-called legends are being proven true. To me, crytpozoology is the forefront of zoology."

Moore will talk about his expedition for giant catfish in the reservoirs of Florida and Texas.

"There have been, for as long as I can remember, stories of giant catfish as large as Volkswagens," said Moore, adding that he will show results of his dives and perform a dive in Lake Conroe during that weekend.

MK Davis will lead a seminar where attendees can come up with their own computer analysis of the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot video.

"It's considered to be the ultimate evidence of the Bigfoot creature," Moore said.

Dr. Kent Hovind will discuss dinosaurs in the Bible and whether there are living dinosaurs.

"There's a lot of tales from remote corners of the world of living dinosaurs," Moore said.

Kriss Stephens, who worked with Moore for the Animal Planet piece of "The Animal X Bigfoot Expedition" that took place in East Texas and aired this year, will inform attendees how to photograph and collect documentation while investigating mysteries.

Ken Gerhard, author of "Monsters are Real" and American Primate Conservation Alliance and Center for Fortean Zoology field investigator, will talk about his expedition to Belize, where he looked for the Sisemite and Dwendi, two Bigfoot primates that reportedly roam Belize's dense jungles.

Paul Nation will share the findings and eyewitness interviews of his trips to remote forests of Papua New Guinea, where he searched for alleged living pterodactyls.

There also will be a panel discussion of what it will take to prove the existence of Bigfoot. The Interactive Cryptozoology Museum includes life-size replicas of Bigfoot creatures, the Loch Ness Monster and other cryptozoological beings and will be available to attendees, along with vendor booths from cryptozoology authors and researchers.

General admission is $10. VIP packages cost $30 and include seating in the front two rows, a conference laminate, special edition poster, early access into the conference and an entry into the VIP ticket holders drawing for a cryptozoological field mission for a family with Moore and Stephens.

Tickets can be purchased at the door or on the Southern Crypto Conference Web site, www.cryptokeeper.com/conference.htm. Additional conference information can be found on the Web site. All conference proceeds will go toward field research and conservation efforts.

For more information, send an e-mail to thirteenprod@yahoo.com or call Moore at (409) 882-0945.

Kassia Micek can be reached at kmicek@mail.hcnonline.net.