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I
s Bigfoot dead? The answer is “yes” according to the
family of Ray L. Wallace, who died November 26
th
,
2002 in Seattle, Washington.
After the death of his
father, Michael Wallace told a story that surprised many
people who have been trying to solve the Bigfoot mystery.
He claimed that his father thought of the idea of a Bigfoot
creature; though he did not make the name, Bigfoot, he developed it as a
practical joke to make money.
According to Michael, Ray Wallace asked a friend
to make a pair of 16-inch (40 cm) footprints out of wood. He then used these
footprints for making fake Bigfoot tracks around the woods near his house.
Mr. Wallace would use these footprints to support stories about Bigfoot that he
would tell to newspapers. Some of these stories were quite strange.
He once told a newspaper reporter, “Bigfooted
creatures are people, they
speak a language.” Mr. Wallace then used these stories to make money. He made
tape recordings of strange sounds that he said were “Bigfoot conversations” and
sold the tapes to tourists along with Bigfoot photos, posters, and pieces of
animal hair that he said came from Bigfoot.
Though his family claims that Bigfoot died with Ray Wallace, others are not
so sure.
Scientist Jeff Meldrum, a professor at Idaho State University, does not
believe that Bigfoot was imaginary. Professor Meldrum claims to have copies of
over forty footprints that he says belong to a very large, unknown creature,
which he believes is Bigfoot.
