About 35 Bigfoot research enthusiasts visited Bend, Oregon in mid-June as part of a Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO) sponsored expedition. No sightings were reported but they listened for Bigfoot responses to Matt Moneymaker’s calls and searched for scat and other Bigfoot evidence. Participants in Moneymaker’s Bigfoot expeditions pay hundreds of dollars to camp out and be part of the action.

The Bend Bulletin article about the BFRO expedition was long and descriptive: Seeking Sasquatch - A group of enthusiasts comes here to track the elusive mythical beast. In it, Matt Moneymaker is quoted as saying, “We’re looking for a needle in a haystack, but we’re using a magnet….I’m good; I can call them in….It’s gotta have a bit of a mournful touch to it.” The magnet theory uses vocalizations, tree-whacking, and other techniques to attract Bigfoot attention.

According to the article, Moneymaker’s approach includes having teams traveling in different areas of the forest making Bigfoot calls to one another, trying to get an actual Bigfoot to participate in the vocal exchange. Being in different sections of the forest makes it possible to triangulate and locate the source of any responses. He keeps the groups moving until they hear a Bigfoot vocalization, then they concentrate on that area. Unfortunately, it can be many days before a response is heard, so expedition participants often don’t have any Bigfoot contact despite the prices they pay to participate. Moneymaker claims “dozens of encounters” but will not describe them in detail.

The Deschutes National Forest near Bend, Oregon has been the location of numerous Bigfoot sightings since 1963.

If Chaska Denny, who left a comment on Bigfoot Sightings recently, is right, Sasquatch is psychic, and intelligent enough to avoid researchers. Psychic Sasquatch would be able to pick up on the purpose of an expedition and refuse to respond to sounds. That is why my method for finding Sasquatch includes psychic contact first, and driving through the forest second. Other than that, I believe Moneymaker’s methods are as good as anyone else’s. He receives a lot of criticism because he’s turned his hobby into a business, but besides resentments over his money-making policies, I don’t know what other Bigfoot researchers might have against him. I’ve stayed out of that controversy.