Possible Bigfoot incident in Maine 1997

[Incorrigible1]

Anyone following this thread will probably enjoy "Trollhunter."

 

Government sponsored hunters are sent out to clandestinely cull problem trolls. Real creatures (in this adventure/horror/comedy), not just the mythical monsters. The trollhunters use the ruse of "bear hunting" as cover story for their actual activities.

 

I really enjoy this lively romp!

 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Incorrigible1

[Doodler]

19 hours ago, Incorrigible1 said:

Anyone following this thread will probably enjoy "Trollhunter."

 

<Snip>

 

 

Yes. Loved this movie. Go watch it.

 

If the bus story is true, the responding MIB  were close on hand, and swooped in converging for the climax, only to shrink away immediately after spraying the evidence off the road.

 

Practiced. That's the word that comes to mind. Routine.

 

My red flag is access. They're going to control access to the scene first and foremost, IMO the bus would have never made it to the scene, it would have been stopped by someone dressed as state police for an accident blocking the road ahead that would be cleared up shortly.

 

And that's why this random armchair cowboy don't believe the story. You don't conduct a routine professional cleanup like this, in less than an hour, without the basic first commandment of keeping the scene safe by blocking access.

[hiflier]

Blocking off Route 1 would've generated more attention. Not blocking it off and letting vehicles go by would give a more low-key of an impression? The report said that the event (1997) was viewed as they were nearing a place called Point Lookout. The area and fields are somewhat built up now but not by much considering the time from 1997 to the present. It was pretty rural then with no way around the area beyond a very long detour inland. There's still no short way around that location.

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by hiflier

[Kiwakwe]

I would think the best way to deal would be a blanket over the body, simple, effective, negates the need for long detour/extra man-power and creates less of a scene. As Doodler mentions--practiced. A quick in/out- ninja-like with minimal disturbance. That wouldn't necessarily work in a more populated place but there on rt 1 it would, I know the road. 

[hiflier]

1 hour ago, Kiwakwe said:

I would think the best way to deal would be a blanket over the body, simple, effective, negates the need for long detour/extra man-power and creates less of a scene. As Doodler mentions--practiced. A quick in/out- ninja-like with minimal disturbance.

 

True, unless the blanket was only 6ft. long and didn't cover the exposed foot and leg And I also know that stretch of road well because for years it was my preferred back and forth route to camping Downeast. Another little research tidbit: The MBNA in Camden did indeed open a new branch office in Belfast in June of 1997, just months before this incident. This info gets added to the list of small details that came out when Michelle interviewed the witness back in 2018. If this was a hoax or a lie then the small back story details related to Ms. Souliere by the witness would probably not be necessary- only a story relating to the scene itself. IMHO those kinds of small details lend to the veracity of the event. Could the story still not be true? I suppose so but I am more inclined to think that the incident did happen as the witness stated. And knowing Michelle and what's in her book, not just this report but others as well, I doubt it was a short interview.

[Madison5716]

7 minutes ago, hiflier said:

The MBNA

 

What's that?

[VAfooter]

Banking giant.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MBNA

[Kiwakwe]

8 hours ago, hiflier said:

 

True, unless the blanket was only 6ft. long and didn't cover the exposed foot and leg And I also know that stretch of road well because for years it was my preferred back and forth route to camping Downeast. Another little research tidbit: The MBNA in Camden did indeed open a new branch office in Belfast in June of 1997, just months before this incident. This info gets added to the list of small details that came out when Michelle interviewed the witness back in 2018. If this was a hoax or a lie then the small back story details related to Ms. Souliere by the witness would probably not be necessary- only a story relating to the scene itself. IMHO those kinds of small details lend to the veracity of the event. Could the story still not be true? I suppose so but I am more inclined to think that the incident did happen as the witness stated. And knowing Michelle and what's in her book, not just this report but others as well, I doubt it was a short interview.

Gotta believe these ninja MIBs carry the proper length sheet, come to think of it, they probably have weighted borders to prevent blowing off... IDK, seems an easy solution to giant hairy critters exposed for all to see.

 

Yes, I'm inclined to think this is legit also. There is something about a small town that keeps integrity levels higher than more populated areas--a natural self policing element and near instant accountability that keeps folks on the level in most cases.  I remember mbna swallowing up some real estate there. I forgot which mountain they cabinized for a "retreat" center of sorts. Was up there once...

[hiflier]

47 minutes ago, Kiwakwe said:

I remember mbna swallowing up some real estate there. I forgot which mountain they cabinized for a "retreat" center of sorts. Was up there once...

 

Yes, mentioned it earlier, Point Lookout. Corporate retreat for MBNA. Still there but more public now. Still a green corridor from the land preserves from deep behind and around the facility down to the coast. I'm actually kinda hoping Michelle's book will end up in Beth the bus driver's hands someday.

[hiflier]

Just found out an interesting tidbit that may or may not be pertinent regarding the ex-MBNA Point Lookout corporate retreat complex. There is in fact a helicopter landing pad at the facility. Doesn't surprise me being the somewhat high-powered corporate facility that it was. But it does raise the possibility of having a more localized staging area should any monitoring or action have been needed to be taken in order to mitigate a more serious BF presence in the area. Yes, it's only a circumstantial piece of the puzzle, but it's an interesting one to know nonetheless.

Edited September 9, 2021 by hiflier

[msouliere]

Who knows -- maybe the very first responder came out after a local call from someone saying "I hit a deer or something" (because who's going to want to say/admit what it really was, even to themselves?).  That first responder assessed the situation and made some calls, and they scrambled together a team to handle it under less than optimal conditions.  Because while the overall effect was efficient, there are definitely some messy loose ends (visible foot, visible work team).

 

Route 1 in that area would be hella noticeable to block off and detour around, news of that would spread all over, while a workteam snugged over at the side of the road at night for a short duration would be far less attention-generating.

 

The uniqueness of the situation I think partly has to do with the bus.  Cars driving by would have had a different viewpoint (through windshield and passenger/driver side window depending on approach) than the bus, which has that long door with multiple panes lowering towards the ground, allowing a lower point of view.

 

Hiflier - I will say that the driver's acknowledgement of awareness of such things was directed more at the accepted existence of Bigfoot, and not towards the crew activity they were witnessing.  And yes - I would love to talk to her someday!!

 

This is a very intriguing discussion, a lot of questions that beg to be dug into more deeply.  Thanks all!

[hiflier]

Hi Michelle! And thanks for stepping in here. My impression with the report text is that the bus driver actually stopped the bus and both she and the witness (who apparently moved closer to her) had a good look at the foot and the hair around the ankle and on the surface next to it. Your text said that she did have to start moving the bus so both witnesses did in fact have a good look at the foot and the fact that it was very large and oriented in a way that told them that the body was face down. It's only after rereading the whole thing several times and collecting all of those small details that one really get a good picture of how things transpired. All of those small things added together makes it super difficult to think that this incident as reported didn't happen.

 

And, YES! I'll bet you would INDEED like to speak to the bus driver

[VAfooter]

OK, I have read the book and I it is very good. If you are in the least bit interested in ME Bigfoot, you should read it. Not a huge number of cases (20), but I have not heard of any of them except for the Durham incident (probably ME's most notorious case). The author does a great job of tracking down witnesses and interviewing them and does not rely on just newspaper clippings from long ago. The book is less than 200 pages so it is a fairly quick read, and it is very engrossing. The bus case is not the only really interesting one in the book, there are several others as well that stand out in my mind. I hope that the book generates a lot of new leads for Michelle and that she can write another one. She is a very good writer in my opinion, and I enjoyed this book greatly! My biggest complaint is that I wish that there were GE images of the locations so that I could get a better feel for the layout of the landscape (even though a number of the reports are decades old and the area has changed). It also helps me to better visualize the incident, even if there have been changes. But this is relatively minor and most reports in any book or site, do not have that info. And really it is just a personal preference for me. Five stars for the book in my opinion.

 

Reading the account in full, my thoughts - 

 

• There was a line of large, dark, unmarked vehicles along the roadway (bumper to bumper). The witnesses could not see over them into the field. Black vans (Ford Econoline or similar without windows)? They were all the same height which perhaps indicates they were all the same type.
• The field was illuminated by construction grade lighting (visible over the tops of the vehicles and pointing downward), so the main event was maybe not the creature but something else?
• No personnel were seen. The witness thought they could have been behind the vehicles, standing in the ditch. Were they making efforts not to be seen, or did it just work out that way?
• The bus driver remarked she had seen similar stuff in PA. I took it to mean she was aware of BF activities, not the "covert" operation itself.
• There were clumps of hair around the foot leading the witness to believe that there was a collision. Where was the damaged vehicle, in the field? And if so, what happened to the driver/passengers?
• The witness went back to the site later and found no evidence of a collision. So if not a collision, then what?
• The estimated time was between 5:30 and 6:00. It should have been plenty dark by that time in ME at that time of year and it was deer season. When is the deer hunting season in ME and has it changed since the incident?

 

Now some pics. Based on the picture in the book, this is the location:

 

 

 

 

Approaching the scene from the view of the bus:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The field:

 

 

 

More thoughts:

 

• There is little room to pull over so the vehicles would have been blocking a significant portion of the road. Why was no one directing traffic?
• The ditch/culvert is not that deep, surprisingly.
• Was the house there at the time of the incident?
• The book says that the field is no longer empty as a commercial venture was recently built. Is this the building or is there another one? Note that the pic is from August 2018.
• How many of the other houses in the immediate vicinity were there at the time?
• What kind of bus was it, Greyhound/school bus size or a mini-bus (airport) type of vehicle?
• What was the weather like at the time?
• Did the driver notice blood/other bio material on the roadway as she approached? If not, why the washdown?
• The witness stated that there was other traffic on the road that night, hopefully some of them will read the book and come forward with more details and information.

 

I would love it if Mr. Lombardo, the male witness, could come on to discuss the incident. 

 

I will certainly agree with the author, "it is so darn strange."

 

[Doodler]

Thanks for the summary, VAFooter. My wife and I just visited the area last week, though we never made it past the state prison store in Wiscasset. I kept thinking I had to get this thread out so we could drive just a few more miles to take some pictures, but ran out of time. 

 

Edit: damn the prison store is in Thomaston literally the next town on route 1. So close!

Edited October 9, 2021 by Doodler