San Jose Mercury News approx 1959

Los Gatos --Well, it has all the elements of a good mystery story, even if it should turn out to be a hoax. Dr. R. Maurice Tripp, 15321 Quito Road, a geologist and geophysicist has the cast of a footprint 17 inches long he made in the Bluff Creek area east of Eureka.

The footprint reportedly belongs to an abominable snowman that has been seen by the town's people.

The Indians in Bluff Creek and the old timers in Eureka say the original legend goes back to about 1850. But only 18 months ago it was revived and citizens of Bluff Creek, including a clergyman and a woman said they saw the huge husky illusive figure.

Eyewitness accounts put together in a sketch by one of the men of Willow Creek, California show the figure to be an enormous cave man like creature.

Dr. Tripp's engineering studies of the soil properties and depth of the footprint of which he made a cast show the weight of the owner of the footprint to be more than 800 pounds.

"The print is distinctly different from that of a bear or any other animal known to be in the area," Dr. Tripp said. Although he does not discount possibility of a hoax, Dr. Tripp said he believes that the tracks left by the visitor lend certain credibility to the story.

"Several people have tried to track him and in the instance his footsteps could be followed a distance of one and a half miles through bush country.

It would be difficult to fraudulently prepare hundreds of such tracks over night --particularly in the type of country in which they were found."Other evidence of the abominable snowman of Bluff Creek is a strand of hair found on a tree at a distance of seven feet three inches above the ground. The hair was found immediately after reports that he (ABSM) was seen in the area.

Dr. Tripp says his interest in the situation is both scientific and curious. He became involved in the story several months ago through communications with townspeople who told him of seeing the figure in the area.

Dr. Tripp was able to get to the scene in time to get a cast of the footprint.

"How, we just have to find the foot that fits it," he said.

(Photo of Tripp with the article not conducive to scanning, the text reads: "He has cast as Proof" Dr. R. Maurice Tripp measures a cast of what he says in the footprint of an abominable snowman. Dr. Tripp says the footprints is that of a man who weighs more than 800 pounds and has been reported seen by residents of an area near Eureka.)

Articles courtesy John Green
31 December 2002

(The cast in the clipping looked like the 1958 Titmus cast in Bluff Creek...)

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