Local Bigfoot-like creature explored in Sunday episode of "Finding Bigfoot"

Show airs on the Animal Planet

By: Roger Brown | Bristol Herald Courier
Published: February 11, 2012

The legend of “The Beast of Gum Hill” -- the mysterious Bigfoot-like creature that many Southwest Virginians insist roams Saltville and nearby places – will be nationally featured during a Sunday night episode of “Finding Bigfoot,” on the Animal Planet network.

The episode, which airs at 10 p.m., will re-examine whether it’s possible that the reported ‘beast” actually exists through a rigorous investigation by the “Finding Bigfoot” team – now in its second season of traveling the country probing Bigfoot sightings.

And certainly, there is no shortage of folks across the region who have no doubt that the creature – and the possibility of its existence – definitely demands more research.

There’s an actual YouTube video of a brawny, hairy, too-big-to-possibly-be-human figure striding across a river stream near Gum Hill, catching an ATV rider by surprise.

Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum, an associate professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University in Pocatello, Idaho – and one of the nation’s most-acclaimed experts on the possible existence of Sasquatch, Bigfoot and other mysterious species – said in a Friday telephone interview that he wasn’t equipped to comment specifically on whether “The Beast of Gum Hill” exists.

But Meldrum said that too many scientists and others are quick to rule out the possibility that non-human figures are roaming among us, despite clear evidence, including massive footprints, that can’t be explained away.

“The footprint evidence alone that I’ve examined is extremely convincing,” said Meldrum, regarding the prospect of an actual being. “There’s something out there leaving tracks, and very distinct ones.”

“To say all these things can be dismissed as just fabrications is naïve at best – and disingenuous at worst,” he said.

But Meldrum said that because there’s been no clear proof that a Bigfoot exists, too many are “quite content to just dismiss it, out of hand.”

Added Meldrum: “But I’ve certainly seen enough that keeps motivating me to continue studying and researching [the possible existence of Bigfoot.”].