It seems like you can always count on Montana to generate some pretty weird news stories. Shoot, just in the past couple weeks alone we have heard about a man exposing himself to traffic-goers, a cow that got on the loose that had to be put down by a sniper, and a guy who used bear spray on young children. However, amidst a very busy day at work something even more bizarre caught my eye today as I scrolled through my Twitter feed during a meeting.

The headline read “Man dressed as Sasquatch hit and killed.” Of course with my high level of curiosity and my interest in anything conspiracy related, I had to follow the link. Knowing that the man had died, I knew it would be a rather somber story but the headline really did not do enough to say how grim it really was. The man met his final fate on U.S. Highway 93, so high speeds were involved. He was also hit not once, but twice, making for a definite grisly accident scene. Finally, providing the ultimate blow to this sad story were the drivers who hit him; the first unlucky motorist was a fifteen year old girl, the second was also a teen driver (no age or sex released). Could you imagine how these two young people must feel right now?

But let’s back up for a second. Of course I can’t get out of my mind the image of the man stalking down the highway in his Sasquatch costume, catching the eyes of confused drivers. What is this thing on the road? Should I be concerned? Should I lock my doors? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

I love everything from UFO’s to ghost stories to the loch ness monster. I eat it up. Included with these unexplained and hotly debated phenomenon is also the legend of bigfoot. Over the years though it has seemed that the legitimacy of bigfoot has lost credibility. Grainy, 7/11 type security footage of various Sasquatch sightings have fallen under the “hoax” category. People who claimed to have seen the beast have had their accounts dismissed on the notion of their own craziness. Others have received notification that what they saw was an actual existing primate or bear. While unidentified flying objects and spirits that haunt old houses and cemeteries continue to receive credible attention from experts and enthusiasts, Sasquatch has become, well…..kind of a joke.

This latest incident has done nothing to help change the deteriorating image of bigfoot. People who knew the Sasquatch impersonator say he was in costume only to perpetuate the bigfoot hoax. He was not doing scientific research, he was not trying to become closer to wildlife. All he was doing was trying to pass on some lie. Making the story even sadder, officials are suspecting that alcohol could have played a role in the man’s actions. Can we just say now that the Bigfoot legend is dead?

But of course the real tragedy is not that some “storied” myth of a half man/half ape living in the woods took another hit. First off, a man is dead. He leaves a family behind. That alone can be considered a tragedy. But I always believe real tragedy is when the innocent are forced to suffer. I can’t stop thinking about that fifteen year old girl who hit the guy. Fresh off getting her license and probably on cloud nine because of her new privilege, she now has to live with the frightening image of hitting a man in a bigfoot suit for the rest of her life. How do you deal with that at fifteen years old? I feel equally as bad for the other teen involved as well. Could you imagine seeing someone get hit and then having no control whatsoever to avoid doing the same thing? What is this teen telling himself/herself?….”Maybe if I didn’t hit him, he would have survived.”

This story will probably make the “weird news” sidebars in newspapers across the country. It might get picked up by the television show “1,000 Ways To Die”. The late night hosts might joke about it. I mean, what is not to laugh about some wacked out guy in a makeshift bigfoot costume walking up and down an old Montana highway? Well, when phrased that way there is some humor involved. But we can’t simply just leave it at that because there is so much more to it. A person is dead and young lives are devastated. I like weird news and I like the unexplained, but not at the price of that. Don’t Blink.