UFOs: Bigfoot in Upper Michigan? Researcher Says Large Expeditions Are Not the Answer

Although a large Bigfoot expedition (BFRO) is scheduled for Michigan's Upper Peninsula, researcher Lisa A. Shiel says such large scale expeditions offer little but a good vacation.

The announcement of a Bigfoot expedition coming to Michigan's Upper Peninsula has attracted worldwide attention. Yet Lisa A. Shiel, a U.P.-based Bigfoot researcher, has conducted field research in the region for several years, and collected 15 sightings in just the last year (seven in the U.P.). In the past week, she has received two sightings--one in Iron County and another in Baraga County. The Baraga County sighting occurred on June 23, 2007.

Article Continues After Illustration

Lisa Shiel, Michigan Bigfoot researcher, in the woods of the Upper Peninsula conducting research.

Excitement has fired up over the announcement that the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), based in the Pacific Northwest, will come to the U.P. next month for an expedition. News reports have stated that 50 "investigators" will attend the expedition. As Shiel points out, however, similar BFRO expeditions charged $300 per person to attend.

"I don't know the BFRO folks personally," Shiel says. "And I only know what I've read about this expedition, but I've heard that previous expeditions were more like vacations. People fork over a lot of money to go, so they want to have a good time."

In 2005, Shiel founded the Michigan Upper Peninsula Bigfoot Organization (MUPBO) to complement her ongoing research into the Bigfoot phenomenon. She documented her personal experiences with Bigfoot in her book Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs, & the Sasquatch, which was named a finalist in ForeWord magazine's 2006 Book of the Year Awards. In the last year, MUPBO has received 15 eyewitness reports, which Shiel has investigated.

The group also boasts a growing membership, including people interested in becoming investigators. MUPBO recently held a meeting to discuss recent sightings, promising avenues for research, and possible investigatory techniques. The attendees agreed that any active search for Bigfoot required stealth and patience, not large numbers of people and their resulting commotion.

Of the BFRO expedition, Shiel says, "Fifty people clomping through the woods will scare off any wildlife, even deer."

MUPBO avoids "chasing the sightings," relying instead on witness interviews and ongoing research in Shiel's backyard, where she finds footprints and other signs she attributes to Bigfoot. Shiel points out that previous large-scale expeditions, and smaller ones as well, have failed to bring back any substantial, concrete evidence of Bigfoot's existence.

"A bunch of out-of-towners rampaging through the woods won't find squat," Shiel says. "But it probably makes for a good vacation."

Lisa A. Shiel is the author of Backyard Bigfoot: The True Story of Stick Signs, UFOs, & the Sasquatch, published by Slipdown Mountain Publications in 2006. In April 2007, Shiel was elected president of the Upper Peninsula Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA). She has a master's degree in Library Science and currently pens a blog, Bigfoot Quest, as a companion to her UPBigfoot.com site. To report a Bigfoot sighting to MUPBO, visit http://Report.UPBigfoot.com or call (906) 523-6101.

©Copyright 2007 by AlternativeApproaches.com