Summary

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--SUPERS--
:00-:05
Thursday
Remer, MN

:19-:24
Mark Ruyak
Remer Resident

1:44-1:50
John Lauritsen
Reporting

1:51-1:56
Abe Del Rio
Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team

--LEAD IN--
ABOUT 26 MILES SOUTHWEST OF GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN SITS THE SMALL TOWN OF REMER
LESS THAN FOUR HUNDRED PEOPLE LIVE THERE, BUT THERE'S ONE RESIDENT IN PARTICULAR WHO IS QUITE THE CELEBRITY
THAT IS -- IF YOU'RE A BELIEVER
JOHN LAURITSEN TAKES US TO THE LITTLE TOWN KNOWN AS THE HOME OF BIGFOOT
--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS--
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: In our area, if you walk anywhere off-road up here, the woods are deep and dark If you walk 100 yards you can't see back where your car is
THE TOWN OF REMER IS SURROUNDED BY HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF WOODS AND MARSHES
A PERFECT PLACE FOR SQUIRRELS, BEARS, AND MAYBE EVEN BIGFOOT
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: This town was founded in the early 1900's and there were sightings all the way back to then
IN 2009, A TRAIL CAMERA NEAR REMER CAPTURED WHAT LOOKED LIKE A REAL-LIFE SASQUATCH
IT WAS FAKE, BUT IT GAVE LIFE-LONG RESIDENT MARK RUYAK AN IDEA
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: I trademarked the town as the 'Home of Bigfoot' And we began to take away the stigma
ABOUT HALF THE TOWN LOVED THE IDEA
THE OTHER HALF THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE HAIRY
BUT IN 2016, REMERS FIRST-EVER BIGFOOT DAYS DREW THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
AFTER THAT, BIGFOOT COULD BE FOUND EVERYWHERE
John Lauritsen, Reporting: These were made by a local company
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: Correct, they are a local company They make them and sell them in the gas station
THAT GAS STATION IS CALLED BIGFOOT GAS AND GIFTS
AND OTHER BUSINESSES HAVE EMBRACED THE BEAST
EVEN THE WOODSMAN CAFÉ SELLS BIGFOOT BURGERS AND BIGFOOT HASH BROWNS
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: Trust me, the Bigfoot hash browns? Bigfoot would be satisfied with them
BUT HE REALLY HAS HIS FOOTPRINT ON BIGFOOT DAYS
THAT'S WHEN THEY HAVE THE BIGFOOT OLYMPICS, BIGFOOT BARBECUE AND PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENT- STORYTELLING TIME
HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE HAVE AN OPEN MIC TO TALK ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES WITH SASQUATCH HIMSELF
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: We've had 70 to 80-year-old people who have never told their story in their whole life, stand up and start crying when they tell this story that happened when they were 13-years-old and scared them to death
John Lauritsen standup: The sightings, the folklore and even the mystique around town have also drawn Bigfoot research teams to Remer
Abe Del Rio, Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team: I was just talking with a gentleman prior to you guys coming up, who was telling me about his sighting last year
TWENTY FOUR YEARS AGO ABE DEL RIO FOUNDED THE MINNESOTA BIGFOOT RESEARCH TEAM
HE ENJOYED STUDYING PRIMATES AND WAS INSPIRED BY THE FAMOUS 1967 PATTERSON FOOTAGE CAPTURED IN CALIFORNIA
Abe Del Rio, Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team: We bring our equipment, night vision, thermal imaging, long range hearing devices, we go out there and use every technique to try and gain communication with these creatures Remer has everything that a Bigfoot requires Food, shelter and habitat, it's the perfect location
DEL RIO SAYS THERE ARE ABOUT 5 OR 6 ALLEGED SIGHTINGS A YEAR NEAR THE TOWN
WHICH IS WHY HE KEEPS COMING BACK
THOUGH HE'S YET TO SEE ONE HIMSELF
John Lauritsen, Reporting: The dimensions of this Bigfoot here, would that be accurate do you think?
Abe Del Rio, Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team: This is what we would say is an average size one A juvenile
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: That's a Bigfoot plaster cast that was taken near Remer, Minnesota
John Lauritsen, Reporting: That's an actual footprint somebody found?
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: Yes sir
MARK IS MORE SKEPTICAL AND NOT ENTIRELY A BELIEVER
BUT HE LOVES WHAT THE LEGEND IS DOING FOR HIS TOWN
GUEST BOOKS SHOW PEOPLE COMING FROM ACROSS THE WORLD TO INVESTIGATE
REAL OR NOT, THE BIGFOOT TRAIL LEADS RIGHT TO REMER
Mark Ruyak, Remer Resident: If you are at all around the world, interested in Bigfoot, there's one place to come and it's Remer, Minnesota
--TAG--
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEARCHING FOR THE SASQUATCH, BIGFOOT DAYS ARE JULY 5TH AND 6TH IN REMER, MINNESOTA
FOR THIS YEAR'S CELEBRATION, THE TOWN WILL PUT UP A 25-FOOT TALL BIGFOOT STATUE ON THE EDGE OF TOWN
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--KEYWORD TAGS--
MINNESOTA LEGEND FOLKLORE STORY ANIMALS TOURISM SASQUATCH BIG FOOT