MADISON COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) — Bigfoot has been seen traipsing the country for decades, with reported sightings in all 49 non-island states and 9 continental Canadian provinces. So what’s he been up to in Illinois?
Illinois’ first reported Bigfoot sighting, according to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, was July of 1929 in Elizabeth, IL when a Kentucky paper published a story about a “big gorilla hunt.” Residents of Elizabeth observed a “big boy” wandering through town, and it was never determined what the animal was or where it came from.
Most recently, a sasquatch was seen by a motorist in Cass County crossing Route 78 near the Sangamon River in Nov. 2021. This is classified by the BFRO as a “Class A” report, meaning it was a clear sighting in which misidentification of other animals can be ruled out with greater confidence.
“Class B” reports involve a sighting at a great distance or in poor lighting, as well as sound-only encounters. “Class C” reports are usually second-hand or third-hand accounts and stories with an untraceable origin.
Madison County has the most sightings of all Illinois counties–24 in total–spanning from Sept. 1972 to Aug. 2017. Of these 24 reports, nine were Class A.
Nineteen counties, including Bureau, Mason, and Stark counties, have never had a Bigfoot sighting reported.
Overall, Bigfoot has allegedly visited the Land of Lincoln 302 times in the last 100 years.
If you see a sasquatch, be sure to report it to the BFRO here.
