Emily Patrick

epatrick@citizen-times.com

Animal Planet is coming to Asheville in search of Sasquatch, and the TV crew seeks stories from locals at a town hall event on Feb. 9.

The show, "Finding Bigfoot," follows four researchers who track the mythical beast around the world, aided by local lore. The episode featuring Asheville and Western North Carolina will air later this year, approximately four-to-six months after the February filming, said producer Sean Mantooth.

"We've done two previous episodes in East Tennessee and are now branching out across the border," Mantooth said. "We only pick areas that have enough Bigfoot activity to warrant filming an episode of the show at. So while I can't elaborate too much, rest assured that the greater Asheville area is Bigfoot Country."

In August, the Citizen-Times released a video of a purported Western North Carolina Bigfoot sighting that went viral online.

"The only thing I can say about the Bigfoot sighting earlier in the summer is that we're aware of it," Mantooth said.

"Finding Bigfoot" has been airing since 2011. So why hasn't the crew found its target yet?

"We've produced what we feel is compelling enough evidence to continue the search: wood knocks, howls in the night, tracks and literally thousands of eyewitness accounts," Mantooth said. " Hundreds of thousands of people all across the United States are having a shared experience. You can dispute the existence of Bigfoot, but you can't dispute the rapidly mounting evidence pointing to something unexplained in the woods."

He said one of the show's goals is to encourage people to share their stories at events like the Asheville town hall. He said fear of ridicule sometimes prevents people from speaking up.

He hopes to gather a crowd of 150-250 people at the Feb. 9 town hall event. The evening includes about three hours of filming and story sharing and a meet and greet with the cast and crew.

The event takes place at 7 p.m., although the venue hasn't been determined yet. Mantooth said that detail is forthcoming. RSVP is required, so people who sign up to attend the event will receive the details.

To take part in the town hall, email the crew at findingbigfoot.appalachia@gmail.com. Tickets are free and will be sent to people who RSVP.

For more information about "Finding Bigfoot," which airs on Animal Planet at 10 p.m. on Sunday, visit animalplanet.com/tv-shows/finding-bigfoot.

Video: Tourist claims Bigfoot sighting in Henderson County