Bigfoot tracker admits body is a hoax

Rick Dyer Rick Dyer Photo: BigfootTracker.com Photo: BigfootTracker.com Image 1 of / 86 Caption Close Bigfoot tracker admits body is a hoax 1 / 86 Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — After a falling out with his Bigfoot crew, master tracker Rick Dyer, whose new title may be “con artist”, admitted that the 8-foot tall body named “Hank” that wooed crowds last month in San Antonio is a prop made to look like a Bigfoot.

The crew, including spokesman Andrew Clacy, had an apparent rift in Daytona last week with accusations, lawsuit threats and resignations that led to Dyer announcing “the truth” on Facebook, and Clacy emailing a statement to the San Antonio Express-News on Monday, admitting that the body was a prop.

“From this moment on, I will speak the truth! No more lies, tall tales or wild goose chases to mess with the haters!” Dyer said on his Facebook, which has since been deleted. “I never treated anyone bad, I'm a joker, I play around, that's just me.”

Clacy said once he found out the body was fake he immediately resigned and returned “home to Australia.”

“I confronted Mr. Dyer in Daytona on my suspicions (of authenticity), (and he) admitted to me personally that the body of 'Hank' was not a real body, but rather a construct of a company from Washington State which was paid for by Rick Dyer,” wrote Clacy. “I am available and willing to cooperate with any Federal or State law enforcement investigations should they arise.”

The San Antonio Police Department has not received any complaints, said Sandy Gutierrez, a spokeswoman.

“We are not aware of any criminal offense has been committed and it would be pure speculation without a complaint,” she said.

A petition to charge Dyer with fraud on the website Change.org had garnered hundreds of signatures Monday afternoon.

Chris Russell of Twisted Toy Box in Washington, admitted Sunday in an interview with a Bigfoot blogging site that he manufactured the prop last year at Dyer's request. “Hank,” as Dyer has dubbed the prop, is made of latex, foam and camel hair.

It is unclear how much Dyer paid to have the prop made, but a full-body mummy suit on the site is more than $700, although a custom prop the size of the Bigfoot was significantly more expensive. Russell did not return a call for comment.

Dyer's post said that nationwide tour that charged people $10 to see the fake body pulled in close to $60,000, with Clacy making more than $12,000 in cash, meals and entertainment, or 20 percent.

Although Dyer admitted the body was a fake, he said he actually did shoot and kill a Bigfoot in San Antonio in 2012 but did not want to take the real body on tour because it would be stolen.

As the website Snopes.com points out, Dyer made similar claims in 2008 when he claimed to have killed Bigfoot. When Dyer revealed the specimen at a press conference, it turned out to be a rubber ape suit.

Dyer brought his prop Bigfoot in a 20-foot trailer towed behind an RV to San Antonio last month to the Park North Alamo Drafthouse and charged $10 to see the body and $20 for an event with the theater that included a viewing, a question-and-answer session and a film. The event sold out.

Ryan Johnston, creative manager for Alamo Drafthouse in San Antonio, apologized for holding the event.

“We regret, and apologize for associating ourselves with Rick Dyer,” he said in a written statement. “What we thought would have been a fun and entertaining evening, ended up being a display of unethical behavior. We will not make the same mistake again.”

Dyer stopped at a number of other cities in the country, including Houston and other Texas stops, charging people to see the fake body.

An email posted on Dyer's Facebook, which now only is accessible through cached versions, is from Clacy responding to his email being hacked by Dyer and threatens “25 Internet campaigns” to attack Dyer from releasing pet peeves to his Social Security number.

kparker@express-news.net

Twitter: @KoltenPaker