Boy Scout Troop 454 members Matthew King, Wyatt Moses, Austin Moses, Caleb Moses and
Scout Master Joe Bilyeu discuss some of the plasters of Bigfoot prints gathered in their search for Sasquatch.
(Photo: Cheri Reeves/Robertson County Times)
'Finding Bigfoot' Films Sasquatch-hunting
Scouts Near Springfield
by Cheri Reeves -- Robertson County Times -- February 10, 2016
Deep in the woods of Robertson County, there's a group of Boy Scouts on a four-year search for a large, hairy creature that's attracted the attention of the national television program "Finding Bigfoot."
Producers from the Animal Planet's show, who have been scouting areas around Nashville to shoot an upcoming episode, paid a visit to Boy Scout Troop 454 at their den just west of Springfield on Sunday, Jan. 24 to see firsthand what kind Bigfoot evidence the boys had collected.
On Monday, Feb. 1, the network followed up and filmed scenes for a future episode of Finding Bigfoot, starring the scout troop and their Scout Master Joe Bilyeu.
Bilyeu said his troop has gone out on numerous expeditions, trying to find out if a Tennessee Bigfoot really exists. Each investigative adventure has consisted of camping, horseback riding, canoeing and cave exploring as they researched each reported sighting of the Sasquatch, Bilyeu said.
The troop has a collection of about a dozen unusual incidents in Robertson County they've discovered their Bigfoot expeditions, said Bilyeu.
"We started about four years ago researching the Bigfoot sightings," Bilyeu said. "Most locally have been along Sulphur Fork Creek where we discovered two large footprints and cast them with plaster."
The footprints collected by the scouts are about 17 inches long and appeared along the banks of the Sulphur Fork Creek in western Robertson County, Bilyeu said.
The producers of the Animal Planet network have been surveying wooded areas in and around Nashville - not just Robertson County - to find the best reports to film, according to one of the show's producers, Colin Peeples.
"We've had reported to us Middle Tennessee sightings that also include the Land of the Lakes, Cedars of Lebanon, and areas near the Tennessee-Alabama border," Peeples said.
Bilyeu said the boys were anxious to show their findings on television.
"The producers came here and looked at the evidence books we have," Bilyeu said. "We toured some farms and the location where the cub scouts meet. They're scouting where they could film for a future episode."
Peeples said his crew, in its quest to see if the Tennessee Bigfoot really exists, found the scout troop's work intriguing.
"The scouts go 'squatching,'" Peeples said. "We were interested in their casts of footprints in their scout den and tons of evidence. It was neat to get up there and see the group that was really into finding Bigfoot."
Peeples said he was particularly drawn to a photo in the scouts' meeting place.
"One of Joe's kids was dressing a deer and they took a photo of it," Peeples said. "There was eye shine in the background from an animal that was pretty tall. They had some compelling stuff."
Out in the woods, Peeples and his other producer took notes and photos of intriguing markings, one of which included a large cedar tree with a hole in it big enough for a Bigfoot shelter.
The Finding Bigfoot television program has hunted Sasquatch in several countries, visiting 40 states and filming expeditions in more than 80 episodes trying to find evidence on the mythical creature.
As a field producer, Peeples said he travels around areas where there have been Bigfoot sightings.
"I gather all the information I can," Peeples said. "Then the cast decides who they want to go and investigate. It was really nice to see all of the expeditions these scouts were going on. It was neat seeing the kids getting involved like that."
Top of Page