Supposed Bigfoot remains revealed last week to a sceptical public turned out to be a rubber gorilla suit in a block of ice.
In the spirit of the mythical ape-like creatures, self-proclaimed Bigfoot finders Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer have been hard to find despite efforts by news reporters and long time Bigfoot seekers who claim they were hoodwinked.
Bob Schmalzbach, vice president of the group Searching for Bigfoot said the revelation of the hoax was ‘heart wrenching’.
‘This, we thought, was an answer to a mystery that's been going on for far too long,’ he said.
Mr Whitton and Mr Dyer reportedly signed a deal with the group, taking an undisclosed amount of money before turning over a half-tonne block of ice that they said contained Bigfoot remains they found while hiking.
Searching for Bigfoot chief executive Tom Biscardi and the men held a press conference at which they announced the purported find to a crowd of sceptical reporters.
The hoax was exposed as the ice thawed during the weekend, according to Steve Kulls, executive director of Squatchdetective.com.
The existence of Bigfoot has never been proven and the creature has been the subject of decades of hoaxes and dubious sightings
According to legend, Bigfoot, also referred to as Sasquatch, is a large elusive furred creature that walks upright and lives in remote forests in the Pacific northwest of the US and Canada.
Along with the threat of legal action by Mr Biscardi's group, the purported deception endangers Mr Dyer's job as a police officer, local news media reported.
