Roe Reflections

The sighting of a sasquatch by William Roe in 1955 was perhaps the most credible sighting on record next to the Patterson/Gimlin experience. Roe had his daughter make a drawing of the creature he saw, and although the drawing has a couple of inconsistencies with Roe’s actual description, it is a very good drawing. The drawing has been published in many books (including my own book) and has perhaps suffered a little in repeated imaging. John Green owns the original drawing, and I featured it in my exhibit at the Vancouver Museum (June 2004 to February 2005). What is shown here is a scan I made of the actual drawing. It is a large drawing, so I had to scan it in sections and register the parts. As the original is very light, I needed to greatly increase the contrast to bring out the lines.

In 2003, John had me get the drawing professionally scanned and printed out so that the creature was 6 feet tall. I am shown here next to the scan at the shop that did the work. I am exactly 6 feet tall, so you can get an idea of proportions. John donated the print to the Willow Creek – China Flat Museum, California. If you are in that area, take a look at it – it is very impressive.

A drawing by Morton Kunstler of Roe’s Experience (which appears to have been copied by Roger Patterson), depicts Roe’s “moment of decision” as to whether or not he should shoot the creature. Roe was certainly not alone in deciding not to do so. . There are a number of sightings on record where hunters have done the same thing. Here I will draw a distinction between real hunters with powerful rifles and people who have “taken a shot” with light arms and shotguns. I believe the only way a sasquatch can be brought down is with a high-caliber rifle in the hands of an experienced hunter. While I don’t personally advocate such (a whole argument unto itself), it probably will not happen anyway, unless the hunter makes a mistake. And given this occurs, there is a strong likelihood that the hunter will simply bury the creature and say nothing – legalities and repercussions might be significant, so why take a chance.

We are sure William Roe did not regret his decision, but it would have been nice to have talked with him in person and seen his reactions to questions. Unfortunately, no researcher to my knowledge did this. John Green corresponded with him and we can at least be thankful for that. We don’t even have a photograph of Roe (last place of residence, Edmonton, Alberta). I would dearly love to have such, so if anyone knows the Roe family in that area, please see what you can do.

Tag: chris murphy william roe sasquatch sighting 1955 record roger patterson bob gimlin drawing books john green vancouver museum scan creature willow creek china flat california morton kunstler hunter hunters rifle researcher edmonton alberta