Three Boys, Two Yeti And Igor Burtsev

In March of 2013 a story and a video from Russia came to the world's attention. In January, three young boys were hiking when they came across a line of strange tracks in the snow.

Yevgeny  "Zhenya" Anisimov (12), Kirill Soldatov (12), and Alexander Pereverin (11) began to follow the tracks, laughing and talking, enjoying the "adventure" as young boys do. Yevgeny took out his cell phone and began to video the tracks as they made their way across the field. What they eventually caught up with startled the three and they fled back across the field, running for home. 

Said Yevgeny : "At first we decided not to say a word about it. We thought nobody would believe us and people would laugh at us. But I was curious to know who was the one I had filmed."

So he showed the video to his grandparents, who in turn told a neighbor and her grandson, Yevgeni Pashkov. Pashkov sent the video to Igor Burtsev, Director of the International Centre of Hominology in Moscow.  Upon viewing it, Burtsev said :

The footage is "not of good quality but still convincing enough."

And the story became even more fantastic. Continued Burtsev : "We studied it and realized there are not just one Yeti but two there." He then said the video showing the images of the footprints reveals two sets of prints - small ones next to the larger ones.

"It means there were not one but two Yetis, a big one and a small one. And they walked one after another, the one behind stepped into the footprints of the one in front." Burtsev explained the video had been examined by experts in the U.S. and in Canada, but did not reveal the names of those people.

"Our foreign colleagues agree with this. It looks like the bigger Yeti -- maybe it was mother or father -- was making a path for the smaller one, this also explains why the distance between footprints is not big, just 70-80 cm, just about two and a half times bigger than the footprint itself. In other words, the bigger Yeti stepped more often making it easier for the younger Yeti to follow him."

[Original Video]

Explains Burtsev : "Two minutes 39 seconds from the beginning of the footage -- we see a figure. At that moment Zhenya's  phone switched off because of the frost. He has a simple cheap phone, it is a frequent problem. He switched it on again and then we see a figure in focus. Until 2 minutes 51 seconds it stands still, a full 12 seconds. At first we thought we saw extra long arms but now we think these were the legs of younger Yeti, who was carried by the bigger one.

"Then the Yeti turns around, quickly runs to the left, just for 2 or 3 seconds, and we see the figure is quite wide, but if we suppose he was carrying a child Yeti, then it is clear. And remember about the footprints. All fits now."

In another interview Burtsev analyzed the events in the video.

"They got very inquisitive about the tracks and followed the trail, filming them on the mobile phone camera. They walking for a bit and got close to the bushes -- where suddenly they saw a Yeti -- some 50 metres [55 yards] away from them. It noticed them as well, sharply moved, bent down then to the left. And ran left. The boys, scared, ran in the opposite direction."

Igor Burtsev went to the village, which is around 30 km  [18 miles] from the city of Leninsk-Kuznetskiy,  to examine the evidence first hand.  When he arrived, he found the tracks slightly snow covered. He also discovered that the Yeti, after leaving the field, went around it and then came back, before continuing towards the main road.

Said Burtsev : "Probably they came back because they were hungry. Yevgeny Paskov noticed that trees were picked at a height of 150-170 cm, one tree was gnawed in two pieces, the bark of another tree was gnawed." He asked the local people to leave food out for them. They did so, leaving several chickens.

The boys have not had all fun and games from their experience. Zhenya has had problems from the teachers and other locals in this rather conservative neighborhood. Many do not believe his story and have yelled at him for his bad language as he ran away. Senior teacher Irina Ustyuzhanina at the Podgorny School says, "I am convinced it was a staged performance. Yeti do not exist at all, especially in our area full of fields." [ There are wooded areas and the Ur River runs through the area.]

Those who call the video a hoax, or a joke by the boys, site the claim that the Russians were planning to build a special "Yeti Resort" as a tourist attraction in the Kemerovo Region where this sighting took place. The Yeti Park was to include a hotel and a museum. From spokesman Igor Idimeshev :

"We are building the Yeti Park now, and of course there will be a chance for people who come here to see creature. For me having Yetis here means something much more than the simple tourist attraction. We will have a dedicated plot of land for Yeti Park, where anyone can see it. We will organize a museum, exhibiting all Yeti-related objects, like the trees they make into arches, and many other things. This location will be used for all future conferences and seminars devoted to the Yeti."

The Yeti Park sounds unlikely to me. Further research into a Yeti Park reveals only an article that talks of a Yeti playground for Russian children, designed to help parents allow their children to play freely without oppressive supervision.

Igor Burtsev sums up the encounter : "I don't doubt it was a Yeti. It stood in typical pose with its back slightly bent, and its long arms down."

Bigfoot on a camera phone - National Geographic program segment

Founder of our group, Thomas Marcum, also did an analysis of this video back many years ago. According to him, the video appears to have some edits in it, leading him to think it is a possible fake.

Here is his video

Nancy

This Post By TCC Team Member Nancy Marietta. Nancy has had a lifelong interest in the paranormal and cryptids. Nancy is also a published author and her book, The Price of war, has been met with great reviews.

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