Marble Mountain Footage

My last post listed 10 videos/photos that someone considered the best evidence, the most convincing of sasquatch sightings. Today I'm taking a closer look at the number two listing: Jim Mills' video, or the Marble Mountain Footage.

This video has the reputation of being the longest-known video of a sasquatch. Some of the background of this video is a little muddy, but I have tried to piece together as much of the history and the "players" as possible. First of all, this was filmed in July of 2000 and was reported to the BFRO a year later, on August 1, 2001, by a friend of the person who filmed it. And they managed to tell only part of the story in the initial report. But investigators from the BFRO managed to track down Jim Mills and get a more complete and accurate telling of the events. The video was eventually shared to YouTube on July 6, 2011. These different dates have caused some confusion among researchers. 

The event took place in the Klamath National Forest, about 20 miles west of Yreka, California, 20 miles south of the Oregon border. The area is comprised of rocky peaks, meadows, and large streams and has 89 lakes. Around 1/3 of the area is wooded with tanbark oak, madrone, Douglas fir, whitebark pine, foxtail pine, and mountain hemlock. Wildlife is abundant here, including bears and deer.

On this particular day, 18 people set out on a backpack camping trip.  It was the annual excursion of a youth group, "Campus Life". This was led by Jim Mills, his wife, another adult male, the Mills' son, and 14 other kids.

The group scouted out an area and made camp. Mills decided to go on a short hike and check things out. He soon discovered a flat area a little further on that he thought might make a better campsite. Then he saw what he called 'the hut'.  He returned to the camp to get the video camera and the rest of the group accompanied him back to the new area to check out the "hut".

Viewing the video, researchers would recognize this as what we call a structure. It was built using a small stand of trees for a base support and out of long pine boughs, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. They had been snapped off trees. Also used were trees or branches up to 8 inches in diameter that had been snapped in two. There were no cuts as of tools evident. The freshness of the pine needles showed it had been built recently.

The structure was approximately 6 feet high and 10 foot wide, 15 feet long. The floor of it was covered with shredded off pine needles. There were two openings to the structure. One was a larger one in what was probably the front, with a smaller 'doorway' at the rear, or opposite side. There was no odor either in or around the structure.

Thirty feet away was what they called a "fire pit". It was constructed of large stones but there was no evidence of a fire having burned in it. I have seen other references to "fire pits" in Sasquatch areas that do not show any indication of a fire ever being burned in it I would suggest these are not "fire pits" but must serve some other purpose for the Sasquatch.

As Mills was filming the structure in detail, his son called out "He's walking down now! He's walking down right now!" Mills turns the camera to the indicated ridge and proceeds to film a figure approximately 1 mile away for the next 3 minutes. The summit is 7405 feet in elevation. The distance and the camera's effort to bring the distant figure into focus makes it look small and gives us little detail.

The BFRO report 2928 is updated to give their later analysis of the video.

The arms appear long with the hands reaching to about the knees. The figure has a white chest and stomach while the rest of the body is dark. It appears to be tall and thin. [Contrary to some people's opinions, not all sasquatch are 'bulky'. Some do have a thinner build. (my note)]. There are no discernible facial features. The head is pointed on top. There is a bent knee gait; however, it is noted that a human gait would be similar when walking down a steep slope. The figure is hunched over and the style of walking appears similar to the Freeman and Patterson films. At times, the movements appear very non-human.

There are times that the figure appears "distraught" at seeing a group of people at the structure location. It moves back and forth, swinging it's arms wildly, and at one point, appears to put it's hands to it's head. The figure finally disappears behind a rocky cliff, out of view.

That night the campers experienced no disturbances. The next day, Mills hiked up to the ridge in question to check it out. He found no footprints as the terrain was rocky and hard. The area is also an open cattle range. On the campers last day there, cattle were released into the area. [Leaves the question that if this were a sasquatch, was he making a camp, waiting for the cattle to be released for him to hunt them?]

In July of 2001, Mills revisited the area. He found the hut gone and the ground where it had been looked disturbed, perhaps trampled by horses. A 25 foot rock lined fire pit was nearby that appeared to have had wood burned in it. [Makes me think that other campers may have used the site, perhaps even burned the wood that had comprised the structure, thus destroying it.]

The BFRO did a reconstruction and analysis of the event in October 2004. They estimated the height of the figure between 6 and 7 feet. Because it was within the range of human heights, they have left the report as undetermined.

The original video can be found on the internet through YouTube. Here is the video; there are others.

There is a breakdown offered by someone at this location if you are interested:

UPDATE: STILL LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION:  It has been brought to my attention that a man from Medford, Oregon did an investigation into this film. By measuring the land and the trees and such on that slope, his measurements determined that the "being" was at least 7'3" tall with a chest size of 83", arm length at 43". He also noted that the slope was comprised of slippery shale rock which could have caused the strange gait in the walk.

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.

[Please Note: Sadly Nancy passed away at the first of January, 2022. We will continue to honor her and her research by sharing her work. RIP Nancy. -Thomas]

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