Don Keating began investigating Bigfoot in 1984, inspired by reading John Green’s work. He quickly became one of the most active field researchers in the Midwest, focusing on what he later named “The Sasquatch Triangle”, a cluster of counties in eastern Ohio known for dense forests and consistent sightings.

 

Keating wasn’t just collecting stories; he was building a regional research infrastructure. He founded the Tri-State Bigfoot Study Group and the Eastern Ohio Bigfoot Investigation Center, creating organized teams long before social media made collaboration easy.

Starting in 1992, Keating published The Monthly Bigfoot Report, a newsletter that documented sightings, field notes, and international hominid reports. It became one of the most consistent and respected grassroots publications in the field.

 

This newsletter preserved decades of regional encounters and helped legitimize Ohio as a serious research area.

One of Keating’s most talked‑about contributions is the 1992 “white Bigfoot” video, filmed near Newcomerstown. Though debated, it remains a well‑known piece of Ohio Bigfoot lore and is still referenced in discussions of regional evidence.

 

Keating organized the Annual Bigfoot Conference/Expo at Salt Fork State Park, which grew into one of the largest and longest‑running Bigfoot events in the country. He later passed leadership to Marc DeWerth, but the conference’s foundation is entirely his work.

 

This event helped unite researchers, eyewitnesses, and the public, and it cemented Ohio as a national Bigfoot hub.

Keating wrote several books, produced documentaries like Sasquatch: The Mounting Evidence (1998), and appeared on numerous radio programs.

 

Though he has since stepped back from active research, his influence remains everywhere in the Midwest Bigfoot community. His decades of documentation, conferences, and fieldwork created the modern Ohio Bigfoot scene.