Story Archive

The Elusive Hunt for Common Sense, Continued

“I didn’t know about this until you contacted us to bring it to our attention,” said Dr. Robert Frank, president of the University of New Mexico. “The type of expedition that just took place was not appropriate and will not occur in that manner again.” The situation: Dr. Christopher Dyer of the university’s Gallup campus spent nearly $7,500 of taxpayer money for an expedition to hunt for “Bigfoot” — the mythical ape that no one can quite prove exists, even though just about everyone has a cell phone camera these days. Days before the taxpayer-funded expedition, Dyer organized a two-day conference at the university, “Bigfoot in New Mexico: Evidence, Ecology, and Behavior”, which he claims “was the largest and most well-attended event in the history of this campus.” Critics say the conference only invited speakers who believe Bigfoot exists. “Where were the skeptics?” asks Ben Radford, Managing Editor of The Skeptical Inquirer magazine. “There are many Bigfoot skeptics here in New Mexico they could have invited.” When that question was relayed to Dyer, he replied, “I didn’t know where to find such skeptics, frankly.” (RC/KRQE Albuquerque) ...In other words, he never thought to look.