Bigfoot investigator Lyle Vann took this photo of a Bigfoot family on April 17, 1989 in the Arizona mountains. The large figure at top right is a massive male with a shiny black coat, approximately 11 feet tall. The small figure below is a female. She is perhaps 10 feet tall with a brown coat. She appears to be carrying a baby in her left arm. The male Bigfoot is offering the female his hand to help her up a 12-foot-high ledge. [Copyright 1989 by Lyle Vann]
By Richard W. Kimball
Chino Valley [AZ] Review
Dec. 12, 1990
Arizona is Bigfoot country, according to Lyle Vann, director of the Arizona Bigfoot Center in Paulden, Arizona.
The creature has been spotted in every state of the Union except Hawaii and Rhode Island and Arizona is no exception, Vann said. "I've been all over the U.S. but most of the research on Bigfoot is being carried on in California."
In North America, the American Indians were the first to see Bigfoot on this continent. They called the beast Sasquatch (large hairy man), he said.
Vann believes the Bigfoot creatures are being controlled by aliens to mine gold and silver from the earth's crust. Bigfoot and the aliens live inside the earth, he said.
"The creatures are nocturnal. They live in subterranean caves. The reason the aliens use them for mining is because they are strong, gentle creatures," Vann explained.
Vann would not disclose any of the areas of Arizona where he has seen the Bigfoot creatures.
"That's because too many people carry guns. They tend to shoot anything they don't understand," he said.
A former Airborne Ranger, Vann admits he once "poo-pooed" the existence of Bigfoot. But after a close encounter with the creatures in California, Vann became a believer. And he became very apprehensive about the blue-skinned aliens.
"I don't trust them," he said alluding to several scary encounters with them.
Once an alien elevated Vann several feet off the ground and he has the picture to prove it. The photo shows the alien wearing a hood partially hidden in the branches of a nearby tree. The alien appears to be holding a black box that Vann believes emitted a kind of "force" causing his levitation. The photo also shows a black panther-like animal is lying under a bush near the alien.
Vann had set up a camera on a tripod while investigating the area when the incident occurred. The camera's shutter was set to trip automatically.
Vann has lived in Arizona since 1984 with his wife Jacqueline. "The reason we moved here was to get out of the hustle and bustle of California," he said. While in California, Vann did motion picture work for Fox Pictures.
"Many people think Bigfoot smells--that he has a bad smell," Vann said. "That's not the case in Arizona. The reason is because there is not a lot of sulfur in the ground here. In California, there's a lot of sulfur underground and it gets into Bigfoot's coat because Bigfoot lives underground. That is what makes them smell."
"I believe in what I'm doing," Vann said about his research and investigation of the creatures. "Some people fish. Some people hunt. I look for Bigfoot with my camera."
He founded the Arizona Bigfoot Center for the people of Arizona. "They can get in touch with me if they want to know something about Bigfoot," he said.
Anyone who has seen an Arizona Bigfoot or anyone who has an interest in the creature is invited to contact Vann at the Arizona Bigfoot Center, P.O. Box 412, Paulden, AZ 86334.