Chasing the Muddy Monster

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories​
During the summer of 1973, near the Big Muddy River on the outskirts of Murphysboro, there was a sighting of a tall, white-haired creature by residents of the town. Until this day, it remains an unsolved mystery.

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Mural of the Muddy Monster painted on the side of a building in Murphysboro c.2023 (Source - Facebook)

After 50 years, the sighting of a white-haired, mud-caked creature seen by residents of Murphysboro stirs the imagination, but there are still no definitive answers as to what they saw.

The news story went beyond the small, Illinois town and was picked up by media across the country. 

There were numerous reports, but the first one came in on June 25, just before midnight. A couple who were not married to each other were "parked" near the boat dock on the edge of Riverside Park, next to the wood. Suddenly they heard a loud screaming and observed a "large creature approximately 7 feet tall. The creature appeared to have light-colored hair matted with mud. The creature appeared to be walking on two legs and was proceeding toward their car".

They were so frightened they risked exposing their indiscretion, and went to the police station. Police responded and searched the area. They found tracks in the mud that measured 3 to 4 inches deep, 10 to 12 inches long and 3 inches wide, and then they heard a "loud shrill scream" from a wooded area about 100 feet away. The officers quickly left the area - one of the officers dropping his gun in the haste. 

The next night a call came in from the Westwood Hills subdivision, where two teenagers sitting on the back porch saw a tall, white-haired, hairy creature in a field on the edge of the woods.

Officers responded and while on the scene, a neighbor told them his 4-year-old son had come in 10 minutes earlier saying he had seen a large ghost in the backyard. 

​The officers went to a footpath that led through the bushes, and they immediately smelled a stench and a slimy film on the branches.

The dog tracked to a barn on the site of an abandoned farm, but once there the animal refused to go inside. It ran back outside when pushed inside. The handler said his dog never had backed down from anything.  They didn't find anything inside.

Cryptozoologist Loren Coleman who studied the reports during the 1970s, believed the animal was a bigfoot. It corresponded to sightings in the Northwest, however the Muddy Monster did not have distinguishing facial characteristics. They seemed to be more aggressive though.

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The Muddy Monster is believed to be a more aggressive type of Bigfoot

​By June 28, 1973 the area of Riverside Park was a "beehive of cars" as hundreds of curiosity seekers drove through the area at night hoping to see the Big Muddy Monster. Braver souls even camped out overnight.

There was an earlier report placed on July 25, 1972, by Leroy Summers who told Cairo Police he saw a hairy, white, bipedal creature that measured about 10 feet in height. He spotted it by the levee at the Ohio River.

In the following summer days of 1973, Murphysboro police were patrolling Riverside Park, but no sightings were reported.

In the following days large white animals were mistaken for the Muddy Monster, this included a so-called white bear, which was never found and a cow in the field.

By October, fisherman had seen a light grayish bigfoot that measured 10 feet in height on a beach in Vancouver, making some question if the Muddy Monster had relocated.

The following month Julius S. Rodman who once lived in the area of where the sightings took place, but had since relocated since he was an archeologist of Pacific cultures, wrote the following commentary: 

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It is curious on what may be the final phase of mankind's existence on this ravaged little planet that a spate of UFO sightings should occur along with sea serpents and gigantic humanoids. I won't pretend to have any answers, but these phenomenal reports may be related.

Most likely to be related in my opinion, are the various giant primates which have been reported from the Himalayas and Northern California, as well as the Midwest and South, within the last century.

A few years ago the San Francisco Territorial News ran a series of articles with photos of the creature dubbed Big Foot a hairy humanoid from the 9 to 10 feet tall, which resides in the wilds of Trinity County, a few hundred miles from this city.

Clipping sent by Mr. Rodman in 1973 referencing earlier encounters with Sasquatch type animals

​He sent three newspaper clippings. One dated August 7, 1889, which told of a farmer who found an ossified huge hand. Another one dated January 28, 1902, told of how young ice skaters in Idaho sighted an 8-foot, hair-covered monster, seen while they were skating.

Measurements taken showed the tracks to measure 22 inches long by seven broad, with the imprint of only 4 toes. The stockmen reported having seen similar tracks along the range west of the Portneuf River.

Another told of a giant skeleton found in 1908, on the outskirts of Los Angeles during an archaeological dig. It was one inch under 8 feet in length.

True Tales from the Alabama Bigfoot Society | Interview with Jim Smith

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Statue of the Muddy Monster unveiled on the 50 year anniversary of its sighting c.2023

In June, 2023 on the 50-year anniversary, at the corner of Routes 13 and 127 in Murphysboro, a statue of the Big Muddy Monster was unveiled. The bronze recreation is true to life and weighs 800 pounds, and measures 8'8" in height. The company that created the statue used the Murphysboro Police Report's description to come up with its looks.

From a BRFO site, the Muddy Monster was seen on these occasions:

• July 16, 1972: A jogger reported seeing something like the Big Muddy Monster near the Ohio River levee at Cairo, (Alexander County).
• June 26 - July 1973: Nine people reported seeing it in four separate incidents in Murphysboro, (Jackson County).
• Sept. 2, 1974: Three Anna youths reported seeing it in the Beach Grove area near Wolf Lake, (Union County).
• Jan. 26 1975: Four truckers, traveling separately, radioed in reports of seeing a "bear-like" creature along Illinois 3, near the Illinois 149 junction west of Murphysboro, (Jackson County).
• July 7, 1975: Two Murphysboro men reported something they thought my have been the Big Muddy Monster near a pond in the Harrison community, north of Murphysboro, (Jackson County).
• June 19, 1976: Three youths said they saw "something" near the Westwood Hills Subdivision - the area of two previous sightings, (Jackson County).

Between July 1972, and June 1976, there were seven reports from the area around Murphysboro, Cairo and Wolf Lake.

Randy Creath and his classmate Cheryl Ray were the teenage couple that saw it in the Westwood Hills subdivision in 1973.

In 1985, Cheryl Ray now Cheryl Rath gave the following interview about the experience: 

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Randy and I were sitting in my parents' breezeway when we heard something in the woods. We both went down, but Randy was walking a little bit ahead. Then he said 'Come here,' and there it was. We stood there looking at it. The thing I remember was the bulk of it, the shape, the human form, and the stench of the river slime it apparently had on it. It was about eight feet tall, and at least as stocky as a football player. We were within 15 feet of it, close enough to see the body, the texture of the fur, long and hairy, like an English sheepdog. Its eyes reflected red from the glow of a distant streetlight. It stood more erect than an ape but didn't have human features. It was real tall, hairy. I think it was white, but it was dirty, matted. It had a real bad odor. It was really rank. I never smelled anything like it. It seemed like an eternity we stood there, and then it just turned around and walked off into the woods. We could hear it trampling through the woods.

The Muddy Monster remains as elusive present day as it did during the 1970s

Not even two week slater, four carnival workers at Riverside Park said they twice saw a 300-pound, 8-foot-tall creature with light-colored hair approach the ponies. It seemed curious and not belligerent.

In August, 1989, there was an incident reported at Rend Lake campground. Donetta Clayton was staying at a campsite on the South Marcum Campground. For two weeks she was using a tent nearby to store odds and ends.

Donetta and her daughter Melissa were sleeping in a camping trailer about 30 feet away from the tent, when their two collies started barking ferociously about 3 in the morning. The believed the dogs were barking at other campers. It was only after they awoke the next morning that they found the destruction of the site, and a cot had been dragged about 30 feet into the woods. There was a fishy odor around what was left of the large tent, which had cost $300.

Jerry Schutte a ranger and spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers took samples of blood, saliva and teeth marks found on the canvas. The samples were sent to a laboratory in Centralia.

Schutte theorized it could have been an injured or hungry animal. Some wondered if this could be attributed to bears living in Southern Illinois. ​

Bill Wilson, chief deputy of the Franklin County sheriff's department said that rumors of the Big Muddy Monster had been around since the 1950s. It was suspected the creature lived in the bottom area of the Big Muddy River —the river that feeds the lake. 

Since the sighting in 1973, private groups offered different amounts, up to $2.5 million for the capture of the Muddy Monster.

Needless to say, no one has ever claimed the money.​

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Big Muddy Police Reports c.1973