Did Bigfoot kidnap a missing California teenager in 1987?After reading this headline, you may wonder why I would start a true crime or strange disappearance story about a legendary creature referred to as either Bigfoot or Sasquatch.If you’re not familiar with the lore, Bigfoot is a mythical creature allegedly seen by hundreds of people. Supposedly, he’s an enormous creature covered in fur. There is also the popular video taken on October 20, 1967, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin at Bluff Creek in northern California. I have seen the footage often. The creature looks like a gigantic ape, but it’s not. Even today, cynics continue trying to discredit the footage.On June 1, 1987, a 16-year-old teenager named Theresa Ann Bier, and a man named Russell Welch, 43, went camping in California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. Allegedly, Welch has encountered the legendary Bigfoot creature in the past. After Bier and Welch entered the mountains, only Welch returned. He claimed to have last seen Theresa on June 2nd. He said they both encountered Bigfoot, and that Theresa chased after the creature. He didn’t see her again. Of course, authorities didn’t believe Welch. They launched a comprehensive search into the area where Bier and Welch allegedly camped. They didn’t find Bier. She had vanished.Authorities arrested Welch on June 11th and charged him with abducting Bier. However, they couldn’t prove Welch had taken her against her will. Some of her friends said Theresa planned to skip school on June 1st and search for Bigfoot. They also found no evidence that Welch had killed Bier. Although authorities understood the Bigfoot abduction sounded absurd, they dropped their charges against Welch and released him. The prosecutor didn’t want to ask a jury to convict a man with no evidence. The prosecutor felt that once they uncovered evidence, they could always arrest Welch and prosecute him later. Over 30 years have passed since Beir vanished in the California wilderness. Authorities still haven’t prosecuted anyone for Theresa’s disappearance.When authorities looked into Theresa’s background, what they found troubled them. She was considered a “slow learner” and bounced around foster homes for most of her life. She eventually ended up living with an uncle named John Richmond. He was an acquaintance of Russell Welch. Richmond contacted authorities after she didn’t return home on June 1st.Today, Theresa Beir’s disappearance remains just as extraordinary as the Big Foot legend itself. After reviewing various details about this case, I had many questions. For one, why would Theresa be with a 43-year-old man? Supposedly, Welch told Theresa’s uncle he would drive her to school. Apparently, this wasn’t true because Theresa had informed her friends she planned to skip school with a friend and search for Bigfoot.I also learned that Theresa was gullible. I suppose you could give Russel Welch the benefit of the doubt and believe his story. However, I just cannot believe Theresa chased after a mythical creature. If anything, I do believe it’s possible Theresa wandered away and got lost. She probably didn’t know the terrain, so this is possible. But I question why Welch would blame the teenager’s disappearance on Bigfoot and not just say she wandered off and got lost?A realistic possibility is someone sexually assaulted and murdered Theresa. It’s also plausible to believe she never made it to the mountains because search dogs didn’t locate Theresa’s body.Over 30 years have passed since Theresa seemingly vanished from the planet. Theresa Beir’s disappearance will always remain a mystery unless someone either confesses to harming her or the police prove that a large hairy creature abducted Theresa. My guess is that neither happens.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related