TRUE CRIME FRIDAY: BIGFOOT TOOK HER

Ninetoes watched Discovery Channel’s three part series on the Theresa Ann Bier disappearance, BIGFOOT TOOK HER!

Hey there, true crime lovers! It is your favorite investigator, Ninetoes, and I am on the beat with…I have my notebook in hand and coffee in my system, so let’s get to it!

Last week, the Discovery Channel dropped a three-part series in one night titled Bigfoot Took Her. It featured Jessica Chobot, formerly of Expedition X fame, and Robert Collier, a private investigator who specializes in missing children cases, looking into the case of Theresa Ann Bier. What promised to be a paranormal show about the possibility of Bigfoot taking a 16-year-old girl turned into a true crime show, and the mythical beast took a back seat (as it should have).

On June 1, 1987, Theresa Ann Bier went into the Sierra Nevada Mountains with Bigfoot enthusiast Russel “Skip” Welch to go on a Bigfoot adventure. A few days later, Welch returned, but Theresa did not, and Welch claimed Bigfoot took Theresa Bier. This is the hook of the show. Now, I have to admit there was a big part of my brain that sat back and said BULLSHIT! Now I realize that because no one has really provided evidence of Bigfoot does not mean he does NOT exist, he very well could. It is like the saying goes: The chances of being killed by a cat driving a tank are small, but never zero. Anything is possible. But to believe that Bigfoot ACTUALLY took a young girl? Come on!

But as the facts of the case and the show unraveled, it became evident that Bigfoot was not the culprit, so let’s take him off the table. When we take Bigfoot off the table, the show goes down a more realistic rabbit hole.

The show is broken down into three episodes: 1) Ghosts in the Canyon, 2) Speed Freaks, and 3) Bones in the Basement. As each episode unfolds, they point to anything but Bigfoot taking this young girl.

Episode 1 lays the groundwork. A 43-year-old man takes a 16-year-old girl into the mountains. That right there is one hell of a red flag! The man is not a relative, but a friend of the girl’s uncle. Also, she was taken up there on the sly. Skip was supposed to take this girl to school, and the two of them went on a jaunt. To make things worse, Theresa is NOT the first girl to go up there with him, and she is NOT the first one who fails to return.

Episode 2 gives us a bit of misdirection in that they bring in “The Speed Freak Killers”, two men who were convicted of multiple murders in California. Loren Herzog and Wesley Shermantine were two friends who grew up in Linden, California, and bonded over drug use and motorcycles. The duo would get high on speed and kill while under the influence of the drug. However, the surviving member of the duo, Shermantine, denies involvement with the disappearance of the girl.

Episode 3 is where it comes around full circle back to Skip Welch. Jessica Chobot and James Collier’s investigation is winding down. They can interview a couple of Skip Welch’s family members (a great niece and Welch’s Nephew), and all fingers point back to Skip. Especially when it comes out that Skip went crazy at his mother’s house when people came to dig around for a septic tank. Chobot and Collier manage to get to the mother’s house (under new ownership) and bring a couple of police officers with a trained cadaver dog. The dog does not hit on anything in the yard, but it keeps going near the house. There is a tight crawlspace under the house, and Chobot goes down and sees bones. She is able to photograph the bones, but these go nowhere. It is the interview with the nephew that raises eyebrows.

What started out as a series with so much promise and “We WILL get to the bottom of her disappearance”, pretty much fizzles out (much like any paranormal hunting show). Theresa’s body has yet to be found. She has never turned up living or dead. In fact, it was the absence of a body that kept Skip Welch out of prison.

If you are looking for a show about the paranormal and Bigfoot, this is not the show for you.

If you are looking for a true crime documentary, this show might be for you, but keep in mind that there is no clear resolution.

It is worth a look, if for nothing else, to jog some memories and maybe bring closure to this case. In any event, remember the name Theresa Ann Bier. ALWAYS remember the name of the victim, and if you are of a mind to do so, offer her a prayer.

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.