"Sasquatch" Captured on Washington State DOT Webcam Appears to be Stationary Object

One of the images posted by the Washington State Department of Transportation. (WSDOT East / Twitter) — One of the images posted by the Washington State Department of Transportation. *(WSDOT East / Twitter)*

Updated 4/1/2020

A series of photographs posted to the Washington State Department of Transportation East’s (WSDOT East) Twitter account purporting to show a sasquatch likely have a prosaic explanation.

The photos were posted last Wednesday accompanied by the caption,

Sasquatch spotted!!! I'm not superstitious... just a little stitious. Have you noticed something strange on our Sherman Pass/SR20 webcam before? If you look closely by the tree on the left there looks to be something... might be Sasquatch... We will leave that up to you!

Observant viewers on Twitter noticed immediately that not only were there no visible footprints in the snow, but the figure captured on camera did not appear to move, even though the presence of a car in one image indicates that the photos were taken over a period of time.

Sasquatch spotted!!! I'm not superstitious... just a little stitious. Have you noticed something strange on our Sherman Pass/SR 20 webcam before? If you look closely by the tree on the left there looks to be something... might be Sasquatch... We will leave that up to you! pic.twitter.com/RaDGqQdEUF
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) January 22, 2020

Checking back with the webcam showed that the figure was still there days later.

WSDOT East all but admitted that the figure is a cutout in another tweet stating that “our signals/sign shop manager knows the truth behind it. I’ll see what I can find out, but he’s very tight lipped.”

There is a story behind it... our signals/sign shop manager knows they truth behind it. I’ll see what I can find out, but he’s very tight lipped!
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) January 23, 2020

A further tweet suggested that it’s part of a prank or game run by the department, saying “There is a story behind this and it is not the first sighting of something to appear in front of this camera. Years ago an inflatable alien was in front of it and moved around, then there was a Christmas tree with battery operated lights, now this!”

It is 100% not a tree trunk. There is a story behind this and it is not the first sighting of something to appear in front of this camera. Years ago an inflatable alien was in front of it and moved around, then there was a Christmas tree with battery operated lights, now this!
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) January 24, 2020

“It has a story that will be revealed in February when we do our quarterly check of the camera,” promised another tweet by the WSDOT East.

It’s 100% not a tree trunk. It has a story that will be revealed in February when we do our quarterly check of the camera.
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) January 24, 2020

A video released by the WSDOT’s I-90 Snoqualmie Pass Twitter the day after the photos were posted purports to show “Bigfoot” walking across a mountain pass.

The video shows what appears to be a person walking with somewhat exaggerated arm movements—possibly in imitation of the iconic Patterson-Gimlin film shot in 1967.

I think Bigfoot is making the rounds across our mountain passes. @wsdot_east showed him on Sherman Pass the other day and now he is on the wildlife overcrossing on I-90 just east of Snoqualmie Pass. #doyoubelieve pic.twitter.com/gysrH5wG2r
— I-90 Snoqualmie Pass (@SnoqualmiePass) January 23, 2020

One commenter on Twitter called out a WSDOT employee, Jeff McGillicuddy, whom he thought was responsible for staging the video.

That’s Jeff McGillicuddy from Maple Valley. He’s a project manager for the @wsdot. Hey Jeff!
— Downtown Matt Brown (@mattbrown7) January 23, 2020

The playful nature of the WSDOT tweet and its connection to the hoaxed photographs make this video extremely dubious.

On February 28th, the WSDOT East tweeted that they had "planned to reveal what was in front of Sherman Pass cam during a recent visit. However, when crews arrived it was gone. Rumor has it someone placed a 3/4" wood cutout of Bigfoot on the tree. However, if you look now, the cutout is now gone."

Update on the "Bigfoot" sighting. We'd planned to reveal what was in front of Sherman Pass cam during a recent visit. However, when crews arrived it was gone. Rumor has it someone placed a 3/4" wood cutout of Bigfoot on the tree. However, if you look now, the cutout is now gone. pic.twitter.com/vkA6CCj2Yw
— WSDOT East (@WSDOT_East) February 26, 2020

The nature of the “story” referenced by the department is still open to speculation, but it is now certain that it won’t be about the WSDOT East webcam having captured an authentic photograph or video of Sasquatch.

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