Cryptomundo » Ten Notable 2008 Cryptozoology Deaths

Ten Notable 2008 Cryptozoology Deaths

Posted by: Loren Coleman on December 21st, 2008

Ten Notable 2008 Cryptozoology Deaths by Loren Coleman, Tom Slick: True Life Encounters in Cryptozoology.

Who did we lose this year in the field of cryptozoology?

The following is a roundup of ten significant personalities in cryptozoology who died in 2008. It includes two Yeti chroniclers, a giant panda discoverer, a Mokele-Mbembe seeker, a Thylacine investigator, a Panther researcher, three Bigfooters, and a Bigfootry mischief maker.

(1) Yeti Hunter Sir Edmund Hillary, 88, died January 11, 2008.

hillary Yeti

Sir Edmund Hillary, one of the first two men to climb the world’s highest mountain, Mount Everest, was involved in the history of the Yeti since 1952. Hillary’s health had reportedly been in decline since April 2007, after a fall while visiting Nepal. He suffered a heart attack in hospital, near his home in New Zealand.

Hillary yeti again

In 1952, Hillary along with George Lowe found hair on a high pass while in the mountains, relating it to Yeti. In 1953, Yeti tracks were found by Hillary in the Barun Khola range. The next year, two British members of Hillary’s team discovered Yeti tracks in the Choyang Valley. His trusted Sherpa friends would tell Hillary of their firsthand sightings of the man-sized Yeti.

Search For Yeti

During most of the 1950s, Hillary was a supporter of the existence of the Yeti. Late in 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary, sponsored by the World Book encyclopedia company of Chicago, left on his expedition to Nepal in pursuit of the Abominable Snowman, and ended up debunking the Yeti with some misleading facts.

(2) Yeti Author Tribhuvan Nath, 86, died February 18, 2008.

Nath

Tribhuvan Nath is shown at the extreme left, in a white shirt, at a news conference in 2002. Original news sources have incorrectly identified him as the man in the blue shirt, but his daughter Ms. Tripti Nath has forwarded a correction.

The well-known veteran Indian journalist Tribhuvan Nath passed away at his home in Panchkula, near Chandigarh, India. In addition to his newspaper work, Nath had a biological interest in Nepal, which inspired him to co-author a book entitled On The Yeti Trail: Search for the Elusive Snowman (New Delhi/London: UPB Publication, 1994; 119 pages long), with his late contemporary, Madan Mohan Gupta, a correspondent of the UPI. The book raised questions about whether Yetis had already become extinct in Nepal.

(3) Bigfooter Sam Sherry, 86, died February 22, 2008.

Sam Sherry PA Bigfoot Hunter

Sam Sherry of Wilpen, Pennsylvania, holds plaster casts of Bigfoot tracks that he found in his area.

Pennsylvania Bigfoot researcher Sam Sherry passed away at the Veteran’s Hospital in Pittsburgh. On May 17, 1987, Sherry sighted a Bigfoot near Loyalhanna Creek, which kicked off his life-long hunt for the creatures. His tally included seven sightings in nine years of the same Bigfoot couple – including a white female he named “Snowflake.” Much of his recent evidence was questioned by mainstream investigators.

(4) Mokele-Mbembe Seeker Scott T. Norman, 43, died February 29, 2008.

scottnorman2

Scott Norman, a mere 15 days before his 44th birthday, died suddenly in Fullerton, California. His family was told it was an unexplained blood clot. Norman was a cryptozoologist who had taken his passion for dinosaurs, Mokele-mbembe, and prehistoric cryptids, all the way to Africa in February 2001. He was the President of CryptoSafari, a non-profit cryptzoological and scientific research organization. His death was a shock to his family, friends, and research associates.

(5) Giant Panda Discoverer Adelaide “Su-Lin” Young, 96, died April 17, 2008.

young1

Joined by her husband, Jack, left, and brother-in-law Quentin Young is Adelaide “Su-Lin” Young. Photo courtesy of her family.

Adelaide “Su-Lin” Young was born in New York City, was a longtime El Cerrito resident, and died in Hercules, California. She was the subject of books and international press coverage as the first American woman explorer to enter the Tibetan-Himalayan area and as part of the expeditions that brought back the first giant panda to the United States. She became known as the “Panda Lady.”

The woman most linked with finding the first giant panda seen in the West is Ruth Harkness. Harkness wrote, on November 9, 1936, in her diary, that her guide Quentin Young caught sight of a baby giant panda inside an old dead tree, thought to be the den of the cub’s mother. Young handed the cub over to Harkness. The panda was named Su-Lin, after Quentin’s brother, Jack Young’s wife. The first live giant panda had been “discovered.”

The Explorers Walk, an exhibit at the Memphis Zoo, credits Su-Lin Young as one of three explorers who opened the East to the West, along with Marco Polo and naturalist Father Armand David, who is often remembered for Père David’s deer.

(6) Panther Researcher David Maehr, 52, died June 13, 2008.

david2

An internationally known expert on the endangered Florida and cryptid eastern panthers, David Maehr, University of Kentucky associate professor, was killed when the single-engine Piper Cub airplane in which he was riding crashed mid-day near Placid Lakes Airport, Florida. The pilot, citrus grove owner Mason Smoak, 33, also died. Maehr was the only passenger.

Within the cryptozoological community, Maehr was known for his work exploring the existence of the eastern puma, and his research on the rediscovery of the Florida panther. Maehr was an Advisor to the Eastern Cougar Foundation.

(7) Bad Boy of Bigfootry Jon-Erik Beckjord, 69, died June 22, 2008.

Bigfoot and Nessie paranormalist Erik Beckjord had prostate cancer and died unannounced for more than a month by the media, near his home in Lafayette, California. His Bigfoot museum was destroyed by the Malibu wildfire in 1993, and his storefront Bigfoot, UFO and Loch Ness Monster Museum existed near Washington Square in San Francisco from 1996-1999. Beckjord remained a controversial figure within Bigfoot circles until his death.

(8) Thylacine Hunter Eric Guiler, 85, died July 3, 2008.

eric2

Tasmania’s and the world’s leading authority on Thylacines, Dr. Eric Guiler, passed away after six years of ill-health following a stroke. A little known fact, shared among a few cryptozoologists at the time, was that Guiler suffered his last stroke while out in the bush looking for Thylacine signs. It was feared he was going to die in the field, and had to be carried out over rough terrain to get him help.

Guiler, who was known as Mr. Thylacine, spent much of his life researching the species, Thylacinus cynocephalus (also called Thylacines, Tasmanian Tigers and Tassies). He mounted several major government-backed expeditions in the 1950s and 1960s to search for the elusive Thylacines, before continuing his quests privately, until he suffered his 2002 stroke.

(9) Bigfoot Researcher Tim Cullen, 43, died August 14, 2008.

Tim Cullen, right, photographed with John Green, left.

Well-known on Bigfoot online forums, Tim Cullen died suddenly of a heart attack in Panama City, Florida. As a Skunk Ape field investigator, Cullen had been a proud member of the Alliance of Independent Bigfoot Researchers. He was also a former Bigfoot group moderator and curator. He was known as “Fishbone” among his email associates, and recognized for his sense of humor.

(10) Bigfooter Charles Hallmark, 68, died November 24, 2008.

Charles Hallmark

The colorful Charles Hallmark of Sulphur, Oklahoma, a well-known local Bigfoot researcher, passed away in his home state. He claimed several close encounters, the recovery of fingerprints, and finds of many tracks of the alleged hominoids. Hallmark worked for many years trying to prove Bigfoot’s existence.

Our sadness about the departing of all these folks is only counter-balanced by the fact they all added so much to the world of cryptozoological wonder. Goodbye, all.

+++++

Several fine people linked to the popular cultural imprint of cryptozoology passed away too, in 2008, including Ben Chapman, who played the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Forry. View the moving video below that remembers….

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 21st, 2008 at 1:12 am and is filed under CryptoZoo News, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Men in Cryptozoology, Obituaries, Women in Cryptozoology, Year In Review. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

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7 Responses to “Ten Notable 2008 Cryptozoology Deaths”

MountDesertIslander responds: December 21st, 2008 at 8:51 am
Adelaide Young’s picture makes me think that all cryptid researchers should wear jodphurs. They add an air of adventurer to the persona; do they not? What a great fashion statement from a bygone era. I believe Loren would gain an aura of mystery and authority even greater than he has now if he adopted that look. People would instantly see him as the new Indiana Jones. Talk about a made for reality TV character.

Seriously though, I had the pleasure of meeting Sam Sherry once and listening to him on the local western Pa. radio programs periodically. The man could tell a story. Some felt he told them too well driven by his desire for attention. Truth is, one never fully knows the motivations of another human being. But, he did much to keep the bigfoot discussion going in his region through the 80’s and 90’s. We all kept our eyes focused into the trees because of Sam.
aaha responds: December 21st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Erik Beckjord dead. Ah, that still brings a big smile to my face.
bigfootboy_2000 responds: December 21st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
What a sad loss of men and women this year. I recall spending a good part of my early research with Sam in the woods. Sam was one of a kind and one of the most generous men I had the pleasure to know. Rest peacefully to all those who have passed on this year.
John Cartwright responds: December 21st, 2008 at 4:30 pm
God Bless Tim Cullen.
Bob K. responds: December 21st, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Thank you for posting this wonderful article, Mr. Coleman.

While we mourn the passing of so many figures, some quite foundational to modern cryptozoology [and some who passed so suddenly, and so young], we can count ourselves fortunate that present researchers can stand on the shoulders of such giants (and a few ‘colorful characters’) all the while building upon what they’ve done for future generations.

I might add that its good to have a sober reminder of just how fragile, and sometimes short life can be.
wisaaka responds: December 22nd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Its unfortunate about all the losses this year. Thank you for also posting the video. I hadn’t realized Arthur C. Clark had died as well, his show “Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World”, was one of the biggest factors why I originally got interested in cryptozoology. again, unfortunate.
Loren Coleman responds: December 22nd, 2008 at 4:46 pm
You’re welcome.

BTW, I did post Arthur C. Clarke’s obituary at Cryptomundo, as well as videos from Clarke’s Mysterious World.

If one wishes to review all the news of various deaths carried here, please click on Cryptomundo obituaries, which can be generated anytime by typing your request into the search box at the upper right.

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