Bigfoot Body Confirmed as Hoax

Two Georgia men claimed to have stumbled upon the body of a bigfoot like creature while hiking in a North Georgia forest. "We were not looking for Bigfoot. ... We wouldn't know what we were doing if we did," said Matthew Whitton,

"I didn't believe in Bigfoot at the time. ... But you've got to come to terms with it and realize you've got something special. And that's what it was."

The men say they were hiking in early June of 2008 when they found the body near a small stream. They also claim to have seen three living creatures, one of which was 'shadowing' them as they walked through the woods. The body-measuring at about 7 feet 7 inches-weighed nearly 500 pounds. The two men reportedly brought the body home and stored it in a freezer.

The men, Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer first made the announcement of their discovery on an internet radio show, "Squatch Detective". Even among enthusiasts, the discovery had many people skeptical.

Many scientists, as well as some from North Georgia College and State University's biology department, have pointed out it's very unlikely such a big creature would be found in such a popular area for hikers, vacationers and hunters.

Many skeptic websites have posted pictures that compare pictures of the body in the freezer to those of a widely-available gorilla costume. Whitton even posted a YouTube video, where his brother poses as a scientist and Whitton seems to admit it was a hoax. "It seems that the stalkers have busted us in a hoax," he says in the video. But then adds, "We still have a corpse. We just wanted to give you something to do for the weekend."

At a news conference, Whitton first said that no video existed in which he calls the discovery a hoax. After speaking to Tom Biscardi, the self-described "Real Bigfoot Hunter", he said the video was made "to have a little fun with it".

Scientists took a DNA sample to see if the creature was related to any known species of primate. But, those results were not needed. After allowing the ice to melt, it was revealed that the so-called 'bigfoot body' was really just a rubber costume frozen in ice.