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Interest in Bigfoot sighting fades CAVE JUNCTION � Bigfoot�s 15 minutes of fame seem to be over at the Oregon Caves National Monument. The flurry of media and Sasquatch sleuths that descended upon the monument in Josephine County died down Thursday, just two days after word hit the world that a Grants Pass psychologist said he spotted a Bigfoot while hiking a backwoods trail. "Today, there�s not a peep. Not a peep from anyone," said Superintendent Craig Akerman. "That�s probably the last we�ll hear of it." Matthew Johnson said he encountered a creature he is sure is Bigfoot while hiking the Big Tree Trail Saturday afternoon, after viewing the caves with his wife and three children. The family first smelled a foul odor, then heard guttural "whoa whoa" sounds from the woods along the trail. While off the trail relieving himself, Johnson saw what he maintains was a large and hairy creature darting from tree to tree and spying on his family, he said. Bigfoot researchers rushed to the area to investigate, and media from across the country telephoned the park service Tuesday and Wednesday to learn more about the case, Akerman said. By Thursday, the excitement had basically disappeared. "I don�t think our visitation levels have been affected at all," Akerman said. "Not one visitor commented to me or anyone here that they were here because of Bigfoot." Had the researchers been successful in finding and capturing Bigfoot at the caves, however, they would have run into some trouble with the law. You might be able to catch a Bigfoot on nearby Siskiyou National Forest land, but it�s illegal to capture a creature in Park Service territory. "If someone did that," Akerman said, "we�d have to arrest them." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA