On June 1st, 1987, 16 year old Theresa Ann Bier said goodbye to her family in Fresno as she left for a camping trip. She and Russell Welch, 43, were headed into the Sierra Nevada to hunt the elusive Bigfoot, specifically Shuteye Peak, where Welch thought they would find one.
But Welch returned to Fresno alone.
He would tell police that Bier had run away from him at first, but later change his story to say that he and Bier had become separated during a hike, and that she was forcefully kidnapped by a Sasquatch. Without a body, they felt unable to convict him of her murder, and no trace of Theresa has ever been found.
I’ve found very little information online about the surrounding circumstances of the case, and I think there are a lot of interesting questions to be raised.
Bal G
This guy got away with murder.How was he not indicted for this? Where was the DA on this case. Circumstantial evidence convicts killers all the time. Weird and sad at the same time.
Wes
That was my knee jerk reaction too Bal
Amy D
Mine too..
Lou V
In some states a person can walk into a police station with the poster of a missing person in their hand tell the police he killed that person and if they can’t find the body they walk out! It’s crazy
JOHN E
well he took down his story that he wants people to hear about …..so why take it off everybody wants to be tight thats whats wrong with us all we need to be givers hope he could put it back up ..please jeff
Brad C
the family let a 16 year old girl head to the Mountains with a 43 year old man, WTF
Amy D
I had to read that twice to make sure I was reading it correctly … weird!!!!
Asheim
We will probably never know how this scenero began. Were they friends and just shared an interest in Bigfoot? He perhaps was a friend of the family and trusted. Boy my parents would never have let that happen when I was a young girl that age. The Bigfoot alibi I would have thought was ridiculous a few years ago, but now I know too much. It is very scary to think what happened to this poor girl either way.
Asheim
I got a chance to listen and hear what the daughter of Russell Welch had to say about her father. I understand that is was a different day and age but it was still not a good judgement call to take the girl along, just because she said she had an interest in these creatures. He would need to be acting as her parent as she was an inexperienced child compared to him. Hard not to place blame but it doesn’t sound like the man harmed her according to the daughter. Very strange and interesting story.
Brad C
I am into it for 20 minutes and it has my attention
NW Mike
My initial reaction is that he took a young girl camping and murdered her. But in the historical record, among white settlers and native Americans, this is what the Bigfoots do. They kidnap young people, especially women. Since this event took place in the 80s, there was no DNA evidence. This was a time when circumstantial evidence was enough to convict someone. He was arrested and thrown in jail. But the prosecutors might have known that something was out in the woods, either from the cops or wildlife officers. Otherwise this would have been an open and shut case.
Paul M
WHO THE HECK KNOWS… YA THERES NO DNA TESTING AT THE TIME !!! BUT THERE WAS LIE DETECTORS!!! DID THIS GUY EVER TAKE ONE ? NOTHING I HEARD SAYS ANYTHING ABOUT THAT… I JUST DONT KNOW …
manuel m
Damn that poor girl ! No telling !! I don’t think he did it .
Denise F
You would think if he had intentions on killing this young girl he would plan something better then admittingly saying that he took her camping…
Mauri G
I’m only 30mins in but if what the daughter says is true something strange happen to the girl that did not involve her father.Mayve she left with the bikers she was talking to cause at the beginning of interview the woman says that the teen was not happy where she was living at.Also does have some similarities to 411.
Gumshoguy
Lie detectors were invented back in the 1920’s maybe before. They had been used by US law enforcement for a very long time and they have been changed oer the years with the advances in modern technology. I would like to believe law enforcement did their due diligence and followed the facts and made an honest assessment.
People Go Missing For Many Reasons:
Foul Play – Murder
Self-Survival i.e. going off the grid to live off the land
Accidents
Health or mental or medical emergencies i.e. suicide
Natural Predation i.e. cougar, wolves, bears etc.
Natural Errors i.e. getting lost
Succumbing to the Elements i.e. to cold, thirst, heat, freezing conditions
Bigfoots
Other unworldly beings or entities
There are thousands upon thousans missing all across North America. Many people go missing for reasons other than Bigfoot though, I do believe some have and do but not all. I read about this case a long time ago and quite frankly, my biggest problem was a 15-year-old and a 40 something year old man. Forget about Bigfoots for moment, consider your child being alone with a man alone and let that sink in.
Renee S
Let’s see…young teenage female alone with a male 3x her age, off to the woods no less!!!
susan m
VERY INTERESTING STORY BUT……WHY WOULD THIS GUY TAKE 17 YEAR OLD OFF TO THE WOODS WITH OUT HER PARENTS PERMISSION AND—HE LET HER HAVE ALCOHOL….I FEEL SO BAG FOR HER FAMILY
Dave T
So many things wrong with this story. Who lets their 16 year old daughter go camping with a middle aged man? I’d never let my daughter go camping with anyone other than immediate family. How stupid was this guy to take someone else’s 16yr old daughter camping or anything for that matter. I wouldn’t go anywhere near a 16yr old girl for anything. Any guy that would has bad intentions in my opinion. I’m not blaming BF on this one.
Nicholas S
The video has been taken down.☹