An Australian man says his life has been ruined since he exposed a world-famous Bigfoot hoax. Fact: Andrew Clacy didn't expose anything he was involved.
Andrew Clacy left his home in Wodonga, Victoria, last December to join self-described Bigfoot hunter Rick Dyer, who claimed to have shot a Sasquatch dead and put it in a glass case. His ticket was paid for $2000 round trip and he helped Rick Dyer put it in the Glass case!
Clacy put his life on hold and joined the Texan’s entourage to court media attention for what he thought would be a history-making adventure. Before he came here Andrew was living with his son just had his car repossessed ,Rick paid to reconnect his cable and he was making less than $300 a month from his business. He came because the tour was estimated to make a lot of money and when it didn't that is when things turned south.
For three months the Australian toured the US believing "Hank" was a genuine Bigfoot carcass – even after touching the creature's foot. He knew it was fake evan before arriving in the US!
"It felt slimy and like a dog's paw, It was rubber and he knew it!
But the fantasy was shattered in March when Dyer, a serial Bigfoot hoaxer, privately admitted eight-foot-tall Hank was a dummy made in a Washington toy store. He was informed long before he came to the US.
Clacy says he struggled with denial but soon decided to expose the hoax to the media.Rick Dyer exposed his own hoax on his facebook page days later.
"I was broken-hearted when I came back to Australia," he said.
"I felt like a fool." This is a classic case of a man covering his backside when things don't work out!
The venture left the Victorian $12,000 out of pocket, damaged his business and his family, and has seen him ridiculed by friends. Dyer stated "Andrey made over $12000 with this hoax. He had nothing going for him at home, It was planned that we would make mega bucks and when that didn't happen things went south! If we made lots of money he would still be here. It wasn't about bigfoot, it was about BIGMONEY to Andrew !"
Dyer, since being exposed, has also allegedly conducted an online campaign to abuse and discredit Clacy, even trying to hack his emails. With a quick look around the internet Andrew went on a campaign 1st trying to destroy Dyer making up lies about cheating and other things.
In a series of rants on his blog, Dyer has accused Clacy of knowing Hank was a hoax for the months he was promoting it – This is the only truth here!
"He is actively trying to destroy me and (other former associates)," Clacy said.
"That's our reward for telling the truth." When things don't work out weak people this is what they do to.
Clacy admits he was foolish to be duped by the notorious Bigfoot fraudster, who pulled off a similar hoax in 2008 with a rubber ape suit in a freezer.
"I asked him if this was the real deal, and he said: 'Would I do this to my own family?'" he told 9 Stories.
The Texan even had a phony taxidermist and doctor brought in to confirm the beast was real in front of the team. That is news to Rick Dyer. He said "that never happened because there was no need everyone knew it was a hoax".
"There were much smarter guys than me who believed it," he said.
"I thought I was part of something huge, I thought I was going to be part of history." 9 Stories tried to contact Dyer for comment but received no response. If this worked out money wise you wouldn't ever have heard from Mr. Clacy.
Hank the Bigfoot was eventually sold to the Mr Happy Wellness Centre in Colorado, a medical marijuana dispensary.
In spite of his ordeal, Clacy still believes there is a real Bigfoot out there somewhere.
Rick Dyer statement
It's unfortunate that Andrew cannot stand up and be a man and tell the truth. He is trying his best to be a victim. But the evidence throughout the year shows he was 100% involved.
This all started because of me and I take full responsibility for it because without me coming up with the idea and making it happen the story wouldn't exist. I saw Andrew and others struggling in life paying their bills and even putting food in their bellies .I made the decision to come clean and see if they wanted to help me with the hoax. Without any hesitation Andrew and a couple others agreed. Andrew was aware of everything that was going to happen and agreed to help me promote it months before he got on the airplane to come here. When he arrived he had less than $100 to his name and a career in ruins. He got advances totaling almost $12,000 from me. I had to take a personal loan out to pay for everything for the tour which he also signed. We was so sure that we was going to make hundreds of thousands of dollars on this tour to pay back the loan and to do other stuff.
At the end of his tourist visa stay we didn't make the money we thought . He didn't want to go back home to Australia and be ridiculed for the hoax so I believe it was easier for him to be a coward and blame it on me. Money is the root of all evil's and if we made hundreds of thousands of dollars as we anticipated you wouldn't ever heard from Andrew Clacy. Unfortunately this is just another excuse that he can use for why his career as a failure. Since I had to pay the full loan amount back ultimately I can say I payed him $12,000.
Recently I would Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior back into my heart and currently I'm a youth minister at a major church in Georgia. I can absolutely say I learn from my mistakes and plan to make a difference. On September 6, 2012 I shot and killed a big foot outside of San Antonio Texas and my bad decisions and international antics destroyed any chance of that being released. I take full responsibility for that and I take full responsibility for the tour and the hoax. Without my crazy ideas no one else would've ever been involved.
The tour created international attention and brought smiles to millions of people's faces. We did many charity events along the way and didn't hurt anyone break any laws.
I have turned over a new leaf and with the help of Jesus Christ I have started a new Bigfoot recovery group called Project Sasquatch. My new group is determined to tranquilize or kill another Bigfoot to prove it to the world. It's a must for me because I must get redemption for me and my followers and I will not stop till I do.
