Bigfoot, the Yeti and Sasquatch all seem to grab the headlines when it comes to big hairy cryptids running around rural locations…
But how many of you have heard about Momo?
In this story, we will be taking a look at the less famous Missouri Monster sightings – which rocked the area during the early 1970s.
Early Sightings
The earliest sightings of Momo came from hunters before the area of southeastern Missouri was drained to become rich farmland.
Numerous hunters describe taking aim and shooting at a large, dark-haired beast.
The sightings then seemed to stop for nearly thirty years.
Then, without warning, the beast reappeared in 1968 in a St. Louis suburb, when it ambushed a child playing in its backyard and tried to drag it off into the woods.
The child’s aunt noticed what was going on through the kitchen window, and chased the beast off – luckily it dropped the child before darting off into a nearby wooded area.
Joan Mills and Mary Ryan
Joan Mills and Mary Ryan were in a middle of a journey along Highway 79 in 1971 when they decided to stop off and have a spot of lunch – a picnic.
They were busy tucking into their food when the two of them were overcome with a terribly foul odor.
They looked up to see a strange half-ape and half-man creature in the nearby woods.
Ryan later stated that the beast had a human face, but its body was completely covered in hair, except for its hands.
It started to make a move towards the women, making a gurgling sound as it walked. The two women managed to make it to their car and lock their doors.
The creature started pulling at the car doors…and the women had forgotten to pick up the car keys…so they frantically started to honk the horn.
Thankfully, the sound of the horn was enough to scare the creature back into the thicket.
The Harrison Brothers
In July of 1972, eight-year-old Terry Harrison, and his little brother Wally, were busy messing about in the woods behind their house.
Doris, their elder sister, was in the house doing some chores…she suddenly heard the two boys scream out in terror.
She looked out of the window and saw a hairy beast over seven feet tall standing right next to her brothers – it held a dead dog in its hands.
The family dog managed to bark the creature and its dog-corpse off into the woods…but mysteriously fell seriously ill afterward.
A local investigation later discovered clumps of hair, and several footprints were in the area next to the house.
The Gail Suddarth Hoax
Gail Suddarth was seven years old when the hysteria surrounding Momo the monster struck the Louisiana area in 1972.
On a summer day, when she was bored, she decided to create her very own ‘monster footprint’ in the mud.
She then told her parents that she’d found a Momo footprint…and they believed her!
Before she could admit to what she’d done – experts were all over her garden taking plaster casts of the monster footprint. They also believed it was the real deal…
Obsessed by ghost hunting and all things paranormal. Chris spends a lot of time (some would say too much time) investigating ghosts and spirits and documenting stories and paranormal communication. He teaches aspiring ghost hunters in the Paranormal Academy.
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