No other piece of Bigfoot film has become so tied to one specific holiday on the calendar as one taken in 1996. For those that say we only have the Patterson-Gimlin film to discuss, they often forget about the Memorial Day footage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VksD8wnq54

Now tragic news has received me that Owen Pate, who was behind the camera when the footage was taken, has died. Owen Pate, who was the CEO of OLPATE (advertising and marketing) in Ravensdale, Washington State, died there, over the weekend, in an automobile crash. It was a one-car accident. He went off the road and was thrown from the car sometime Friday evening.

Owen Pate, on the extreme left, is shown with family members at a Seattle Seahawks game.

The Pate’s footage is a Hi-8mm video shows what may be a rapidly moving Bigfoot, going from left to right. It was videotaped on May 26, 1996, by Lori and Owen Pate while they were on a fishing trip with family and friends at Chopaka Lake, in Okanogan County, north central Washington. It was preceded by two sightings of an anthropoid, hair-covered seemingly bipedal hominoid, at lesser distances, by others on the trip.

The Memorial Day video shows a figure, matching the description of a Bigfoot, running across a hill. It disappears behind a less-inclined, sloped area, then reappears briefly, walking this time, before going into the trees at the extreme right of the frame.

Some have declared that it is the second-best piece of Bigfoot film/video footage, after the Patterson-Gimlin film.

It was the third clip analyzed in the program Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science (the so-called Exhibit 8). The History documentary produced and directed by Doug Haijcek (today mostly recalled for MonsterQuest), was released January 9, 2003. In the hour-long program, the location where the Memorial Day footage was taken is used to make forensic measurements to determine the film subject’s height, path, speed, and stride by measuring the subject against fixed objects in the background.

The news of Owen Pate’s death is a shocker. We send out our condolences to the Pate family. (Additional updates will be added here.)

The Seattle Times published the following:

Owen Curtis PATE Owen was born February 4th, 1955 in Bremerton Washington. He was the oldest of five brothers and his sister. His life here on Earth ended tragically at 11:45 on the evening of September 30th, 2011, as he left to go to work. Owen worked for the Boeing Company for 25 years. Left behind to remember Owen are children Haley Natalie and Calder and wife Lori. Owen’s mother Joyce, Father Max and step-mother Vicki. Owen will also be remembered by his brothers Evan, Jerry, Michael, and Ryan and his sister Nicole. Owen lived his life for his children and his family.He sought out new and exciting adventures that will give us all many wonderful memories. He will be missed.