Former DNR officer ends silence, confirms cat sightings

Of all the alleged cougar sightings in Presque Isle County over the years, a retired Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officer is 100 percent certain the strange animal prowling around the northern townships and Black Lake, is another animal entirely.

Dick Shoquist, who worked as a DNR officer for 32 years, and makes his home in North Allis Township, has come forward with the report regarding two intriguing animal sightings, including one shockingly on the grounds of Onaway State Park.

Shoquist had remained silent all these years, to not upset the public, but recent reports from hunters, who have contacted him at home, including actual trail camera footage of some type of strange creature, made it time to break the silence.

Additionally, miniposters have been found stapled to trees in Bearinger, Ocqueoc and North Allis Townships in recent months, warning residents to ?beware of the wampus cat.?

SHOQUIST HAS seen the posters and confirmed the crude sketch of the cat-like creature, and believes it is the one he saw more than a decade ago and not a cheap trick to frighten Boy Scouts hiking in the woods, or camping in the area.

?I saw the tracks of at least two of them,? he said. Regarding his silent stance, he said, ?If I would have mentioned this while I was still working, there would have been a lot of questions raised by supervisors. Now that I?m retired I feel I can tell the story.?

Shoquist discovered tracks in the snow on one occasion, and in the sand along the state park beach in the late fall of 1997. His personal sighting one early morning at the state park was in the day camp use area in July 2000. He was picking up litter in the parking lot when suddenly he saw a huge cat ? the biggest he had ever seen ? sauntering through the edge of the forest. ?The cat was about the size of a large spaniel,? he said. ?Then I noticed that the animal had stripes. No dog has markings like that.? Concerned, Shoquist got back into his truck, drove away, and didn?t mention it to another person.

NOW, DURING his retirement years, he?s done exhaustive research and learned the creature has been talk

ed about in other parts of the country for hundreds of years. The legend of the wampus cat is a part of Cherokee American Indian mythology that was later passed on to the white settlers and included in their folklore, but may be much more than a scary campfire story.

There?s a lot of wilderness and uninhabited tracts of land where the ?cat? could stay hidden, he believes. ?It very easily could have wandered down into the park,? said Shoquist. The only discrepancy Shoquist has with the posters are the claws. ?Generally when cats walk, their claws are retracted. This picture here has all the claws out.?

Shoquist will be setting up a Web site for people to report sightings and possibly collect more evidence. He?s already set up a toll-free phone number for people to call in reports, which only went into service today, April 1. Call 1-800-April Fools? Day.

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