Giant Barefoot Prints Found Near Missing Oregon Hunter's Remains

Posted Saturday, August 01, 2026

By Squatchable.com staff

There's a case out of Oregon that's been haunting investigators for over three decades, and if you haven't heard about it yet, you're in for a wild ride. A recently surfaced video dives deep into the disappearance of 17-year-old Cory Fay, a skilled young hunter who vanished into the Badger Creek wilderness in 1991 and left behind nothing but questions, scattered remains, and footprints that nobody can explain. The video walks through the entire timeline of this heartbreaking case. Cory wasn't some careless kid. He had formal survival training, knew the terrain, and was experienced beyond his years. On November 23rd, 1991, he went on an elk hunting trip with family friend Mark Mopin. The day was strange from the start. No elk, no deer, barely any wildlife at all. The forest had gone completely silent. After dark, they split up for one final attempt at finding game, and Cory never came back. What followed was one of Oregon's largest search operations. Nearly 250 rescuers, helicopters, tracking dogs, mounted teams. They covered over 12 square miles for ten straight days and found absolutely nothing. No footprints, no blood, no campfire, no discarded gear. It was like the forest swallowed him whole. Then, almost a full year later in September 1992, two hunters stumbled onto Cory's backpack and rifle buried under snow and brush. But here's where things get really strange. The items were found roughly 10 miles from his last known location, in brutal, remote terrain. His jacket was discovered on a ridge at nearly 6,500 feet elevation. About a quarter mile away, searchers found fragments of his skull and a single tooth. That was it. No complete skeleton, no clear cause of death. Many of his clothes were missing too. No boots, no pants, no socks. His belongings were scattered across multiple locations like something had carried them there. The video goes through all the main theories. Foul play? Investigators couldn't find any evidence of murder or a convincing motive. Hypothermia? Possible, but it doesn't explain why he traveled so far uphill into worsening conditions, going against every survival principle he was trained to follow. Suicide? His family rejected this completely, describing him as excited about his future. Predators? Mountain lions could scatter remains, but experts noted predators typically leave recognizable evidence, and hauling remains to extreme elevations would be highly unusual behavior. But the part that really got my attention, and probably yours too, is the detail about the footprints. According to reports connected to the search, helicopter crews spotted a series of unusually large footprints in the snow. At first, everyone assumed they belonged to search team members. But a closer look revealed something off. The prints appeared nearly twice the size of an average adult foot, and they looked like they were made by bare feet despite the freezing mountain conditions. Now, for anyone who's spent time researching the Pacific Northwest's wild inhabitants, this detail is significant. The Badger Creek wilderness sits in prime Sasquatch territory. The dense old-growth forests, the rugged terrain, the elevation, it all checks the boxes for consistent sighting reports in that region. And barefoot prints in deep snow? That's a detail that comes up again and again in credible witness accounts across Sasquatch research. Whatever was leaving those tracks clearly wasn't worried about frostbite. The video doesn't draw a definitive conclusion, and honestly, that's what makes it worth watching. It lays out the evidence and lets you sit with the discomfort of not knowing. The case remains officially unsolved, and the footprint detail has never been publicly explained by investigators. If you're into unsolved mysteries, Pacific Northwest wilderness lore, or cases that make you question what's really out there, this one deserves your time. The video does a thorough job covering every angle of the Fay disappearance, and the footprint detail alone is enough to keep you up at night. Check it out and see what you think.