Naman Shrestha
In the summer of 1987, a 16-year-old girl named Theresa Ann Bier suddenly disappeared in the wilderness of the Sierra Nevada National Forest. While locals believed that a mysterious creature/monster was responsible for her abduction, the authorities dug deeper into the matter to get to the bottom of the case. The entire mystery is explored in a detailed manner in Discovery’s ‘Bigfoot Took Her,’ a three-part true crime documentary series, through exclusive interviews with several witnesses and the officials directly or indirectly linked to the investigation.
Theresa Bier Went Missing While Hunting For Bigfoot in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range
Born on April 16, 1971, to Shirley and David Bier in Fresno, California, Theresa Ann “Sam” Bier was allegedly raised in an unstable household with her siblings. Due to the alleged abusive environment, social services claimed the custody of Theresa and her siblings and placed them in foster homes. Her father, David, reclaimed her custody after divorcing Shirley and marrying another woman, Margie Richmond. Residing in Southern California, Theresa allegedly faced abuse from her new stepmother, after which she ran away to live with her great-grandmother in Fresno, California. Soon, she moved to live with one of her uncles, John Richmond, who was granted custody of her.
Unfortunately, he and his friends allegedly sexually abused her, leading to her poor academic performance at Fresno High School. In 1987, around Memorial Day, Theresa met with a 43-year-old man named Russell Shelton “Skip” Welch, who had a fascination with mythical creatures like Bigfoot. On June 1 of the same year, the 16-year-old girl skipped school and went on a hunting trip to the Sierra Nevada mountain range instead, looking for Bigfoot. The two reportedly camped in the area of Shuteye Peak, from where she disappeared around 7:20 pm. When she didn’t return home that evening, her uncle reported her missing to the authorities.
Theresa Bier’s Case Remains Unsolved to This Day
Although the police were thorough in the search for Theresa Bier, they were unable to find any evidence about the teenager’s whereabouts. Upon learning that she was last seen with Russell Shelton “Skip” Welch, they located him at his mother’s house in Fresno and brought him in for questioning on June 11. During the interview, he initially claimed that he had dropped Theresa off at school. Later, he admitted to going hunting with her in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. In one version of his story, he told the police that she had run off into the woods with another young man. In another version, he claimed that she ran away with a group of other campers.
Skip then changed his story once again and claimed that Theresa had spotted a Bigfoot while camping near Shuteye Peak and ran away to chase down the creature. He claimed that he searched for her everywhere and that Bigfoot had taken her away. After the interview, they canvassed the area near Shuteye Peak where Theresa was last seen, and they discovered what they believed to be her purse and pieces of her clothing. Unfortunately, no definitive clues were found.
Finding Skip’s inconsistent stories unconvincing, the authorities charged him with child endangerment and child abduction. However, he was released on bail. Just three days before his trial in September 1987, the prosecution dropped the charges against him due to a lack of evidence and to be able to charge him with murder if and when they ever found Theresa’s remains. However, more than a decade later, in 1998, 54-year-old Skip died from severe coronary artery disease. To this day, Theresa’s disappearance case remains a mystery yet to be solved.
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