8-27-12
A man dressed in a military-style �Ghillie suit� who was attempting to provoke a Bigfoot sighting was struck by two vehicles and killed on U.S. 93 south of Kalispell Sunday night.
�He was trying to make people think he was Sasquatch so people would call in a Sasquatch sighting,� Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Jim Schneider said. �You can�t make it up. I haven�t seen or heard of anything like this before. Obviously, his suit made it difficult for people to see him.�
The Flathead County Sheriff�s Office identified the man as Randy Lee Tenley, 44, of Kalispell.
Schneider said Tenley�s motivations were ascertained during interviews with friends who were not in the immediate area but were nearby when the man was struck at about 10:30 p.m.
�Alcohol may have been a factor,� Schneider said. �Impairment is up in the air.�
Tenley was on the southbound side of the highway, about a half mile south of the highway�s intersection with Rocky Cliff Road.
�He was in the right-hand lane of travel and the vehicle was unable to avoid him and struck him,� Schneider said of the first vehicle driven by a 15-year-old girl from Somers.
A second vehicle driven by a 17-year-old Somers girl also struck Tenley as he laid on the highway.
Ghillie suits are commonly used by military snipers and some that are advertised on the Internet have a Bigfoot-like appearance.
�This one was a store-bought version, just a commercial Ghillie suit that was pre-made,� Schneider said.
Tenley was pronounced dead at the scene.
