KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) - A man who was apparently trying to provoke reports of a Bigfoot sighting in northwestern Montana was struck by two cars and killed, authorities said.
The man was wearing a military style "Ghillie suit" and was standing in the right-hand lane of U.S. Highway 93 south of Kalispell when he was hit by the first car Sunday night, according to the Montana Highway Patrol. Flathead County officials identified the man as Randy Lee Tenley, 44, of Kalispell.
Trooper Jim Schneider said motives were ascertained during interviews with friends.
"He was trying to make people think he was Sasquatch so people would call in a Sasquatch sighting," Schneider told the Daily Inter Lake on Monday. "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."
Schneider said alcohol may have been a factor but investigators are awaiting tests.
A second car hit Tenley as he lay in the roadway, authorities said.
"He probably would not have been very easy to see at all," Schneider told KECI-TV.
Ghillie suits are a type of full-body clothing made to resemble heavy foliage and used to camouflage military snipers.
Tenley was struck by vehicles driven by two girls, ages 15 and 17, who were unable to stop in time, authorities said.
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