Jon-Erik Beckjord

Born Cedric Jon Beckjord in Duluth, Minnesota, he was the son of Col. Philip Beckjord, a World War II army physician, and Margaret (née McGilvry) Beckjord. He had three siblings: Ross, Peter, and Pam. ==Education==

Beckjord attended the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado for two years. at Tulane University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1961. He studied law for one year at Boalt Hall at University of California, Berkeley. ==Career==

After graduation, Beckjord became a city planner in the Bay area, but wearied of a traditional job and decided to hunt for Bigfoot instead. In 1983, Beckjord, then director of the Crypto Zoological Society, spent a week in Scotland videotaping what he believed were three monsters in Loch Ness. The museum had its start on October 31, 1986, when he opened his home to visitors to see his collection. On October 31, 1996, Halloween, Beckjord opened the in San Francisco, California, which featured crop circles. He charged a nominal entrance fee ($3 for adults; $2 for children), but the museum's closing, reportedly, was "due to lack of any substantial evidence." ==Cryptozoology==

Beckjord defined cryptozoology as "the search for mysterious creatures." While he insisted that the exact location not be revealed to the public, Beckjord did agree to take skeptic Robert Sheaffer on a five-day expedition there in 1999. It was only after Sheaffer left the site, having seen nothing unusual, that Beckjord reported manifestations of Bigfoot. Along with the photographs of leaves and shadows Beckjord believed showed images of Bigfoot, Beckjord explained away the need for physical evidence, such as hair, blood and bones, to prove the existence of Bigfoot by arguing that the creature is an "inter-dimensional shape-shifter that can warp in and out of physical reality." Loch Ness Monster To Beckjord, the Loch Ness monster (Nessie) was a space alien pet left on Earth in a form of energy that could interact with human beings. He described Nessie as a cat-like faced creature, 15–30 feet long, 7–10 feet thick with a body that "looks like a cross between Halley's Comet and the Concorde jet." Beckjord admitted that the images might not be "exactly and positively" Nessie, but asserted that "90 percent of the people who have viewed the films believe the images are alive." ==UFOlogy==

Beckjord believed in space alien visitations to Earth, crop circles and creative forces that sculpted rock, lava and sand on Mars to resemble people on Earth like Ted Kennedy, Tammy Faye Bakker and others. He tried to sell his Kennedy-on-Mars photos, which Beckjord discovered while analyzing NASA satellite photos of the planet, Beckjord took images of what he described as three "blobs-of-light" UFOs and witnessed two instances of unexplained light over Malibu and Sepulveda Pass, respectively. Beckjord believed in a government cover up of the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrial intelligence and advocated making that information available to the general public. "A lot of this weirdness is right under our noses. We may belong to aliens. We may be experimental animals. But I can't prove it." ==Criticism==

Beckjord's firm belief that Bigfoot and similar entities were inter-dimensional shape-shifters who could "manipulate the light spectrum so that people can't see them" Beckjord maintained that "With the card-carrying skeptics, we will never win. There are more people who have seen UFOs than voted for President Clinton." ==Death==

After battling prostate cancer, Beckjord died at the age of 69 on June 22, 2008, near his home in Lafayette, California, where he was a caretaker for the Crosses of Lafayette, a monument to casualties of the Iraq War before his death. ==Memberships==

• Crypto Zoological Society • Mensa • National Cryptozoological Society • Project Bigfoot ==Awards==

• Esquire Magazine's 1991 'Dubious Achievement Award' for "the discovery of a volcanic formation on Mars that resembles Senator Edward Kennedy." ==References==