Overview
Momo is a large, hairy, upright creature reported around Louisiana, Missouri, a small Mississippi River town in Pike County. The name is short for Missouri Monster. Witnesses described it as six or seven feet tall and black-haired, with no visible neck, a big round head, and a terrible smell. Some said its eyes glowed orange. The famous reports all cluster in the summer of 1972, with a few earlier stories from 1971.
The flap started on July 11, 1972, when the Harrison children said they saw the creature near their home at the base of Marzolf Hill, holding what looked like a dead dog. Their father, Edgar Harrison, then reported growls and strange noises around the town's water reservoir on the hill. Within days dozens of armed residents were roaming the woods, the police chief organized searches, and the story went national.
More sightings came in through July and August from the river road and farms outside town, along with footprints and plaster casts. A zoologist who looked at some tracks called them a hoax, and some locals blamed pranksters. No body, clear photo or confirmed sample ever turned up.
Momo stuck anyway. Six Flags St. Louis ran a Momo-themed ride from 1973 to 1994, author Lyle Blackburn wrote a book on the case, and a 2019 docudrama, Momo: The Missouri Monster, retold the 1972 summer.
Timeline
- July 1971Joan Mills and Mary Ryan report an ape-like creature near their car off Highway 79 (per Lyle Blackburn).
- July 11, 1972Harrison children see a hairy creature carrying a dead dog near Marzolf Hill.
- July 14, 1972Edgar Harrison and others hear growls at the hilltop water reservoir; armed crowd gathers.
- July 15, 1972Pat Howard and Ellis Minor report separate sightings.
- July 19-20, 1972Police Chief Shelby Ward leads searches; trampled brush and large tracks reported.
- Aug 3, 1972Footprints found on the Suddarth farm; plaster cast made.
- 1973Six Flags St. Louis opens a Momo-themed ride.
- 2019Small Town Monsters releases Momo: The Missouri Monster.
Reported sightings
Off Highway 79 near Louisiana MO
July 1971 Told story
Joan Mills and Mary Ryan said they had stopped for a roadside picnic when a tall, ape-like creature came out of the woods. They described a round head, glowing eyes and an awful smell. In the usual telling they shut themselves in the car, and the creature took a peanut butter sandwich before leaving. The account is cited from Lyle Blackburn's book; the original newspaper report was not reviewed.
Source: shadowfrequencypodcast.comBase of Marzolf Hill, Louisiana MO
July 11, 1972 On the record
Terry Harrison, 8, and his younger brother were outside, and their sister Doris, 15, looked out from the kitchen window. She saw a black, hairy creature six or seven feet tall standing near the trees, apparently holding a dead dog. It had no visible neck. Later searchers reported beaten-down brush, faint footprints and black hairs. The family dog was reported to fall ill soon after.
Source: americanhauntingsink.comWater reservoir on Marzolf Hill, Louisiana MO
July 14, 1972 On the record
During a gathering at the Harrison home, people heard loud growls and clanging near the town's metal water reservoir on the hill. Edgar Harrison, who looked after the waterworks, went to look. Around 40 armed residents gathered. When Harrison shouted that it was coming, the crowd scattered. Police officers checked the area and found nothing.
Source: americanhauntingsink.comRoad near Marzolf Hill, Louisiana MO
July 15, 1972 (about 5 a.m.) On the record
Pat Howard reported seeing a dark, man-like shape cross the road near Marzolf Hill early in the morning. The report was one of several that appeared in the local and regional press during the week after the Harrison sighting.
Source: bigfootencounters.comRiver road outside Louisiana MO
July 1972 (night) On the record
Ellis Minor, 63, who lived in a cabin on the river road, said he saw the creature close by. He described hair hanging down to about its hips and called it black as coal. One source dates his sighting to July 15 and another to July 21.
Source: americanhauntingsink.comCreek bed near Louisiana MO
July 1972 On the record
Richard Allan Murray, the local fire chief and a city council member, said his headlights caught a massive upright creature while he drove along a creek bed. A 20-person search party was organized and found nothing. Murray's standing in town gave the case extra weight in the press.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgMarzolf Hill woods, Louisiana MO
July 20, 1972 On the record
A day after an organized search led by Police Chief Shelby Ward with state conservation officer Gus Artus, searchers reported trampled brush, signs of digging, tracks over ten inches long and what looked like handprints in the soil. No animal was seen.
Source: americanhauntingsink.comSuddarth farm, northwest of Louisiana MO
Aug 3, 1972 On the record
Bill Suddarth and his wife found four large footprints on their farm. Clyde Penrod made a plaster cast. The tracks were said to start and stop oddly in the middle of their garden, which added to the mystery and to suspicions of pranks.
Source: americanhauntingsink.comEvidence
Footprints and plaster casts (1972) Disputed
Large prints found around Marzolf Hill and the Suddarth farm; a cast was made. A zoologist, Lawrence Curtis, examined three-toed tracks near the Harrison home and called them a hoax.
Black hairs and trampled brush Unexplained
Reported at the Harrison sighting site. No lab result was found.
Bad smell Unexplained
Several witnesses describe a strong odor. Hard to test after the fact.
What each side says
What witnesses and researchers report
Believers point to the number and variety of witnesses: children, a fire chief, an older riverside resident, and farm families. Many described the same features, especially the size, the black hair, the lack of a neck and the smell.
The setting fits the idea of a large animal moving along the river. Marzolf Hill and the Mississippi bottoms are wooded and lightly settled, and sightings were reported up and down the river.
What skeptics and scientists suggest
Zoologist Lawrence Curtis examined three-toed tracks near the Harrison home and declared them a hoax. A local retired teacher, Priscilla Giltner, suggested pranksters started the panic. Once the press arrived, every noise in the woods became Momo.
Skeptics also note that armed crowds, night searches and constant media attention create ideal conditions for misidentified dogs, bears or people, and for jokes that get out of hand.
Open questions
- What did the Harrison children actually see on July 11?
- Were the footprints all fakes, or only some of them?
Visiting
Where: Louisiana, Pike County, Missouri, on the Mississippi River about 90 miles north of St. Louis.
Access: Marzolf Hill is a residential edge of town; view from public roads only. The downtown river front is public.
Events: No regular Momo festival was confirmed.
Did you know?
- Six Flags St. Louis ran a Momo-themed ride for more than twenty years.
- The 2019 docudrama featured TV Bigfoot researchers Cliff Barackman and James 'Bobo' Fay.