CASE FILE BF-01-003: The Mission & Methodology
CASE FILE BF-01-003
SUBJECT: BF-01 (“Beerfoot”) – Investigative Mission Statement & Field Methodology
REPORTING AGENT: T.W. Dunlap, BATF-F-001
DATE FILED: May 12, 1977
DIGITIZED BY: Agent J.L. Porter, BATF-F-002
DIGITIZATION DATE: November 2019
THE MISSION: WHY THIS WORK MATTERS
Agent T.W. Dunlap, May 1977
Here’s what nobody tells you about being the last true believer: it’s exhausting.
Every bar tab I can’t explain. Every morning I wake up missing my keys. Every witness statement that reads like a fever dream. I know it’s him. But knowing and proving are two very different things, especially when your primary suspect is a folkloric entity with no fixed address and a talent for exploiting human error.
[Dunlap’s phrasing here is notable. “Exploiting human error” suggests intentional targeting of vulnerability. – J.L.P.]
And yes, I’m aware of the irony. The stress of this job drives me to drink. And when I drink, I become vulnerable. And when I’m vulnerable, Beerfoot strikes. It’s a vicious cycle, and I’m man enough to admit I’m caught in it.
[I’ve reread this paragraph six times. Dunlap acknowledges a cycle but frames himself as the victim of it rather than… I’m not sure how to finish that thought. The logic loop is dizzying. – J.L.P.]
But that doesn’t make the mission any less real. Good people, decent, hardworking social drinkers, are being taken advantage of. They wake up confused, blaming themselves, never knowing they were victims of something far stranger than bad judgment.
[The phrase “victims of something far stranger than bad judgment” is doing a lot of work here. – J.L.P.]
Someone has to keep trying. Even if that someone is compromised. Even if that someone is me.
[Dunlap uses the word “compromised” to describe his investigative position. By his own admission, he is both investigator and victim. The Treasury manual has no protocols for this scenario. – J.L.P.]
INVESTIGATIVE METHODOLOGY
Agent T.W. Dunlap, May 1977
My approach is threefold:
1. DOCUMENTATION
Every incident, no matter how minor, gets filed. Missing beer? Filed. Unexplained footprints? Filed. Distant belching that echoes longer than physics would suggest? Filed.
The pattern is there. You just have to be willing to look for it.
[Dunlap has filed 847 incident reports as of 1980. I’m currently on report number 63. The pattern he references has not yet emerged, but I’m assured it will. – J.L.P.]
2. WITNESS INTERVIEWS
I track down everyone who’s had a potential encounter. Bar patrons, brewery workers, festival attendees, campground hosts. Most don’t realize what they’ve experienced until I help them connect the dots.
The common thread? Confusion. Missing time. A vague sense of having been in the presence of something unusual. And, of course, missing beer.
[The interviews follow a consistent structure. Dunlap asks leading questions, witnesses provide uncertain answers, Dunlap confirms their uncertainty as evidence. The methodology is… thorough. – J.L.P.]
3. FIELD SURVEILLANCE
I frequent establishments where Beerfoot is most active. Dive bars, brewpubs, outdoor venues. I observe. I take notes. I wait.
Some might say I’m just drinking on the job. But those people don’t understand the level of immersion required for effective cryptozoological fieldwork.
[There are 73 receipts in Dunlap’s expense reports filed under “Field Surveillance – Beverage Integration.” Treasury rejected all of them. – J.L.P.]
THE CHALLENGE
The subject operates in environments where memory is unreliable and witnesses are, by definition, impaired. This creates investigative obstacles that traditional law enforcement is ill-equipped to handle.
But I persist. Because someone has to.
[I keep circling back to Dunlap’s phrase “by definition, impaired.” He’s identified the core methodological challenge but seems to interpret it as an obstacle rather than… something else. I can’t quite articulate what. – J.L.P.]
THE BURDEN OF PROOF
Treasury wants “quantifiable evidence of economic impact.”
The FBI wants “credible threat assessment.”
ATF wants me to stop filing reports under their jurisdiction code.
What they don’t want is the truth: that a cryptozoological entity is systematically targeting American drinking culture, and the only person willing to investigate it is one agent in a basement office with a filing cabinet and a migraine.
[Dunlap filed 34 memos to Treasury requesting additional personnel between 1977-1982. All were denied. The rejection letters are remarkably consistent in tone. – J.L.P.]
I don’t expect anyone to understand. I just expect to keep working.
Because good people are out there, confused and vulnerable, blaming themselves for things they didn’t do.
And Beerfoot is out there too. Watching. Waiting. Stealing.
Someone has to stand between them.
[The file ends with this declaration. No evidence is presented. No suspects are named. Just a mission statement from a man who believes he’s protecting the public from something nobody else can see. I should feel skeptical. Instead, I just feel tired. – J.L.P.]
PORTER’S ASSESSMENT:
Agent Dunlap’s mission statement reads less like investigative documentation and more like a personal manifesto. He acknowledges multiple methodological problems, his own compromised position, and the lack of supporting evidence from other agencies, yet interprets all of this as confirmation rather than contradiction.
The most troubling aspect of this file is Dunlap’s description of himself as both investigator and victim, caught in what he calls a “vicious cycle” but unwilling or unable to examine the cycle itself.
I’m digitizing these files to look for patterns. So far, the only pattern is Dunlap’s certainty.
That, and the fact that I’ve misplaced my keys twice this week.
FILE STATUS: Archived