Mystery of Utah's 'goat man' is solved

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A mysterious man spotted earlier this month dressed in a goat suit on a Utah mountain has been identified as a Southern California hunter preparing for an archery hunt of mountain goats.

Phil Douglass of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources told the Standard-Examiner Monday the elusive man is a 57-year-old hunter from Southern California.

The man, who remains unidentified, was spotted by photographer Coty Creighton on July 15 during a hike on Ben Lomond peak, just north of Ogden in northern Utah.

Creighton told the AP he saw the man through a set of binoculars trailing behind a herd of goats on his hands and knees.

When the man noticed he had been spotted, "he just stopped in his tracks and froze," Creighton told The Associated Press.

'Goat man' spotted in Utah mountains

Following a friend's advice, the man called Douglass on Monday to let him know he was testing out a goat suit to train for an archery hunt of mountain goats in Canada in 2013, the Standard-Examiner reported.

“He gave me details that convinced me it was him,” Douglass, who did not ask the man’s name, told the newspaper. “I’m satisfied that this was a person preparing for a hunt and did it with knowledge and experience.”

The man told Douglass the goat costume was made out of a hooded painter’s suit outfitted with fleece. According to the report, he also told Douglass he has hunted in several foreign countries, including Mongolia.

“He found out about Utah and that it was fairly easy to get close to the goats to (train) to get a clean harvest shot with archery equipment,” Douglass told the Standard-Examiner.

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