On April 26, 1890, an Arizona newspaper called the Tombstone Epitaph carried a very unusual headline. "Found in the Desert: A Strange Winged Monster Found and Killed on the Huachuca Desert" had been the sensational headline, which introduced the story of a group of cowboys who shot and killed something monstrous in rural Arizona. 

Or so the legend goes, at least. For years, researchers have looked in vain for the newspaper article, as well as an alleged photograph which was said to have accompanied it that actually depicted the monster nailed to a barn. While some skeptics concluded that the alleged story had never appeared in the Epitaph, this week we explore the work of one late chronicler of the unusual, Mark Chorvinski, who decided to determine the story's origins once and for all... and attempt to track down the fabled "lost Thunderbird photo." 

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Show Notes

Below are links to stories and other content featured in this episode:

• Astronomers Think They've Found Another Trojan Asteroid Lurking in Earth's Orbit
• Reports of a tiger on the loose in Southwest San Antonio
• 'Smallest reptile on earth' discovered in Madagascar   
• In Memoriam: Mark Chorvinsky (1954-2005)
• Cowboys & Dragons: Mark Chorvinsky’s search for the fabled Thunderbird photograph
• Tombstone Epitaph, April 26, 1890, Featuring “Thunderbird” Story (Chronicling America, LoC)

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