I had a coworker who had a big gorilla suit they glued red reflectors just above the eye holes, and added some wig hair all over the body and face. Him and his buddies would get drunk on weekend nights and take turns wearing the suit and running across county roads. The versions of reports on the news versus guys hammered drunk staggering around were at direct odds. Witnesses said they "saw Bigfoot run across the road in two strides and leap up the shoulder in one jump". In reality they could barely walk and crawled up the shoulder on all fours.
That tells me all I need to know about first hand witness statements.