Yeti sightings high above the Himalaya Mountains were reported for decades but now local villagers say they haven't seen any evidence of the hairy creature in years. Why?
One of the reasons may be that villagers don't ascend to those hazardous altitudes now that modernity has come to Bhutan, the BBC reported.
In the days before they had electricity the hardy villagers of Chendebji braved the fierce winds and bitter cold nightmare of the mountain peaks to gather fire wood and other necessities for survival.
There, in the swirling mists of snow, many believed they saw the ape-like creature called "Migoi" in their native tongue.
Sighting of the elusive Yeti were then handed across generations – the tales told amid the glowing embers of a warming fire. The lore of the Yeti then became part of the fabric of the villagers' everyday life.
To this day, Yeti totems adorn local homes with aged villagers still recalling weird footprints in the snow and hearing a hideous howling. Some describe a foul stench purported to be the creature.
"According to the stories that I have heard from my parents and grandparents, the Yeti's hair is similar to that of a monkey," Kama Tschering, 73, said.
"But its feet and hands are more like ours but very huge. The Yeti is also said to have long, thick hair on its head that falls down to its chest."
There were even reports of Yeti attacks on near-by villages, he said.
A farmer, Norbu, was the last person in the village to reportedly see any evidence of a Yeti. He claimed to have found an elaborate Yeti lair constructed from an array of bamboo sticks.
Now, with electricity and other modern conveniences come to the region, the villagers have no need – or desire - to forage for firewood. Their animals no longer graze upon the peaks during the summer months.
But, the elusive Yeti may still be lurking – high above amid the shelter of the still-rugged mountain range.
"We haven't gone to the mountains for more than two decades now and we are really not sure if the Yeti is still in our mountain ranges," Norbu said.
"But it doesn't matter because there is no question the Yeti is around somewhere. It's just such a clever animal. It migrates from place to place.
"With fewer people going up there, maybe it will never be found."