Not my usual territory but I've been following this one. The Mississippi corridor thing isn't new - there's been a cluster pattern there going back decades if you dig into the older BFRO adjacent reports. What gets me is how many of the recent ones specifically mention the thing moving on two legs then dropping to four. That's not bear behaviour no matter how many debunkers wheel that one out.
The interdimensional angle is worth considering here. Waterways have always been associated with threshold activity in older folklore. Rivers as boundaries between states of existence and all that. Might explain why sightings spike then go quiet for months rather than following any pattern you'd expect from a physical animal.
Anyone got the rough coordinates of the recent ones? Curious if they cluster near any of the lock and dam structures.