Bigfoot FOUND

Many proponents of Bigfoot admit that many of sightings are hoaxes or misidentified animals. Loren Coleman, a cryptozoologist, and Diane Stocking, a Florida Bigfooter, have estimated that as many as 70 to 80 percent of sightings are not real.

Bigfoot sightings or footprints are often demonstrably hoaxes. Author Jerome Clark argues that the "Jacko" affair, involving an 1884 newspaper report of an apelike creature captured in British Columbia was a hoax. Citing research by John Green, who found that several contemporary British Columbia newspapers regarded the alleged capture as very dubious, Clark notes that the New Westminster, British Columbia Mainland Guardian wrote, "Absurdity is written on the face of it."

In 1958 bulldozer operator Jerry Crew took to a newspaper office a cast of one of the enormous footprints he and other workers had been seeing at an isolated work site at Bluff Creek, California. The crew was overseen by Wilbur L. Wallace, brother of Raymond L. Wallace. After Ray Wallace’s death, his children came forward with a pair of 16-inch (41 cm) wooden feet, which they claimed their father had used to fake the Bigfoot tracks in 1958. Wallace is poorly regarded by many Bigfoot proponents. Napier wrote, "I do not feel impressed with Mr. Wallace’s story" regarding having over 15,000 feet of film showing Bigfoot.

In 1967, Roger Patterson and Robert Gimlin reported that on October 20 they had captured a purported Sasquatch on film at Bluff Creek, California. This came to be known as the Patterson-Gimlin film, the best evidence that Bigfoot exist. Many years later, Bob Heironimus, an acquaintance of Patterson’s, claimed that he had worn an ape costume for the making of the film. Organizations such as Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization have suggested that that Heironimus himself is a fraud.

On July 14, 2005, Tom Biscardi appeared on the Coast to Coast AM radio show and announced that he was "98% sure that his group will be able to capture a Bigfoot which they have been tracking in the Happy Camp, California area." A month later, Biscardi announced on the same radio show that he had access to a captured bigfoot and was arranging a pay-per-view event for people to see it. Biscardi appeared on Coast to Coast AM again a few days later to announce that there was no captive Bigfoot. Biscardi blamed an unnamed woman for misleading him, and the show’s audience for being so gullible.

On July 9, 2008, two hikers, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton, posted a video to YouTube claiming that they had discovered the body of a deceased Sasquatch in a forest in northern Georgia. Steve Kulls of Sasquatchdetective.com and Sasquatchdetective Radio posted a video response asking them to appear on his radio program on July 28, 2008. After an hour long phone interview with Dyer on July 28, Kulls contacted Tom Biscardi, a long-time Bigfoot enthusiast and CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. of Menlo Park, California. At that time they decided that Biscardi would take over the investigation. He traveled to Georgia on August 1, 2008 to look at the body (named "Rickmat" by Dyer and Whitton). Biscardi was given samples of genetic material by Dyer and Whitton. Biscardi then hand delivered the samples to Dr. Curt Nelson in Michigan. One sample was shown to contain human DNA and another sample opossum DNA, while a third was inconclusive. Biscardi suggested that the opossum DNA could be attributed to the stomach contents of the carcass. On August 4, Dyer and Whitton entered into a contract with Searching for Bigfoot, Inc. On August 12, Dyer and Whitton requested $50,000 from Searching for Bigfoot, Inc., as a good faith gesture. They received their requested funds on August 14. Biscardi had originally planned a press conference after the body had been examined by scientists, but Dyer and Whitton refused to turn the body over to his company unless the press conference was held first. The press conference took place on August 15, 2008. By this time, the story had been covered by many news networks, including BBC, CNN, ABC News, and FOX News. On August 16, the alleged Bigfoot body arrived with the Searching for Bigfoot team. The body was in a block of ice in a freezer. It was estimated to weigh about 1500 pounds, and at first began thawing at room temperature to avoid additional decomposition. When some hair was exposed, it was tested and found to be uncharacteristic of hair. At that point, heat was applied to speed thawing. Once the head was exposed, it felt hollow when researchers touched it. Once the feet were exposed, it was confirmed that they were made of rubber. Biscardi was immediately contacted, who confronted Dyer and Whitton. They admitted the "body" was a costume. Biscardi set up a meeting with Dyer and Whitton so that they would sign a promissory note and admission of what they had done. When Biscardi arrived at the hotel room where the meeting was to take place, he found that Dyer and Whitten had left. It is still unclear as to Dyer and Whitton’s motivation behind the hoax. Whitton is a seven-year veteran with the Clayton County Police Department, who has since lost his job due to his participation in the hoax.