When was sasquatch first seen

The Ojibway of the Northern Plains believed the Rugaru appeared in times of danger and other nations agreed that the hairy apparition was a messenger of warning, telling man to change his ways. North American settlers started reporting sightings during the late s and into the s with the occasional finding of footprints, sporadic encounters and even a few grainy photos and videos adding to the mystery. Those who claim to have seen Bigfoot have described everything from a large, upright ape to an actual hairy human, sometimes standing over eight feet tall and described as powerfully built.

The debate and research continue. Entire organizations exist to study and document Bigfoot and prove its existence and groups regularly search the Northwest woods, looking for that ultimate proof. In one very real sense, however, Bigfoot does exist. Here's everything you need to know:. How did Bigfoot get its name? On Aug. Jerry Crew was clearing away brush and stumps near Bluff Creek, about miles north of San Francisco, when he found enormous, manlike footprints in the mud. Shocked, he relayed the news — and discovered his colleagues had also spotted mammoth tracks several times.

News of their sighting was published in the local Humboldt Times. Was the story true? After Crew's co-worker Ray Wallace died at 84 in , his children revealed a secret Wallace had concealed for decades: He'd made the prints by stomping in the mud with carved wooden feet. It was all "just a joke," they said. News of Wallace's hoax, however, barely registered with Bigfoot believers. Today, "interest in the existence of the creature is at an all-time high," said paleontologist Darren Naish.

In May, thousands of believers will attend one of the largest-ever Bigfoot conferences, in Ohio, where, organizers say, "speakers from across the Bigfoot community Is Bigfoot a purely American phenomenon? Sightings of a similar half-man, half-ape have been reported by people all over the world. Indigenous tribes of British Columbia called the creature "Sesquac" — meaning "wild man" — and the term was later anglicized to Sasquatch.

The Chinese believe a "Yeren" roams the western Hubei mountains. Australians say a "Yowie" stalks the Outback. By any name, this mythical creature is usually described as a bipedal hominid sporting a shaggy coat of hair covering its 8-tofoot-tall frame although sightings of "juveniles" also occur. At the end of all that: "It was concluded as a result of these examinations that the hairs are of a deer family origin," Cochran wrote. Even though he does not recall that test being performed, or the FBI's conclusion, more than 40 years later Byrne still dreams of finding a Bigfoot.

He noted that he once found in the Pacific Northwest a "huge footprint" of what would have been an upright mammal with five toes on each foot and a "inch stride. And, "We had a sighting 10 days ago [of a Bigfoot] from a very reliable, very good friend of mine," Byrne said.

Last year, he said, there was a sighting of a suspected Sasquatch by seven loggers, who were surprised to see a huge creature ambling their way. When it came to believing in Bigfoot, Byrne noted, those men were "all totally skeptical right until then. Byrne, who was sentenced to three years of probation and full restitution, had been receiving Supplemental Social Security Income, and had been required to report to Social Security certain travel outside of the U.

According to federal prosecutors in , investigators found a copy of a letter Byrne had sent his publisher, Safari Press, "directing that any future royalties for his published books be sent to his girlfriend. Attorney's Office for Oregon said in a press release at the time. Skip Navigation. Key Points.

In , a man intent on proving the existence of the mythical creature known as Bigfoot got the FBI to test hair and tissue samples that he believed might help his case, according to newly released records.

The FBI concluded that the sample came from a member of the "deer family.