Bigfoot DNA – Proof Within Controversy
As the results of the Bigfoot DNA studies slowly emerge from the silence of Dr. Melba Ketchum’s lab, it is both exciting to hear about the discoveries, and distressing to realize there’s so much in-fighting and bickering going on. As usual, in Bigfoot research, every ego is on edge and some go over the edge.
I first heard of it from my neighbor, JavaBob Schmalzbach, author of Monsters, Myths, and Me and owner of the Footprints in Your Mind website. He was involved with Richard Stubstad and Dr. Melba Ketchum when the project started. However as it progressed and the non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) expired, communication within the team broke down. It seems that Ketchum has taken over the evidence and edged others out of the deal.
Consequently, Richard Stubstad recently published a statement about the results of the DNA research, after refusing to sign a new NDA giving Dr. Ketchum 100% of the glory and joy of the new discovery. It appears that her attempt to cut out her former associates has backfired.
This appears to be a typical Bigfoot research scenario. I don’t know what it is about Bigfoot, but researchers have been vying with one another for the glory of the great discovery for decades now. I tend to think it is a matter of motivation. When we’re caught up in the human drama rather than thinking first of the well-being of the Bigfoot people themselves, competition runs rampant. So many people want to be the owner of the name that goes down in history as the person who proved the existence of Bigfoot!
Richard Stubstad’s article about Bigfoot DNA can be found in the July 2011 issue of JavaBob’s online magazine: Footprints in Your Mind – Special Sasquatch Edition. It is also on his website.
According to his biography on Footprints In Your Mind.Com, Richard Stubstad started his Bigfoot research as recently as 2009. Since then he “initiated the mitochondrial sequencing of several purported sasquatch samples through Dr. Ketchum’s DNA diagnostics laboratory in Texas.”
The information he is revealing now is not a “leak” of someone else’s work, but rather is from Richard Stubstad’s own collection of evidence and work on the DNA project prior to being shut out. For more information see this rebutal found on JavaBob’s website. He believes he has a legal right to share this much with the public.
Quoting Richard Stubstad:
1) This wasn’t intended to be a leak. Since I am no longer working with Dr. Ketchum according to her own personal desires, I am simply reporting on the work I did, without assistance, on the mtDNA analysis of the first two unspecified mtDNA samples.
2) Dr. K is incorrect; I’m not at all “misinformed” about her ongoing DNA work on various purported sasquatch samples; I’m not informed whatsoever, much beyond what I have already stated.
3) What I stated was not the result of Dr. K’s own work; she merely provided the mtDNA sequencing that others (who provided samples) had paid for. I also paid for some of the testing involved out of my own pocket.
4) Dr. K did not initially notice the close connection between Samples 1 and 2; I did the statistical analysis and told her, quite openly, of the statistical results since we and several others were intimately involved in this exciting and cooperative research when it started.
5) Within a short period of time, she excluded me from what quickly turned into “her” project, along with several others. She told me that her lawyer(s) told her to do so. This does resemble the smell of blood, eh?
The two original samples submitted to the lab were from totally separate sources. In fact, the researcher offering sample #1 did not see eye-to-eye with the researcher offering sample #2, so there was no opportunity for cross-contamination. Nevertheless these two samples had strikingly similar DNA characteristics, enough so that Stubstad concluded that there is a 97-98% certainty that Bigfoot exists.
The mtDNA tests of both samples offered clues to the mitochondrial (maternal/female) origins, showing them to be 100% HUMAN (homo sapiens) proving that “Bigfoot People” is a reasonable term… just as many recent research reports have suggested. They are our cousins, and a likely possibility is that they resulted from breeding between something else, and humans of our species.
What is known about the “Mitochondrial Eve” for both the original samples, is that she was from the “Franco-Cantabrian glacial refuge”. She was a homo sapiens human being living in southern Europe 15,000 years ago, give or take about 5000 years.
Sources include:
Breathtaking News From the Erickson Project
New Erickson Project News: Bigfoot DNA Project Using Two Dead Bigfoot Bodies for Samples
Bear Hunter Interview – Part 2
Interview with Richard Stubstad – Is Bigfoot Human?
The issue of two dead Bigfoot . . . is something I can’t totally believe at this time, but I will explain it to you. The story is that a hunter in Plumas County, CA was threatened by a female Bigfoot, old enough to have gray hair. She was, according to him, blocking the road and making gestures that made him feel threatened, so he got out of his vehicle and shot her.
Then he says there were two young Sasquatches in the forest nearby, obviously upset by the female’s death. The hunter is reported to have shot and killed one of them.
The story continues that there were two other hunters with him. One became hysterical and they took away the rifle and wouldn’t let him shoot the third Bigfoot.
According to the web-rumors, the hunter is extremely worried about being prosecuted, and well he should be. California law is detailed and specific about what hunters are allowed to shoot. Bigfoot, of course, is not on that list.
Also, since the DNA is proving that Sasquatches are at least 1/2 human, there could be murder charges.
One rumor states that they left the bodies there. Another states that the bodies were recovered and sent to a Bigfoot research project in Washington state. And there’s the rumor that a piece of flesh from the female’s thigh was sent to Dr. Melba Ketchum for DNA analysis.
So, there’s the story of two dead Bigfoot bodies. I’m waiting for proof before I’ll believe any of it.
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All sources for this article can be found on the web.
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[Update: Radio broadcast - 7/9/11 - Richard Stubstad interviewed by M.K. Davis and Don Monroe. Thanks to Bobbie Short of Bigfoot Encounters for the link!]
[Update: Another radio broadcast - 7/9/11 - Robert Lindsay interviewed by the Minnesota Bigfoot Research Team, with a call-in from BFRO researcher Derek Randles, who spoke with the shooter of the 2 Plumas County Bigfoot and tends to believe the story. (I'm still reserving judgement on the story because it reminds me of the Georgia Bigfoot Hoax, the Stagecoach Nevada Bigfoot Hoax, etc. etc.... show me the proof!!!)]
March 7, 2011
A New Bigfoot Documentary – Coming Right Up!
The Erickson Project team, founded by Adrian Erickson, has worked to uncover scientific evidence proving the existence of Bigfoot according to their website, Sasquatch The Quest. A documentary is “in the works”. Naturally, most Bigfoot enthusiasts hope the Erickson Project is able to produce the proof we’ve been waiting for and that hundreds of qualified zoologists and other professional scientists will decide to take up the quest for truth once convincing DNA evidence is made public.
The following video, released late last week by MrMayDX08 on YouTube features scientists including Dr. John Bindernagle and Dr. Jeff Meldrum
Adrian Erickson’s first sighting was in 1959. He was only seven years old at the time. Consequently his fascination with proving the existence of Bigfoot has been a life-long quest, one that he’s been fairly successful at with several other encounters including a 2001 sighting in the Canadian Rockies.
His team members include Dennis Pfohl (Project Manager) and Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh (Project Scientist). DNA testing is provided by Dr. Melba S. Ketchum, president and founder of DNA Diagnostics, Inc. d/b/a Shelterwood Laboratories, Texas.
For several years the Erickson Project team worked on collecting evidence – hair, saliva and blood samples. These are undergoing analysis of mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA. When all necessary research is complete the “Sasquatch the Quest” documentary will be released. There is no known anticipated release date at this time.
September 21, 2009
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Seven: “Trinity County”
Book review by Linda Martin – © 2009
Reading group homepage for this book: Tribal Bigfoot
Re: Chapter Seven of Tribal Bigfoot by David Paulides, “Trinity County”:
One of the things that makes David Paulides’ books so enjoyable to read is that he makes each segment a story in and of itself. Though the Trinity County chapter profiles more than ten Bigfoot sightings, each is related as its own story complete with lots of background information. For example, when he related Jeannie Lewis’ story (starting on page 162) he began with a description and history of Highway 299. From there he went on to explain how this highway figured into Jeannie’s life and her Bigfoot sighting story.
In the section about Shirley Forks, we get to learn a bit about her family’s history in Willow Creek before she takes off on the trip to Medford that resulted in a Bigfoot sighting next to the Trinity River. The time Paulides spends introducing the people involved makes them real to us by bringing forth the details of their lives.
Though in The Hoopa Project he focused on Bigfoot sightings only for most of the book, here he’s also included episodes that had only footprints or other phenomena, somewhat short of actual sightings. Nevertheless they are compelling accounts of highly unusual finds and experiences.
Doug Mortenson’s sighting account was remarkable because he was a logger. We hear few sighting reports from loggers though we know they’re likely to be in the right area at the right time. This particular sighting took place near Friday Ridge Road, a location name that jumped off the page for me as I recalled that just a few weeks ago I was there in Willow Creek where I went to the Friday Ridge Road vicinity, and later heard from Bigfoot Books blogger Steven Streufert that there have been recent sightings in that area. Later that evening after I left Willow Creek, Steven went squatching on that road with Craig Woolheater of Texas, Sharonlee of Ohio, and the Believe It Tour team members: Mike Esoridi, Diana Smith, and Brad Pennock.
There are a lot of Bigfoot reports in this chapter and I can’t write about them all, but will mention a few. In the segment about Mel Hester of Hyampom, a retired US Forest Service employee, he correlated UFO sightings with Bigfoot sightings in his area. Once he went to Big Bar Road to look for an unusual orb light phenomena and instead found Bigfoot tracks in the snow.
John Lewis of San Francisco shared a Bigfoot sighting event that took place in Trinity County in about 1915. His father was a line worker helping to build a railroad south of Eureka when another line worker disappeared. He was missing for about a month then was discovered naked and delirious in a pit. Before he died the man stated that a female ape had kidnapped him and held him captive. At the end of this segment Mr. Paulides shared a couple reports from Ray Crowe’s Track Record newsletter that mentioned rock-lined pits in relation to Bigfoot. One more thing to watch out for in the woods! This was a highly detailed section – you will have to read the book to learn more. If it were not for David Paulides’ research efforts this shocking and historic Bigfoot sighting and kidnapping report would probably never have been recorded!
On page 140 Paulides wrote about his arrival in Hayfork: “I didn’t have any specific names to contact when I arrived, so I knew I would have to canvass the area for locals willing to talk.” His efforts at finding connections in Hayfork and other towns have been very effective and fruitful!
One sad section of the chapter details Bigfoot killings. David Paulides got on this topic because of a report that a sixteen-year-old hunter claimed to have shot a Bigfoot on Knob Peak near Wildwood in Trinity County. Paulides brought forth other reports of Bigfoot killings near the end of this chapter. A very distressing topic! Not only is it distressing because possibly these creatures were killed, but also because now the other Bigfoot family members will be more cautious around humans, and may even harbor animosity toward us. That would make Bigfoot seeking in those areas more dangerous than it otherwise would have been.
Trinity County is a beautiful place to visit. I don’t know how David Paulides got through this entire chapter without mentioning Weaverville, the county seat and a favorite vacation destination of mine. I suppose there aren’t a lot of Bigfoot sightings right in town there but you can visit the Weaverville Joss House State Historic Park and learn about Taoism as practiced by Chinese miners who at one time populated the area. When I first visited the Joss House in the mid-1970s the temple was still being used. The Chinese settlers called this “The Temple of the Forest Beneath The Clouds.”
This spotted owl in the Shasta Trinity Forest probably knows more about Bigfoot than we do!
Photo courtesy of the US Forest Service
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Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter One: “Historical Bigfoot”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Two: “The Bigfoot Map Project”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Three: “Associations”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Four: “Extreme Sighting Locations”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Five: “Santa Cruz County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Six: “Amador County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Seven: “Trinity County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Eight: “Siskiyou County”
Tribal Bigfoot – Comments on Chapter Nine: “Del Norte County”
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September 6, 2009
David Paulides Responds to the Bigfoot Massacre Issue
While checking out David Paulides’ North America Bigfoot Search website yesterday to verify a statement in my first posting about Tribal Bigfoot, I noticed that Paulides has added an undated “blog post” that seems to be a response to the Bigfoot Massacre hooplah/outcry that started on Cryptomundo with Loren Coleman’s postings of MK Davis pictures and videos compared to responses by John Green. Coleman’s posts included a couple derisive mentions of Paulides’ name which set me off, and I responded with a few blog posts of my own, shocked that Paulides would be associated with such an outrageous theory. Perhaps I should have kept it to myself, but I was very upset by the issue, especially after seeing David Paulides’ name mentioned! Plus I thought the photoshopping on the videos Coleman linked to was outrageous!
You can read David Paulides’ blog post #67 “Professional Investigations” on his blog in small orange lettering on black (which gives me eye strain) . . . or praise God because it is also posted on David Paulides’ Author Page at Amazon
I agree in part with this statement from his blog posting: “…the world of Bigfoot is one of the most dysfunctional arenas in any spectrum imaginable. It’s a place where many can’t work together, most don’t have friends, a majority of research ‘groups’ are a group of one and almost all have an ego the size of Texas.” I’ve met more people with ego problems who are into Bigfoot research than in any other group I’ve associated with. However I’ve also met some very decent, humble, pleasant people; we’re not all made from the same mold.
I believe he was referring to Coleman when he wrote, “They don’t go into the field, they manage a website where they obtain revenue from selling ads on their site, they make occasional television show appearances and they pedal their books. This group has an inordinate amount of time to sit, read others sites and again, try to find a story that is controversial about Bigfoot so they can drive traffic to their site and increase the revenue to their wallet.” In case he was including me in that group I have to admit… I don’t make money on this site. The small amount of money I get from AdSense for this site doesn’t cover my server and domain expenses.
Though I’m no big fan of Coleman’s I also want to say he’s making money his way which is fine, and David Paulides is making out well too as I understand it because he told me he’s backed by a group of business people in the Silicon Valley area who invested in his project, plus he sells books. I think it is time we all stopped blaming other Bigfoot researchers for the way they attempt or manage to make money with their Bigfoot research projects. More on this in my recent posting: Bigfooting for Cash: Capitalizing on Bigfoot.
If I had a way to make money with Bigfoot research, I’d be doing it too because I’m now unemployed and living on the edge, financially. I don’t even have hot water in my home because I can’t afford the propane for the hot water heater. I’ve discovered that taking a cold shower isn’t too bad if you do it right after taking a long hike. I don’t have money to do long-distance research projects or buy Bigfoot research equipment or go to conventions. But I do have enough to rent a cabin in the forest and drive to local Bigfoot research locations, and maintain a blog. I’m not complaining… and I love living here despite few job opportunities. I also appreciate having more time for Bigfoot research and blogging since I lost my job!
I found David Paulides’ resonse in Blog posting #67 to be cryptic beyond belief – a technique no doubt perfected in his law enforcement days. Rather than coming right out and telling us what he’s talking about he skirts the topic while commenting on his professionalism. Call me a little disappointed, but a cryptic and uninformative response is better than none at all.
August 29, 2009
Bigfooting for Cash: Capitalizing on Bigfoot
This week I received email from someone who objected to my review of the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy because the organization accepts money from people wanting to be included in their research expeditions. Certainly, everything about this organization spells money… the website appears to be professionally designed, there’s a membership application on the site, and photos of expensive equipment give one the impression that there’s got to be some kind of funding going on.
Membership is clearly explained on the site and requires a $60 annual fee: TBRC Membership. There’s also an annual TBRC conference. I believe the $15 general admission charge is very reasonable, and the public is welcome to attend so that price is not just for members. The person who wrote to me said that a friend paid several hundred dollars to participate in a TBRC weekend expedition. There’s no mention of this kind of fee on the site, so far as I can detect. Such a fee rivals BFRO’s expedition costs.
So this brings up a topic that I believe a lot of people have problems accepting – that people want to make money with their Bigfoot research hobby! Moreover, equipment costs money! I can totally identify with both issues. My partner and I are both unemployed at this point and we don’t have the high-tech equipment to use like the big organizations do (TBRC, BFRO, etc.) …so money, getting donations, and finding solutions in order to be able to do Bigfoot research – these have been topics of conversation around here! Until recently we didn’t even have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to take into the forest. I just purchased a 1995 4wd Ford Aerostar van for Bigfoot research activities, and I still can’t take it into the forest because it needs better tires first. I’m hoping to get them before the end of the year, but there’s other equipment we’d like to have: a good video camera and trail cams, for example. I would love to be able to make YouTube videos of our activities in the forest. So money, yes… it is an issue. I’m very close to putting a donation link on my Friends of Sasquatch site. I had one on this site many months back but never got any donations. Also the AdSense I have on this site doesn’t even cover the cost of my server, so I can’t really say I’m making money here at all.
I can also see why many people who do Bigfoot research as a hobby are offended by organizations that charge for participation. The organization may justify this as a needed revenue building opportunity so that expensive equipment can be purchased, gasoline paid for, and organizational expenses paid. On the other hand, some of this money could be siphoned off for other uses. Do any of these organization czars get paid? Does Matt Moneymaker actually make money with Bigfoot explorations?
My informant stated that he has been doing Bigfoot research for quite a few years, paying his own way, with a group that does not accept donations or collect fees. There are probably hundreds of similar Bigfoot researchers who do this because they love squatching, not because they’re looking for donations for their research organizations. I picture them as hard working people (mostly men) who buy their own research equipment and go on expeditions with their friends in their spare time.
At the other end of the spectrum are people like “he whose name will not appear in my blog” whose Bigfooting business plan has been put online by an ex-cohort.
There are lots of ways that Bigfoot researchers and investigators try to earn money, and here are some that I know of:
1. Creating a website then asking for donations
2. Putting advertising on the website
3. Charging for expeditions
4. Creating a NPO then charging membership fees
5. Getting large donations from rich businessmen needing a tax write-off
6. Writing a book about Bigfoot
7. Creating Bigfoot themed products and selling them
8. Gathering Bigfoot evidence, then selling it
Am I missing anything on this list?
So which of these are acceptable and which aren’t? When should a hobby turn into a business?
Is it ethical to charge a fee for expedition participation when anyone can just go out into the woods and start squatching on their own?
I’d like to get comments on this from anyone having strong feelings one way or the other about money issues in Bigfoot research. I told the person who emailed me, “I have never paid to be in any Bigfoot research organization or to go on any expeditions. It seems senseless especially since there are many miles of forest for anyone to explore, and being in a large group is likely to repel a Bigfoot, not attract one.” That’s just my opinion; I’m sure there are others able and willing to pay hundreds for a little field training.
August 26, 2009
Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy
Everything about the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy (TBRC) website is state of the art. I want to start this short review of their site by praising the webdesign. As a former webdesign business owner I recognize great design when I see it – and this site is outstanding. There’s a professionally developed logo, and the white space gives the site a clean, uncluttered look. Beyond that, this group is by far the most organized and professional that I’ve seen. Anyone hoping to take Bigfoot research to the next step by creating an effective organization should read this site.
The group is apparently very open with research information, something we can all appreciate. The TBRC site is full of content-rich pages including sighting reports and articles. They’ve clearly stated their position on sighting report classifications and posted statements about their projects, Operation Forest Vigil and Operation Thicket Probe.
TBRC has raised the standard for Bigfoot research procedures and practice, then documented their success and placed their work online for us to see.
I’m sure nearly everyone in the Bigfoot research community knows this already, but I’ll say it again… The TBRC is sponsoring a conference on September 26, one month from the day I’m writing this. The conference will be in Tyler, Texas, and the general admission fee is only $15 so that’s affordable for almost everyone. The public is welcome. There’s a registration page online.
This site is so full of information, I’m not going to be able to read it all in just one evening. I will revisit and may make specific pages of this site “Bigfoot Site of the Day” in the future. That will be at least two months from now as I’m booked through October already, and am constantly finding new sites to add to the project.
I do these Bigfoot Site of the Day postings for two reasons: (1) I like to redirect traffic that comes to Bigfoot Sightings to other Bigfoot research sites that don’t rank as well in the search engines, but that are full of fantastic information. TBRC probably isn’t in dire need of traffic, but the site is so well presented I wanted to review it anyway. (2) I’m also doing this because I have much yet to learn. I consider this a crash course on Bigfoot research, thanks to the many other researchers and organizations putting quality Bigfoot information on the web.
I mentioned a few days ago that I recently met Craig Woolheater, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy. You can find a photo of us together in Willow Creek here. He came by Happy Camp a few days later, after his Bluff Creek film site adventure, and we got more photos at the Happy Camp Bigfoot statue and at a local sighting location where an old possible footprint was discovered. I will write about this incident soon, probably on my other Bigfoot blog, Friends of Sasquatch because my Friends of Sasquatch research partner, RG, was with us that day.
August 19, 2009
The Bigfoot Field Reporter
Recently Sharonlee and I met up at Cinnabar Sam’s restaurant in Willow Creek for a dinner party that included the Believe It Tour team, Craig Woolheater, and Steve Streufert. Here are some words that I’d use to describe Sharonlee: dynamic, personable, pleasant, cheerful, and vibrant. She’s got a happy, energized personality. For this reason she’s bound to succeed at her new career as host of two Bigfoot radio shows accessible through the internet.
Sharonlee’s primary show is called The Bigfoot Field Reporter. She’s also co-host for Sasquatch Triangle. Today her blog, The Bigfoot Field Reporter, is the Bigfoot Sightings Bigfoot Site of the Day.
Since she started this endeavor only last month, it wasn’t hard to read the entire blog. It gave me a better understanding of who Sharonlee is and what the focus will be for her radio show. It appears that she plans to travel and report on Bigfoot activities from the field.
She’s not one of those people to sit home and talk about what other people are doing. Sharonlee gets into active squatching and recording of Bigfoot events as they happen — in the forest! Recently she accompanied the Believe It Tour team to the Bluff Creek site of the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film. Her blog also tells the tale of an Ohio Bigfoot expedition she recently took part in.
Next month Sharonlee plans to report live from the Texas Bigfoot Research Conservancy conference in Tyler, Texas. (September 26, 2009) About the conference – the admission fee is only $15… and if you attend you’ll be able to meet Sharonlee!
Steve Streufert, Sharonlee, and Brad Pennock (a Believe It team member.) Sharonlee and Brad were showing non-techie me their cool equipment.
