Bigfoot DNA

Back in 2005, I was running a small business in Happy Camp, California. Happy Camp is located on the "Bigfoot Scenic Byway" on Highway 96. Most of the businesses in town are Bigfoot something or other. There is Bigfoot Towing, Parry's Bigfoot Market, The Bigfoot Car Wash, and even my business was JavaBob's Bigfoot Deli.
At that time, I was also the president of our local Chamber of Commerce and in that position; I was always looking for ways to support our local businesses. Eventually, I called a meeting with our local Chamber and the Siskiyou County Economic Development Committee. Our agenda was to identify and capitalize on a way to bring tourists into our little community on the Klamath River.
After much discussion, it we collectively decided that we should identify something the community had, that was unique and may be attractive to possible tourists. Many ideas came up and we discussed all of them at length, but in the end, we decided to focus on our local artists and their works.
Soon after the meeting, one of the Chamber Members approached me to ask why we had not considered "Bigfoot?" I answered by saying most of us believed that the subject of Bigfoot was simply much too controversial to be something the Chamber should be involved with. I quickly added that if this person wanted to do something like that, I would commit to offering my personal support outside of my position with the Chamber.
As it turned out, this innocent commitment into a subject and field which I know almost nothing about, would change my life and possibly set the entire scientific community upside down.

Due to my commitment to help my neighbor and friend, from the Chamber of Commerce, I soon found myself involved with a group of alleged Bigfoot Researchers. Apparently, my friend had called them out to our little town to see if there may actually be some Bigfoot "activity" near us in our small town on the Bigfoot Scenic Highway.
Once they arrived, I found myself fascinated by their strong beliefs about this "mythical creature". I asked them how they could convince me that this thing actually existed, what was it that made them so sure?
The answer I received was short and simple. They simply said; "Next time we go out to investigate a possible sighting, come with us and see what we see!"
I suppose that invitation eventually changed my life. A short few weeks later, there was a report of a probable sighting in the area and I took them up on their offer to go out with them to investigate it.
The reported sighting came from two separate people at separate times, but at the same place. Both of these people were people that I knew to be professional, educated, and quite sane.
When the investigating team showed up, they allowed me to accompany them to the site where the witnesses saw the creature. It was the first time any of us had been to this particular area and no one in the team had any fore knowledge of where it was, prior to talking to the eyewitnesses.
Within a couple of hours, we discovered large, human like, footprints right where the witnesses had said they had seen this creature!
I was very shocked. I knew and trusted those people who first reported the sighting and now I was there seeing physical evidence of something that was no supposed to exist!
From that time on, I wanted to go with the investigators every time they went out. My curiosity was peaked and now I had to know more.
Eventually, I became a regular "tag along" with this team. After seeing so much more, I became a fully-fledged investigator myself.
Within a year or so, the CEO of that team resigned from his position and he and I founded a corporation titled Searching for Bigfoot Inc.
My life was changed forever and I was beginning a journey that was so new, so strange, and so different to anything I had ever experience before.

Soon after I began traveling around the country investigating sightings of this enigma, know as Bigfoot, I began to realize that many sightings were accompanied by physical evidence. Often, evidence like bones, hair, scat, or other biological materials were discovered, in or near the areas of the sightings.
The question I posed to my mentor at the time was; "Why aren't these samples being tested for DNA?" The answer I received was very discouraging. I was told that these test are very expensive and generally come back as "human" or "contaminated by humans"!
My next obvious question was; "Has anyone ever compared all of these samples to see if there may be something similar or unique about them?"
The answer to this question was not very satisfactory either. The answer was that once the results were paid for and received; most researchers simply threw them away or forgot about them because they were obviously not of the "Ape" creature we were all looking for!
I soon realized that there was a major issue here. I wondered if anyone had taken the time and effort to compare these samples with each other to see if there may be some kind of connection between them.
Unfortunately, there seems to be a great deal of "pride of ownership" in this unusual field of research. Most of the people involved in it are very protective about their information and think that if they are the people who find this creature, they would stand to make a great deal of money.
There was no concept of synergism within the ranks of this unusual cast of characters. Even the bulk of the DNA houses that test this material do not share data about it. It seems that once they get their results, they too seem to think it was a waste of time because nothing unusual was being found.
I was sure that there must be more that to be done, but without the support of my business partner at the time, I had neither the money nor expertise to follow this any farther on my own.
The team I was working with also had some bio samples that had been sent out or DNA analysis with the same type of typical results, "human"! One of the people who was involved with the DNA analysis was Richard Stubstad. Richard and I became close friends found ourselves discussing the bigger questions about the results of all of those tests.
Eventually, I became so frustrated with the overall lack of cooperation from my business partner that I turned in my resignation and stepped out on my own. I had many contacts in the field and had was kept up to date on the latest finds and discoveries.
Eventually, Richard contacted me and said he had been working with a Veterinarian in Texas who was interested in looking in more detail with the DNA samples she had been testing. Richard, being an engineer, was very well versed in statical analysis and began to find some anomalies in the results of samples that were connected with reported Bigfoot sightings.
What Richard had discovered, may eventually lead to what just may end up being the biggest scientific breakthrough of the century!