According to a recent report, the FBI has released its Freedom of Information Act and revealed more of what it knows about Bigfoot.
The newly released files have uncovered a story about some analysis that was taken out on some strange hairs of unknown origin for The Bigfoot Information Center and Exhibition (BIC). The organisation is a cryptozoological society which is devoted to studying the mythic beast.
The case - which took place in 1976 - was solved pretty quickly and easily, according to the files. The hairs that had been sent in didn't in fact belong to a huge ape-like creature. They were actually from a deer. No surprise there then.
The documents, sent by BIC, were initiated to the FBI by what is now widely thought of as a prank by the US Army Corp of Engineers. The Engineers would often publish local atlases that went in to detail about America's natural sites, including vegetation and wildlife.
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The 1975 edition for the Pacific Northwest had a reference to Sasquatch included, along with a map of possible sightings and cryptic references to the FBI.
It said: "Alleged Sasquatch hair samples inspected by FBI laboratories resulted in the conclusion that no such hair exists on any human or presently-known animal for which such data is available."
The entry in the atlas caused quite a stir, with a load of news stories and hundreds of letters to the FBI demanding the release of the results from the hair test of the 'yeti'.
Peter Byrne, director of the BIC, wrote to the FBI on August 26, 1976.
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He said: "Will you kindly, to set the record straight once and for all, inform us if the FBI has examined hair which might be that of Bigfoot; when this took place, if it did take place; what the results of the analysis were.
"Please understand that our research here is serious. That this is a serious question that needs answering."
The FBI kindly responded to Byrne, explaining that it had never done any analysis on that sort of hair.
In response, Byrne sent the FBI 15 hairs attached to a flap of skin. He and his team couldn't identify the samples and wondered if the FBI could help.
The FBI replied: "The FBI Laboratory conducts examinations primarily of physical evidence for law enforcement agencies in connection with criminal investigations.
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"Occasionally, on a case-by-case basis, in the interest of research and scientific inquiry, we make exceptions to this general policy. With this understanding, we will examine the hairs and tissue mentioned in your letter."
In 1977, the FBI wrote back: "The hairs which you recently delivered to the FBI laboratory on behalf of [BIC] have been examined by transmitted and incident light microscopy.
Jay Cochran, assistant director of the FBI wrote. "It was concluded as a result of these examinations that the hairs are of deer family origin. The hair sample you submitted is being returned as an enclosure to this letter."
So there we have it. Sasquatch doesn't exist chaps.
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