Bigfoot Body Press Conference Delivers Nothing of Value - More Empty Promises by Tom Biscardi Fail to Impress Informed Media

By Tom Yamarone

August 15, 2008

Bigfoot Body Found – Really? DNA evidence and photo evidence to be presented at a

PRESS CONFERENCE – Really? Well, Bob Dylan summed it up in an obscure song title from 1970 – “Nothing Was Delivered.”

The common person with an interest in the bigfoot phenomenon was excited as could be. The mystery is solved, a body is found! There were high hopes leading up to this press conference held in Palo Alto, California yesterday. The media descended in droves upon the hotel conference room driving the temperature up towards 90 degrees. One local reporter said this was the most press he’d seen since the infamous Scott Peterson murder trial in nearby Redwood City, CA.

On the other side of the coin were those whose interest in the subject exceeds what they see on the History Channel. We came well aware of the background and history of Tom Biscardi and his self-promoting antics. We had seen the insipid videos produced by the bigfoot trackers from Georgia. (Those are now removed from their YouTube account in an attempt to “clean up their act.”) Actually, many of the media present seemed aware of the dubious nature of this claim that a body had been found, but all were required to show up “just in case.” Some of the questions were fairly soft initially, but there were plenty of hard-hitting questions asked of the participants. Their answers were not very forthcoming.

The press release from Tuesday, August 12^th repeatedly stated that evidence would be presented at this time. They had released a photo of an alleged creature in a freezer with the top open. There was nothing very compelling about the photo. In fact, it raised more questions due to the similarity of the head to a widely available sasquatch costume. And how does a 7 foot 7 inch creature fit into a 6 foot freezer? Never mind – that’s not important.

The press conference started with Tom Biscardi spinning one of his endless, self-centered yarns about how he got involved. They wanted the real bigfoot hunter to come verify their claim. Yes, we all find this to be slightly hilarious as Tom has never come across as a serious researcher. He does not present data in a fashion that can be shared and analyzed by others. And he’s been associated with hoaxes and previous empty-promise episodes.

Matt Whitton, one of the men from Georgia, took the podium and briefly described finding the body near a creek many miles back in the wilderness from any road. He said he waited with the body while Rick Dyer (the other guy) went for a truck and some help to move the carcass. He stated that he waited 9 hours until Rick returned and that all was quiet during that long wait, although when they began to drag the body out of the woods, they were accompanied by 3 or so bigfoots who stayed just out of sight. Really?

The press was hitting them from all sides about the account and their answers were less than convincing. When the time came to distribute the additional photographic evidence, there was a mad rush to the front table. Tom Biscardi handed out color print-outs to anyone with a press credential – glad I had mine from this website! I was the West Coast editor for a day representing HK & Cult Film News!

The first photo was of the teeth and tongue of the alleged creature and it was quickly brought into question because of the number of (apparent) incisors pictured – 6 to be exact. A question from the assembled crowd pointed out that this would be a unique primate to have 6 incisors! “They look like cow teeth,” according to someone next to me who knows animals.

The other photo was supposed to be “the clearest and best photograph” of a bigfoot yet according to Matt Whitton. The bigfoot creatures were all around them when they discovered the body. Yet, they were not evident during the 9 hours he waited for Rick to return. Hmmm? Back to our photo. Yes, basically nothing more than a dark figure some distance back in the trees obscured by a branch in the foreground. And when will people learn that merely presenting a photograph is egregiously insufficient? We require data and, if possible, a comparison photo with a subject of known height. The data should include the estimated distance from the camera to the subject, time of day, lighting conditions, etc. Not surprisingly, this is how Tom Biscardi rolls – “Here’s a couple of more photos. That’ll tie you over until the autopsy.” Really?

The press packet had a printed email from Curt Nelson, a professor at the University of Minnesota, stating that the DNA tests had resulted in 1 sample of 3 being 100% human, 1 sample being 96% possum and the 3^rd one failed. Their answer to the possum match was that the tissue sample came from the intestine. In fact, an anonymous source in very close contact with Curt Nelson stated that the sample was a 2 inch square of muscle tissue. Someone from the Road Kill Diner is walking around with a big band-aid on their butt apparently.

So goes the media circus that seems to travel with Tom Biscardi. There was even a wookie-clad gentleman carrying a cardboard sign stating “Now you know why we hide.”

Well, now you know why most of us studying this subject cringe when these big claims reach the mass media. Thankfully, the empty promise of an autopsy to be arranged with the “best scientists” he can find did not excite anyone present.

The general feeling after the event was one of disappointment but not surprise. We got what we expected – nothing much! Hey, did you hear that Bob Gimlin, Dr. Jeff Meldrum, Rick Noll, Kathy Moskowitz Strain and newcomer David Paulides participated in an excellent sasquatch conference in Felton, CA on August 9^th? No? Well, now that I’m done with this “time-waster” I can get back to writing up the real bigfoot news for August!