Is Sasquatch real? Professor visits Tri-Cities to reveal Eastern WA, other evidence

Twenty-eight years ago Professor Jeff Meldrum was in the foothills just east of Walla Walla in Eastern Washington after a snow melt when he saw a trail of 35 to 45, 15-inch footprints he believes were left by Sasquatch.

“This creature I suspect was gleaning frozen fruit — plums and apples — off the old derelict orchards that were scattered along the foothills there,” he said.

It was key to launching a professional career spent searching for and researching possible evidence of the existence of a relic species, Sasquatch, commonly called Bigfoot.

He’ll be in Kennewick Friday and Saturday to discuss what he’s learned and what’s new in Bigfoot research.

Meldrum, a physical anthropologist and professor at Idaho State University, says there is enough compelling evidence of Sasquatch that it justifies investigation rather than an out-of-hand dismissal.

He has more than 300 casts of footprints that flex in the middle, more like an ape than a man, he said. But they have the foot structure of a human, rather than the opposable big toe of an ape or other primates that climb trees.

The casts are of a foot that has a flatness and flexibility designed for an extremely large, heavy biped, Meldrum said in an interview with the Tri-City Herald.

Dozens of hair samples have been collected that are not typical of human hair and not any common wildlife, he said.

And there has been scat similar to bears found, but with parasites not typical with bears or other large animals, he said.

However, there has not been DNA to test, he said.

Meldrum also points to the evolving fossil record of hominoids that shows multiple species of hominoids coexist across the landscape.

He is encouraged by young scholars who are intrigued and open minded about the existence of relic hominoids like Sasquatch, he said, and looks forward to they time those scholars move into leadership roles as journal editors, society presidents and deans and department chairs.

On Friday, Meldrum will meet the public 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. before a talk at 7 p.m. on the 1967 Patterson-Gimlin bigfoot film, shot by two residents of Yakima County and showing for just under two minutes a large, hairy creature just south the Oregon border in California.

On Saturday, he will meet the public from 1-3:30 p.m. and then discuss what’s new in Bigfoot research and answer common questions from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

All events are at the Kennewick Library on 1620 S. Union St.