Bigfoot Press Conference: Lots of Talk, Little Hard Evidence

A team of Bigfoot hunters has presented its “evidence” to try to prove it found Bigfoot in the woods of Georgia. Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer held a press conference at the Cabana Hotel in Palo Alto, California Friday afternoon. The two showed a couple of new photos (see right) but delivered no physical proof of their alleged discovery.

Tom Biscardi — CEO of Searching for Bigfoot, Inc, who also spoke at the event — said DNA tests had been conducted by Dr. Curt Nelson, a biologist at the University of Minnesota. The tests, he said, came back with three results: one showing inconclusive data, another indicating the creature was human, and another indicating it was a possum. That, Biscardi said, was probably because it had eaten a possum.

Biscardi mentioned that he was waiting for a friend of his — a scientist at Stanford — to get back from vacation before releasing any additional proof.

“Do you think these fellas would have come this far and put their reputations on the line if they didn’t have what they said they have?” Biscardi responded when a reporter challenged his claims.

When asked why they didn’t show the body itself, Whitten said they plan to — but they have to wait until they “get the right scientific crew there.”

“I’m telling you, it’s a body, and it’s not like a body you’ve ever seen,” Whitton commented.

“The first thing that pops into your head is ‘Bigfoot,’ and you take a step back and think, ‘you know, that can’t be.’ I didn’t believe in Bigfoot at the time,” he said.

The hunters first grabbed headlines Tuesday when they announced they had found the body in the woods of Northern Georgia. They released a couple of supposed Bigfoot photos, which quickly became Internet sensations.

It wasn’t long, though, before claims surfaced that the whole Bigfoot story was little more than a hoax. Some said the photos were created with a common Halloween costume. Then, word broke that the “doctor” seen confirming the find in a video was actually one of the men’s brothers:

Finally, skeptics said that Biscardi is a conman who has put forward false claims before.

So, the facts are on the table. The judgment call, now, is up to you.

Update: You can now watch the entire press conference here.