Christopher L. Murphy (Author, Meet the Sasquatch)
July 2008
This remarkable work brings us another first in the annals of Bigfoot
research.
Numerous Bigfoot-related incidents are presented that are the result of
first-hand investigations by a former trained police officer and professional
investigator. Added to this, a highly qualified, experienced forensic
police artist was commissioned to meet Bigfoot sighting witnesses
and to prepare detailed sketches of what the witnesses saw.
David Paulides recorded his conversations with Bigfoot witnesses in the
same way he prepared his reports in police work. The entire book is therefore
written in what might be termed “police report format,” which is
very direct and to the point. Particular care is taken to ensure that facts are
not misread or misinterpreted. Sentences are short and thoughtfully structured
to ensure the reader fully comprehends what is being said.
The details, interpretations, and images provided on Bigfoot encounters
in this book go far beyond “normal reporting.” Dave Paulides brings to
the table over 30 years of professional investigative experience, and we
are therefore provided with what can only be termed as the best Bigfoot
reports ever written.
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Mark & Judy Jutson
August 2008
As I've just finished reading the copy of The Hoopa Project, Bigfoot Encounters in California [ you signed for me at your recent Bigfoot Discovery Day II appearance], I wanted to extend my compliments to yourself, the NABS for the solid and informative research presented. Your
straight objective observe and report method of writing is quite refreshing in comparison to say the information and current events playing out in Georgia, on the web, and in the national media.
I for one appreciate the years of effort you, Mr. Pratt, and many others I'm sure, have clearly put into this work. This sentiment is also extended to
the Hancock House Publishers for an impressive addition to their many volumes on the subject.
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Cupertino Courier
Review by Matt Wilson
July 15 2008
TRACKING BIGFOOT NO SMALL FEAT FOR LOCAL DETECTIVE
A gumshoe is looking for a Bigfoot.
The creature also goes by the aliases Yeti, Sasquatch or Skunk Ape. Skeptics have added monikers such as pure fiction and rubbish.
To longtime private investigator David Paulides, the legendary creature is yet another case to solve.
Four years ago, the 1974 graduate of Monta Vista High School and a 20-year Santa Clara Valley detective, got bored and wanted to combine his love of outdoors with a good mystery. So he decided to go in search of the elusive simian.
Paulides is the director of the North American Bigfoot Search. He claims it is the only group in the world researching and studying the subject full time.
No one has ever given 100 percent of their time to this,
said Paulides, citing the lack of serious and credible efforts put into tracking Bigfoot.
This first batch of research is detailed in Paulides' new book The Hoopa Project: Bigfoot Encounters in California. The book describes Paulides' search along with eyewitness accounts and sketches of the creature. The book, due for release Aug. 1, coincides with the 50th anniversary of the creature receiving the name Bigfoot.
Paulides set out to find consistent patterns, so he and his organization did an exhaustive search of the Western United States to determine the optimum location. They studied accounts, times, dates, seasons and elevations coinciding with sightings. He analyzed 350 sightings since 1861 and plotted the data.
It all came back to Hoopa, said Paulides of the Native American tribe that inhabits an area in northeastern Humboldt County. The Hoopa have been dealing with Bigfoot since early times. They run into it regularly; they just don't talk about it.
Paulides then spent every other week for nearly three years in and around the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation. He spoke with the elders and many in the tribe as he dug deeper for Bigfoot-related clues.
After a year I had the complete trust of the tribe, he said.
Paulides and the organization wanted to add credibility to a search for what many believe is a creature that exists only in the imagination of popular culture.
We wanted to hold witnesses accountable for their statements, something that is rarely done by (Bigfoot) authors and researchers, he said.
Paulides developed a system where the team investigated sightings only if the witness signed an affidavit. If no affidavit was signed, no investigation was pursued.
The witnesses appreciated the professionalism, Paulides said.
To add to the professional and investigative nature, a forensic sketch artist who has worked with the FBI was brought in. Muscle structure, facial features and closeup accounts were sketched in detail. The full-color sketches are in the book.
Paulides was astounded to discover that 90 percent of the sketches looked similar to each other, but do not conform to what Paulides feels is a mainstream depiction of Bigfoot.
If you're gonna fabricate an account, you're going to make it look like what everyone is familiar with, he said, citing the famous Patterson-Gimlin film footage.
The consistency can not be argued, he said. Most went against the grain of common knowledge.
Paulides has enjoyed his time researching and writing about a subject he is convinced is the real deal. He and the organization will continue to keep searching.
The evidence is overwhelming, he said. There is a lot more that needs to be understood. The puzzle will be solved.
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The Daily Triplicate
Review by Matthew C. Durkee
August 9, 2008
For Bigfoot believers and skeptics alike, a new book about sightings in the Hoopa area raises a number of challenging questions.
The Hoopa Project by David Paulides is the first major research report of North American Bigfoot Search, an organization formed in 2004 by a group of Silicon Valley executives curious about prior experiences they'd had in Northern California forests.
One significant difference between NABS and every other Bigfoot organization is our dedication to stay on a regional project until every possible angle of every sighting has been researched, witnesses interviewed, locations and food sources understood, and an extensive list of variables answered, the NABS Web site says.
Paulides is the public face of NABS, which he says has members of the academic community who don't want to be exposed to ridicule by publically supporting research into the controversial topic.
NABS' initial project was to gather every recorded report of a Bigfoot sighting in the four-county region of Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity and Siskiyou counties (as well as southern portions of Jackson and Curry counties in Oregon).
We plotted those locations on a map, Paulides told The Triplicate. This was to give us a sense of the population, migratory process, etc. When we showed this to people, they said this has never been done before.
The map helped NABS choose a location to focus its research efforts — Hoopa Valley in northern Humboldt County.
But with investigative skills developed over 20 years in law enforcement, Paulides brought a new approach to Bigfoot research — good old-fashioned detective work.
For three years, Paulides made frequent trips to Hoopa to interview locals who experienced sightings or significant interactions.
It wasn't an easy thing to do. I originally went into the city and met a couple of Hoopa police officers. I think that former alliance helped me get my foot in the door at that level. One of these guys knew someone prominent in the community and directed me to them, and from there it took off very, very slowly.
One by one, Paulides gained the trust of his interview subjects, and often they were able to introduce him to others with Bigfoot sightings and incidents. Paulides also found reports by canvassing rural neighborhoods where sightings were more common.
He interviewed them not unlike witnesses to a crime are interviewed, eliciting as many details as possible and trying to assess their reliability. On later trips, Paulides revisited his subjects with written reports of their interviews and asked them to sign
it as an affidavit affirming its accuracy.
Paulides brought in Harvey Pratt, an FBI-trained forensic sketch artist with years of law enforcement experience in Oklahoma. A member of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, Pratt's Native American background was helpful in gaining rapport with the primarily Hoopa tribal population in the valley.
The bulk of The Hoopa Project is detailed reports of 16 incidents and 33 sightings in the Hoopa area, as well as forensic sketches of most of the sightings.
The stories and pictures offer at least two important developments in Bigfoot research.
One, they demonstrate that probably the vast majority of potential sightings go unreported. Many reports in the book came from witnesses who do not make a habit of sharing their experiences. Often, these people were professionals in fields such as teaching and forest management and some were tribal leaders, including one former Hoopa tribal councilwoman. They did not approach Paulides — they were approached by others who had already come to trust him.
Paulides says he understands the hesitation to come forward.
Coming from a police perspective, 50 percent of all rapes are not reported. Let's think about why that is, Paulides says.
They're humiliated, embarrassed, intimidated by the legal process and don't want to come forward. A lot of the same issues apply to bigfoot. They don't want to be ridiculed or downtrodden by the community, so a lot of people shy away from anything that would draw ridicule. But the more you talk to people in the community, the more you see how prominent it is.
Paulides says he's discussed this issue with others members of NABS, and they estimate that as many as 80 percent of all sightings go unreported.
But for Paulides, the most interesting piece of information produced by the project was the overwhelming consensus about Bigfoot's appearance, which runs counter to popular modern depictions of the creature.
Crescent City newspaper articles in the late 1800s reported a 7 to 8-foot-tall biped with a hairy body and an almost human face, Paulides says.
But famous footage of a purported 1967 sighting on Bluff Creek showed something with a more ape- or gorilla-like face.
If a witness was going to tell us a complete fabrication, they would tell it with a mindset to be accepted. It would be similar to something that has notoriety in the public, Paulides says.
But with only one exception, the forensic sketches showed hairless faces with more delicate, human-like features and large, seemingly intelligent eyes.
That was a shocking revelation to all of us, Paulides says.
For their next project, NABS is using its investigative approach to survey sightings throughout Del Norte, Humboldt, Trinity and Siskiyou counties.
In the last year and a half we spent probably 90 percent of our time in Crescent City, Gasquet, Patrick Creek and the North Fork of the Smith River, going up to northern edge of the Siskiyou wilderness. We've spent a lot of time talking to the people of the area, delving into the historical perspectives of the region. We're doing a second round of sketches in that area with a similar group of witnesses, and I'll say that we're still very interested in stories, old or new, from that region.
For more information about NABS go to www.nabigfootsearch.com. If you would like to report a sighting or experience to NABS, send an e-mail to nabigfootsearch@yahoo.com.
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Southeast Sasquatch Association
Early Book Review by Henry May
August 2008
David Paulides' new book, written under the auspices of North American Bigfoot Search (NABS), of which he is a member, details the exhaustive search the organization has conducted in four northern California counties. Paulides is a former police detective, bringing his years of law enforcement investigatory expertise to The Hoopa Project, as the new book is titled. |
