QUOTE
Bigfoot research team investigates the evidence in Blackfeet country.
By John McGill, Glacier Reporter Editor
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:36 PM MST
All it took was a story in the Glacier Reporter about Bruce Schildt's kids discovering footprints they thought might belong to Bigfoot near Kiowa, and an entire team of Bigfoot searchers arrived to check things out. Searching for Bigfoot Inc. is a team started by Tom Biscardi, devoted to finding out if the creature exists and precisely what sort of being it might be. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Biscardi quickly contacted Schildt, the Glacier Reporter, Pat Armstrong and Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Director Gayle Skunkcap to find out if his team should visit the Blackfeet Reservation.
So how does one become a Bigfoot searcher? “I was a big doubter,” Biscardi said, “but I went to the library after seeing Roger Peterson's 1967 film, the Washington footage where the female looks over her shoulder, and I thought, ‘we should be able to find it.'” Biscardi began his career of Bigfoot study more than 33 years ago. “I researched my predecessors who were looking for Bigfoot,” he said, “and I called the previous hunters to find out what they knew.”
While others have sought the elusive mystery, Biscardi had an edge in the computer age and started by visiting Silicon Valley. “We got a snooperscope, the ones they used for night fighting in Vietnam, because the creatures are nocturnal. We had three made, one for our airplane, a shoulder-mounted model and one for the truck.” Using the equipment, said Biscardi, has made his efforts more successful than those used in the past.
After that, Biscardi began assembling his team of searchers. He first met his tracker's grandfather, Ivan Marx, and learned about tracking while he was still alive. His grandson, Lee Hickman, is now one of five members of the Biscardi team. The other members include “Java” Bob Schmalzbach, “Mountain” Pat Heaton and Tim McMillen. Each supplies an area of expertise, said Biscardi, and the group has been traveling cross country since Jan. 31, following leads supplied by those who think they've seen evidence or actually encountered a Bigfoot. “We've extended our family across this nation through our contacts,” Biscardi said, “and that's a bigger network of Bigfoot researchers.” Biscardi appears frequently on talk shows, both on television and the radio, so his message is widespread, and so is the response.
“We decided to go in January because nobody has looked for Bigfoot in the winter before, but they're there,” Biscardi said. “People call us with leads. They know what I've experienced, and I know what they've experienced.” Since they began, the team's been through 26 states. “We've been across the United States to all the hot spots,” Biscardi said, including Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
After calling his contacts in Blackfeet country, Biscardi sent out contracts and affidavit forms so the testimony he received would more likely be true. “We've met several tribes across the U.S., but only the Blackfeet have taken us into their homes and families,” said Biscardi. “This is incredible. I don't want to leave.
“There is a story here, and most people, about eight out of 10, were straight on,” Biscardi continued. “They're stories like what I've had happen to me about 30 years ago - there are 40 tracks that just end. Gayle Skunkcap is wrong. It's a hominid, a biped, and not snowshoes.” Biscardi examined the tracks at Kiowa, burning them down in case they could be cast for whorls the way fingerprints are taken, but the evidence was too old to be conclusive.
“But Bruce's pictures and story are very common to Bigfoot encounters,” he said. “We definitely know something's out there. We've investigated five sites. There were two that were good, but the prints were too old.”
The progress of the searching team, and their results thus far on their cross-country journey, may be seen at http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com./ .
[CAPTION]By John McGill, Glacier Reporter Editor
Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:36 PM MST
All it took was a story in the Glacier Reporter about Bruce Schildt's kids discovering footprints they thought might belong to Bigfoot near Kiowa, and an entire team of Bigfoot searchers arrived to check things out. Searching for Bigfoot Inc. is a team started by Tom Biscardi, devoted to finding out if the creature exists and precisely what sort of being it might be. Based in Menlo Park, Calif., Biscardi quickly contacted Schildt, the Glacier Reporter, Pat Armstrong and Blackfeet Fish and Wildlife Director Gayle Skunkcap to find out if his team should visit the Blackfeet Reservation.
So how does one become a Bigfoot searcher? “I was a big doubter,” Biscardi said, “but I went to the library after seeing Roger Peterson's 1967 film, the Washington footage where the female looks over her shoulder, and I thought, ‘we should be able to find it.'” Biscardi began his career of Bigfoot study more than 33 years ago. “I researched my predecessors who were looking for Bigfoot,” he said, “and I called the previous hunters to find out what they knew.”
While others have sought the elusive mystery, Biscardi had an edge in the computer age and started by visiting Silicon Valley. “We got a snooperscope, the ones they used for night fighting in Vietnam, because the creatures are nocturnal. We had three made, one for our airplane, a shoulder-mounted model and one for the truck.” Using the equipment, said Biscardi, has made his efforts more successful than those used in the past.
After that, Biscardi began assembling his team of searchers. He first met his tracker's grandfather, Ivan Marx, and learned about tracking while he was still alive. His grandson, Lee Hickman, is now one of five members of the Biscardi team. The other members include “Java” Bob Schmalzbach, “Mountain” Pat Heaton and Tim McMillen. Each supplies an area of expertise, said Biscardi, and the group has been traveling cross country since Jan. 31, following leads supplied by those who think they've seen evidence or actually encountered a Bigfoot. “We've extended our family across this nation through our contacts,” Biscardi said, “and that's a bigger network of Bigfoot researchers.” Biscardi appears frequently on talk shows, both on television and the radio, so his message is widespread, and so is the response.
“We decided to go in January because nobody has looked for Bigfoot in the winter before, but they're there,” Biscardi said. “People call us with leads. They know what I've experienced, and I know what they've experienced.” Since they began, the team's been through 26 states. “We've been across the United States to all the hot spots,” Biscardi said, including Illinois, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
After calling his contacts in Blackfeet country, Biscardi sent out contracts and affidavit forms so the testimony he received would more likely be true. “We've met several tribes across the U.S., but only the Blackfeet have taken us into their homes and families,” said Biscardi. “This is incredible. I don't want to leave.
“There is a story here, and most people, about eight out of 10, were straight on,” Biscardi continued. “They're stories like what I've had happen to me about 30 years ago - there are 40 tracks that just end. Gayle Skunkcap is wrong. It's a hominid, a biped, and not snowshoes.” Biscardi examined the tracks at Kiowa, burning them down in case they could be cast for whorls the way fingerprints are taken, but the evidence was too old to be conclusive.
“But Bruce's pictures and story are very common to Bigfoot encounters,” he said. “We definitely know something's out there. We've investigated five sites. There were two that were good, but the prints were too old.”
The progress of the searching team, and their results thus far on their cross-country journey, may be seen at http://www.searchingforbigfoot.com./ .
QUOTE
Searching for Bigfoot Inc. team members Tim McMillen, Tom Biscardi, Mountain Pat Heaton and Java Bob Schmalzbach were photographed by their fifth member, tracker Lee Hickman, at the residence of Bruce Schildt whose family discovered the tracks that brought the team to the Blackfeet Reservation.
