Searching for Sasquatch – Using Ideas from Law Enforcement Part I

My previous lengthy series of postings on Canada’s Cryptid Cops has inspired me to share a few thoughts on ways and means that may prove useful in the search for cryptids. In particular, the sasquatch field is today populated by a large investigator base attempting to locate evidence for the existence of a North American primate as yet unclassified by science. While the attempts of most investigators are to be lauded there is a certain haphazardness in the methodologies employed by some of our fellow researchers.

Having been involved for the last 15 years in this field, myself, I have been able to study the methodologies employed by many different groups in the search for sasquatch and found many strategies to be quite useful. That being said, working for Canada’s national police force has led me to realize that there are many aspects of the work of law enforcement agencies around the world which are extremely beneficial to the sasquatch investigations community. Both are attempting to obtain evidence that will prove their case and where better to learn from than those who conduct investigations everyday.

I thought it would be a good idea to bring police investigation techniques to bear on my own sasquatch research work. By following the tried and true methodologies and systems used by police, one tends not to overlook items that may be of great value and assistance to the investigation. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to share a methodology with you that may help you in your investigations. Having said that, every investigator has the right to choose how he or she operates and I respect whatever your motive is for investigating sasquatch. You may want to satisfy a personal curiosity. You may wish to see or just film or photograph one, you may want to incur an understanding into the phenomenon or you just might enjoy going out in the bush looking for a very elusive target. All those reasons are bona fide and I have no problem with that. However, if your intention is to convince the world and in particular the scientific community and the government that sasquatches exist, then you need to obtain evidence and this is the premise of my discourse today.

It is a rare occurrence that an investigator actually finds traces of the presence of a sasquatch out in the field. This is not to say that it does not happen, but it does tend to be rare. So what do we do? Let us assume that we are a team of detectives who have been assigned to work on a sasquatch case as a result of a report by a witness who has had an encounter with what may be such an animal. I would suggest that wherever possible, investigators work in units of no less than two people. If you have ever watched TV most detectives work in pairs as two minds are better than one when obtaining witness statements and going over ground. It is optimal to have larger teams with various constituent investigators who have pre-assigned roles based on their skills.

My own optimal investigations team is built on lines employed by some law enforcement agencies and would consist of two interviewers, two to search for and collect forensic material left by the creature at the site, a tracker with cast making abilities, a photographer, and a dog handler with a hound that possesses high grade scent-detection abilities. You will see that this is very similar indeed to a police unit that would be sent in the aftermath to a crime scene.

We are going to base our theoretical investigation on the basis that you as an investigator have been advised of a sasquatch sighting by eyewitnesses to the event. Conducting an investigation into sasquatch without a confirmed sighting to work with is a whole different kettle of fish and I will elaborate on that at some future point.

John Kirk About John Kirk
One of the founders of the BCSCC, John Kirk has enjoyed a varied and exciting career path. Both a print and broadcast journalist, John Kirk has in recent years been at the forefront of much of the BCSCC’s expeditions, investigations and publishing. John has been particularly interested in the phenomenon of unknown aquatic cryptids around the world and is the author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters (Key Porter Books, 1998). In addition to his interest in freshwater cryptids, John has been keenly interested in investigating the possible existence of sasquatch and other bipedal hominids of the world, and in particular, the Yeren of China. John is also chairman of the Crypto Safari organization, which specializes in sending teams of investigators to remote parts of the world to search for animals as yet unidentified by science. John travelled with a Crypto Safari team to Cameroon and northern Republic of Congo to interview witnesses among the Baka pygmies and Bantu bushmen who have sighted a large unknown animal that bears more than a superficial resemblance to a dinosaur. Since 1996, John Kirk has been editor and publisher of the BCSCC Quarterly which is the flagship publication of the BCSCC. In demand at conferences, seminars, lectures and on television and radio programs, John has spoken all over North America and has appeared in programs on NBC, ABC, CBS, PBS, TLC, Discovery, CBC, CTV and the BBC. In his personal life John spends much time studying the histories of Scottish Clans and is himself the president of the Clan Kirk Society. John is also an avid soccer enthusiast and player.

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