Bob Gimlin speaks out about Bigfoot footage

Bob Gimlin explains why releasing his Bigfoot footage was one big mistake he wished he could undo
July 7, 20165:36pm

Matthew Dunnnews.com.au@mattydunn11

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IT lasts for only 59.5 seconds, but the Patterson-Gimlin film is one of the world’s most infamous and heavily scrutinised works ever produced.

The year was in 1967 and two cowboys from Washington’s apple country were deep in the forest of Northern California in search of a large, hairy, bipedal humanoid known as Bigfoot.

Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin had read headlines of unidentifiable footprints, and were navigating Bluff Creek on horseback with a 16mm Kodak camera.

The search paid off when the pair discovered a gorilla-human hybrid walking along the creek bed, just 30m in front of where they stood.

Patterson disembarked from his horse, scurrying along the uneven terrain as he attempted to film the beast in the wild.

Steadying himself, the explorer managed to focus the camera on the strange creature just long enough to capture footage of it returning to the dark forest.

The film was quickly airmailed back home to be developed, which was followed with Gimlin, Patterson and his brother-in-law Al DeAtley taking the film on a national tour.

All three men took equal shares in the film and hoped to raise funds for a full-fledged expedition back to the location where the footage was captured.

However, soon after the collective hit the road, Gimlin sold his share of the rights for the film for less than $10 to another Bigfoot researcher.

Almost five decades have passed since the footage was captured and it has faced heavy scrutiny from sceptical scientists, forensic analysts and special effects experts.

Despite the heavy attention, the film is yet to be conclusively debunked.

Out of the two men who witnessed Bigfoot all those years ago, Bob Gimlin is the only one still alive, as Roger Patterson died of cancer in 1972.