Dr. Jeff Meldrum (1958–2025) was one of the most influential and recognizable figures in modern Bigfoot research. A professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University, Meldrum built his career studying primate locomotion, foot morphology, and the evolution of bipedal walking, work that earned him respect in academic circles long before he ever spoke publicly about Sasquatch. 

Meldrum passed away in September 2025 at the age of 67 after a brief battle with brain cancer. His death was confirmed by his family and reported widely in academic and cryptozoology circles. 

What set Meldrum apart was his willingness to examine footprint evidence with the same rigor he applied to primate anatomy. 

He focused on:

mid‑foot flexibility

pressure ridges

dermal textures

weight distribution inconsistent with hoaxes

He never claimed Bigfoot was proven, only that the footprint evidence deserved scientific study, a position that made him both respected and controversial. Supporters saw him as a pioneer who brought credibility to the field. Critics argued he was too open to fringe possibilities. But even his critics acknowledged his expertise and his careful, methodical approach to evidence. 

Meldrum authored Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, co‑edited academic volumes on human locomotion, and maintained one of the largest collections of alleged Sasquatch footprint casts in the world. His work helped shift Bigfoot research away from blurry photos and toward measurable data. 

His passing left a noticeable gap in both the academic and Bigfoot communities. Many remember him as a steady, thoughtful voice who encouraged open debate, careful documentation, and scientific curiosity, even when the topic was controversial. 

What’s your take on Dr. Jeff Meldrum’s legacy - scientific pioneer, too optimistic about the evidence, or somewhere in the middle?

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One of the biggest red flags in any research field, Bigfoot included, is when one person becomes the only voice that matters. It can become a cult-like environment.

Most UFO researchers chase craft. Jacques Vallée chased patterns.

A computer scientist, astronomer, and information theorist, Vallée stepped into the UFO world in the 1960s and immediately realized something most investigators were missing. The phenomenon wasn’t just about lights in the sky. It was about how those lights interacted with people, cultures, and history.

People who’ve had strange encounters in the woods, Bigfoot, lights, shadows, whatever, always mention the same moment:

“Everything went quiet.”

For decades, “swamp gas” has been used as a convenient explanation for UFO sightings, but let’s be real: it doesn’t hold up.

Swamp gas is a real phenomenon—flickering lights caused by methane and other gases from decaying vegetation in wetlands.

Some sasquatch seem very savvy where roadways and cars are concerned. And then there are others who either don't care or are unaware.

It was mid-January 1973 when a truck driver hauling a load of logs took a curve on the road to Eureka and hit something big. He was traveling about 40-45 mph, around 7:30 pm when a creature with reddish, brown hair stepped out into the road. It was standing on the side and seemed to be unaware of the oncoming truck when it started walking. The truck hit the 6 1/2 to 7 ft tall creature and swerved off to the left shoulder of the road. The driver could hear nothing over the noise of the engine. He was sure he had not hit a bear.

While it was not research, the Russian army and this officer had an extraordinary encounter with a creature called Almasty. There seem to be several versions of what happened in 1925 and I will tell them all.

Major General Mikhail Stephanovitch Topilski was the commander of a cavalry regiment in the Red Army during the Civil War after the Communist Revolution of 1917. In 1925, he and his men were given the task of hunting down anti-Communist forces in the Pamir Mountains southwest of the Tien Shan. They encountered more than just fighting men.

When most people think of the possibility of sasquatch-type creatures on the other side of the world, they immediately think of "Yeti." However, there is much more information out there by the Russians than anything from the Himalayas. The only problem is that not much of it is widely publicized in English.

There are some publications and some authors that will publish translations. And with internet programs available that will translate, if the material is on the internet, you can get some idea of what is being said.

In the summer of 1973, Illinois became the center of bigfoot activity. For two weeks the Murphysboro Mud Monster, also called  Big Muddy Monster, struck fear into the residents' hearts.

It began around midnight on June 25, 1973. A young couple, Randy Needham and Judy Johnson had parked near the boat ramp on the Big Muddy River near the city of Murphysboro. As they sat there, they heard a strange, roaring cry that came from the nearby woods. They looked towards the trees and saw a huge shape coming toward them, continuing to make the cry. When it got within 20 feet of their car, they realized that this was a 7-foot-tall creature with matted, whitish hair or fur streaked with mud from the river. Knowing that this was "something not human", they fled to the police station.

John Green made many contacts who shared the stories they heard in their areas with him. Two of them for the Vancouver area were Bruce McKelvie and Charles Cates.

Bruce Mckelvie was a journalist and historian, who spent time listening to the stories told by the people in the area. He was known to keep silent if asked to and never told of the secret encounters. Charles Cates, Mayor of North Vancouver, also collected stories of these creatures. Both of these men recorded these tales long before anyone thought to keep any sort of systematic records. Unfortunately, most of what they knew was lost when they died in the late 1950s.

There are so many reasons people will give for Britain not being home to any Bigfoot-type creature.

NO FOSSIL BASED EVIDENCE. NO BONES. NO LIVE OR DEAD SPECIMENS. HABITAT.

Hmmm. Those all sound familiar. Let's see, we (well, most of us) will agree that there appears to be a large, hairy man-beast living in North America  and we can list:

    

"I heard this ungodly sound coming from the woods". In 1979, a family in Kinderhook, NY, began having strange encounters with unknown creatures. The Hallenbecks stated that over three years, there were several instances where they have been visited, virtually terrorized, by a creature they claim to be Bigfoot. Three generations had terrifying run-ins with a large, hairy beast in the woods around their home. "It just seemed like whatever this was, just kind of showed up here," stated Bruce Hallenbeck. Mysterious occurrences that all point to one outrageous explanation. "I didn't really expect that a Bigfoot-type creature would show up literally in my backyard," said Hallenbeck.

Whether you like or despise the Mountain Monsters TV show, it is always interesting to look for the facts behind the story told on screen.

In one episode, the AIMS crew set out for Washington County in Pennsylvania. According to the team, this bigfoot was said to possess extreme speed and strength. This Shawnee Indian legend was said to have first come to light in the 1700s.