Class A Investigator summary BFRO #1563

Two men on horseback film a bigfoot as it retreats out of the creek bed and into the woods. The footage is referred to as the Patterson-Gimlin footage, named after the two men who obtained it

20 October 1967 early afternoon Del Norte County, California 2 witnesses

Account

Two witnesses on horseback following a creek-bottom trail reported seeing a bigfoot drinking from the creek. The creature stood up and walked away while one witness filmed its retreat with a handheld movie camera. Investigators later visited the site and measured tracks to estimate the figure's height.

Summary drafted by AI from the source report and checked by code before I publish it. The witness's own words remain with the publisher — read the original report .

What was reported

Every kind of observation in the account. Select one to find other encounters with it.

Sightings

Described appearance

In the source's own words, field by field. Hover a field's marker to see where it was read.

Height src
7 foot, 3.5 inches
Feet src
14.5 inches long by 6 inches wide
Gait src
walking away
Posture src
stood up

Facts & provenance

Each value names where it came from.

Date
20 October 1967
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, labelled fields: Year, Month, Date
Time of day
early afternoon
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Place
Del Norte County, California
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, labelled fields: State, County
Map point
41.7499, -123.9810 (± 32 km)
Geocoded BFRO report #1563 · gazetteer:county · read with 30% confidence
Census 2023 Gazetteer centroid of Del Norte County (GEOID 06015); the report gives only the county
Account type
Investigator summary
Derived BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section · read with 75% confidence
Witnesses
2
Derived BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Figures reported
1
Derived BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness was
horsepacking in search of film footage
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Witness's word for it
a bigfoot
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO report, “Observed” section
Source classification
Class A
Stated BFRO report #1563 · BFRO classification label

Evidence & investigation

What the source says was found or done. Claimed evidence is listed as claimed; the Anomadex has not examined it.

Investigated by
Matthew Moneymaker (BFRO)
Video

16mm film of retreating figure shot while running toward it

Measurements: 24 feet of film

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Tracks

footprints at the film site

Measurements: 14.5 inches long by 6 inches wide

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Measurement

height calculation from tracks and other objects to gauge size of figure

Measurements: 7 foot, 3.5 inches

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Tracks

A handful of investigators returned to the film site and measured tracks and other objects to estimate the figure's size.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Measurement

A handful of investigators returned to the film site and measured tracks and other objects to estimate the figure's size.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

A handful of investigators returned to the film site and measured tracks and other objects to estimate the figure's size.

BFRO report, “Observed” section
Follow-up

Scientists in different countries studied the film with divided opinions and no objective demonstration of a costume was made.

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section
Follow-up

In the late 1990s several people offered contradictory hoax explanations which researchers who had investigated the scene debunked.

BFRO report, “Follow-Up” section

Source timeline

Every record this entry is built from, earliest known first. Records are versioned and never edited in place.

  1. Published 1998-01-01 Retrieved 2026-09-24 Version 1 Hash 0f0266649b9d
    BFRO - Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization