Big plans to catch bigfoot

It's a master plan that includes global positioning, aerial surveillance and ground patrol. The unlikely mission is to smoke out an elusive beast whose mythology traces back to the nation's beginnings - Sasquatch. Redwood City resident Thomas Biscardi is organizing a full-scale expedition to track and finally capture the storied creature this spring. He expects the hunt to take anywhere from three weeks to three months. So how legit is the venture? Two major incidents are fueling the expedition that is being described as a "commercial and scientific" expedition, said Rob Barrows, the man handling public relations for the American Bigfoot Expedition. The first is a recent headline in the splashy tabloid Weekly World News that stated there was a bigfoot sighting in Montana, Barrows said. Another is an encounter Biscardi said he had with a whole colony of bigfoots while hunting in Northern California just before the Sept. 11 attacks. Whether Biscardi's experience qualifies as scientific is anyone's guess. "If there was any credible evidence I think we would have known about it," said Richard Harland, a professor of genetics and developmental biology at the University of California, Berkeley. Biscardi's story may seem fitting for the Weekly World News - the publication that broke the story on the boy who was part bat, but Biscardi said seeing is believing. Here's how he said things played out. While out bear hunting with fellow tracker Peggy Marx, Biscardi said he noticed some mysterious fresh tracks in the woods. The pair jumped out of their Land Rover to take a poke around when an overpowering stench hit them. "These creatures don't bathe like you or I," Biscardi said. Suddenly, the pair spotted what looked to be a female bigfoot hunched over and having a snack in the woods. Scampering about her was a furry white baby bigfoot - perhaps an albino, Biscardi said. A few yards away to their left, Biscardi said they saw a male feasting on the entrails of some woodland animal. "My God I'd never seen so many in my life," Biscardi said. Just moments later, Biscardi said another male bigfoot appeared and began charging at them. The two said they kept their cool and walked - not ran -back to their vehicle. "We knew not to run," Biscardi said. Biscardi, who has made two films on the mythical beast, said he's already had four encounters with bigfoots in his lifetime. According to the various sightings around the country, Biscardi said there are probably about 500 to 1,200 bigfoots roaming North America. The hairy beast first enchanted Biscardi in 1973, when he saw a film about the hunt for the man-beast. "I asked myself, how can they send a man to the moon but they can't find this creature?" he said. Biscardi, who now produces music shows in Las Vegas, originally hails from Brooklyn. Biscardi hit the library and looked up past attempts to track bigfoots. Unlike those who poured millions of dollars into their searches for bigfoot, Biscardi said he had something his predecessors didn't have. "Being from the streets of Brooklyn, I had common sense," he said. Biscardi's first search for Bigfoot was documented in 1973. He then produced a documentary film in 1981 called "In the Shadow of Bigfoot." There are plenty of quacks and scholars out there professing to be bigfoot experts, but Biscardi said those are just the types who run when they actually encounter one. "They've all got their own theory, but get them out in the brush and see what happens," he said. "When they're four feet away from them, they'll get scared and run." Biscardi has already gotten about 5,000 responses from all over the nation from people who want to go on the expedition, he said - but he plans to only take 22 people. The expedition will cost more than $1 million and will include a staff of at least 30 people at command posts and patrols, he said. Barrows said there will be night goggles, humvees and even helicopters. Costs to take part in the expedition, which will take place in a yet-to-be-announced Northern California location, have not been determined. When exactly will the big hunt start? "As soon as weather breaks," said Barrows. Yunmi Choi can be reached by e-mail at yunmi@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 109. What do you think of this story? Send a letter to the editor: letters@smdailyjournal.com.