Original subtitles

Since the dawn of civilization,

cultures spanning the globe have been on a quest

to discover the elusive, enigmatic creature

known as Bigfoot.

Over the past five years,

an elite team of specialists have scoured North America

on an expedition like no other.

We know we're close.

That's a heat signature.

We know it breathes. It's a tree structure.

We know it bleeds.

This is an animal.

That's insane.

And an animal can be found.

Right in front of us, it's moving.

Do you see it?

This trio of experts spent a lifetime

honing their respective skills.

I've been researching Bigfoot since I was a kid.

Do you see that?

But this quest is not a job for just one person.

On this mission,

I applied my military training.

I move fast, stealthy,

and cover a lot of ground.

For me as a scientist

that has been looking for and discovering

elusive primates for decades,

this would be the discovery of a lifetime.

Tell me you heard that.

It's like no man's land.

They've harnessed data analysis and algorithms

with eyewitness accounts

I just remember seeing my brother's face and how scared he was.

and relentless surveillance

like no one has done before

to identify key locations...

What is that?

of where this cryptid creature could be.

My.

I've got its tracks down here.

I've got legit tracks.

Taking off.

Armed with cutting-edge technology...

Wow, that is fast.

the team is on a groundbreaking expedition

to unlock the centuries-old mystery

once and for all.

I want to find the evidence

that's needed to get Bigfoot out of the pages of myth...

What is that?

and into the science books.

I think there could be.

I would like there to be.

I mean, otherwise, there wouldn't be stories

in every single country.

And whether it's something

as small as a hair,

if it's out here,

we're going to find it.

Well, I got to tell you, I'm super excited.

It's crazy.

When we got that hit, it was like,

- "Time to go". - Yeah.

Over the past five years,

the team has conducted expeditions

that have spanned over 1,600 miles

and along the way have gathered evidence

and witness accounts

culminating in what is believed to be

a Bigfoot migration route

that begins and ends in Northern California.

Had we hesitated,

we could possibly miss whatever set that camera off.

At every investigation site,

they have left 24/7 surveillance monitoring systems.

And after nine months of silence

the NorCal site captured two upright creatures

walking through the woods,

prompting Mireya, Bryce, and Russell

to rendezvous at the location

where the trail cams were set off.

With the activity that Bryce has been getting,

we need to be back here.

Making our way now. We'll see you soon.

All right. I'll see you in a bit.

What is it about this location?

Due to this recent activity,

we are here to explore this idea

that these creatures are coming down from the north,

following the food source,

and raising their young right here.

It would be the right time of year

for a creature to migrate

to an area like this.

Migration is something that ensures

an animal has all of the natural resources

that it needs,

not only for its own survival,

but for the survival of their young.

Makes so much sense.

Are they coming back to breed?

For centuries, people have believed

that there's only one Bigfoot.

But seeing as how there's reports coming in

from all over the world,

that leads me to believe

that there are generations of Bigfoot.

- I mean, we found those nests. - Watch out.

It is widely believed

in the Bigfoot research community

that Sasquatch build nests.

- You smell that? Yeah. - It smells like wet dog.

During their 2021 expedition in this location...

What do you think this is?

This reminds me

of a gorilla nest.

Constructed, woven.

the team discovered

- a cluster of possible Bigfoot nests. - -My God.

And what's interesting about those nests

is there was a large one and a small one.

- Are you serious? - Right here.

- We have two nests. - That's incredible.

Northern California marked the only place

where the team has found

multiple nests clustered together,

supporting their belief

that families migrate to this area.

The great thing about nests is

that they can yield so much information.

Well, that gets me excited.

I believe the Bigfoot breeding season

takes place in the spring,

much like other animals.

And that's why there's so much activity

taking place right now.

As Mireya and Bryce continue

to make their way from the road,

Russell Acord travels deep in the tree line

in search of the nesting site.

It's completely changed.

Last time we were up here,

you could walk across that creek

and not even get your feet wet.

All these trees that are down,

this is all from the rainfall.

I can't get through this way.

I'm going to go back the way we came.

Hey, Russ, this is Bryce and Mireya.

Do you copy?

Hey, Bryce, go ahead.

We're approaching the old nest site now.

I'll tell you what, there's a whole lot more water

than we had last time we were here.

You can't even cross this waterway.

Copy that. We're making our way now.

We'll see you soon.

All right.

All right. Let's head towards that bridge.

It shouldn't be too far behind us.

It's all coming back a little bit?

Yeah, except it's a lot

denser now, isn't it?

It is.

Already feels like we're encroaching

into a territory.

Yeah, we're definitely close now.

There's like a fog.

What I can't get over is

- how loud that river is. - Yeah.

What's interesting is

just how quiet it's been

until recently.

I mean, if we had to come back to any other active location,

this is the first place I would choose.

I mean, Northern California is just historical

in its propensity for Bigfoot sightings

and reports that are credible.

This unique area of Northern California,

also known as the Lost Coast,

spans over 7,000 acres of wild and untouched terrain,

and is one of the global epicenters

for Bigfoot reports.

There have been more than 10,000 reported sightings

of this elusive creature

in the continental United States,

and NorCal is one of the highest concentrated areas

for those sightings.

- Coming up to that bridge. - My God!

- Holy cow. - Yeah.

- Wow... My God. - This is way different.

That's wild.

- Holy. - Man.

- And we walked through that last time. - -Yeah.

Hey, guys.

- Hey. - Hey, Russell.

- Hey. How's it going? - Russ.

Insane water?

- Crazy. - That's something else, right?

Yep.

That nesting area over there,

there is no way there's anything left

- with this... - No.

- Right. - water level.

Anything that was there is too close to the water.

If they're doing any kind of nesting,

it's going to be much higher...

- Agree. - away from this.

With those nesting sites blown out,

perhaps that's the reason for this recent activity.

These creatures could be looking

for new nesting grounds.

With the original nest site destroyed

due to extreme weather,

the team must employ tools to further their expedition

based on the possible Bigfoot sighting

that was captured just two days ago.

Well, we got our work cut out for us.

I'm going to get those drones up

- so we can map this area... - Perfect.

and establish our target zone.

- That's awesome. Let's go get the gear. -Sounds good.

To really hit the ground running

here in Northern California,

we need to map this area and fast.

- Good to see you. - Good to see you.

Wow, you brought a lot of stuff.

Which is why we've brought in Pete Kelsey.

We really only know

that something has moved through here.

And we know the location of the old nesting site.

But that's been washed away.

So we're looking for points of interest

that could be

possible new nesting grounds.

So to map this place,

we have brought a fleet of drones.

This is survey-grade LiDAR drone.

Light Detection and Ranging known as LiDAR is

a sophisticated mapping system

that creates precise three-dimensional composites

of terrain.

What about this one, then?

Also LiDAR. Really flexible.

We can fly this.

I can pull it off the drone,

walk with it.

And I'm wondering

if there's markers we can look for

to help us find those new nesting sites.

A nest means things are going to it

- and coming out of it, right? - Yes. Right.

This is a multispectral camera.

- What does it do? - Wow.

It looks at plants

that have been walked on, dug up.

So, for identifying game trails.

Combined with LiDAR, it's a one-two punch.

If something interesting in the LiDAR lines up

with something interesting in the multispectral...

- We got a hit. - Yeah.

Well, with this window of opportunity...

Yeah, we need to fly.

Mireya, maybe you could

- ground scan that old nesting site... - -Sure.

see if you can find anything.

While the team utilizes

hand held LiDAR scanners

and thermal technology

to record data from the ground,

this fleet of drones sets out to seek, map, and pinpoint

possible nesting sites,

scanning the forest floor

for unusual ground disturbances

in this 7,000-acre area.

Because we strongly believe

something has nested here before,

scanning this area is going to give us a huge advantage

in knowing where

these animals might be moving to next.

The team returns to analyze the data.

We're looking for game trails.

We're looking for river barriers.

Have a look at this.

This is acres and acres.

If you zoom in, would we be able to see

like, clusters of what could be nests?

Look, they're round.

Like a nest.

- Wow. - There's a lot of connecting points.

All kinds of...

That's interesting.

Wow.

Game trail by something big and heavy.

That's interesting.

That's why multispectral is

such an interesting tool,

because the plants are saying...

- Wildlife is moving through here. - -Okay.

Exactly.

That's pretty close to our old base camp.

So I say we start there,

because if we're trying to habituate anything,

going back to that same spot may elicit some curiosity.

Makes sense to me.

Are those the old rugged roads there?

Yeah.

So if they're still passable,

I can get up into some of these areas

that I'd really like to scout out.

With possible new nest clusters identified,

Russell plans to investigate the northeast quadrant,

and Bryce and Mireya will set up base camp

in the same remote zone as the previous expedition.

If I was something shy, elusive,

avoiding humans,

that's where I'd go.

That LiDAR has given us such an advantage.

It's exciting to know

that we suddenly have a target.

We're in the right place.

We're here at the right time.

We've got the best team.

It's only a matter of time.

We're this close.

The LiDAR scans revealed

several possible clusters of nests.

We decided it would be best if we divide and conquer.

So Bryce and I are going to go and investigate

the cluster that was found

near the old nesting site,

while Russ travels to the northeast

where he can then investigate the ones identified there.

I picked an area out that is really, really dense.

A lot of overgrowth like what we're seeing right here.

And it's steep.

The results of this LiDAR

has given me exactly what I need.

But we're talking a massive amount of ground.

What I'm going to do is

utilize these old logging roads

for as far as I can

until I have to get out and hit that tree line.

A couple of years ago when we were out here,

we weren't facing months of heavy rains

that we're facing today.

What have we got?

Got a landslide here. Look at this.

This tree wouldn't be a problem.

I can't move those rocks.

There's no way I can drive past this stuff.

A good reminder how quick this stuff happens.

I need to get the truck back out of here where it's safe.

I got a long ways to hike and we're burning daylight.

The beast.

I want to make sure that we have

everything that we're going to need.

Okay, let me think.

It's going to be steep and brutal.

We have to be prepared.

Night vision,

thermal, parabolic light,

scope,

flashlights.

- 'Cause once we leave... - Layer to stay dry.

there's no coming back.

We're set.

You ready?

Let's do this.

With night coming in, it's time to move.

Look, this one looks

like a really good active game trail here.

Yeah. Look at that.

This is some of what was being picked up on the scanner.

Eight miles from Russell's position,

Mireya and Bryce scan the forest floor

one mile from base camp.

All right, here we go.

See all these disturbances

- in the ground? - I do.

Clearly, there's a lot of stuff moving through here.

- Look at that. - Yeah.

All in here.

This wet ground makes

stuff a little easier to spot, hey?

That's the thing about rain.

You think, well, it's washing away stuff.

But when it lets up,

- all of these indentations... - Yeah.

form that you can then spot.

Let's find some evidence.

While the team begins exploring.

Northern California's back country...

When we come into an active target zone,

we immediately start fielding

local reports and sightings.

It's a lot of work to really vet the ones

that are going to help our expedition.

That's why I've brought in some help.

15 miles away,

a new resource to the expedition

heads to the nearest town.

My name is Ben Smith,

and I'm a former undercover CIA field operative.

I'm here to help the team out,

to track down as many eyewitnesses as I can,

and to find those kinds of stories

that will get us closer to the truth.

My role put me all over the world.

I spent most of my time in Eastern Europe

and the former Soviet Union

in high-risk environments.

This is not unusual for an intelligence officer

to hit up a bar in an area of activity

that they're interested in.

I've always been interested in cryptozoology,

especially Bigfoot,

having grown up in the Pacific Northwest.

Being a stranger in a strange land,

I often used my passion for Bigfoot

as a technique to break through

someone's cold, hard shell.

All right.

This looks good.

I realized that people all around the world

believed in Bigfoot

and that, in fact, many had seen it.

In the 1950s,

the Soviet Union sponsored an expedition,

the Soviet Snowman Commission Report.

It came back with thousands of accounts

from really reputable sources.

I'm a skeptic by nature...

- Hello! - and yet I think - we only get

the physical evidence

after a rigorous investigation.

You have to put your skin in the game to find the truth.

Who's this guy right here?

That's Biscuit.

- Biscuit. Buddy. - Yeah.

- Cheers. - Yeah, cheers.

I'm here doing Bigfoot research in the area.

- Bigfoot? - Bigfoot.

You hear any Bigfoot stories?

- Yeah, quite a few actually. - Really?

Can you describe it?

- I've heard crazy screaming calls. - -Yeah.

We just kept hearing, like,

someone, like, tracing behind us..

It just really freaked us out.

Something was stalking us.

We were in proximity one,

- and we were being watched. - Yep.

You know, we know jack

- about what's out there. - Right.

When you sit down and you talk with them face to face,

a lot of the other things about an individual may

or may not agree on fall away.

And what you have is an individual

who saw something that was very compelling,

and that it changed their lives.

Driving southbound,

I had an interesting experience

with two figures that I can't explain.

Tell me about it. What happened?

I was with another person,

and these two creatures ran across the street

and jumped.

And it was a straight drop off cliff.

- It couldn't have been a human, in other words... - Right.

'cause they would have

tumbled, broken bones.

- There were two of them. - Definitely.

Two different figures.

Human, hominid-shaped?

- Bipedal. - Bipedal.

With that motion of the arms.

- Wow. - Yeah.

- About 5 feet. - Interesting.

This is incredible intel.

We're in the same location

and this witness is describing a nearly identical event

to what our trail cams captured just a few days ago.

Your encounter to me kind of tracks

with some of the other data points that we're getting.

If they're anywhere, it's here.

You see that?

All this stuff's been pulled up.

That's a small animal doing that.

Now, just 3 miles

from the northeast target zone,

Russell discovers possible signs of life.

So if you think about it, it's been raining nonstop,

animals that have been hunkered down are

now getting whatever they can to feed on.

Anything out here that's trying to feed

is also being watched

by something bigger

that's trying to feed.

Look at that tree that came down.

There's no cut marks.

There's nothing.

Look at these branches broken off right here too.

Where did that come from?

See how these trees are broken down?

I can logically accept that as snow load

or heavy winds

because they're still connected.

What I can't find the logic for

is where that tree came from right there.

There's nothing broken off of the ground anywhere.

That's not from here.

That's out of place.

Let's head down this way,

towards our midpoint.

Got a ways to go and daylight is going fast.

Anything that changes the dynamic,

anything that makes you want to turn around

and go the other way,

start searching because

that's the signals we're looking for out here.

All right.

So we're coming to a fork here.

You want to go check that one out,

- and I'll go down this way? - Sure.

It's been a super productive 24 hours.

We hit the ground running.

We quickly discovered the nest had been washed away

from 2 years ago.

But just as quickly,

we have some new target zones,

one of them being this area.

This tree is not looking too promising to walk through.

That's pretty interesting.

Hey, Mireya!

Yeah.

I think I found something.

Tell me what you think of this.

Check that out.

You think you got a print there?

I feel like I see a big toe,

- a little toe. - That's interesting.

Maybe a heel back there.

I mean, that's awesome.

You know, that point of interest that we discovered

on the LiDAR map,

it proved to be correct because

as I was walking along this path,

something just jumped out,

what appeared to be a deep impression.

I've never found a footprint before.

This is a first.

I don't see another one.

Yeah, I was about to say, "Do you see a second?"

Nothing else on this path is

depressing that deep into the ground, though, right?

Like, I'm 200 pounds.

You know, I'm walking through here

and not doing much.

For something to have created

an impression that deep

- 21 inches. - That's big.

it had to have been of substantial weight.

And I can't think of another animal out here

that could possibly have created that.

Hey, I got some scat here, too.

Look at this.

Is that a hair in it?

Yes.

All right.

So here's what we're going to do.

I'm going to give you

- tweezers... - Awesome.

a set of gloves,

- and a vial for the scat. - Great.

In the meantime,

I'm going to go collect eDNA from that print.

And then I want to cast it.

All right. See you in a minute.

All of these particular finds are

going to exist out in nature.

That's not actually that surprising.

Cool.

What I love about it is

the proximity to each other.

It is so close to the actual site

where we just got activity

of two individuals walking through

two days ago.

Yeah. I'm going to scan it now.

Before they cast the footprint,

Mireya quickly creates a 3D composite image...

- Check this out. - Wow.

using a hand held scanner.

All right, I'm going to put this evidence away.

Okay.

Time is 5:00 p.m.

We're losing light really quick,

so let's get that casting material going.

- Great. - Do you have some water?

Here you go.

You want to make sure

that it's the right consistency.

- Sort of thick. - Yeah.

We want it to set.

Like so.

There we go.

- And then just start smoothing it over. - Sure.

There you go.

That is wild.

Once it's in there, that size really starts to pop out, doesn't it?

And take shape.

All right.

Casting the single footprint will

preserve its current state.

- Excellent. Let's just cover it up. -Okay.

And once dried and analyzed,

the team hopes to obtain critical impression evidence.

- Yeah. - We'll pick up where we left off

and just come back in the morning

- to pick it up once it's dry. - Copy that.

Let's make our way to base camp.

- Let's do it. Nice work. -All right.

I mean, I think we found our self

a little hot spot.

No doubt about it.

As night falls

on day one of their expedition,

Russell has decided to stake out a clearing

one mile away

from where the LIDAR results showed

possible clusters of nests.

Using thermal imaging.

My most preferred tool out here.

I think we're gonna see a lot tonight just because

with the...

Look.

Outstanding.

We're already seeing deer.

This is comforting to me

because with no rain

a lot of animals will be moving

and feeling comfortable,

which is exactly what we're looking for.

Something spooked 'em.

Come on.

What is that?

When the deer react like that,

you know that it's something

that they want nothing to do with.

There's something else out here.

I don't know.

Those deer took off running because of this.

That's what spooked 'em.

It's all by itself.

No.

They're putting out heat

but not as hot as the deer were.

Come on.

Where are you?

See how this one is hanging back

over there in the trees?

Look. Look at it.

I'm trying to sort out what I'm looking at.

Okay, try to be as still as you can.

If it's a coyote, I'm not worried about it.

I'll get up and the coyotes will run

and at least I'll have my answers.

There's a ridge line right here

and they went down.

I wonder if they come lower.

And I look at that hillside again.

Where'd you guys go?

Okay, don't make a sound.

See how this one is hanging back?

This one's going back.

They're moving like coyotes.

I bet they're coyotes.

Look how they move.

We've already seen two different types

of animals,

the deer and the coyotes.

All we need next is something much larger.

As Russell continues to monitor activity

from an unknown creature,

at base camp, Mireya and Bryce begin setting up

their own surveillance.

So Bryce, last time we were here,

there were actually a lot of animals

that were coming through the camp.

So what I'd like to do tonight

is place these trail cams around the perimeter,

just in case anything comes through.

Great idea.

Here's another one.

I'm going to head over in this direction.

And if you don't mind going in that direction.

- Perfect. - That way we get the entire camp covered.

One of the things that I try to do...

How about this one right over here?

when establishing that perimeter

is to set up trail cams

in different pathways that lead in and out

of our base camp.

This looks like a good tree.

This is perfect.

The camera facing this direction.

All right.

Looks like a perfect vantage point

to be spying on our base camp.

Generally, the pathways

that animals will use is

that path of least resistance.

This technology gives us a broader view

of where they're coming in and out of.

You got this nice corridor

to our base camp.

Anything that comes by here,

we're going to get it. Perfect.

All right.

Trail cameras are deployed.

All right, same.

As the trail cams begin to survey

the perimeter of their base camp,

Mireya and Bryce arm themselves

with body cameras,

a technique they've never used before.

We can put them on our front and back.

Hang on.

- I love the idea of cameras on our backs. - Turn around.

- Because predators, in fact, hunt that way. - -Yeah.

If anything decides to follow us,

- we'll be able to capture it. - Awesome.

There you go. You're on.

- Cool. - We look awesome.

- Let's go. - Let's do it.

To maneuver in complete darkness,

the team is equipped

with advanced night vision technology,

including infrared flashlights,

a tool that emits only infrared rays

that are designed to remain undetected

by wildlife.

Okay.

- I'll head in that direction. - Okay, great.

I'm going to head this way.

All right. Good luck, man.

Here we go.

All right.

I want whatever's out here

to become very interested in what I'm doing.

Really quiet out here.

Incredibly difficult to see.

No matter how many times you're out here,

there is a sense of vulnerability

because you know

just how much weaker we are as a species.

You know that there are animals out here

that are just

much stronger and more capable than you.

Man, it's so thick through here.

Let me just get eyes on where I'm going.

I gotta get my bearings.

Now look at this.

Trail camera.

That's one of ours.

I think I'm picking up

on some of our trail cameras.

I'm hearing some movement.

What was that?

I'm hearing some pops.

Let's go that way.

I'm hearing movement.

Man, this stuff is...

Mireya, this is Bryce.

Do you copy?

I definitely get the feeling

that something is watching me.

Something is following me.

Copy. Over and out.

Okay.

Man, I don't like that.

Bryce to Mireya, do you copy?

Something just

threw something.

Mireya, do you copy?

Bryce to Mireya, do you copy?

That scared the out of me.

I got to get the hell out of here.

I don't like this anymore.

All of a sudden,

I've lost all sense of direction.

What was that?

There's a massive hollowing out of a

tree. Looks like a tree trunk here.

Looks rather large, almost like a cave entrance.

I'm gonna turn the camera around.

Animals tend to return to familiar places,

so I'm gonna set up a trail cam here.

I'm gonna actually attempt to go in.

Many people who are new to the world

of Bigfoot research

might not realize,

but there's a lot of disparities

between the theories of just what Bigfoot is.

Now, I want to break down

some of the key differences

of three of those most popular theories.

The first possibility is what's called.

The Flesh and Blood theory.

That Bigfoot is basically

just an undiscovered primate species.

The next theory is

what's called The Relic Hominid theory,

which takes a cue from these encounters

that detail human-like qualities,

much like Neanderthal.

Now, the final branch of Bigfoot research explores

this idea of high strangeness.

This includes linking theories of Bigfoot to UFOs,

possibility of shape-shifting, cloaking,

and even the idea that these things could be

inter dimensional beings.

It's this variance in the possibilities

that makes Bigfoot research so compelling,

because there's so much more to learn and explore.

I'm gonna actually attempt to go in.

Let's go this way.

Yeah.

Actually smells like an animal has been in here.

Set the camera down here.

There we go.

I just want to take a look around

and see if there's any sign of

what animal might have been in here.

The first thing I notice is

that a really large animal could come in here.

I was able to stand up, turn around.

This is potentially a place

where I could find signs of a large mammal.

Okay, so right here,

it looks like fur.

Right there

is a good-sized clump of hair.

I only see one type, which is a sign

because primates only have one kind of hair.

You know, deer and other animals,

you see guard hair,

and then you see an under fur.

And so far, I have not seen that.

There has most certainly been something in here.

This is when predators hunt.

An animal could leave in search of food.

The last thing I want is

to be in here when it comes back.

I'm just going to put this in the evidence kit.

Humans like to think

that we're at the top of the food chain.

Wow.

Quite a large

clump of hair here.

But out here in these woods at night,

you quickly realize that you stand no chance.

Branch breaks.

I'm gonna get out of here.

Find Bryce.

I don't know what's going on.

Mireya to Bryce, copy.

Mireya to Bryce, copy.

Mireya to Bryce, copy.

Come on.

What are you?

Deer or coyotes, they'd be moving around.

Whatever it is, it's watching us.

I'm sitting on the hillside

in pitch black.

I'm looking through thermal imaging

and it dawns on me

that I'm being watched.

Interesting.

Notice how red hot it got.

It was white all this time.

Now look how freaking red it is.

This reminds me of last time I was here in California.

Holy.

I see a thermal on the hillside.

This is peculiar.

It has completely disappeared.

It's like deja vu.

That's a lot of heat.

This is not natural.

I know

that I'm not looking at the coyotes.

I'm looking at something vastly different.

And it's got a large red heat trace.

There's more than one.

One,

two,

three.

Those are big.

This is something big.

I'm seeing how massive this thing is.

I've been doing Bigfoot research

for 40 plus years.

And here's something

that is going to

present itself to me.

It's close. Very close.

Straight in front of us in the trees.

It moved.

- Did you hear it? - Yeah, I heard it.

Behind the trees.

Holy crap.

That's moving.