The Erickson Project
Sasquatch the Quest

Privately funded since 2005, The Erickson Project is actively researching sasquatch at various study sites in North America. The goal of Adrian Erickson and his team is to have the collected evidence validated by science and the sasquatch officially recognized as a species or sub-species. 


The documentary “Sasquatch, the Quest” is part of the Erickson Project and will unveil, for the first time, a host of never before seen sasquatch footage and other evidence chronicling the journey of the Erickson Project. The release of the documentary will coincide with the release of the DNA findings collaboratively with Dr. Melba Ketchum.


Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot, has been recorded in annals from as early as 1000 A.D. by the Vikings in modern day Newfoundland, Canada, and their existence is supported by hundreds of published accounts over the past two centuries. Even with tens of thousands of reports, and an extensive collection of physical evidence, Scientists in general are skeptical to their existence.

My first sighting occured in 1959, when I was seven years old and several encounters followed throughout the next few decades. However August 2001 was the pivotal point in my life when a sasquatch crossed the road in front of me driving through the Canadian Rockies. I made the decision to find out all I could about these magnificent creatures.


-Adrian Erickson
In 2005, I started the Erickson Project. The objective was to conduct the first long term study that would once and for all, prove the existence of the sasquatch. In order to do so I asked Dennis Pfohl and Leila Hadj-Chikh to join me, and we set out to try to awaken the scientific community, attempted to bring awareness to the general public, while silencing the armchair critics, and tried to vindicate the tens of thousands of witnesses who have been ridiculed for speaking out. With only a handful of short video clips ever previously recorded of a sasquatch, the team focused on acquiring more and better video, especially close ups. After many months of frustrations the knowledge gained by the team’s experiences enabled it to finally achieve success in capturing several video clips of different Sasquatch, including the first 'facial' footage ever recorded.

Expanding to more study sites in both the USA and Canada, the team eventuallyachieved greater success, recording extensive video and audio evidence, as well as collecting a host of other physical evidence including footprints, hand prints, and hair. Initially we felt that with the mounting evidence we were collecting, the scientific community would soon embrace this evidence, and move towards recognition of the species. With the exception of a few scientists who visited the Erickson Project, this was not the case; as the evidence mounted, the bar was raised by the scientific community, and soon it appeared that only DNA would turn the tide.

After many attempts, we perfected methods that enabled us to collect saliva, blood, and hair from several sasquatch. The mitochondrial DNA and nuclear DNA of these samples are presently being analysed.

The chronicles of the study have been documented on video and are part of the documentary Sasquatch the Quest which also includes a review of the multiple evidence collected, and various scientific points of view on the subject. Upon conclusion of the peer reviewed DNA analysis by scientists the documentary will be released.


Through the years the Erickson Project has procured a significant amount of evidence from different study sites in North America.
Multiple casts of foot and handprints, witness accounts, audio recordings, video clips, encounters and physical evidence such as hair, blood, and saliva have been collected, which are currently undergoing extensive mitochondrial and nuclear DNA  testing.



ELUSIVENESS OF THE CREATURE: 
The sasquatch is by no means the rarest, but far and away is the most elusive creature on earth. Their intelligence and ability to avoid detection goes far beyond any recognized species. Their highly developed sensory system, including incredible night vision, allows them to quickly detect humans and allows them to easily travel and forage under the cover of darkness.  They seem to have the ability to detect surveillance cameras and quickly assess human intentions. As well, they are very careful not to leave legible footprints in areas prone to human activity.

TERRAIN
Sasquatch often inhabit very remote and rough terrain which makes long term study sites a challenge to access and maintain.

SCIENTIFIC RELUCTANCE TO LOOK AT THE EVIDENCE:
Unfortunately, evidence of the sasquatch has been hoaxed numerous times resulting inthe sasquatch phenomenon being a taboo subject in the eyes of many scientists.
With few exceptions, the mountain of evidence collected by various organizations and individuals over decades has not yet opened the minds of most scientists.  Even though the Erickson Project added significantly to this previously collected evidence, as a result, only a few more scientists became interested in the creature.  
As the team gathered more compelling evidence, the bar just got raised higher by the scientific community.



For the past two years the Erickson Project has focused mainly on the collection of sasquatch DNA. The team was ultimately successful in obtaining several hair, saliva and blood samples from four diverse areas in North America. The mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of these samples are presently being painstakingly analyzed.
Mitochondrial DNA, which is passed on from the mother's side, consists of 16.500 base pairs. The nuclear DNA, which contains the chromosomes of the genome, consists of 3 billion base pairs.
To analyze this amount of information is a huge undertaking without a 'type' specimen on file to compare it to. The team is working in conjunction with Dr. Melba Ketchum of DNA Diagnostics in Texas, and hope to be successful in learning more about the genetics of these magnificent creatures.


                                         The Team Members


Adrian Erickson - Project Founder

Adrian grew up on a small farm in the bush of northern Alberta, Canada, hunting and trapping with his father at an early age to augment the meager income from farming. His first encounter with a Sasquatch was in 1959 when he was seven years old. By the age of 16, while still in high school, he was guiding American moose hunters, and had his second encounter with a sasquatch. After graduation Adrian expanded his guiding and outfitting business into reclamation work for the oil and gas industry.Adrian's first love was hunting, and by age 26 he had switched strictly to bow hunting. Much of his hunting at the time took him to remote locations in Alberta and British Columbia where he had other sasquatch encounters. While in his forties, Adrian's companies (including drilling, construction and helicopters) had grown to a large international group generally working in seismic exploration for the oil and gas industry in many countries around the world. During this period his bow hunting took him to many countries in Africa where he successfully hunted all the dangerous game with only a bow and arrow.
In 2001 an encounter with a sasquatch crossing the road in front of him was the catalyst that drove him to find out everything he could about this elusive creature. Adrian’s research lead him to becoming an investigator for the BFRO in 2003 and by 2005 had literally talked to hundreds of witnesses who were relieved to finally speak about sasquatches to someone who took them seriously and who had seen them himself.
In the same year, Adrian had a vision of secluded estates set in nature, and created Regal Ridge, a world class acreage development in Osoyoos British Columbia, Canada, where his two sons Jason and Ryan work with him today.
In 2005 Adrian started The Erickson Project, the first multi-site field study of the sasquatch in both Canada and the USA with the goal to have the sasquatch recognized as a species.

Dennis Pfohl - Project Manager

Dennis Pfohl is an active outdoorsman who has lived in Northern Colorado most of the last 23 years. He is married to Shannon Pfohl and has four children, Jeremy, Cory, Daniel and Emma.
Dennis has pursued a number of professions over the years beginning at 17 with obtaining his C.N.A. Certification and working in the medical field, and in the most recent past starting and maintaining his own professional window cleaning business. His many years of wilderness camping and hiking have honed his tracking and outdoor skills.Dennis became interested in bigfoot and started researching the subject in 2000 after finding a track near a mountain lake in Colorado. In 2004, he joined the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization as an investigator and has since become the lead investigator for the state of Colorado. This responsibility requires him to manage the other Colorado investigators, coordinate local expeditions and investigate reports to the database.
For the past six years as Project Manager for the Erickson Project, Dennis travels to research locations in United States and Canada regularly to coordinate efforts in the collection of evidence by working in the field with the locals. This evidence has come in the form of audio, video and physical evidence such as tracks and DNA. Other responsibilities include procuring audio and video equipment and using the latest technology, analyzing new potential locations, determining credibility of eyewitnesses and working closely with the relevant scientists in order to identify and validate evidence. The goal of this project is to bring forth enough evidence for the recognition of this species and the protection of it by the scientific community, and governments.

Dr.Leila Hadj-Chikh - Project Scientist

Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh earned a B.S. in Biology from Wilkes University in 1995, and a Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University in 2003. After completing fieldwork for her dissertation, she moved to California in 2002 to pursue her interest in conservation biology, by working on a forest-disease project for the Wildlife Conservation Society. In 2005, her interest in the sasquatch phenomenon led her to attend an expedition with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization in northern California. 
After talking to several witnesses who were also attending the expedition, she decided to pursue an active role in sasquatch investigations. In the fall of 2005, she became the Project Scientist for the Erickson Project, teaching proper methods of evidence collection to other project participants, and collecting evidence for evaluation by fellow scientists. She is now working on websites for conducting a quantitative study of sasquatch sightings, and for developing the capacity for citizen scientists to contribute to sasquatch research through DNA collection.

DNA Testing Provided by : Dr. Melba S. Ketchum, Director DNA Diagnostics Inc.

Dr. Melba S. Ketchum grew up in Texas City, Texas. She is a Moody Scholar and attended Texas A&M University where she received her doctorate in Veterinary Medicine after five years at the university. She had a mixed veterinary practice until she founded DNA Diagnostics. Dr. Ketchum has shown horses extensively and has a ranch in Texas where she still maintains registered Quarter Horses and American Paint Horses as well as a herd of Charolais cattle. Dr. Ketchum is the president and founder of DNA Diagnostics, Inc. d/b/a Shelterwood Laboratories. Established in 1985, DNA Diagnostics has become a leader in all types of DNA testing including: human and animal forensics, human and animal paternity and parentage testing, disease diagnostics, trait tests, animal and human identity testing, species identification and sex determination. Most common species of animals are tested at DNA Diagnostics.
Dr. Ketchum has also established a research program ranging from gene mapping to developing the VeriSNP™ (patent pending) platform for universal genetic evaluation in multiple species of animals. Other research includes genetics of disease, population genetics and other genetically important traits such as coat color in animals. Dr. Ketchum is a past three-term Chairperson of the International Society for Animal Genetics Equine Genetics Standing Committee. She has also been Dog Map Chairperson and a Committee member on the Dog and Cat Parentage Committee. She is currently the Treasurer for AFDAA, The Association of DNA Analysts and Administrators. Dr. Ketchum has a daughter and a son and lives on her Attoyac Valley Ranch in East Texas