1973 US Army Document Officially Investigates Bigfoot Sightings
Posted Saturday, August 22, 2026
By Squatchable.com staff
A 1973 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers document just surfaced on YouTube, and it's got the Sasquatch community buzzing. The channel Everelements recently shared footage of an original Environmental Reconnaissance Inventory of the State of Washington, and buried within its pages is something truly remarkable: an official military assessment of Bigfoot.
That's right, folks. The United States Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, included a section titled "The Sasquatch: Reality or Hoax" in their 1973 environmental inventory. Let that sink in for a moment.
The document describes Sasquatch as "hair-covered humanlike animals which stand 12 feet tall and weigh in excess of 1,000 lbs." It references the extensive research compiled by John Green, one of the most respected investigators in Sasquatch research history. Green's work documenting tracks ranging from 14 to 24 inches in length, with strides up to 6 feet, formed much of the foundation for what researchers know about Sasquatch footprints today.
What makes this document particularly compelling is its matter-of-fact tone. It mentions that "no one has ever killed or captured one of these animals in recent history, but some claim to have wounded such creatures." The language treats the subject with the same seriousness as any other biological element in the inventory, right alongside discussions of shrews, bats, and fossil evidence.
The Bossburg area gets a special mention, which makes perfect sense given the famous 1969 Bossburg incident when multiple witnesses reported seeing a female Sasquatch near local farms. The Ridenour film footage from that era remains some of the most debated evidence in Sasquatch research.
The document also references the Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, noting that "a team of physical anthropologists studied the movie and footprint cast and found no evidence of foul play." This aligns with what many researchers have argued for decades, that the muscular features and anatomical details visible in the footage suggest a real biological subject rather than a person in a costume.
Perhaps most intriguing is the mention of FBI laboratory analysis of hair samples. According to the document, the FBI concluded that "no such hair exists on a human or known animal." This FBI hair analysis has been a point of discussion in the research community for years, with some questioning the methodology while others point to it as legitimate scientific inquiry into unknown biological specimens.
The accompanying map is a treasure trove in itself. It documents 174 track findings, 266 sightings, and 57 cases of both tracks and sightings, totaling 497 documented incidents. The clusters of activity visible on the map correspond to known hotspots in Sasquatch research, particularly in the northern regions and southern areas of Washington State.
The document credits the Chief of the Environmental Branch, Seattle District Corps of Engineers, for the contribution. This wasn't some fringe publication or amateur investigation. This was an official government environmental assessment that acknowledged Sasquatch as a subject worthy of serious documentation.
For anyone interested in the history of Sasquatch research, this video is absolutely worth watching. Everelements does a fantastic job walking through the entire document, showing the original pages, the incredible maps, and providing context for what makes this find so significant. The channel clearly has a passion for preserving these pieces of history, and this particular document represents a fascinating intersection of government documentation and cryptid research.
The video also showcases other fascinating elements of the inventory, including geological features, fossil locations, archaeological sites, and cultural resources throughout Washington State. But let's be honest, the Sasquatch section is what has everyone talking.
This kind of official acknowledgment, even from decades ago, adds another layer to the ongoing conversation about Sasquatch. When government agencies include cryptids in environmental assessments, it raises questions about what other information might exist in archives that hasn't seen the light of day.
Check out the video for yourself and see the original documentation. It's a remarkable piece of Sasquatch history that deserves wider attention in the research community.