[narrator] Previously on Expedition Bigfoot...
-[intense music playing] -[Bryce] We've come to Washington,
the epicenter of sightings.
500 reported sightings a year.
[Russell] They're moving in a group.
Two separate types of tracks here.
[creature calls in distance]
[Mireya] What the [bleep] is that?
[music intensifies]
[Russell] Whoa.
Can you see that?
[whispers] Something's coming?
[Mireya] There is something definitely moving out there.
[softly] We have blood and a lot of it.
[Bryce] Dude, the handprint
is 13 inches long.
[Russell] Listen. Up there.
Dude. Holy [bleep]. Go, go, go.
Move.
[Biko] I wanna get down there and try to find some tracks,
and pick up this thing's trail
because this is closer than we've ever been.
[Russell] Holy [bleep].
[intriguing music playing]
[Biko] Holy smokes.
-[Bryce] Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Look at that. -[Mireya] What?
Look at that.
That is bipedal, upright, walking.
That creature is going west.
[narrator] On Day 19 of the expedition,
the team has identified a hotspot based on activity
Russell captured seven hours ago.
The focus of their efforts is just two miles south of the seismic tripwire
in the northeastern quadrant of the target zone.
This is obviously the turning point in our investigation,
but we need to move fast.
Biko and I will go get our gear,
-and then we'll meet you in that area. -[Bryce] Yeah, perfect.
Let's do it.
[narrator] As the rest of the team gathers their gear
to set up a base of operations,
at the command center,
Bryce has contacted a molecular biologist
to do an expedited forensic analysis
in hopes of determining what kind of animal
left the blood Russell collected just 36 hours ago.
Here we go.
Hey, Christina, how are ya?
Hey, how are you?
Good, good. Thank you so much for hopping on.
Let me ask you, were you able
to pull anything from that, uh, sample?
Yeah. What you guys gave me were two, uh, 15 mil tubes,
so it was a decent amount of blood.
What... what tests were you able to run on this?
[Christina] What I've loved to do actually,
is get the out of there and then sequence it,
so that I could get, you know, a really comprehensive view of what was there,
but because of the time constraints,
we decided let's run it against known DNA markers.
The way that we ran tests,
it ends up being kind of a presence-absence thing, right?
If I get a hit, let's just say
for the bear family, then I know that I've got
some species in that family.
I can't tell you exactly what species,
-that's what sequencing would have told us. Right? -[Bryce] Mmm-hmm.
Exactly what species.
The fragment analysis, what we did,
tells us at least a species
of that family is there.
So, we screened for all of the known animal families
in the Washington region,
and we didn't find anything at all.
Wa... wait. So, you're saying that there was no detection
of large mammals from that sample?
Surprisingly, nothing. We got no hits on that at all.
So, let me ask you this.
Were you able to pull sort of any information from the DNA sample?
I thought, "Let me just run some of the other stuff
that I run kind of on a regular basis for other reasons anyway."
So, yeah, I ran it against the human markers that we have,
and, uh, sure enough, I got a hit for human.
-Really? -[Christina] Now, that doesn't mean
that this is human blood, let's just start right there.
It just means there's human DNA in... in this blood.
So, just to see if I understand you correctly,
you are getting traces of human DNA.
Although that doesn't mean that it came from a human.
Right. I mean, the reality is that these markers that I used for human,
we haven't tested against every
-known primate, you know. -Wow.
We're primates, right? Humans are primates.
And we share 99% of the same DNA
as the rest of the primate family,
so I can't exclude other primates.
You know, so many researchers think that these creatures
could possibly be some sort of,
uh, maybe a relict hominid.
[narrator] Known as the relict hominoid theory,
some researchers believe that Bigfoot represents
a lost branch of the human evolutionary tree,
similar to Neanderthals or Denisovans.
Some of these missing links, such as the Neanderthal,
share 99% of their DNA with humans.
If this theory is correct,
Bigfoot could possibly share
similar genetic markings to other known primates.
Perhaps this is a signal to that.
-When we're talking about what distinguishes us... -[Bryce] Yep.
...um, as species, and even in an evolutionary sense,
we're talking about a relatively small
proportion of our DNA that's different.
[Bryce] Hearing Christina explain that those
human DNA markers that showed up in the lab results
could've been triggered by a primate species
whose blood is so close to our own is incredible.
To me, this opens up a possibility that that blood sample
that we got from Russ
could've come from an injured Bigfoot,
maybe fighting with another one.
And it makes me think that maybe what Russell was tracking
was one of those rogue Bigfoots
that we've been hearing about.
And if so, was this creature competing over territory,
or perhaps a new mate?
[Christina] The bottom line here is that what we found
is human DNA or evidence of human DNA.
We don't know wh... what else is in there.
Um, and that's really what the sequencing will tell us.
[Bryce] Well, listen, uh, Christina, I really appreciate your time.
I... I have to go out and meet the team,
but, uh, in the meantime, would you go ahead
and start sequencing this sample?
That would be incredible.
No problem.
[dramatic music playing]
[narrator] After speaking with Dr. Christina Burns,
Bryce races back to the area
where Russell recorded the video
of an upright creature.
There, Mireya, Russell, and Biko
have established a temporary base of operations.
So fortunately, before I came to Washington,
I was in talks with a good friend of mine
who's an aerospace engineer and hardware developer,
in the hopes that he could help develop something,
some type of unique technology that would fit this expedition and this mission perfectly.
I would love some type of tech that can scan and observe
a large area,
uh, over a... over... over a long period of time.
Something that can be able to record at daytime as well as night.
Uh, thermal would be incredible.
I need something that's not gonna be
too intrusive or make a lot of noise.
Uh, so, I know that's a big ask.
[Jares] I think I got just the thing.
Really small, really, really lightweight
thermal cameras that I'm able
to put on pretty much any kind of platform,
that is kind of really quiet and silent,
and can kind of be like an overwatch.
-Perfect. -I'll go ahead and start working on it,
so that way it's ready for you
the next time you go out into the field.
I told him I needed it ASAP.
He was able to put the finishing touches on it
and meet us out here with it in the field.
-[Mireya] Hey, Russ. -[Bryce and Russell] Hey, guys.
-[Biko] How's it going, Bryce? -[Mireya] Hey, Bryce.
-[Bryce] Guys, this is Jares. -[Mireya] Hey.
-Nice to meet you, I Mireya. -[Bryce] Jares, this is the team.
[Mireya] What do we got here?
[Bryce] Jares has built us this custom,
lighter-than-air surveillance system.
-[birds cawing] -[Mireya] Oh, wow.
[narrator] As the team makes final preparations for tonight's investigation,
Bryce and Jares launch this state-of-the-art tech that the team believes
will be able to determine the location of the two possible Sasquatches
that Russell encountered.
I knew that we needed something silent.
We don't want to spook them off.
So, the balloon is really the ideal application here.
[Mireya] I love that this is silent so that it's not going to disturb
any of the wildlife that is running around.
Basically, it's just gonna keep the natural rhythm.
[Jares] Absolutely.
Jares, do you wanna tell us just what this balloon is equipped with here?
[Jares] We have four different cameras here.
We are currently looking at our infrared, night-vision camera.
We also have a thermal camera as well as two visual cameras.
-One that's a wide field and one that is a zoom camera. -[Bryce] Yeah.
And not only that, we also have the controller here
to be able to pan, tilt, and zoom
into different areas that we think
-that are significantly important. -Wow.
[narrator] This array of specialty cameras is suspended three feet below
the tethered balloon in a fixed position.
Once an area of interest is identified,
the controller is able to zoom the cameras into any sector.
[Jares] The other thing is that balloon platform,
it's hooked up to a thermal drone
so that if it detects motion somewhere,
it's able to deploy that drone
and... and get that sent out immediately
-to go out and track whatever it saw. -[beeps]
[narrator] Stationed at the center of the search area,
the interceptor drone boasts an eight-mile range
and a top speed of 50 miles per hour.
As soon as activity is detected within this range,
the drone will be able to make contact in under five minutes.
[Russell] So, right now we're completely silent
until we get something that we wanna see with the drone.
It'll deploy the drone and lock in on it.
That's exactly right.
To cover as much ground as possible,
all three of you should split up.
I'll stay back on this monitoring station.
So, nothing's getting out of here without us knowing about it.
[Russell] Excellent.
[narrator] Russell will return to the area to the south,
where the possible Bigfoot fight took place.
Biko will position himself in the northeastern quadrant,
and Mireya will head to the west.
The northern zone is hemmed in by the seismic tripwire,
adding an extra layer of detection.
From the observation post,
Bryce will be able to monitor both the surveillance drone
and the alerts from the seismic tripwire.
Stay on comms. Jares and I here will monitor the station.
Let's get to work.
[Mireya] All right, sounds good.
-[claps] Let's catch this thing. -[intriguing music playing]
[Biko] Some of the tech that Bryce has brought us,
it's absolutely incredible.
We've got this crazy interceptor drone that's autonomous.
It's all just awe-inspiring.
I wanna get out there in the field
and be ready to ambush this thing.
[Mireya] Even besides how vast
and dense this area is, it's steep.
It almost feels impossible for us
to actually cover this entire area.
Technology could literally save us months of research out here.
[music intensifies]
[Russell] We have a seismic perimeter set up,
so if anything crosses that line, we'll know it.
We have eyes in the sky.
We have every advantage possible.
I can't wait to see this stuff in play.
[Bryce] You know, we came to this area
because I believe this may be
the perfect natural choke point
where these Bigfoots are gathering in groups.
Now, with what Russ experienced
just 36 hours ago,
along with the forensic blood analysis,
we've been able to narrow in on a spot
where possible rogue Bigfoots
are either trying to claim new territory
or find a potential mate.
With this tech and our whole team here,
we're finally gonna get those answers
that we've been looking for.
[music crescendos and stops]
[ominous music playing]
[Bryce] Looking good, man.
That thermal works nice, too, right there.
[narrator] At the observation post at the center of the recent Bigfoot hotspot,
Bryce and Jares Doverspike monitor the custom-built,
lighter-than-air surveillance system equipped with multiple cameras
and a high-speed, automated drone
that quickly deploys when the system identifies a target.
Hey, guys, this is, uh, this is Bryce at base.
Do you guys copy?
[Biko on radio] Biko for Bryce.
-I copy you. -[Russell on radio] Hey, Bryce.
I'm in a position. I'll keep you posted on my end.
[Mireya] I just got into position.
[Bryce on radio] Yeah, copy.
[narrator] The rest of the team has taken their positions nearby.
Mireya to the west,
Biko to the northeast, and Russell to the south,
the area where he first identified
possible signs of a Bigfoot territorial dispute.
The seismic tripwire seals off the northernmost sector,
ensuring that nothing leaves the area without triggering the sensors.
I can see the target zone really clear.
[video jitters]
[softly] We're just gonna lay low and be quiet.
Try and see if the forest wakes up again,
now that we're not moving.
The forest is really quiet tonight.
Close your eyes for a minute,
and just let those other senses kick in.
[rustling in distance]
Don't move. Don't move.
There's something...
moving through.
-Sounds like a larger animal. -[rustling]
[in normal voice] After spending a lifetime in the woods,
you start to learn the difference
between a large animal and a smaller animal moving.
Smaller animals, you're gonna hear, you know, the pattering of leaves.
Versus what I'm hearing right now
is branches cracking,
which tells me something with weight is moving through.
So, to me, what that means
is we're most likely dealing with a larger animal.
[softly] Biko for Bryce.
Yeah. Bryce here.
I'm definitely getting some activity out here.
There's some animals
moving through this area.
Yeah, copy.
Jares, pull up Biko's section in the northeast.
Where are you?
[on radio] Yeah, that's a negative on the signature, Biko.
We're gonna keep looking.
I say we go in the direction of that sound and go and see.
[in normal voice] Whoa.
That's some pretty monkey stuff.
We got a lot of thick salmonberry in here.
It's obviously pretty muddy in here,
so we might pick up on some tracks.
There's a lot of trails moving through here.
[indistinct howl in distance]
[softly] Did you hear that?
[Biko] That was a weird call.
There's definitely been some weird sounds out here.
It's best if we lay low for a minute
and just hide in these ferns.
See if we can hear anything else.
[suspenseful music playing]
[Jares] I don't know what that was.
Yeah, it was a little something, wasn't it?
[softly] If it was something small, they wouldn't make it through here.
[Russell] Kind of be on the lookout here,
right back in that area where that fight was.
I don't wanna
walk in here without paying attention.
[Bryce] We've been out here for hours.
So far we've only been seeing small movements,
so the surveillance system hasn't picked up on anything large enough
to trigger that interceptor drone.
But fortunately with all these cameras,
it'll only take a second for that surveillance system
to pick up on a body profile
and trigger that interceptor drone.
So, hopefully the ground team's presence
pushes one of these creatures out into the open,
and then we can lock onto its position.
[Russell] It is so quiet I can actually feel my own heartbeat.
You feel like that there's something out here.
-[leaves rustling] -[branch snaps]
[shushes]
There's something moving out there.
[hooting]
[tense music playing]
I see something right here.
You see that?
-Right there? -[Jares] A little bit of a hot spot.
Yeah, I thought I...
Did that thing just move?
[Jares] That is very weird.
Where'd it go?
-[Jares] I just lost it in the trees. -[Bryce] Yeah, I did too.
What direction is that?
[Jares] That's in the west.
Mireya, we see something moving,
uh, in and around you. Are you seeing anything?
I'm not seeing anything so far,
but I'm about to take the thermal out.
I'll let you know.
[Bryce on radio] Yeah. Copy.
[Jares] What is that?
[Bryce] Oh, that thing took a step.
Hey, Mireya and Russell, this is Bryce.
We got something right between you guys.
Is there any way you guys can link up?
[Mireya] Copy that, Bryce.
[Russell] I'm moving out now.
[Bryce] It's right there. Take a look at this thing.
[Mireya on radio] Do you have a visual?
Yes. Yes, it is moving.
[softly] All right, let's try to move faster.
Oh, I see it right there.
You see that?
-[beeping] -Oh, [bleep]
-[intense music playing] -That just triggered the interceptor drone.
[drone whirring]
[on radio] Guys, target acquired.
Target acquired.
The interceptor drone is programmed to launch
only when the surveillance system
identifies an upright walking creature.
Mireya and Russ are converging on the heat signature
as we speak.
So, within a few seconds,
we're gonna get a detailed visual
of just whatever it is that's out there.
Now, we should see it coming up on this screen here.
[Bryce] Oh, perfect.
[drone whirring]
Oh, that thing is moving.
[Jares] They should be approaching it right about now.
That's definitely it right there. Yeah.
-[music intensifies] -Guys, we have a walking target.
[tense music playing]
[Jares] Holy bleep].
Guys, we have a walking target.
[narrator] After spotting a bipedal heat signature
in the southwestern section of a hot zone,
the interceptor drone was activated,
tracking the creature
as it moved through the forest.
From the observation post,
Bryce and Jares receive a live feed of the target
as Mireya and Russell converge on its position.
[Mireya] Mireya for Bryce.
[Bryce on radio] Yeah, Bryce here.
[Mireya] I've got Russ here with me now.
You still have a visual?
We got you on monitor. I see you.
[Russell on radio] Did we pass that thermal, or is it behind us?
Uh...
Where'd it go?
Must have disappeared into the woods,
into the tree line that I can't see,
'cause it used to be, I believe, right there.
Yeah, for sure.
[Jares] I don't... I don't have it either on balloon
or drone right now.
[Bryce] Damn.
We lost that thermal, man.
[Russell on radio] That's not good news.
[Bryce on radio] I... I don't know what to say.
It was there, and now it's gone.
[Mireya] All right, we're gonna keep heading in that direction.
-[suspenseful music playing] -[Bryce on radio] Copy that.
[Russell] Bryce comes over the radio.
That heat signature...
it vanished.
Now, how does a heat signature vanish right in front of us?
He's got it on thermal,
he's got a drone right over top of it,
and this thing has disappeared
right out from underneath our feet.
That's not adding up.
Where the [bleep] did that target go?
That is still a...
[beeping]
Oh, [bleep].
I just got an alert from the seismic tripwire,
northern quadrant.
Oh, dude, that's where Biko is.
-Can we go there? -Let me see.
Yeah, let me see if I can see anything over there.
Yeah, I can't. It... it's out of range.
[Bryce] [bleep]
[narrator] The team deployed an 18-mile-wide seismic tripwire spanning
east to west, just south of the fort,
and it was programmed to alert Bryce
when one of the sensors gets activity
of a bipedal creature walking over it.
[Bryce] If this tripwire works like I think it should,
nothing, and I mean nothing, will be able to get through
without us knowing about it.
[narrator] And after three and a half weeks,
a sensor in the northern quadrant
has detected a bipedal target
moving quickly through its radius.
[Bryce on radio] Hey, Biko. This is Bryce, do you copy?
Hey, Bryce. I... I copy. Go ahead.
Hey, Biko, just make your way north,
see if you hear anything, see anything.
Uh, that seismic tripwire went off, which means something just left that area,
and it's nearby you. Have you heard or seen anything?
[softly] I'm definitely getting some activity out here.
I'm hearing some stuff, but I haven't seen anything yet.
[Bryce on radio] I think whatever you're tracking
is what triggered the seismic tripwire.
-I just got another alert... -[beeping]
...from the seismic wire.
Oh, [bleep].
-[beeping] -That's a third target now.
Biko, I just got two more alerts from the tripwire.
That means three creatures have moved past one of the sensors near you.
I think these things are trying to leave the area.
Look, I've lost all the targets up here.
I'm making my way towards you.
[in normal voice] Copy that.
Hey, Mireya and Russell, this is Bryce.
[Mireya] Go for Mireya.
We just got three hits on the tripwire.
I think these things are trying to leave the area and are headed north.
I'm gonna go meet up with Biko.
Keep going. Stay alert.
Copy that, Bryce.
If you get any more targets, just radio me, okay?
While the interceptor drone continues to search
for that target near Mireya and Russ,
I'm gonna meet Biko at the coordinates that the tripwire
detected those three creatures moving through.
[Russell] Look at this. Ground's all chewed-up right through here.
All this is matted.
[Russell] Whatever the drone detected before
might be hiding,
but it didn't just disappear.
It's somewhere in this forest.
It's out here... with us.
Mireya...
come here.
-You see that? -[Mireya] Yeah.
[Russell] That looks like a circle, like a handmade circle.
Mireya and I are working side by side,
and we come up on something that...
It... It defies all logic.
Oh, look at that.
There's a circle of undergrowth
that had been twisted and braided
in such a fashion that there's a circle
that's still on a growing tree.
[Mireya] What in the world?
That looks like a wreath.
[Russell] Mireya, I found something just like this,
but they were laying on the ground.
What the hell is that?
That isn't right.
It took opposing thumbs to make these rings.
Definitely...
handmade. Look at that.
[Mireya] All right, let's come back to this.
I just want to keep moving
because what we're looking for is moving,
and it feels like we're really hot on the trail of something.
[ominous music playing]
[Bryce softly] Biko?
[softly] I've been hearing some [bleep] down there, creeping around.
And we gotta stay quiet.
[Bryce] Yeah.
[Biko] Look at this.
[Bryce] Oh, yeah.
-[Biko] Something stepped on this. -[Bryce] Oh, for sure.
This branch is freshly broken off.
[Bryce] Yeah, something's definitely moving through here.
[Biko] This way.
[narrator] As Bryce and Biko continue north
past the boundary of the seismic tripwire,
pursuing the possible three bipedal creatures
that set off the northwest sensor, 2.5 miles southeast,
Mireya and Russell continue tracking
whatever activated the interceptor drone.
[shushes, softly] Listen, listen. Stop.
Russ, stop for a sec.
I'm hearing something right over there.
[leaves rustling]
[branch snaps]
-Did you hear that? -[creature growls]
It sounded like a growl.
[ominous music playing]
Mireya.
[Mireya in normal voice] Look at this.
There's no, uh, obvious machinery
-cut marks on these. -Nope.
[Mireya] And this looks like what Biko and I found.
[softly] Look at this.
[Biko softly] What the [bleep] is this?
[Mireya] Take a look at this.
[Biko] I don't see any cut marks from tools.
This took some time.
I think we're in the territory.
[foreboding music playing]
So now, we are hearing something through the forest.
These markings of these vines that have been tied together.
And now we have this structure that has
very orderly, teepee-type shape to it.
If that doesn't tell you we're in the right spot, nothing will.
-[Mireya] I think we should keep moving. -[Russell] Yeah.
-[Biko] Bryce. -[Bryce] Yeah.
Something big definitely came through here.
[Bryce] Yeah?
You see that deep track right there?
[Bryce in normal voice] That's definitely a footprint.
That's heavy.
Do you see anything else?
I'm looking for some more tracks in this soft mud.
-Bryce, I don't see anything over here. -[Bryce] No?
-Oh, [bleep]. -[Biko] You'd think there'd be one right here.
It's like it just disappeared, you know?
-I don't know, man. -[Bryce] It doesn't make sense.
I try to look for an explanation
in everything,
But sometimes there is none. And this thing
is a master of its environment,
if it's what we think we're dealing with.
Let's keep heading this way.
[Mireya] Oh, my God.
Look at this.
[Russell] Holy smokes.
Wow.
Look at that thing.
[Mireya] Jeez [bleep].
That's a pretty elaborate build, isn't it?
[Mireya softly] Russ.
[eerie music playing]
Oh, my God.
-[music intensifies] -[Russell] This is crazy.
[eerie music playing]
[Russell] This is crazy.
[Mireya] Something's definitely been spending a lot of time here.
[Russell] A lot of kills here.
You can tell by the color of the bones
that there's been multiple times
that a kill has been
either eaten, or the bones haven't been disposed of yet.
[Russell] And look how tore up the ground is all the way through here.
This is all fresh.
Do you remember the kill site in Washington?
-Do you remember all the bones? -[Mireya] Yeah.
[Russell softly] There's old bones, and then there's
fairly fresh bones.
Something's bringing its kills to this space here
to feed on it and eat it.
[Mireya] So bizarre.
[Russell] It is.
It's like year after year, something's been feeding here.
Different layers,
different ages of bones here.
-[Mireya] And definitely different animals. -Yep.
I mean, this just seems like a really strange find.
[Russell] We might have lost track of that thermal,
but between those rings and this tree structure, this is a major find.
Just a couple of days ago,
I found signs of a battle between two creatures.
If they were having a territorial dispute,
it could have been over this particular secluded area.
Mireya, you want to see if we missed something on the way here?
Yeah. All right, let's go.
[intriguing music playing]
[narrator] Hours later, as a new day dawns in the forests of Washington,
the two teams rendezvous after searching all night.
[Mireya] Hey, Bryce, Biko.
[Russell] Hey.
-Up here. -[Bryce] Hey, guys.
[Bryce exhales] It's good to see you guys.
[Mireya] How'd it go?
-Long night. -[Bryce] Oh, man.
-[Russell] Yeah. -[Mireya] What happened?
[Bryce] Well...
something tripped the, uh, seismic wire.
And, uh, Biko was tracking something.
[Biko] We were on the trail of something, but eventually lost it.
[narrator] With the help of daylight,
the team will begin investigating the area surrounding the tree structure
Mireya and Russell discovered six hours ago.
[Mireya] Wait till you see what we found.
-[Russell] Yeah, you won't believe this. -[Bryce] Yeah?
[Mireya] Oh, yeah.
Hey, Mireya. Check it out.
-Remember the one we saw? It's right there. -[Bryce] Oh, [bleep].
[Mireya] Did you guys see this last night?
[Bryce] I've never seen anything like that.
[Mireya] So, as we made our way down here,
we started noticing there were
a lot of, uh, bent down vegetation.
-[Bryce] That looks like a wreath or something. -[Biko] Yeah.
[Mireya] It's definitely... I mean, clearly, it's out of place,
but you can actually see how it was
attached here.
[Biko] What is that, vine maple?
And vine maple is pretty... pretty sturdy stuff, you know.
It actually makes good bow-making material.
-[Mireya] So, you'd have to be pretty strong... -[Biko] Yeah.
-...in order to do that. -Yeah, it'll bend rather than snap, you know?
[Mireya] But this is why we wanted to come back during the day.
-We missed this last night. -[Russell] Yeah.
Just to be clear again, this is not what you're here to show us.
-[Russell] No. -Oh, no, there's more.
No, this is... this is just the beginning.
[Mireya] One of the reasons that we always
come back the following morning is that we
very well may have missed things
in the dark.
And already, we are spotting things that we had
not seen last night.
I don't know what these circular structures mean,
but they are certainly of interest.
But, guys, check it out.
-Right over there. Do you see it, Bryce? -[Russell] Yep.
[Bryce] See what?
[Biko] That structure down there?
[Bryce] What the hell?
[Biko] Wow. Now, that's pretty intricate, isn't it?
[Mireya] Even before you got too close to it.
Look at this, Bryce...
-[Bryce] Yeah. -...right here?
And then all the way around.
There's a bit of a bone pit.
Even around, we were finding other bones over there and even hair.
like something kept coming back.
[Bryce] This is wild.
Oh, my God. What the hell is that?
Dude, look at the spinal column.
We came to Washington trying to understand
why this place was so special for Bigfoot.
And now, looking at this structure, I'm totally blown away.
I have never,
in five years of doing this, seen anything so elaborate.
And I'm wondering if this object holds significance.
Perhaps this is a... a place where these creatures gather.
[Russell] Check this out.
-[Bryce] Russ, you got something? -This...
-[Bryce] Yeah? -It looks like the perfect track.
[Bryce] Oh, I see it, I see it. Yeah.
[Biko] I'm seeing another one over there.
-[Bryce] Really? Biko, where? -On that side?
-Right there. Yeah. -[Mireya] Here.
[Russell] Oh, [bleep].
There's a third one right here, and in front of it looks like just the heel.
We got a track. That's more than two.
That's a really solid, weighty impression right there.
[Mireya] Let's measure them.
[Biko] Okay.
[Bryce] I'm looking at about 13 inches from heel to big toe,
possibly 14.
-Side to side difference. -[Biko] That's a lot wider.
-That's wider. That's about six inches across. -Yeah.
[Mireya] This falls very well within the range
-of what it is that we're looking for. -[Biko] Right.
[Russell] This feels an awful lot like a combination
of everything we've found so far,
like, from kill zone to bones, to tree structures, to the vines.
It's just... everything kind of
collected together in one spot.
Well, it's actually amazing
because we're noticing that all of these things
are rather recent, fresh.
It means that this is really the first time
that we're kind of on top of an area
that something that we may be looking for has just been in.
Let's get out there and just collect as much evidence as we can.
While you're collecting this evidence here,
I'd be interested to see if those markings led to anything back there.
-[Mireya] Sounds good. -All right.
[Mireya] We've had similar finds on other expeditions,
but we have never had anything like this.
-All right. I've got the scanner. -Okay.
-[beeps] -[intense music playing]
[Mireya] Check it out. You can really see the heel now.
Yeah, you can.
Wow.
I think I got the details.
We have footprints,
castable footprints.
Heel, all the way through to the ball of the foot, to the five toes.
Perfect prints.
Everything that we've found
has brought us, as a team,
into this spot.
[Mireya] So, I always say that the investigation
really begins with all the materials
you've collected once you've left.
During one of my expeditions in Madagascar, I was observing
a very small primate that we thought was a known species.
But when I collected DNA and went back to a lab to analyze it,
we realized that, in fact, it was a brand-new species to science.
And that, to me, really showed
the necessity of this two-part process.
So, while it's incredibly exciting to be in the field
collecting all these things,
it's really not until you've left the field
that you can actually start to draw conclusions
and possibly make the discovery you're looking for.
Boy, that doesn't miss any of that detail, does it?
It doesn't. It picks up on everything,
-a lot of which we may not even be seeing here. -[Russell] Right.
[narrator] While Russell and Mireya capture 3D scans,
collect eDNA, and make plaster casts
of the footprints near the tree structure,
Bryce and Biko scour the area
for any clues the team may have missed.
[Bryce] I see something.
You can see them through the trees there.
They might be leading to something.
[Bryce] Let's go look.
[Biko] I don't see any tracks or anything.
[Bryce] I don't either.
[Biko] There's another
-kind of manipulated, bigger one there. -[Bryce] Yeah?
[Bryce] Oh, definitely.
Man.
You know, my first impression was territorial, but...
I'm just, sort of,
not really feeling that that's what these are for.
And it feels more like a...
more welcoming, you know.
Pretty intricate, isn't it?
[Bryce] Yeah.
[Biko] Seeing how these rings are constructed,
it reminds me of the details
Mireya and I found on that tree structure last week.
[softly] Animal fur.
[softly] There's pieces all attached together.
That is woven, tied off
like you would a shoelace or a ribbon.
[Biko] That's definitely hard to explain there.
It doesn't seem like these
serve a real purpose.
Is it like a ornamentation?
Is it some way to signify territory
or a directional marker?
It's really hard to say.
There's no obvious answer for me,
but something took the time to make this,
so it must be significant.
[Bryce] I'm curious, also, if there's any more down there, or...
what the perspective is from that way.
[Biko] If you're something moving through this area,
coming up this way.
I mean, it immediately grabs your eye.
-[Bryce] Yeah. -[Biko] I mean, it stands out among all these trees,
Really does get your attention in, you know.
Now they are starting to line up again, right to that big structure.
[Biko] It feels like they are almost like, um, street signs
-to go that way. -[Bryce] Exactly.
On our previous expeditions,
we've discovered tree structures, prints,
and other types of evidence.
But these rings, and that tree structure,
and the culmination of everything in this one area
must mean something bigger.
This, to me, just screams
this is a space that is special.
I've never seen anything like this.
[Russell] And neither have I.
Predators will sometimes go back to the same site to eat their prey,
so it could be one individual
-coming back to the same site to eat... -[Biko] Right.
...or it could be multiple individuals.
Think of it as a potluck.
They go out, make kills, and they come back together.
And this is sort of the feeding ground.
[Bryce] In my mind, the tree structures have always been demarcations,
uh, of passageways,
hunting grounds,
uh, but to me, this just screams
sacred space, territory.
"This is our home."
That totally makes sense to me.
[Bryce] Yeah, and think about what Tom Suet told us.
You know, tribes would often get together
and commune to exchange information
about hunting grounds, passageways.
He said the Bigfoot do the same thing.
Many Indian tribes invite people to a potlatch.
The Sasquatch is no different.
They have culture, they have song.
One person reported seeing over 40 Sasquatches.
"Oh, It's a rendezvous. It's a powwow, a potlatch."
[Bryce] It would make sense to have a feast here.
Uh, all these elaborate, uh,
welcoming signs or whatever the hell these things are.
I think this is a communal point. I really do.
This could be the most significant find
that we've ever had on any of our expeditions.
There are so many leads that came from just this one site.
We're gonna gather all the evidence that we can
because a story starts to emerge
about how these creatures live,
and that's what we're really interested in. Right?
It's not just evidence, but who are these creatures?
These are the questions that we're interested in.
[Biko] Why does it seem so many of these creatures...
-[Mireya] It's massive. -...are drawn to this place?
Boom, boom, boom.
[Russell] Does Washington serve a purpose for these creatures?
[Mireya] There's a bone pit.
And throughout this journey,
it seems like we've come closer and closer to uncovering the truth.
There is something definitely moving out there.
[Bryce] We've documented possible behaviors here we've never seen before...
What the hell?
...and found evidence suggesting new forms of communication.
[softly] What the [bleep] is that?
These expeditions always
leave me with more questions than answers,
and then sometimes by chance,
you're holding the answer in your hand and you don't even know it.
[Bryce] But now, seeing all that we've uncovered,
what if Washington is the place they travel to?
The place where families and pods gather together,
where new mates are found and new families begin.
[dramatic music playing]
[Mireya] It is said that legends are nonsense,
but that the study of legend is scholarship.
That's why we won't stop,
because we have so much more to discover.