A blogger by the name of Melissa Hovy has been maintaining a Bigfoot blog for quite some time now. It wasn’t until recently that the Sasquatch community caught wind that Melissa could be holding the ultimate photo of all ultimate photos depicting the big guy.

The story goes that four years ago Melissa was contacted by someone who claimed to have a clear picture of Bigfoot on a trailcam. The witness sent Mellisa the picture but wouldn’t allow her to publish it….until now that is.

Here is the photo along with commentary from Melissa herself:

In early 2008 I was contacted via email by a person claiming to have photographed a Bigfoot. The photo is posted above.

The American Bigfoot Society holds the copyright for this image for any and all purposes. As stated in the last article, if and when the true owner of this photo steps up, we will turn the copyright over to them, and they can cover this.

This image and its use on the various websites, discussion forums blogs and any other form of social media, for purposes of discussion/evaluation/research by the general public, Bigfoot Researchers and/or the media, BE ON NOTICE: the copyright MUST be maintained and placed on any images taken from this photo for any purpose and/or distributed or displayed in any manner.

This will be strictly enforced. Any questions about the use of this image should be emailed to the American Bigfoot Society at:

[email protected]

All website, forum, blog or any other form of social media owners, Bigfoot Researchers/enthusiasts/media and the general public, PLEASE be mindful, of potential hoaxers by maintaining the copyright on the image above. The use of this photo for hoaxing is our primary concern.

The ABS is not releasing this photo to help any potential hoaxer.

I know that everyone will have questions about this situation, but please understand there are questions that will NOT be answered about this photo and/or its owner:

1. Name of witness: This information will not be disclosed,

2. Statistical information about the witness: Age, race, or employment/occupation or marital status will not be disclosed,

3. Location of the witness: City, State, County or Address. This information will not be disclosed,

4. Number of images in this series: This will not be disclosed OR what number this photo is in the series,

5. One other researcher was sent this photo (that I know about): I will not release the name of this researcher at this time,or;

6. Any question that may compromise the witness and/or the integrity of information that could identify the witness and/or make it difficult to properly identify the witness should he/she come forward.

The American Bigfoot Society takes no particular stance on whether this is a photo of a Bigfoot or not. In other words, we do not know if this is in fact a Bigfoot or a hoax. The American Bigfoot Society has contacted and has allowed various professionals, in a number of fields, to view the photo in order to assess any information that may be contained within this photograph. While the American Bigfoot Society has the responsibility to protect their witnesses and any information we may have about them, the American Bigfoot Society also has the responsibility of exposing any photo, or evidence, which may lead to hoaxing. The American Bigfoot Society has NO information that this is in fact a hoax. We feel this photo can be released, analyzed and discussed without disclosing any information about the witness, thereby keeping our promise of confidentiality of our witnesses.

Information about the photo:

This witness asked for my (Melissa Hovey) help in seeking protection for what he/she claimed was a Bigfoot that had been coming onto his/her property.

The witness broke contact after becoming concerned for his/her privacy and the safety of the animal. He/she was concerned people would discover who he/she is and that he/she would be called, “crazy”. The witness also expressed concern that if his/her identity were discovered the alleged animal would be in danger of being killed.

The witness expressed in multiple emails that his/her interest was in protection of the alleged animal and not financial gain.

The witness stated this is one game cam photo in a series of photos.

The witness denies any form of manipulation to this photo, other than cropping the image.

Any conversations had between Melissa Hovey and the witness will not be disclosed. Even though the ABS is releasing this photo we still feel it is our responsibility to protect any information that may harm the investigation or the witness.

The photo has been examined and the ABS is in possession of these written opinions. I will do my best to have these opinions released as soon as possible. As is usually the case with opinions, photos and other miscellaneous information is sent, and can create difficulties in their uploading to the internet. My blog is a very temperamental site.

But, rest assured I have no desire to “string this out” any longer than I must – and that is only to make sure the information and the opinions given are published properly.

Just to clarify, Melissa isn’t making any claims. It’s up to the individual reader to decide what he or she believes.

I studied the picture extensively in a photo program as some “experts” claim the hair is a weave. What I found were individual hairs planted directly into the skin. Furthermore, I did an exhaustive search for film clips and even watched the movie, “The Unknown” in it’s entirety (I got a tip that the clip was in the film). Now, I’m no professional by any means, so what I say can be taken with a grain of salt. Furthermore, like Melissa, I’m not calling this either way.

While we all search for the truth in all this, I think we owe Melissa some props for maintaining integrity and holding the photo until such time as she could release it in clear conscience.

Thanks to Melissa’s blog for breaking this news.