Historical Witness

Roger Patterson

California1967
Location archiveCalifornia
Frame 352 from the Patterson–Gimlin film at Bluff Creek, October 20, 1967
Frame 352 from the Patterson–Gimlin film, October 20, 1967. Wikimedia Commons identifies the image as public domain in the United States. View provenance and licensing ↗
Profile overview

At a glance

Encounter period1967
RegionCalifornia
Direct visualYes
Repeat / ongoingNo
Co-witness / corroborationYes – Bob Gimlin
Primary sourceBFRO / film record
Exact locators0
Media / transcript records0
Encounter & observations

The encounter

Context

Bigfoot investigator / horseman; outdoor experience: High.

1967 · California

1967 reported encounter

large upright hair-covered figure retreating across creek bed

What the witness reported

  • large upright hair-covered figure retreating across creek bed

Original source ↗

Sources & changes

Source chronology

1967

Reported encounter period

California. large upright hair-covered figure retreating across creek bed

Changes over time

Stable / recurrent

  • Strong event chronology
  • Multiple source layers are present; source-by-source comparison should remain chronological.

Unresolved

  • Prior Bigfoot pursuit / film authenticity disputed
  • Separate film authentication from testimony
  • Exact source locator has not yet been recovered for this profile.
Research assessment

Research assessment

Corroboration & evidence

Reported co-witness / corroboration

Yes – Bob Gimlin. This is not coded as independent testimony unless the co-witness's own source is recovered.

Evidence mentioned in source matrix

16mm film; track measurements; scene investigation. Evidence authenticity and testimony are evaluated separately.

Documentary strengths

  • Already qualified for the Observatory's public baseline witness corpus.
  • Recoverable source URL is preserved.
  • Multiple source layers are available for chronology comparison.
  • The source matrix codes a reported direct visual.

Limitations / controls

  • No exact source locator has yet been entered for this profile.
  • Reported co-witness information is not automatically independent corroboration.

What would improve the record

  • Recover an exact timestamp/page/paragraph locator.
  • Recover the co-witness's own statement where possible.
  • A dedicated case record may be added if the event details can be resolved from public sources.