Case file · Cryptid
John Napier's 'Bigfoot' verdict
Primatologist John Napier, who had examined the Minnesota Iceman for the Smithsonian, published 'Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality' (1973), the first serious scientific review of the evidence.
1973 CE · 51.50, -0.18 · status: official
The account
Napier wrote that if a conclusion had to rest on the scant 'hard' evidence, science must declare that Bigfoot does not exist, yet he also judged some footprint reports hard to dismiss and urged an open mind. His book set the tone for later scientific discussion.
The sceptical view
Napier's caution is often quoted by both sides; his core finding was that no reliable physical evidence existed.