NASHVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — Bigfoot field investigator Mike Familant brought a plaster footprint cast, thermal cameras and years of witness testimony to the Indiana Bigfoot Conference over the weekend — all to explain why Indiana is a sighting hotspot.

Barney Wood of “Out & About with Barney” attended the conference Friday and Saturday to explore the phenomenon. He spoke with Familant, creator of “In the Shadow of the Big Red Eye,” about how to distinguish credible evidence from folklore.

Familant showed an original cast he created from a single footprint found in Sparta Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Sparta, New Jersey. The print, discovered alone on a research path, displays three key characteristics that separate it from human tracks.

What Makes a Bigfoot Print Different

According to Familant, legitimate Bigfoot footprints show:

• Toe splay — Bigfoot toes spread wide, unlike human toes compressed by shoes and socks
• Flat feet — No longitudinal arch, the crescent shape humans leave on beach sand
• Mid-tarsal break — A visible joint not present in human footprints

“You see those three things, it’s more than likely looking at a legitimate Bigfoot footprint,” Familant said.

Researchers call their fieldwork “squatching.” They search for anomalous tree breaks, use thermal imaging to identify animals in the dark, and study wildlife sounds to distinguish fox calls from something unexplained. They also collect biological samples like hair and scat.

At night, they knock on trees and make vocalizations to elicit responses. Familant believes the creature is more humanoid than ape, based on witness accounts.

“Their level of intelligence is far beyond any great apes,” he said. “I don’t believe that they can create fire, but I think they could use primitive tools.”

He thinks Bigfoot may have a language but cannot speak like humans. He rejects theories that the creature is interdimensional or connected to UFOs.

But for Familant, evidence is secondary. He values the human stories.

“For me, it’s not about the evidence,” he said. “It’s about speaking to witnesses who have seen something that should not exist on this planet today. Life with the possibility of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster is far superior to one without.”

What’s Next

Hikers can explore Morgan Monroe State Forest trails — confirm property boundaries before heading toward remote areas like Prather Lake

Follow Familant’s research through his project “In the Shadow of the Big Red Eye”