Researchers say they have proof that Sasquatch is real

DALLAS, Oct. 4 (UPI) -- A researcher in Dallas released video and data this week she says proves Bigfoot exists -- and is a hybrid descended from humans and a closely related species.

Melba Ketchum, a geneticist, is the leader of the Sasquatch Genome Project, KTVT-TV in Dallas reported.

"We want people to understand this is a serious study," she said at Tuesday's news conference.

The research is being funded by Adrian Erickson, a businessman who says he has seen the creatures a number of times. Erickson has presented videos in the past.

"People have chosen not to believe it," he said. "They can't find it in their minds to think these things exist."

Bigfoot sightings are most common in the Pacific Northwest, although there have been reports as far afield as Pennsylvania. The creature is generally described as humanoid, although covered with fur.

Ketchum said the group has tracked and filmed Sasquatch and obtained hairs that have been analyzed for DNA. She said her work has been submitted to a peer-reviewed journal.

"This creature does not follow general rule," Ketchum said. "What it does do is very different. We think it is human-hybrid. That is our theory."

A leaked review of the article suggested the reviewer had problems with her methodology.