Hello again Sasquatch Fans of All Ages…
As always, I hope everyone is doing fine…
Sasquatch Tracker picked up a few more new fans since the last posting. Welcome to all new comers! I’m always happy to see new names on the roll call. As always, if anyone has any encounters, physical evidence or questions, please feel free to contact me.
So, it’s still winter. Yep.. I believe today’s high temperature will be around 17 below. It’s bright and the air is clear. It would be a perfect day to work on a suntan while skiing, but any skin exposed would be frost bitten. That’s my roundabout way of saying I’m still pinned down by the weather and there has been zero progress on my caribou kill site studies.
Okay then, let’s talk about today’s topic…
Dwane Hilderbrand has retired. I’m sure you’re asking yourself who is Hilderbrand and how would I know him?
Well, Mr. Hilderbrand was a long time forensic science expert who began his career about the time I became interested in Sasquatch. In 1975 he began with the Identification Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. From there he went on to the William County Police Department in Woodbridge, VA. Hilderbrand eventually came to the Scottsdale, AZ Police Department where he stayed until retirement in 2005. Hilderbrand then opened his own forensic consulting service, Forensic ITC Services, and stayed in that position until 2009.
But, Hilderbrand wasn’t finished… He continued working in the forensic field, becoming an internationally recognized instructor and collecting prestigious certifications from the International Association for Identification as a Latent Print Examiner, Certified Senior Crime Scene Analyst and a Certified Footwear Examiner. Yes, Hilderbrand has “seen it”, “done it” and then went on to teach others “about it”. He is “officially” retired now and enjoying time with his family and grandchildren.
Forensic Science Expert Dwane Hilderbrand (Anon, believed to be 2018, from FORENSIC ITC SERVICES).
So what does this have to do with Sasquatch Tracker? Well, a few years ago Hilderbrand wrote a book by title of Footwear, The Missed Evidence and yours truly bought the second edition when it was released in 2007. The book is, of course, devoted to examination and documentation of footwear and vehicle tire tracks that are found at crime scenes. It is supposed to be, the main audience is crime scene investigators and detectives. However, Sasquatch Tracker was so heavily influenced by this work, that I’ll come right and say that most of my methods for track documentation, measuring and recording methods, as well as track photography are based directly upon the examples presented by Hilderbrand.
A special “thank you” goes out to Mr. Hilderbrand. Thank you sir! Thank you for providing your expertise for this book and stressing the professional handling and preservation impression evidence. I wouldn’t be the confident Sasquatch Tracker I am today without your experience. Happy retirement!
So, Sasquatch Fans of All Ages, if you are in any way interested in track evidence and how to handle it appropriately from a crime scene investigator’s point of view, I encourage you seek out Footwear, The Missed Evidence. (It’s easy to find, I typed the title in a popular internet search engine and had over 2 million results!)
Godspeed, loyal readers…
