CALIFORNIA – Assemblyman Chris Rogers (D-Santa Rosa) introduced AB 666 on February 14, a bill to make Bigfoot the official state cryptid.
A cryptid is a creature that people believe exists based on stories or sightings, but its existence has yet to be proven.
According to the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO), there have been 463 Bigfoot sightings in California, second behind Washington with 724 sightings.
Although most of the reported sightings have been in Northern California, many SoCal residents have spotted the large, hairy, ape-like creature, typically standing around 7 to 10 feet tall.
Silverwood Lake spotting
An eyewitness report documents a Bigfoot sighting at Silverwood Lake, near Hesperia, in 2014.
On a drizzly day, a family of four set up a second rod about 100 feet away from the first one.
Around 3 pm, the father went to check on the second rod, and as he walked, he heard crunching leaves and saw an ape-like creature with light brown hair running toward him.
The father said it had long arms and was crouched slightly while moving quickly.
“Stood there in shock, frozen for a while and realized my 4 year old daughter was behind me running back to my wife yelling “Mom! Mom! There’s a big animal!” the father reported.
He said he went back to his wife and told her what he saw and was amazed by the speed it was running.
BFRO investigator Matthew Moneymaker said he found the father’s account to be credible.
“…there are other unpublished reports around Silverwood Lake which is at the base of the San Bernardino Mountains on the desert-facing side. The spot where Carlos and his daughter saw it on Silverwood Lake is only a few hundred feet from the Pacific Crest Trail,” said Moneymaker in his report.
Proposed bill would give CA another unique symbol
California law officially recognizes the golden poppy as the state flower and the California redwood as the state tree.
The proposed bill adding Bigfoot as the official state cryptid, would give California another unique symbol.
The bill may be heard in committee March 17.
RELATED: Silverwood announces builders for homes starting in the $400Ks