LEARN ABOUT .. "Basics of INVESTIGATING"
Things to carry with you;-
- Video camera , 35-mm or Digital still camera,
- small pocket tape recorder,
- pen and Clipboard & paper,
- roll of color flagging ribbon,
- some 3 inch nails to use as pegs in case you have to flag on bare ground,
- several pairs of disposable surgical gloves (these are available at most drug stores),
- clean small zip lock bags,
- large clean tweezers or clean electronic technicians needle nose pliers (tweezers or pliers should be cleaned with rubbing alcohol and kept in a small zip lock bag),
- Some Kleenex tissue in case you have to sop up a fluid sample,
- long rope in case you feel you must rope off an area. Or, you might need the rope to help go down and back up a steep embankment.
- A large bag of Plaster of Paris, a pale or large bowl for mixing and a jug of water, in case you have the opportunity to Plaster Cast a footprint. There is some other plaster products that are much better and stronger for casting material. Ask at your local building supply store.
- Large can or 2-3 cans of cheap hair spray. You would use this to lightly spray onto a footprint that you would find in loose sand, gravel or dirt. Spray the hair spray onto the loose material inside and around the edges and around the close proximity to the print. This makes the soft sand, gravel or ground firm up by the hair spray making the particles stick together. When you are satisfied that the impression has been well sprayed and is now solid enough to hold casting plaster you may proceed to plaster cast the footprint. REMEMBER TO ALWAYS PHOTOGRAPH THE PRINT BEFORE DOING ANYTHING ELSE JUST IN CASE IT GETS DAMAGED.
- A Black Felt Permanent Marker Pen, Some clear plastic sheets like the plastic used to cover areas from paint splatter when painting. Try to find some heavy gauge clear plastic sheeting if you can. Have something to cut this sheeting with. Because ; If you should find some footprints, hand prints, body, or body part impressions that you can not plaster cast, photograph them first, then stretch the plastic over the impression, anchor the edges with rocks or peg it down with nails, then carefully trace all aspects of the impression onto the clear plastic sheet. Not as good as a plaster cast, but the next best thing to it.
- If you can afford one a GPS unit is a valuable tool to pinpoint the exact location of what you find and will help to note the distances between points. This is a great asset for future returns to the spot or to send someone else to the exact location. It helps to log individual pieces of evidence as well. ( GPS units are a wonderful benefit to anyone who spends a lot of time in the woods )
CONDUCT;
If you find hair or any other sample evidence use sterile gloves , tweezers or needle nose pliers to pick up the evidence and place it in a new zip lock bag. ( only one sample per bag)
Use surgical gloves and use great caution if collecting a stool sample, fluid sample or body part sample. Contamination can take place very easily.
Anytime you notice something that could be possible evidence, record what you see and where you found it ; pocket tape recorder or pen and paper, GPS co-ordinates.
Draw diagrams of the site indicating where evidences are found.
Photograph each find, inspect it carefully, and photograph it again if necessary. Flag the find then slowly move on to find the next piece of evidence.
A SLOW THOROUGH APPROACH WILL BE WELL WORTH IT IN THE END.
TREAT THE SITE AS IF IT WERE A CRIME SCENE AND PRETEND THAT YOU ARE A CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR RETRIEVING EVIDENCE.
If you are told about some evidence or maybe someone tells you about a recent sighting, OR, if you find something yourself or have a sighting ; acquire & record.
1./ Acquire detailed information about the exact site to be investigated ;--- where is it geographically ( name of road, local area name, distances from certain spots, type of area, address, etc.)--- nearby landmarks (rock-face, road intersection, creek, hill, clearing, etc.)--- site details ( stump, broken limb, birch tree 15 feet to the left, grassy surface, gravel surface, muddy ground, etc.) Anything that helps to describe the site.
2./ Do not drive your vehicle onto the site, but stop a short distance away and walk to the site on foot. This will help to reduce the risk of contaminating the site, or damaging important evidence.
3./ Upon arrival on site be careful not to disturb anything that could contain evidence and make sure that you watch every move your feet make so you don’t damage any evidence that may be on the ground.
4./ Watch carefully for imprints, tracks, or even partial tracks. Watch for things that might be disturbed such as grass rocks, sticks, leaves, broken branches, scuff marks, anything that might have been moved, or broken, or snapped, or pulled, or twisted, or stretched.
5./ Do not touch anything until it has been thoroughly examined, photographed and recorded, and if need be, flagged. This would include a track or foot print, items lying around, tree branches and leaves along a track-path, or anything that could have a hair or some type of deposit on it. ..... If you notice that there is a track-path (trail) going through tall grass or other growth, do not walk on the path ; walk beside it to reduce the risk of disturbing any evidence like hair that could be stuck on a piece of grass or leaf or footprints that could get damaged, or drops of blood.
6./ Every move that you make you must be watching for evidence that might be very hard to see. Move very slowly and deliberately and check everywhere for hair samples or other possible deposits that might be on a strand of the tall grass, leaves, branches, wire fence, tree bark, etc.
...... Do not leave anything un-examined......
7./ Carry some colored ribbon and if necessary, mark each thing you notice and everything that could even possibly be evidence. ONLY after it has been photographed, examined, and recorded. If you are not sure about something, treat it as evidence anyway. A few extra pictures won’t hurt, neither will recording it just in case.
8./ Always inspect the area surrounding the site in case more evidence might be present.
9./ If you are working in hazardous Bear or Cougar area carry a good quality Pepper Spray. If it would be more acceptable, then carry a firearm. Hopefully you would never have to dispatch an animal with it, but if a dangerous animal should become a danger to you, a bullet fired into the ground in front of the animal can help a great deal.
10./ NEVER EVER WORK ALONE. HAVE AT LEAST ONE OTHER PERSON PRESENT ON SITE. ...SAFETY FIRST...
Also, another person can help in verification of evidence or possible evidence. Make sure that they understand how to conduct themselves at the site so as not to damage potential evidence..
Sasquatch Research can become a lot of fun as well as a very rewarding experience if it is done properly. So, do it right and have a lot of fun with it.