Building Inspector Shares Lifelong Bigfoot Encounters and Conservation Mission
Posted Friday, July 10, 2026
By Squatchable.com staff
So I just came across this fascinating interview over on the Bigfoot Society YouTube channel, and honestly, Jerry Brandenburg's story has stuck with me. If you haven't checked it out yet, you're going to want to add this one to your watchlist.
Jerry's got a pretty incredible background. Rodeo rider, iron worker, building inspector, and now a witness who's been documenting some really compelling activity in Southern California. What makes his story stand out is how deeply rooted it is in the land he grew up on. He talks about living just a block and a half from a river bottom where he and his family rode horses for junior rodeo. Turns out, that very area sits along what Native American oral traditions describe as a Sasquatch migration path, with thousands passing through every year. Once you know that, a lot of his childhood memories start to make a lot more sense.
But the part that really got me was his experience in Oklahoma. He was 19, living alone on the Pony Indian Reservation while working as an iron worker. Picture this: a highway house sitting three feet off the ground, open fields as far as you can see, and nothing but silence at night. Then something starts tapping on his window. Not knocking, tapping. And you can just feel the presence of something massive out there. Jerry describes it perfectly, saying you can tell when something big is near you, especially if you've spent your life around large animals like Clydesdales and bulls.
What he did next is something I think a lot of people would do, honestly. He went out and bought a .22 rifle. And then he started shooting at anything that crossed his property. Armadillos, whatever wandered into his yard. But something told him to stop. Plain as day. And he believes that something was connected to whatever had been visiting him at night.
Then things took a darker turn. He killed what he describes as a raccoon-like creature, but bigger, with brown and black coloring instead of the usual gray. He still doesn't know what it was, possibly a wolverine, but the coloring was off. A couple days later, his hound dog was found dead in the street with its head caved in. The dog couldn't have escaped the pen. Jerry got the message loud and clear, and he never killed another animal after that.
This is one of those stories that really highlights the intelligence and the moral code these beings seem to operate by. The idea that they communicate, that they teach, and that there are consequences for actions, it's something that comes up again and again in witness accounts across the country. Jerry's story fits right into that pattern.
The Southern California angle is also worth paying attention to. That region is way more active than most people realize. There's military land, undeveloped property, and a long history of sightings that don't always make the news. Jerry mentions activity near Carlsbad and references other witnesses who've spotted things at Hudson Dam. It's a reminder that you don't have to be deep in the wilderness to have an encounter. Sometimes it's happening right next door.
If you're into firsthand accounts from people who've genuinely lived through this stuff, this interview is absolutely worth your time. Jerry comes across as honest, grounded, and clearly still processing some of these experiences decades later. Check it out when you get a chance.