The Relentless Rene Dahinden

The Relentless Rene Dahinden
From the book "Meet The Sasquatch" by Chris Murphy
Used with permission

Rene Dahinden was so closely associated and involved in the Sasquatch phenomenon, and so widely publicized in this connection, that his very name brings the creature to mind. Dahinden was born in Switzerland in 1930 and came to Canada in 1953. About two months after his arrival he and his employer, Wilbur Willich, listened to a CBC Radio program about a Daily Mail (British newspaper) expedition to search for the Yeti. Rene remarked, "Wouldn't it be something to be part of that!" Willich replied, "You don't need to go that far, we have the same things right here." Dahinden then learned that Canada (British Columbia specifically) had its own version of the Yeti-our elusive Sasquatch. From that point on Rene became obsessed with finding the creature. He headed for Brtish Columbia and later spent months at a time wandering through the province's vast wilderness in search of his prey. In time he became well known as a "Sasquatch hunter." When not in the bush, he responded to Sasquatch sighting reports all over the Pacific Northwest. He interviewed hundreds of people and amassed a formidable collection of Sasquatch related artifacts and literature. I became associated with Rene in 1993, about forty years into his search. He was now 63-years old and was no longer spending much time in the field. He lived just a few miles from where I live and over the next five years or so, I visited Rene two or three times a week. I spent many long evenings with him discussing the Sasquatch issue. Although Rene was a firm believer in the existence of the creature, he never saw one. Nevertheless, he was a highly dedicated and diligent researcher right to the end.