By Keerthi Chandrashekar (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Nov 27, 2012 07:14 PM EST

Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, is a timeless American legend that seems to haunt the imaginations of those who like to believe there's something more out there. While many discount the existence of a Bigfoot creature, a recent study asserts that DNA evidence for the creature actually exists. 

A press release from DNA Diagnostics titled "'Bigfoot' DNA Sequenced In Upcoming Genetics Study" states that a 5-year study "confirms the existence of a novel hominin hybrid species, commonly called "Bigfoot" or "Sasquatch," living in North America." The study is currently undergoing peer review.

It seems that Bigfoot is actually a human relative, and was the result of breeding between Homo sapien females and an unknown male primate species 15,000 years ago. 

"Our study has sequenced 20 whole mitochondrial genomes and utilized next generation sequencing to obtain 3 whole nuclear genomes from purported Sasquatch samples," said team leader Dr. Melba S. Ketchum of Nacogdoches, TX.

"Sasquatch nuclear DNA is incredibly novel and not at all what we had expected. While it has human nuclear DNA within its genome, there are also distinctly non-human, non-archaic hominin, and non-ape sequences. We describe it as a mosaic of human and novel non-human sequence. Further study is needed and is ongoing to better characterize and understand Sasquatch nuclear DNA."

On a more voyeuristic note, a man in Vermont claims to have footage of a seven-foot-tall Bigfoot chasing a coyote away in his apple orchard. The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, however, thinks that Frank Siecienski only saw an owl, which it does resemble. Who knows though, if the study passes peer review, then perhaps Siecienski did capture the mysterious human/primate hybrid we all call Bigfoot on tape.