There are moments in a man's life that can change him forever, transform his perspective on the world, send him down paths he never dreamed existed.

Often these life-altering experiences come and go in the twinkling of an eye, leaving one to wonder whether they were real or imaginary, resulting in questions without answers.

Bizarre and unexpected incidents can, in rare instances, cause men to reorganize their priorities and send them on lifetime quests where the odds of success are almost nonexistent.

William Dranginis experienced just such a moment in the early spring of 1995. While walking through a remote section of Culpeper County with two friends, the Manassas security technologist had a chance encounter that turned his life in a new direction.

There, on a leaf-littered trail in the chill of a March afternoon, he says he came face to face with the creature that has both fascinated and eluded man for untold centuries--Bigfoot.