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Geographical Index > Canada > British Columbia > Report # 13427
 
 Report # 13427  (Class B)
Submitted by witness on Sunday, January 1, 2006.
Hiker finds tracks near Kelowna

YEAR: 1984

SEASON: Spring

MONTH: March

PROVINCE: British Columbia

COUNTRY: Canada

LOCATION DETAILS: West side of Dilworth Mtn. Overlooking the golfcourse/cemetary where the safety fence is now standing.

NEAREST TOWN: Kelowna

NEAREST ROAD: Golfview Rd.

OBSERVED: Back around 1984 or 85 I was out for a hike with my dog. We would go out for a few hours at a time hoping to rid her of her excess energy. (Dobermans can be fairly high strung) Usually it was in the very local hills of Kelowna.

The spot we were hiking in is called Dilworth Mountain. Which is now full of housing development but at the time had very little. It was about March and there was still a fair amount of snow on the ground but it was melting rapidly from mild temperatures and occasional rain. My dog's nose was pretty keen to various deer or other critters you'd see while out. She'd often catch wind of a deer and start tracking before I saw it. After a few hours out we were coming back along the outside ridge which gave a pretty decent view of the town. It was around 5:00 p.m. and a grey day. It was on the verge of getting dark. Towards the end of our hike I came across footprints in the snow. I stopped and looked at them and had a good laugh thinking some kids had gotten creative with plywood cut-outs. As I looked closer I could see that these were not made from a flat cut-out. You could see the shape of the foot that left them. I placed my hiking boot which were a size 10 beside one. The print dwarfed my boot. Another thing that I found strange was that there were two sets of prints. A large one as well as a smaller set. I thought that was odd. If kids were doing a practical joke, why make a smaller set? My dog's reaction really was what sent me though. She picked up a scent from the prints and immediately followed them with her nose to them. I never saw her react that way from people's tracks. Only from animals, usually deer. She had ran into the trees following the tracks in a matter of seconds. Her reaction really 'creeped me out' because suddenly this seemed real. I whistled and called her back wanting to leave pronto! When I returned to take photos the next day, I couldn't find the tracks. Between the rain and me trying to find the exact spot, well I just couldn't find them.

I found it odd that these tracks would be so close to town as well

OTHER WITNESSES: No.

OTHER STORIES: Not really.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Afternoon. Twilight

ENVIRONMENT: Pine forest.On the hillside overlooking the town.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :

I have talked to the witness and I can add the following to this report.

- The witness confirmed that there were two different sizes of tracks indicating two different individuals. One set being 17 inches long and the second set about 10 inches long. Both sets of tracks were bare footed and very human like in appearance.

- There were no odors that he could detect but his dog was very interested in following the tracks. He did not feel that he was being watched but he felt that he should leave as soon as possible.

- The two different sets of tracks stayed together for the duration of the trackway. Both sets of tracks appeared to have come from the direction of a residential area crossing an open field and then proceeded up hill towards a more forested area.

-The witness stated that from where he first saw the tracks they continued on for about 150 yards before going into the tree line.

About BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :