YEAR: 1986

SEASON: Fall

MONTH: August

PROVINCE: British Columbia

COUNTRY: Canada

NEAREST TOWN: Lumby B.C.

NEAREST ROAD: hwy 6

OBSERVED: It was a late summer night back in 1986. I was 16 at the time. My friend and I were at my parent's house in Lumby. It backs onto a creek and borders a huge tract of wilderness. You could walk for 60 miles straight and not see human habitation.

It was twilight. We were the only people home. It was late summer and still warm out, so we were outside on the deck by the pool. My friend had a knee injury and was in a cast. We were just getting ready to go inside when we both heard a scream that sounded like a human yelling and an animal growl-scream quality, coming from behind the house. It was a long drawn out scream. It wasn't TOO close but it was very distinguishable, maybe a 1/2 KM away. We turned to each other and he asked "did you hear that?". I was just going to ask him the same question, but wasn't sure that I had really heard it. We were both really spooked and scrambled to get inside the house. He was having trouble because his leg was in a full leg cast, so I had to go back to help him. We locked all the doors and I grabbed the shotgun and some shells. I went out on the back porch a couple of times and could hear something moving in the distance, but didn't see or hear anything else. We stayed up nearly all night, that's how strange it was.

Awhile ago, I was watching Mysterious Encounters and I heard a recording of a sasquatch call taken by some men in a hunting camp. It is also on your website. When I heard that, my hair stood on end. It was exactly the same howling noise I heard back then. I swear that this story is true and feel free to call me on it. Well, that's all for now. Keep up the good work at BFRO. If anyone has a good chance of finding these creatures, it's you guys.

ALSO NOTICED: I have often felt like I'm being watched when I go past a certain point up the creek behind my parent's place.

OTHER STORIES: I have another story to relate that my brother told me. He was up at a piece of property he bought which is only a couple of kilometers away from my parent's house. He was up there cleaning out a shed when he heard what sounded like a person banging two rocks together. There is an old rock quarry up above his house that hasn't been used for years and that's where the sound was coming from. It continued on and off for the few hours he was up there, sometimes closer, sometimes farther away. He said it was a slow, steady tapping, not like someone tapping a hammer on a rock. like:tap...........tap.........tap....etc.
A few days later, he asked his only neighbor up there if he was making the noise, but he said he was away for that day. There are no other people up there and he looked into the quarry on his way home but didn't see anyone or anything or any tire tracks. There is also a place called bear valley where I ALWAYS feel like I'm being watched there, from the moment I arrive to the moment I leave. Weird.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Dusk

ENVIRONMENT: Dense forest, lots of undergrowth.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :

I spoke to the witness by phone. His parents live on the outskirts of the small Okanagan town of Lumby. The town is remote and is surrounded by dense mountainous forest with lakes, rivers and creeks. Wildlife, such as deer, bear are moose, are abundant. The witness was an avid hiker and is familiar with the animals that live close to his parents home.

The witness went on to describe how he often felt as if he was being watched from the forest near his parents home. He also told me of his brother's experience of rocks being rythmically tapped together at an abandoned quarry nearby.

One particular area of interest is the place he described as Bear Valley. It has that name but he said that bears are rarely seen there. He described it as a dark, ravine filled valley that most local hunters avoid because "it gives them the creeps" (his words). I have located this area with Topo Mapsource.

It is interesting to note that the late Rene Dahinden had resided in Lumby for a length of time.

About BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :

• Retired Canadian Military (Reg Force) Safety Systems / Aviation technician with experience fighters and various SAR platforms. Author of Wood Knocks and Tossed Rocks:Searching for Sasquatch with the BFRO


• Married with two young sons. An avid camper, hunter and fisherman.


• Holds a BA in Criminology from the University of Manitoba, courses in Alternate Dispute Resolution, Anthropology and Political Science


• Attended the BFRO BC Expeditions in August of 2005, 2006, 2012 as well as Vancouver Island 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.


• Organized the 2007, 2008 Vancouver Island as well as 2009 North Vancouver Island Expeditions.


• Author of "Woodknocks and Tossed Rocks: Searching for Sasquatch with the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.