YEAR: 1979

SEASON: Summer

MONTH: July

PROVINCE: Alberta

COUNTRY: Canada

LOCATION DETAILS: Off the Primary Highway.

NEAREST TOWN: Boyle

NEAREST ROAD: 55

OBSERVED: I was fourteen at the time and staying with family and their friends at my mothers family homestead / farm in northern Alberta very close to north Buck Lake (Nearest, but very small towns would be Grassland, Donnaville or Casland)

Everyone regularly goes fishing at what is commonly known in the area as "the narrows" a tiny connection between two major sections of North Buck Lake as fish are there in abundance.

My friend and me decided to return to the farm on his dirt bike ahead of everyone else. About 2/3 of the way back there’s a long straight away where you ether return to another part of the same lake or make a hard right turn which takes you to the farm which is at least two miles further. As we turned the corner leading back I immediately noticed a person walking in the road far off in the distance (a mile or so). As we approached it appeared darker and more massive. I became more apprehensive and couldn’t get my friends attention as the noise from the dirt bike drowned out my voice, but still I didn't think anything other then someone walking in the middle of the road UNTILL we neared the turn to the farm. What really frightened me was just before the turn back to the farm (after the long straight away) my friend stopped the motorcycle and didn't say a word I tapped him on the back and said "Do you see that?" He replied "Ya what the @$&#!!$% is it ?" then I saw this creature act like it sensed or knew it had been spotted, because it crouched down for a few seconds then scurried off into the ditch, then the bush. Until that moment I was convinced it was a person, but the manner that it retreated in was so animal in nature and I had just watched it walk upright for more then a minute, probably two... I just about fainted. My friend freaked and cranked the bike (almost tossing me off the back). As soon as we got back to the farm we built a huge bon fire and pulled out all the guns (only 22's). The strange thing is that we didn't talk about what we saw, but just acted together knowing we couldn't explain it.

ALSO NOTICED: N/A

OTHER WITNESSES: Friend that I haven't keep touch with since that summer.

OTHER STORIES: Many old stories from farmers through word of mouth. Found a couple of articles from the Athabasca paper of sightings and tracks near town and the Athabasca river.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: 6-7pm, clear and sunny.

ENVIRONMENT: known for lots of black bear and bluberries and sand hills.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :

I spoke to the witness by phone for about 45 minutes. Although the sighting had occurred many years ago he was very clear on what had taken place and what he had seen.

As he rode on the back of the motor bike the witness (T.H.) said he had watched it for what had seemed like several minutes. T.H.described the creature as being between 7 and 8 feet in height. It had very long arms that swung in a rhythmic manner as it walked along the side of the road. He could not make out any facial features but he noted that it was totally black in colour.

It was when the driver went to turn down an access road he stopped the motorbike because he also realized that the animal on the road was not a something usually seen in the area. At this point the witnesses were some 50 metres away from the subject. T.H. stated that when the bike stopped the creature immediately crouched down, possibly realizing that it had been spotted. After a few seconds, it scrambled off into the dense bush beside the road as the witnesses roared off to the campsite.

When the two witnesses returned to camp they did not tell the adults what they had seen but they did arm themselves with several small arms rifles. Years later the witness told his parents what he had seen. They tried to convince him that what he must have seen was a bear or a native walking down the road. He was certain that what he saw that day was neither of these.

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.