YEAR: 1991 or 92

SEASON: Fall

PROVINCE: Alberta

COUNTRY: Canada

NEAREST TOWN: Lethbridge

NEAREST ROAD: HWY 3

OBSERVED: During the summer of 1991 or 92, I made a call to our local fish and wildlife to ask what could be making these noises I had heard in the coolies near my home. I was told it most likely was a mountain lion, for there are sightings of them here; and they have been known to snatch dogs from people who live along the coolies following the river banks of the Oldman River here in Southern Alberta. Being that I can believe everything I'd heard about the mountain lions being here, even seen news reports about the cats spotted here, I also believed that it was one of these cats who made the noises I'd heard.

Until recently when I listened to the "Samurai Chatter" recording on your sight. Now that is closer to the sounds I heard. I was sitting out on the back deck of my home, which at the time was on the coolie banks near Lethbridge. It was evening but not yet dark. I heard what I first thought sounded like a woman, sounding somewhat angry, somewhat screaming, words that I couldn’t make out. Listening harder because the first sounds made me think someone was in trouble, they came again. This time I listened for words but did not hear anything but the garbled sounds similar to your recording. Because of the breaks between the sounds, and possibly articulation, it seemed to be a language. The voice I heard sounded female, it first caught my attention for it sounded urgent, like some female had been attacked or grabbed or struggling and was fumbling for words as they yelled out. It came to me shortly afterwards that the voice I heard had such volume, I heard it so clearly that it was hard to believe a person in the coolies could have made them, and so I believed it was a wild cat.

Then again shortly afterwards, during that same summer, because I lived on the coolie banks, friends would often bring out their dirt bikes for these were some of the few places where we have hills for climbing around here and from my yard there was access to the coolies without trespassing. I lent a friend my bike one day that summer, but he returned without it for he couldn’t get it started again once down there and needed a hand getting it back up the hill. After dark another friend and the first went back down to the river to get my bike. Hard enough to walk alone up the long steep embankment, both men where pushing the bike when they heard a close range roar. It absolutely scared the crap out of these two (grown men), and it was all the talk as soon as they got back inside. I told them about there being mountain lions in the area, but they said this was no mountain lion. I assured them that these cats probably do make the strangest sounds for I had heard it myself, but they said the sound they heard was definitely no cat. No one thought of bigfoot at the time, but they did joke about there being some sort of scary sounding monster down there and neither of them had a better answer to what they had heard. Myself, I was amused that something had scared these guys that badly.

OTHER WITNESSES: Hopefully all is explained above.

OTHER STORIES: I have not heard anything more dispite my asking.

TIME AND CONDITIONS: Early evening

ENVIRONMENT: As described earlier, coolies are river bottom hills. A few trees grow along the river. Southern Alberta is flat otherwise and treeless. Unless of course you plant them and irrigate them yourself.

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Blaine McMillan :

I have spoken to the witness by phone and I can clarify the following information from the report.

At the time of the report the witness (A) lived near the edge of Oldman River in Southern Alberta. It is comprised of steep embankments and small valleys, referred to as coolies in the Prairie provinces. Deer and other wildlife are more prevelent in these coolies as they offer greater protection from the elements.

One evening A. heard, what was described as loud mumbled voices coming from below the embankment that led down to the river. These vocalizations were later identified as being similar to the "Samurai Chatter" as found on the BFRO website. Several days later a couple of friends came over to retrieve A.'s motorcycle from the coolie. In the process of pushing the bike up the hill they heard several loud roaring screams from within the ravine which scared both of them.

The witness did contact the local Fish and Wildlife authorities but they felt that the sounds could have been from a cougar as several dogs had disappeared from some of the area residents. Additionally, A. informed me that around the same time as this report several other people had said to have seen, what was described as, an old trapper walking on the river. This person was said to be fairly tall, with a hunched back and a load of brown fur pelts slung on his back.

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.

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