YEAR: 1970 to current

SEASON: Summer

PROVINCE: British Columbia

COUNTRY: Canada

LOCATION DETAILS: Kootenay, Chadsey & Davis Lakes

NEAREST TOWN: Kootenay Bay, Abbotsford & Mission

OBSERVED: The following report describes a series of incidences that I have experienced over time in British Columbia, Canada from 1970 - present.

Even though I now recollect a lot of what has happened to me I had forgotten some of the earlier activity and had dismissed the rest as an interesting yet odd set of occurrences. It was only until I started reading stories I found linked on Google Earth and finally finding the BFRO web site stories did I start realizing how unique my experiences were. Many of the ongoing experiences have been near Kootenay Bay, BC, but I have also had experiences in the lower mainland near Abbotsford, BC. They involve Class A and Class B type of interactions, including what is called “samurai chatter,” vocalizations, footsteps, touching and sightings. I do not know why I have been party to so many interactions, but I think it is simply due to the fact of where I have lived and camped (luck), being extra observant of my surroundings and not dismissive of what I have been lucky enough to experience.

My family has been fortunate enough to own a lakeside recreational property on the east shore of Kootenay Lake, BC. There are very few neighbours with about 50% seasonal users now and only one neighbour when I was child. We have a five acre parcel that is quite steep and rocky yet covered in a mixed evergreen and deciduous forest. There are many deer paths that traverse to property parallel to the lake. Many rocky outcrops, fallen trees and dense undergrowth are present in the moss covered understory. We often see birds, squirrels, chipmonks, deer, and bear all around our cabin. A lifetime of exposure to this environment has given me the ability to recognize (through sight etc.) and decipher (through deductive reasoning and use of my senses) what animals are near as well as a reasonable understanding of animal behaviour. Our family (myself as a child and now as a father of two) does the typical activities around the cabin you would expect for a family on vacation. Until two summers ago we have done nothing to seek out the sasquatch(s) that I think have been interacting with us. When at the Kootenay lake property we often feel watched, feel ‘creeped out’, hear snaps of branches, rustling of dry leaves, odd smells and other bumps in the night that cannot be immediately identified, but most are more than likely explainable and ordinary even if unusual. I am only sharing those experiences that stand out and, even though I am unwilling to venture an opinion of the relatively ordinary sounds and feelings, I am confident that the incidences I share here are not the only times these creatures have been in my vicinity and it is only their stealth and intelligence in combination with my own lack of observation and sensitivity to my surroundings that have let them remain undetected most of time. I provide this information without bias or for any gain.

1970 Kootenay Bay, British Columbia – This sighting is the first of a series (story 1 of 7) of interactions I have had on this property and elsewhere, each of which I will also report on independently. For clarity it should be noted that we used to own more property in the Kootenays. The KBay property was subdivided and we sold the main portion of the upland section of the property so we could keep the lower lakeside property as a summer retreat. After we moved from the house and before we subdivided and sold it we rented the house out during the off season. The activity I have experienced in the Kootenays took place in a very tight geographical area (approx. 220m/750 ft diameter circle - about a nine acre site).

I was about three years old. It was spring and we were at our Kootenay Bay house checking on it after renters had left it. I was ahead of my brother by about twenty feet (he is a couple years older than me) and a few feet behind him was my father and oldest brother (he would have been in late teens). We were walking from the house through an over grown and unused vegetable garden to the pump house. The pump house was about twenty feet from the southern edge of the garden and part way down a gentle slope to the shallow heavily overgrown (mixed forest) gully. When I got near to the southern edge of the garden I looked for the pump house to get my bearings. I expected to see a four by four foot white building about eight to nine feet high at the peak. I should have been able to see the top three quarters of the building from where I was standing. Instead all I could see was this incredibly large figure blocking out the entire building! It was standing directly in front of the pump house facing me. As an innocent child I was not afraid and my first thoughts were that my father was wrong about the pump house colour and it was black instead of white. I cannot provide much detail about the figure other than the size, colour and shape given my age at the time and my recollection of the facts. With all this considered I would say that it had to be at least four feet wide at the shoulders, approximately eight to nine feet tall and black or dark brown with no visible discernable bare skin. At no time was I afraid. I believe it paused when it saw or heard me coming down the path and it was simply curious.

After I saw it I turned around and walked a few steps towards the others and asked where had the shed gone? We walked to the shed and the shed was still as I described earlier. We discussed bears. It was not a bear. Even though it took only a few moments for us to get down to the pump house from where we were it had moved on . . . silently and without leaving a trace. I remember looking at the hardened damp soil of the pathway and listening for sounds in the forest. Due to the thickness of the forest it would be possible for a large creature to be relatively close by and remain undetected if it remained stationary and behind cover. Although my father appeared concerned about what I saw it was not any threat and was soon forgotten.

When – spring 1970 morning
Where – Kootenay Bay, BC
Environ – dark edge of a mixed forest in gulley approx. 700 feet from Kootenay Lake

1975 Summer Kootenay Bay, BC (2 of 7) Series of Events
Directly above the site and to the east were the sightings indicated in story 1 and 5. They would be approx. 230 feet (70 metres) to 100 feet (30 metres) respectfully from the tent site.

In the years after we subdivided and sold the upper portion of the property we would tent in a large canvas tent just over the edge of thel Road at the base of a well treed gravel embankment about 100 feet vertical drop below the road (our days were spent down at the lakeside which we accessed via a steep forest trail). We accessed the tent site from a gravel path leading from the road to the tent site and parallel the asphalt main road. Surrounding the tent site are some large conifer trees and heavy understory. From the tent site to the lake there are as much as three game trails traversing the slope. There is also a grassy understory on the slope directly in front on the tent site that deer like to use. In this case we had seven members of our family in the tent (my parents and 5 of the 6 brothers and sisters).

I recall waking up on occasion to hear heavy footsteps on the gravel near our tent. I recall them being the same cadence of a bipedal creature. I also recall telling my mother, but she dismissed it as a dream or a small creature scurrying around the site. I am sure that was her attempt to keep the situation from getting out of hand and to keep her emotions in check. She certainly did not think about any large animals hanging around and did not want us kids thinking about it either.

On another night the entire family heard. Again in the middle of the night we were all awakened by the footfalls and I recall the confused discussion of what it could be. I recall the puzzlement of my father and brother as they weren’t sure how to categorize what they were hearing. The discussion discounted all four legged creatures – wrong cadence and weight to the footsteps. They were left with the unlikely and unconvincing theory that it was one of my older brother’s friends from years past trying to wonder through the night to find them. This was proposed as the solution even though no one had contact with any friend from the area for years.

I do not recall any follow up investigation or any results of one if there was an investigation. I do know, however, that there are a couple of trails through the trees and up the gravel embankment that would provide access to the road not far from the tent site.

During this same visit I was touched through the tent. Even though I was the youngest (or perhaps I was the youngest and too innocent to know better) I slept up against the far back corner of the tent. This corner would have been the farthest corner from any of our day time activity, the tent door and trail. Anything approaching or exiting from that side would have had moss covered ground and forest floor light duff to conceal any sound.

During the night I must have rolled over so my left side (especially butt and upper thigh were pressed firmly up against the fabric of the tent. I recall waking up to what felt like a large open hand with flat and extended fingers pressing and sliding down part of my left butt cheek. Pressure was applied similar to how you would wake up someone to get them out of bed. It was not a nudge from the snout of an animal. You would expect that to be more abrupt and applied in an upward motion. The touch was more like something was curious and gave a pet or rub investigating what was pushing up against the tent.

I remember telling this to my mother and she was concerned. We found no evidence of anything, but she did mention it to my dad and both of them dismissed it (probably in an attempt to allay their and my fears).

June, 1979 Sumas Mountain, Abbotsford BC (story 3 of 7) Series of Events
As teenagers my brother, three friends and I went camping near the summit of Sumas Mountain on the shore of Chadsey Lake (Lost Lake to the locals), Sumas Mountain Regional Park. All of us were Army Cadets at that time. At that time the park area included the lake and the land surrounding the lake. Outside the boundary of the park it was an active timber license area. We were dropped off at the road and hiked down to the lake. It was to be a three night trip. We ranged in age from 12 to 15. The first day and night was uneventful.

The first full day we heard ‘samurai chatter’ from across the lake. I only learned that it was called samurai chatter was from the BFRO web site and listening to the recordings provided there that I first recalled and then was able to identify the noises I heard back then. I call it ‘samurai chatter’ now, but then it sounded like a foreigner chastising and questioning someone at the same time. We all heard it. It was a confusing language to us because we could not place the accent. The inflections in the voice were correct, but no known language was discernable. As kids we rationalized it as some foreigner yelling at another member of their hiking group. In hindsight I believe it was talking to us from the safety of the other side of the lake. The sheer volume and tenor of the voice was impressive. The lung capacity made a loud enough sound to make us think someone was yelling, but the tone of the voice remained calm and routine. This contradiction made categorizing who or what making the noise hard to determine. We had no point of reference known to any of us to compare the sounds to. As a result we simply thought it was some foreign hikers. We first called out to them in answer to their calls (I say their, but we really were unsure of how many were there. In retrospect I suspect it was just one). We had no recognizable response as I recall, but the lack of response piqued our interest and deepened the mystery. We did call out a questioning “hey” or something similar and there was further chatter, but the response (if it was a response to us) did not fit our call. It was then as it is now reasonable to expect people to respond directly to our calls. We felt it was time to take further action. As army cadets we quickly came up with the approach of a two pronged reconnaissance with each group approaching the sounds from opposite sides of the small lake. We quickly closed on the vicinity of the sounds and discovered nothing. It was gone. To our surprise the opposite bank had a clear understory once you got away from the immediate edge of the lake. We could see a fair distance and would easily be able to see someone you had hiked or jogged from that spot. We thought that a little odd and ran a little farther into the forest to recon the area. The forest remained relatively clear, but nothing was to be found. A couple of us remained near where we thought the noise was coming from. I was ‘creeped out’ by the feel of the area.

The second night something had visited and moved around some of the camping equipment. I personally did not hear anything, but I recall someone mentioning hearing something in the night the next morning. At breakfast that morning we had small rocks thrown at us, but we blamed it on one of the other guys in the group. We did not believe him when he denied it and we ‘knew’ that nothing else could have thrown the rocks – I know differently now. Again we had no point of reference. Nothing in the forest is supposed to throw rocks. So it was a lot easier to blame it on someone from the group. I say thrown at us, but it would be more accurate to say lobbed at us since little force was behind the rock other than gravity. The rocks came from the forest behind us. The rocks came from the same area described below.

After we had eaten breakfast we decided to play some war games. We split into two teams. One team was to defend the camp the other attack. I was on the defensive side and in charge of the flank with the rest of my team moving off some distance from me perpendicular the lake. I took up a position upwards to fifty feet from the camp and kneeled down in the thick fern understory with my head down. In hindsight this must have been near where the rocks were thrown from.

After about a half minute or so I raised my head up to scan the area. I scanned the forest directly in front of me and was surprised to see the head, shoulders and portion of torso of a black hair covered creature no more than 30 feet away. At that time I thought it was some guy in the forest in an ape suit or one of the guys in camouflage trying to outflank us. This really confused me. The wheels of my internal dialog were spinning very fast. Questions like what the hell is this guy doing here in an ape suit anyway? What’s with the gorilla suit? That is really lame camouflage to wear in the forest! Then I took note of a few details and what I first thought was a suit was clearly not a suit. The Sasquatch was looking directly into my eyes with a curious expression on its face while the hair pattern on its face also made it look mad or scornful (what I mean by that is the hair was quite long for the eyebrows and were in a distinct ‘V’ pattern). Again more confusion of what I was seeing and experiencing – now their expressions were contradictory. I did not notice any pronounced sagittal crest. I did however take note of the relatively beady dark brown or black eyes. The eyes were beady in comparison to the head and relatively close together. The skin was black under jet black hair which covered all the body I could see, but it was thinner than on the face. The hair would have had to be longer on the body as well. It could have been about four inches long. The facial hair would have been shorter or closer knit to the face. The eyebrows were significantly longer and were distinctly shaped as though it was angry with me. In combination with the slightly lighter hair in mirrored patches of hair below the eye the effect was intense. Yet I felt no threat, but it seemed more curios than anything. All these thoughts and observations came within a couple of minutes.

Almost robotically I raised my rifle (it was just a stick I was pretending was a rifle) and aimed at the Sasquatch and said ‘gotcha’ with little confidence and a slight note of questioning in my voice. I did this simply because I was still conflicted as to what it was. I still thought that it had to be one of the other guys in a gorilla suit. After all I was thinking there was nothing else in the forest it could be. As soon as I said ‘gotcha’ the Sasquatch registered a brief look of disgust and disappointment straightened up and walked away (I realize that the facial expressions may not actually represent the Sasquatches feelings, I am simply expressing my interpretation of the expressions for the reader to get a sense of what I saw). At the same time I said gotcha my friends began their battle and were running back towards the Sasquatch and I. As it left I could see it from the rear quarter from the waist up. As it turned to leave I said “hey I got you” again, but it did not react. I think it left because my friends were coming and not because I was pointing a stick at it.

I got up in pursuit of the Sasquatch. Half of me wanted to say to my friend that you are cheating because I had got him and other half was curious about what I had just seen. I got to the area where it had been but it was gone. I few things struck me as odd. One the forest was much clearer in that area. As a result, I should have seen the sasquatch moving through the forest based on the speed at which the sasquatch had exited the immediate area (if it were a person or other animal of similar mass I should have been able to see or hear it). At this point I thought maybe the gorilla suit wasn’t such bad camouflage after all. I also noted that the area where it was standing was in a bit of a depression so it had to be a lot taller than what I had presupposed. Further, as I continued in pursuit I had an overwhelming feeling that pursuit was an incredibly bad idea. The thought entered my head that I was relatively alone and who knows what could happen to me with only a stick to ward off any animal. I immediately stopped my pursuit and looked for my friends.

I met them back at the camp. My head was reeling from my experience. I wanted to see if one of them was wearing a gorilla suit. No one had anything on them. I relayed my story to them and we all went out to look if there was any evidence. Nothing was found. We ran into two other people coming down the trail in the vicinity of the sighting and they also saw nothing.

The last night was cold and it rained in the night. We packed up and left for our rendezvous pick up at the trail head without further incident.

When – June 1979
Where – Chadsey Lake (Lost Lake) on Sumas Mountain Abbotsford, BC
Environ –mixed forest near the edge of the lake, but not on the shore


1985 Summer Kootenay Bay, BC (4 of 7)
It was the afternoon of a hot summer and my brother and I were down by the lake at our summer cabin. This cabin was very remote at the time with only our old house to the east with a few neighbours to the southeast along the road and south along the lake shore. No other cabins or residences were on or near the lake to the north for about a mile (1.6 kilometres). There are few sounds at that time coming from the lake or the forest. Few boats were on the lake and we only hear cars once in awhile anyway. The lake was dead calm and the air was close. The shore of the lake is very rocky and clear of any vegetation. The tree line is approximately fifty feet from the shore at that time of year (the water level is controlled by a hydro dam thereby exposing a fair amount of shoreline as the summer progresses). The forest is at least one hundred years old and a mix of cedar, hemlock, pine and fir trees. Only the occasional birch or other deciduous trees are located near the tree line. Riondel Road is about five hundred feet from the shore running parallel to the lake shore.

We were enjoying the water and sun when we started to hear what sounded like a woman screaming or wailing. As we listened when could approximate the distance (approx 1,100 feet) and location as the sound got clearer and louder. We could hear a long drawn out series of EEEEEEEEEEEEEE interspaced with shorter varying eeeeee’s. We estimated that the sounds were coming from the northeast and could have been either side of the Road and either above or in the creek ravine (approx. 250 feet or 75 metres above us). The calling lasted about five minutes and then stopped. No other incidents of this sort have occurred there since nor can I recall hearing that sound previously.

When – 1985 summer afternoon
Where – Kootenay Bay, lake shore
Environ –mixed evergreen forest


1993 Spring mid-morning Davis Lake near Mission, BC (5 of 7)

My friend and I were fishing on the edge of Davis Lake during the spring break up of the ice. Ice was still on the lake, but away from the shore and rather thin. The lake is located northeast of Mission and east of Stave Lake. There was a small recreation site accessed by car at the time. There are steep mountain slopes on the west side of the lake right to the lake edge. The east side of the lake has higher mountains but the slope on that side of the lake is less extreme. We were fishing from shore on the southeast side of the lake and facing northwest. A creek and waterfall are in the immediate vicinity. From that location the small mountain dominates the view with the north shoulder of the mountain and saddle to our right front. We could see somewhat into the forest since the leaves had not yet come out on the deciduous trees. The shoulder and saddle is a short distance from the south end of the main body of Stave Lake. By all accounts a rugged and remote area with a long history of sasquatch sightings.

As we were casting we started to hear heavy slow footsteps coming from the shoulder of the mountain. It was hard to determine the exact location, but we estimated the noise was coming from the where the shoulder met the lower bench (saddle), but definitely on the mountain slope. At first the sounds were steady and paced. I knew the sounds were unusual, but tried to relate them to known causes first. At a certain point the footsteps seemed to get deliberately louder, almost as if someone was stomping to get our attention or scare us. When we looked up however we could see nothing and the footsteps would stop.

I think it didn’t expect to see us there at that time of year and was heading toward one of the nearby ravines it wanted to use to get elsewhere. Due to the angle of the mountain slope and our position on the lake shore the creature was approaching nearly straight towards us yet on the other side of the lake.

At one point it stopped and changed tactics. In addition to stomping there was a loud crack of a small tree or large branch breaking. We would look up immediately and see nothing. All the noises were odd enough, but it was really unnerving to have something very large approach, purposely change behaviour (in my opinion to intimidate us) and remain undetected. It had to know when we were going to look up. That meant it had to have excellent eyesight and observed knowledge of human behaviour. It was playing with us, but not in a playful manner. It also had to have strategized to be in or near cover when it made the noises (stomping and/or breaking wood – I have a theory about this that I will share below) so it could duck down. It also could have been crawling along the ground already instead of having to duck. This would not explain the stomping.

When we looked we saw no evidence of any trees moving from a break. The apparent size of the break, the viewing conditions and the proximity of the sounds should have made it easily discernable. Any known large animal doesn’t really care if it is seen and we expected to see a tree swaying, log rolling or animal clamouring around from a routine break. We saw no disturbances we have become accustomed to from activity and observed behaviour from other known creatures. I figure there had to be at least 3-4 breaks, too many to be a coincidence and too many to have no evidence of the cause. Of the animals known to roam the area few if any could make the heavy footsteps. Maybe an adult moose, but I have never seen one anywhere near the area. A Black Bear could have made the breaks as it went through the forest, but we would have spotted them with ease.

It continued to approach using the same tactics. We started to hear it approximately 3,000 feet (900 metres) from our position. When we decided to vacate the area it was no further than 600 feet (180 metres) from our front left flank.

It was the thought of it outflanking us that made us decide to leave. The speed of its approach, the warning noises, proximity, lack of identification and obvious size added to our concern. The tipping point was that it was rapidly approaching the end of the lake and there were precious few obstacles between us and it. We did not leave the entire area though. We walked up to the water falls located near the end of the lake all the time looking into the forest for any sign of movement. The noises stopped as we picked up our stuff and left the lake edge for the waterfall.

When – Spring 1993 mid-morning
Where – Davis Lake, BC
Environ –mixed forest and steep mountains

1993 Summer (approx. 11:00pm to 12:00pm) Kootenay Bay, BC (story 6 of 7)

NOTE: I use ‘we’ when facts were corroborated later through discussion with all involved. However, some of the ‘we’ statements only reflect what my brother and I recall. My friend did see what we saw, but was not able to concentrate on the creature as much since his attention was dedicated to negotiating the road at night.

It was a warm summer night when my brother, a friend and I were driving from the cabin on the lake up to our friend’s property directly above us. The three of us were in the front bench seat of his truck. We had just levelled off and entered the road from the shared access gravel driveway that leads to the lake when in our lights we saw what we first thought was the weirdest dog we had ever seen (approx. 350 feet or 100 metres away). We thought dog at first, but then through a rapid review of all known animals the creatures attributes simply did not add up.

Caught in the headlights as we slowly approached was a creature the size of a small mountain lion or Husky dog crouched down on all fours in the middle of the road with its front arms extended awkwardly and its rump in the air. It was as if we had caught it in mid pounce or in the middle of play. It was facing almost perpendicular to us facing our left side. As we turned slowly in the road the headlights passed from the butt past the head as we moved down the road and negotiated a slow turn in the road. Although we could see the entire body from the outset the direct beam of the headlights allowed us to focus on specific parts of the body while taking in the entire body size, shape and colour.

The hair was probably black and we could see through some of it on the flanks and under the left arm. As we ran through its varying attributes (purely an internal dialogue) we quickly determined the lack of a tail. I suppose one could have been there, but none was evident from the exceptional angle we were viewing it from. However, our view could not exclude the possibility of a tail of some description located very low on the creatures rump (it is highly unlikely though). We also noticed the disproportionately long legs of the creature. The legs were straight and not bent as one would expect if the creature was readying itself to pounce. The rump appeared to me to be boney or lumpy from the bone structure. As we slowly approached the creature our attention shifted from the back to the head. As we approached the changing aspect of the headlights started to illuminate the head of the creature. There were no ears evident. Meaning we never saw any protruding ears that you would expect from a bear, canine or feline for example. The head was oval and covered with varying degrees of thickness of hair. Less detail was not forthcoming since we then were transfixed by the eyes. They were very bright, big and shining from the reflected light. They mesmerized us. After a moment we were terrified. The fear came on suddenly and we felt that we needed to get out of there. It was at that moment I let out a slow and almost over dramatic ‘what-the-hell-is-that?’

We turned left up his driveway and briefly discussed what we had seen. We went back down to the cabin a few minutes later, but saw nothing more.

When – Summer 1993 night
Where – Kootenay Bay, BC
Environ – dark mixed forest either side of the road approx. 700 feet from Kootenay Lake and 160 feet (50 metres) from the first report.

2009 summer night and near dawn Kootenay Bay, BC (7 of 7)

The events of this summer combined with stumbling onto the Google Earth are what triggered my interest, investigation and ongoing recollection of the preceding events.

For about the last decade or so my wife, both kids and family dog have been going to our property on the lake for the first two weeks of summer vacation (usually the first two weeks in July). Since I was a child I have been coming to the property every summer. Through this time there has been an increasing amount of development and clearing of land near our five acre parcel. What was once the last parcel on this stretch of the lake it is now just one of a string of properties that stretches for a few miles. Whereas development has stretched down the lake the development upslope from the lake has only added one house although this last house has only arrived in the last couple of years. Development has been steady in spurts with more development in the late 90’s and just this last year.

In 2008 my family and my brother’s family were at the cabin. Some unusual events we all encountered that on their own were dismissible, but when considered in combination made me wonder what was going on. It was these events taken in combination with various unexplained events over the years that eventually made me investigate. Oddly enough we had talked about sasquatch from time to time over the years, but I had never connected the dots. Even though the events of 2009 were less significant than the other events and that I did recall the 1993 sighting of a juvenile and the brief sighting in 1970 when I was a child all the other experiences were buried in my sub conscious.

During this vacation there were cracks in the woods, that were uncannily timed for the instant we would step outside or if we were already outside it would be when the dog approached or we looked in a certain direction. Our dog would investigate, but return very docile and sheepish and rather unwilling to investigate further – odd behaviour for him. Each time this would happen it would be a single crack and if I might venture a little further into the strange . . . the crack always seemed to be the same. When I say each time I mean through the history of all my experiences written down here and others I have not deemed worth mentioning. They always seem to be t same tone, same volume, same estimated size of log (not branch or if it was a branch it would be unusually thick for the trees in the area and never any evidence of a break), always one crack, always the same approximate distance from us – just out of sight and/or behind cover and always silence after – no other sounds of anything moving, scurrying or flying through the forest.

Often we have had the feeling of being watched – to the point that we were uncomfortable enough to leave the area. We just felt unwanted and that we were trespassing. Whether at the fishing spot down the lake or just around the cabin we had the same feeling.

So in 2009 I was a little more prepared. I had visited the BFRO website and read a lot and learned a lot. I visited a few other sites as well. I particularly liked the sighting layer that has been in different forms on Google Earth. Some of these have been very close to our cabin.

Having a little research under my belt certainly gave me a more critical yet discerning ear and eye for anything that might pop up. When we arrived at the cabin and were unloading the vehicle I call blasted a couple of times – no response. I really wasn’t expecting anything anyway. Our time there was no different than any other time. We often felt watched and our dog wouldn’t stay with me at my fishing spot even though he always did before (could just be age).

It wasn’t until a few nights in that my wife had woken near dawn to hear heavy footsteps of a bipedal creature walking on one of the paths or turn around area outside our cabin. She was petrified. Even knowing my interest in the subject she could not make herself wake me. It was this night that we left the kids in the upstairs with the dog and we were in the downstairs (coincidence? – who knows). She heard it for quite a few steps and then there was a loud bang as something hit a sheet of left over metal roofing that was in a shelter with no walls. She didn’t even tell me this story until the evening – too late to look for any foot prints at all. Evidence would have been difficult anyway since it is hard packed gravel. I did some further call blasting, wood knocks and rock knocks, but nothing I think worth mentioning happened.

A few weeks later my brother, my son and mother went back up to the cabin. They stayed up a little late one night playing a game making a lot of noise laughing and joking. At one point they were heading out for a pee (its the forest you take a stroll and take care of business). As soon as they opened the door they heard a crack in the forest in the same place we had heard a crack for years. They delayed their trip into the forest for awhile . . . and brought out the flashlights and dog. They phoned me and told me about it right after, partly for my interest and partly to reassure my son.

On the same trip my son woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of heavy foot steps behind the main building and where my brother was sleeping. He heard it pace back and forth approaching then receding from the window beside my brother’s bed. They looked the next morning for any evidence, but hardened gravel reveals little.

There are many theories that can be reinforced about Sasquatch behaviour through this series and maybe some new ones postulated. I am not a scientist, but have a scientific mind. They do seem to like to return to certain areas perhaps to raise their young. Just as easily they could be in the same area all the time and the training and behaviour of the young tend to make them more detectable. It seems that they like to use dark wooded gulleys or ravines as well as other dark wooded areas as highways. They seem to train their youth around people (maybe for stealth practice, curiosity, games? I do not know). They are very intelligent if intelligence is required to remain incognito. I guess this kind of intelligence would be expected since they have remained incognito to the vast majority of people. After all how else would you expect a large primate to exist with us to date outside the accepted parameters of academia? I know from my own experiences that people want to interpret, translate and categorize the unknown into known, recognizable and palatable things as the first line of defense whether there is a threat or not.

I am left with the theory that Sasquatch may be able to mimic limbs breaking in order to warn/intimidate us while at the same time distract us so we look away from or go away from other areas. This could be to protect their young and/or protect themselves. It is certainly an effective tool in achieving that end intended or not. In retrospect, I have heard these breaks at different locations with a known personal history of sasquatch interactions. I think we have to at least entertain some of these ideas in order to help understand them. There is some San Bushmen in Africa that uses a series of clicks and pops to enrich their language. Would it be a huge stretch for a sasquatch to do so?

In 2010 we did vacation there and was equipped with a DVR and night scope, but either due to the unusually cool spring and early summer or that they had gone through a child rearing cycle no activity was detected. At no time did we even feel anything watching us. Sadly it is unlikely that we will be able to hold onto the property for much longer (hopefully two more summers). As such, many of our opportunities to interact will be lost.

When – Summer 2009 night
Where – Kootenay Bay, BC
Environ – dark mixed forest, mountains

TIME AND CONDITIONS: see report

Follow-up investigation report by BFRO Investigator Gary Cronin:

I have spoken with both main witnesses on several occasions and also met personally with them. I will not go into detail on each of the encounters as they have already provided a great deal. The area of their cottage is on the Western slopes of the Rocky Mountains and provides appropriate habitat for sasquatch, with historical reports to confirm existence in this part of Canada. The fact that there are a mixture of seasonal cabins would also be positive for a creature that prefers to avoid humans but also appears curious regarding human structures. The most compelling encounter in my mind was the viewing of a possible young sasquatch from the truck. The witnesses still vividly recall the experience. Continued activity has been experienced at this location and recently a series of wood knocks was heard.

About BFRO Investigator Gary Cronin:

Gary first became interested in sasquatch when he moved from Liverpool England to Calgary Canada in 1975. He soon came upon a book by a John Green and has been fascinated with the topic ever since. He has attended the 2007 Vancouver Island Expedition and the 2008 BC Coastal Expedition. He is in the field scouring the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies for evidence on a weekly basis. Gary was involved in organizing the 2009 and 2010 Alberta expeditions.

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