On Monday, September 19, 2016, I was paid a visit by the host and film crew of the new documentary program, Red Earth Uncovered. They filmed and asked questions on the subject of the Sasquatch for 4 hours. We went into great detail.
They also talked to Sasquatch witness and researcher, Brad Trent, who came up to my place from across the river . Tomorrow, they plan to go into the field with Bill Miller up the east side of Harrison Lake for some more filming. They will end their visit after talking to three witnesses from my files.
Film Crew from, ‘Red Earth Uncovered’. Visits Thomas Steenburg at his home and study. Sept 19, 2016.
They also plan to interview the tribal elders on the Chehalis Reserve, where the name Sasquatch was first used and introduced to the non-native community in British Columbia on April 1st, 1929. This program looks at the world through the eyes of Canada’s First Nations. So it is only natural that they should devote an episode to the Sasquatch question.
This program will air sometime in 2018, I believe.
Two posts ago I talked about taking John Kirk, (President of the BCSCC) to the site of the Classic Jacko capture. Since then, I have taken two other colleagues there, Bill Reid, and another who wishes to remain anonymous, neither of them had ever been to the site. As far as I know before myself, along with Bill Miller, and the late Barry Blount who made a trip to find it in 2009, no other researcher had ever tried to find it. Chris Murphy did attempt to find it but went to the wrong location, and it took some time for myself to convince him of that fact.
One of my colleagues pointed out that until now, no researcher had ever published a video from the the site, either. So we did just that. I hope you find the story of Jacko from the place he was allegedly captured interesting – it is truly a Sasquatch Classic tale.
Jacko capture site. Photographed in 2009. T. Steenburg
John Kirk, president of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, (try saying that 5 times fast), or BCSCC for short, contacted me to ask if I would mind taking him to the site of a Sasquatch Classic. The Jacko capture site is near Tunnel #4 , north of Yale, British Columbia. For those of you reading this who have never heard of this incident, Jacko was the name given to a creature captured by rail way workers outside of Yale, BC in the year 1884.
John Kirk, along with Ms Winona Rouillard, came by my place at noon on August 4, 2016 and my duties as guide had commenced. I just hoped I didn’t miss the ‘easy to pass-by if you blink’ turn off which gets you at least within 20 minutes walk from Tunnel Number 4.
Hottest time of the day it was and one has to wonder, thinking back to those times during the gold rush, what it must have been like for those folks wearing heavy wool clothing and long-john underwear , even in the heat of the summer?
John and Winona scan the cliff where Jacko was alleged to have been captured
I think John enjoyed finally seeing for himself the site of this ‘Sasquatch Classic ‘ tale.
On Sunday July 10, 2016, I was a guest on another Radio program, but this time with a bit of a difference. This show was not a program devoted to the Sasquatch question, nor cryptozoology in general. It was a program for skeptics. Most often they go after religious subjects but this time the host is a man who thinks it is possible he encountered a Sasquatch himself back in November 2008. I know him Steenburg BC file #10167? I think I was able to surprise them. Enjoy…
It is with surprise and sadness I learned of the passing of Barry Blount on July 4, 2016. He passed while at Abbotsford General Hospital. My thoughts are with him and his widow, Annette.
Annette wrote the following announcement
It is with great sadness that I have to announce that my husband, Barry Blount, passed away today Monday, July 4th, at the Abbotsford Regional Hospital in Abbotsford, British Columbia. There will be a very private cremation, followed by a small memorial service at the Cooks Presbyterian Church in Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada on Friday, July 15, 2016 at 2:00 pm.
If anyone is interested, in lieu of flowers, I am requesting a donation be made to the Vasculitis Foundation of Canadaon his behalf. Barry died from this disease, which is an auto immune disease also known as “Wegener’s disease.” Since it is not a well known, it was difficult for doctors to treat it properly.
It is with great sadness I announce the passing of my long time friend and mentor, John Willison Green. John passed approximately 2am Saturday , May 28, 2016. At the request of his family, we delayed announcing anything until after his obituary was seen in the Vancouver press; as seen below.
GREEN, John Willison
Journalist, researcher, and community leader, John Willison Green passed away May 28, 2016 in Chilliwack, at age 89. Predeceased by his beloved wife June, brother Lewis, and one grandson, he is survived by children Marian (John), Margaret (Ken), Jim, Kathryn (Ray), and Raymond (Louise), thirteen grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Raised in Vancouver, John loved building and racing sailboats. A graduate of UBC, he received his M.A. in Journalism from Columbia University in New York at age 20. He met June while in the Navy, and they married in 1948, living in Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria, before moving to the Agassiz-Harrison area, where they raised their children and published the local newspaper for many years. His editorial writing was recognized with national awards. John volunteered for many community activities, including the Chamber of Commerce, Senior Citizens Housing, Harrison Hot Springs Fire Department, Boy Scouts, Search and Rescue, the Lions Club and the Historical Society. He served several years on the Harrison municipal council, including two as mayor. He was responsible for the construction of the Harrison lakefront beach, where he spearheaded the World Championship Sand Sculpture Competition for many years. He was also active in politics at the provincial level. His lobbying efforts preserved the Kilby General Store at Harrison Mills as a dedicated heritage site. John was well known as a serious investigator and best selling author on the topic of the Sasquatch. In 2000, John was recognized as B.C. Senior of the Year, and more recently he was honoured at several public gatherings for his community service, research work and writing. A private family celebration of his life will be held. Flowers gratefully declined. Memorial contributions may be made to prostatecentre.com/donate. Please share condolences and memories at legacy.com.
I was invited by Derek Randles, of the Olympic Project, to give a presentation at an annual get together in the beautiful north Olympic wilderness at a location near Lake Crescent, Washington State on the Victoria Day long weekend of 2016.
May 20th to May 22nd to be exact; a holiday long weekend in Canada but not in the U.S.
Dave Ellis, describes possible Sasquatch vocals
This group, unlike so many others out there, are not what I commonly refer to as “inmates running the asylum” but a collection of serious-minded researchers whom combine their research methods in order to find the evidence needed to either confirm or, in some cases, disprove the existence of Bigfoot in the wilderness of Washington State. Some researchers came from Oregon, as well as Canada, not to mention Texas, all there to share ideas and methods to collect and gather evidence.
Other presenters included Dave Ellis, who gave a very interesting presentation on recorded possible vocals. Tom Baker gave a presentation on Washington State report statistics which I found very interesting to listen to. Tom, and Derek Randles also, spoke earlier on what one should carry with them in the bush; which would be needed for everyday survival but keeping in mind: the lighter the better.
A female Texas researcher whom I will not name, as I think she asked me not to, gave a great talk around the camp fire on how one can create a portable, but professional, DNA collection kit. That is something I plan to include in the future. My presentation was on the general history of the Sasquatch in British Columbia which I think it was well received.
Later, I sat down with a gent named Wes Germer, who is the host of the radio program ‘Sasquatch Chronicles’ of which I have never in the past been a guest on. What I had to say pissed a few people off, according to the comments section on the program web page. But too bad for them; I stand by my comments and to hell with those who choose to cling to wishful thinking rather than face reality. You can listen with the link below.
https://youtu.be/8kRFBMUtEhc
I recommend this radio program to all who have an interest in this on going mystery as it mostly concentrates on eye witness testimonies and their alleged encounters with a Sasquatch. The program lets the listener decide which encounters may be true.
Another interesting experiment was conducted by the group to test everybody on taking photos and videos quickly in the bush. Tom Baker filled in for the Sasquatch, popping out along the trail at certain points to be photographed and video taped. Well, out of 30 people, including myself, only one woman took one good clear picture, and that was by accident rather than intent. To all those skeptics who always say that with all the modern camera equipment, surely some clear footage or photo would have happened by now.
Well, this experiment proved to me that it is not as easy as it looks. My mistake was choice of video camera. My Air Pro video camera is great as long as the subject is right in front of you but objects in the bush which seemed close and clear with the naked eye, on the screen come out seemingly twice the distance. In one case, even further than that.
It was an eye opener.
Night outings and other day outings followed without any evidence being found. But it was a great time with a group whom I have come to respect; and have put my mind at ease that the inmates taking over the asylum have not infiltrated every where. … YET!
In 2004, I was guest on the radio program ‘News For the Soul’ with host, Nicole Whitney. It was a Halloween program in late October of that year and she had decided to do a segment on something other than ghosts and haunted houses.
During the broadcast, she suggested doing a follow up interview in the near future, as well as coming out with me on an excursion to see first hand what looking for evidence would entail. I thought it was a good idea and said, “sure, why not?”
Well, the years went by. I had totally forgotten about the whole thing then she contacted me in early spring of 2016 – 12 years later – to follow up on the matter. The lady does not forget things!
So, I took her and a few of her crew out for an afternoon of Sasquatch history and searching for evidence on a cold, overcast day. I think they found the experience enjoyable and interesting.
See after photo below. We also did a follow up interview; the link is below. Hope you enjoy.
Yesterday, May 8, 2016 myself and Brad Trent took a trip up through Mystery Valley which lies between Harrison Lake and Lake Chehalis. I had heard, third-hand, about loggers reporting the finding of 18 inch footprints in and around their timber operations a week earlier. No details or names, and a very vague location was given but we decided to head up for a look around, any way.
Last year, the west side of Harrison Lake was devastated by an enormous forest fire; the area of which we had to travel through to get to Mystery Valley. This was my first chance to take a look at the damage with the winter snow gone.
On our way up, at the 9 kilometer point, the forest service was fighting another fire with men and helicopters with water filled sling bags. This time they seemed to have gotten control of things before it got too big.
We stopped at the spot of my own possible sighting of a Sasquatch in 2004 which I thought was very revealing with all the thick under brush now gone due to last years fire? See photo below…
Site of possible sighting by Steenburg in 2004?
The upright figure I spotted in 2004 crossed this cut line right at the top of the ridge, to disappear in the trees on the right hand side; it was about 5 seconds in duration.
In this May 8, 2016 photo the trees are burnt due to the forest fire of 2015 and all of thick under brush is gone. Yet, already the green is starting to return as nature repairs herself. Every time I past this spot I wonder: what was it I saw in 2004? Large man or a Sasquatch? It had to be one or the other.
Going through Mystery Valley, I stopped to check out a drainage area where in the past I have found many wildlife tracks, as well as human. No Sasquatch prints yet but checked it out any way – just in case. This time still no Sasquatch tracks but did find the pug marks of a large black bear. See photo below…
Black bear prints
Near the north end of Chehalis Lake, we followed along a logging road which was recently reopened. I had been down this road before but it was so overgrown and neglected that only a few kilometers could be explored. Today, we got about 12 kilometers in before reaching the end of the line due to an old bridge which was washed out. See below photo…
Bridge and road gone!
We did meet two loggers who were filling large water tanks from a creek but they had no knowledge of any strange footprints being found by any of their guys in recent times. All in all it was a nice trip.
