Tag Archives: Interview

Sighting Report 10196

Interview, Research, , ,

I will present this report in two parts as it consists of the full testimonies of both witnesses involved.

Thomas Steenburg

 

map file 10196 A

 

Yuri and Samantha
B.C. FILE # 10196
LOCATION: Highway 97, Just north of McLeese Lake General Store
TIME: Approx 4:00 am
DATE: Friday, January 22, 2016.
REPORT BY: Thomas Steenburg

What follows is a transcript of two interviews with two witnesses whom reported encountering a possible Sasquatch at 4 am, Friday, January 22, 2016. This encounter accrued a few km north McLeese Lake, on Highway 97; at times a lonely stretch of road. The tow truck driver, Yuri Seterengen, and his girlfriend, Samantha Godwin, have not requested confidentiality concerning this case.
Hello, did you phone me around noon today?

Yeah I did. I saw you on TV there, and my girlfriend and myself had a sighting a few nights ago.

Do you have time right now to talk?

Sure you bet.

Could you state your full name please?

Yuri Seterengen.

Where are you residing, Yuri?

I am calling from Williams Lake B.C.

Williams Lake? Is that close to where this happened?

Yes it is. Its about, 45 minutes away.

STEENBURG NOTE : At this point in the interview we talked a bit as I was trying to pin point where on Highway 97, this actually occurred. Both witnesses reside in Williams Lake, British Columbia.

You were driving just north of McLeese Lake when this happened?

We were called out to tow a large truck. Broken down. I was driving one of those big rig tow trucks. I brought my girlfriend with me.

What’s her name?

Samantha Godwin.

You were on a call? You are a tow truck operator?

Yes. We were hooking up the Tow truck, like the driver of the truck had left as the box had been hooked up to another truck so he was long gone.

STEENBURG NOTE: Yuri started to rattle off the whole story at this point but there were a few more details I wanted to hear before getting into it.

Yuri, your present phone number is (withheld from written report)

Yes, it is.

What is your present mailing address?

(withheld from written report)

Where on Highway 97 did this occur?

Just outside of McLeese Lake.

What date did this take place?

On the 22nd, (January 2016).

22nd of this month?

Yes.

STEENBURG NOTE: This interview was done on Friday, January 29th, 2016. One week later.

Was it night or day?

Early morning hours. So night, around 4 am.

It was still dark out?

Oh, yes. It was still dark.

What happened?

Well, I was out. We were both out, we were hooking up the rig that was going to be towed. She told me saw a large, you know, a large human-like creature? I was joking with her; I said, “well, that would be a Sasquatch – ha, ha”.  You know, kinda not taking her seriously. I come up from the truck and I hear the weird sounds? (I hear someone talking to Yuri in the background).  It was walking right along the highway.  I was unfamiliar with the sounds so I jokingly say to her, “ maybe that was your Sasquatch”. (Yuri still had not seen the subject at this point) She actually got scared and went back in the tow truck. So, I finished hitching up the rig, I took about half an hour, and just as I was turning around I looked over my shoulder, I see this, Sasquatch? And, like this was so fast, that it just disappeared back into the shadows. It was kind of like it had an interest in what we were doing? You know the lights on the tow truck. She (Samantha) got back in the tow truck when we started hearing those sounds. I don’t know? She saw it when it was walking on the highway so she can describe it better? I only got to see it for a second but, she heard me yell when I saw it, over my shoulder, I kind of got brain fever, (Hesitated) a couple of seconds, then I thought to see if I could fined a footprint, and I got about 30 feet in front of the tow truck, thought better of it. But what I saw was identical to what she saw. Like what I saw was light brown hair, when it was in the light it appeared shinny? But when it hit the shadows it was gone? The way it moved, it was so fast. (Again I can hear a female voice in the back ground talking into his ear), I can let you speak with Samantha for a second as she saw more of it then I did.
If you don’t mind, I will speak with you first, then I will speck to her?

OK, yep.

Describe the area in which this took place?

High way 97, the lone highway up through the interior of BC. There are railway tracks there. On the other side, (West side), The Fraser river runs parallel to all that. Kind of sparse, not much wooded area, but on the other side of the tracks it is mountainous with lots of trees.

Did this happen on the east or west side of the highway?

This was on the east side of the highway.

The east side is where the trees are?

Yes. But when she saw it it was on the west side of the highway. And when I got a glimpse about a half hour latter, it was on the east. So it would have had to cross the highway. T hats what gets to me, it must have been intrigued by what we were doing? Like the orange truck lights flashing and stuff like that, I mean to be there the whole time like that ? That sounds really odd?

Was there snow on the ground?

Yeah there is snow. I actually went back to go try to find some tracks. Like I said it was raining that night, so I don’t know?

How much snow?

Well its been so warm here. Its been a warm winter, Raining so much there is not much left now. Just batches of snow, and most of what was here that night is now gone.

What distance would you estimate you were from the thing when you saw it?

When I saw it? It must have been about 30m or 40m. It was so brief, but I know what I saw. It just moved so fast.

What was your first impression?

I thought to myself, ‘No I didn’t just see that’, I didn’t know what to think. Then I yelled to her, (Samantha), I am still having a hard time, grasping it, Ha Ha.

What was it doing?

Well it was walking, like non saliently, she, (Samantha) could see how long the hair was, from it’s arms and everything, like when cattle is walking, like there was a structure to it

What was it doing when you saw it?

Pardon?

What was it doing when you saw it?

I just saw it for a fraction. I think what happened, it saw me turn around, and it wanted to get out of sight of me. I just saw the back of it, poof it disappeared right back into the shadows.

Did it stand and walk upright?

Yep it appeared to be upright. You could see it’s arms, you could see everything.

Steenburg Note: At this point I could here Samantha talking in the background saying that the subject was hairy. I told Yuri that I would talk to her about what she saw after I talked to him.

Hairy. She says it was real hairy.

I will talk to her about what she saw. Right now I will talk to you.

OK.

Did it ever go down on all fours?

Pardon?

Did it ever go down on all fours? What you saw, not what she saw?

I didn’t see it go down on all fours, I just saw it for a second. But it didn’t appear to be on all fours, but she was giving it for the shadows.

Did it seem to be hairy?

Yeah, light, light brown, like it was shinny? I couldn’t be leave how shinny the hair was. It was such a light brown color. Nothing like the pictures on line?

What color did you say it was?

Light, light Brown.

STEENBURG NOTE: It was lightly raining at the time of this incident so I wonder if it appeared shinny do to combination of a light brown color, wetness, and the tow truck area flood lights?

How tall would you estimate it was?

Oh I couldn’t even give you a estimation.

If that’s the case, then that’s what I wont to hear. How heavy do you think it was?

I just saw it from the back breafly. But I would guess 4 to 500 pounds.

Did you notice any facial features?

No I didn’t. No.

Any details of the arms?

No.

Could you tell if it was male or female?

No.

How long do you think you saw it for?

I saw it for maybe a second.

I assume it did see you?

That’s why, I think that it ran for shelter, because I was turning around.

That was my next question. What was it’s reaction?

Ha, ha, it bolted.

Did it make any noise?

Well I heard noises before, but I wrote those off.

What noise did you hear before?

It’s hard to describe. Not like a dog, more like an elk? I don’t know.

Did you have the impression that the noise was meant for you?

It must, I believe so now. I believe we had it’s attention, and it was making this noise at us, like it was really curious about what we were doing?

STEENBURG NOTE; The noise was heard by Yuri after Samantha had told him about what she had seen, but before he saw what he saw. In fact when the vocal was first heard he called out to her as she was now sitting in the cab of the tow truck. “I guess that might be your Sasquatch” with a laugh to himself.

Did you smell anything before, during or after?

No. Nothing like what I read about on line, you people describing a pungent Oder or anything like that. This looked at lest to me like, well groomed for lack of a better word.

Are there ay physical characteristics of the subject which stands out in your memory?

What do you mean?

Anything about it’s physical appearance which you remember but we haven’t talked about?

No. I didn’t get to see it for long enough, I just got a glimpse of it.

Did you check for footprints later?

I did. A couple of days later.

On the 23rd or the 24th?

We went back on the 26th.

STEENBURG NOTE: They did find impressions is some of the snow patches which remain on the ground but rain and warm temperatures had reduced them to the point of being useless. Also no photos were taken.

Did you report what you saw?

Well I didn’t know who to report this to?

Not to the R.C.M.P?

No. I didn’t, no.

How old are you Yuri?

36.

Do you ware corrective lenses?

No I don’t. I have 20/20 vision.

I take it your girlfriend, (Samantha) is the only other witness?

Yes.
Looking back, what do you think it was?

I honestly believe it was a Sasquatch.

Do you wish to remain confidential?

No. It does not matter to me. One or two people out there will believe us as they have seen things to. I am not to worried about what people think.

If you two have time I would like to talk with Samantha now?

 

 

PART 2 of this investigation will be posted in a few days.

Thomas Steenburg

Unwonted Sasquatch

Video, , ,

Unwonted Sasquatch is the title of a new documentary film being debuted in Vancouver, BC at 7:00 pm October 28th, 2015.

The screening is open to all those interested and will be held at the Hootsuite Media Inc Theater located at:  5 – East 8th Ave, Vancouver, BC.

Myself, Bill Miller, and John Green were featured in the film.  I will be there to answer questions after the showing.

Check out the preview below.

Thomas Steenburg

Crandell Campground Incident

Video, , , ,

The short documentary, ‘The Crandell Campground Bigfoot Incident’ was produced about a year ago by the web site known as ‘Beyond Creepy‘. They did a pretty good job.  I still consider this incident one of the more interesting and detailed Sasquatch sighting reports I have personally investigated.  It certainly was the most interesting account from the 24 years of researching in the province of Alberta, Canada. I moved to the west coast of British Columbia for good in September of 2002. ‘Beyond Creepy’ has many such documentaries, on many topics of interest, and I do recommend to the reader to check the site out, that is if you don’t mind feeling a little “creep”-ed out afterwards.

Thomas Steenburg

Steenburg File# 10195

Interview, , ,

Here is a recent investigation which came to my attention just a couple of hours after it happened.  Both witnesses were interviewed close to the location over a cell phone they had in the car with them.

Thomas Steenburg

NEAR AVOLA

B.C. FILE # 10195
LOCATION: Highway 5, 26 km s south of Avola, British Columbia.
TIME: Approx 10: 19 am.
DATE:  August 12, 2015.
REPORT BY:  Thomas Steenburg

I received a phone call,  approx 12 noon on August 12, 2015 from a woman whom just had a possible sighting and was still in a quite an exited state.  She informed me that she and her mother have been driving home from BC to their homes in Alberta.  They were approaching the small community of Avola, BC on Highway 5, when the driver, (caller’s mother; main witness) called her attention to a figure ahead crossing the road, left to right; driver side to passenger side. The caller had been in the back seat feeding her 5 month old child, and looked forward in time to see the figure leave the road and disappear down a steep roadside embankment into the thick tress between the highway and the Thompson River not far away to the south (Highway runs east west at this point).

The ladies didn’t know what to say ;or what to do? The Driver at first thought it was a man whom jumped out of an approaching car on the road ahead of the figure walking across the highway (passing car in opposite lane). But only for a moment, as the reality of what she was looking at sunk in.  The banter between the two women at this point was one of great excitement. They did turn the car around and went back to the spot where the figure disappeared over the high embankment.  The driver did a search of the roadside and did find one possible track in the area. The other woman took a few cell phone photos of the track which she later sent to me via e-mail.

The two ladies then got back in the car and traveled as far as the pull out outside of Avola, BC where the driver phoned her husband whom informed them to contact myself.  It was while there I did a quick interview from both witnesses. The two ladies requested to remain anonymous, so their identities have been withheld from this written report.

First interview

What color was it?

Dark.  As I said at first I thought it had clothes on.

You thought it had clothes on?

Yeah. When I first noticed it, I was coming around the bend, there were a couple of cars coming toward us, between us and it, I thought someone was crossing the road, at first. But as I watched it cross the yellow line and down the bank, I knew by that point it wasn’t a man.

Did it cross the highway directly, or was it at an angle?

From what I could tell it was almost a straight line. Well, a bit of an angle.

Was it hairy?

No. Well yes. The only time I could really tell was when I passed by it so quickly.

When you passed the spot, could you still see it?

It hadn’t disappeared yet, I could just see the top of the head. I am trying to get a really good look because I am thinking: Was that a person?

Do you wear corrective lenses?

No, I don’t.

Do you need them?

No. Well just a little bit for reading.

Just reading glasses?

Yeah.

May I ask your age?

I just turned 52.

Oh, you’re just a young girl, I’m 54.

Why, thank you.

You and your daughter were traveling north, heading for home, which is Wadamun, Alberta? Not sure if I pronounced that right?

Yeah. You did good.

What was your first impression when you saw it?

Well, when I first saw the oncoming cars I thought they were pulled over because it appeared to me, us, someone walking across the road behind them.

You thought the oncoming cars were parked?

At first yes, but I quickly realized they were moving towards me. There was some distance right, but I soon knew they were moving towards me in the other lane. And behind them was, what I thought was, a human being walking across the highway.  And I said to my daughter, “What the heck is he doing walking out on to the highway for!” When I realized what it might be I said out loud to her, “Here comes your critter you might want to look!” She started to play close attention, she saw it as it reached the edge of the road and she too saw it step down, she also saw the dark color, the head and shoulders, but I will let her tell you her story.

Did it stand and walk upright?

Yes! It was always upright. That’s why I thought at first it was a person.

Did it ever go down on all fours?

Never.

How tall do you think it was?

I thought it was about 6 feet.

Did it appear heavy or light?

You know at first glimpse, not so heavy, or tall, but as I got closer to it it appeared bigger.

How long did you see it for?

How long what?

How long did you see it for?

10 to 20 seconds, if that long. You know traveling at 100 kms a hour, a distance of less than a quarter of a mile.

Was there a clear area between the roadside and the tree line?

A clearing, what do you mean?

It’s not a solid line of trees right up to the edge of the road?

Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is.  It is very treed. You can see the river through some of the areas. And spots where it seems animals have left trails on the ground. You know if you are a man and you drop off that cliff (referring to steep embankment where subject left the road), you could get pretty hurt.

Did it see you?

Um. No. Can’t really say for sure?

Could you tell if it was male or female?

No.

I assume you didn’t hear any noise?

No.

Did you smell anything before, during or after?

Yes.

What did you smell?

STEENBURG NOTE: Witness here gives a long answer about pleasant forest odors and the smell of cinnamon she detected long after the sighting while she was searching for footprints along the road side. I am of the opinion the odors she noticed had nothing to do with what she saw.

You did check for footprints?

Yes.

Did you stop right then and there or did you return?

Probably about. Oh, I don’t know?

Where you found the possible footprint was that located right where it crossed the road, or did you find that somewhere else?

Yes, that was right there. That’s where it went in.

There is a drop off there?

Yes.

Did you report this to any one?

My husband, then you. My husband first (she phoned her husband and it was he who told her to contact myself by phone).

There is a second witness in this case?

My daughter, yeah.

You reside in Wadamun, Alberta?

Yes, that’s right.

Your daughter resides in Edmonton, Alberta?

Yes.

You were on your way home from?

My daughter’s memorial.  And a girlfriend in Kamloops.

STEENBURG NOTE: The witness lost her other daughter recently.

So, it was a long hot day in the car?

Exactly.

Now the footprint photo you sent to me, was there just one or was there other tracks?

Well, I wanted to look more over (steep embankment), but my daughter wouldn’t let me. Because it was scary, and it was quite a drop down.  She wouldn’t let me go down there.

STEENBURG NOTE: This witness would give long drawn out answers to many questions which to my mind was distracting to the subject at hand. She contacted me from the road, and was in a very exited state. Something she herself pointed out a number of times. A few days later I did call her again at her home in Alberta, where we went over many of the details again. By this time she had calmed down quite a bit. I did interview the second witness during the original phone interview.

SECOND INTERVIEW

Hello (name with held), I was just talking to your mom, Can you tell me how all this was brought to your attention that something strange was going on?

I was just sitting in the back seat, my daughter was kind of being grumpy, so I came back here to feed her.   I was just feeding her and my mom and I just drove around this bend in the road and she said, “Whats going on here.” “ Why is that person crossing the road?” There’s wildlife here so I am looking at the side ditch and not looking ahead.  I was looking at the side ditch when she said, “What is that?” Then I looked out toward the front through the passenger side of the windshield, and this tall, tall dark figure just stepped over, off the highway, and he was kind of in the ditch, like basically where I took that picture (track photo), is where I saw him, like he was standing right there, and I was like, “Holy,” as I can see that he is super tall!  Stocky, and he didn’t have a neck. He was built, he was stocky.  And he just dropped down (steep embankment), and he was just gone.

How tall do you think the subject was?

Over 6 foot for sure.

Could you tell if it was hairy?

Yeah.  It had hair.

What color was it?

Black.

Were you close enough to see any detail concerning the face?

No.

How far away was it when you saw it?

When I saw it. Maybe 30 feet.

STEENBURG NOTE: I thought 30 feet was close enough to at least see some facial details so I discussed this with her for a bit, but her explanation of short time duration and profile angle of the subject seemed reasonable explanation in my opinion.

Was it still visible when you passed the spot?

No, he wasn’t visible. He had dropped down (other witness said she could still see the top of the subjects head?).

The photos of the possible footprint are actually yours?

Yes, they are mine.

Thank you for them by the way.

No problem. I hope you can make something out of them because I have a hard time seeing it when I look at them. (LAUGHS).

When your mother was searching the area did you notice any odor at all?

No. But I stayed in the car most of the time because of my daughter was with us and I wasn’t going to leave her alone in a car along the highway.

How old is your daughter?

She’s 5 months.

She was in the back in the baby seat?

Yes.

You were feeding her?

Yes.

When you saw the subject was it crossing the road left to right or right to left?

You mean to us or the cars coming the other way?

You.

It was on kind of an angle. (It did cross left to right)

An angle? Towards you or away from you?

Towards us. But I really still couldn’t see the face? I could see the outline of it, but not any details of it. It was just so dark colored.

Could you see any skin?

No. He was just so dark. That is what caught my attention really, because every time we come to BC, I get a little upset because we don’t see much wildlife anymore, so when my mom said something I looked up and she said, “What is that!”. That is what really caught my attention was his dark features, how dark he was, and the fact he didn’t have a neck, he had a big head. He was really stocky.

STEENBURG NOTE: When I talked to the first witness, (mother) again after a few days she too remarked on the fact that the subject did not seem to have a discernible neck.

Your mother mentioned that you stopped at the ‘Welcome to Avola’ pull out.  It was before you got there this happened?

Yes, it was before the pull out.

How long before the pull out?

10 or 15 minutes, if that.

Any man-made landmarks visible at the spot?

There was an ad sign maybe 5 minutes after the spot with the words ‘HANDCRAFTER ‘ something or other written on it? It was a big sign and it had Handcrafter written on it? There were other things written underneath it but that’s what I remember. A sign for a shop on the side of the highway type thing.

STEENBURG NOTE:  At this point she asked if I wanted them to drive back to the spot in question? This interview was over the phone while they were still traveling back to Alberta some 60 minutes after it happened. Both ladies were willing to go back but I told them not to interrupt their trip. They said it would be no interruption and they would call me back later that night.  She did. She informed me that the sighting location was 41 kms up Highway 5 from the town of Clearwater. I did a Google map check and found that Clearwater was 67.1 kms south of Avola.  So, I simply subtracted 41 kms from 67.1 kms and concluded that the sighting location was 26 kms south of Avola. Give or take.

The two ladies I am convinced did encounter something odd on Highway 5, 26 kms south of Avola, BC at 10 : 19 am, August 12, 2015.  The photo included with this report does show possible characteristics of a possible footprint but not distinctly so. Now a hoax being perpetrated on the two ladies can not be ruled out but the circumstances surrounding this incident at least in my opinion make a hoax seem very unlikely. The only other possibility at least in my mind is they did indeed witness a Sasquatch crossing the road.

Thomas Steenburg

SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES
SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

Track photo 2

Steenburg File # 10191

Field Research, , ,

This is one of the more recent investigations. I have been debating whether or not to publish my investigations on this blog or not, since many witnesses have asked that their names remain confidential.  Not the case here; I hope you all find it interesting.

WEAVER LAKE SIGHTING

B.C. FILE# 10191
LOCATION: Weaver Lake, B.C. Near Harrison Lake West FSR
TIME: 10:30 AM
DATE: August 21, 2014
REPORT BY: Thomas Steenburg

I received a phone call in the evening of August 21, 2014, from a woman named Maria Muller (age 49) who reported that she might have seen a sasquatch at Weaver Lake, BC earlier that same day about 10:30 am.  Her boyfriend, Robert Bailey (age 51) was with her at the time of her sighting but did not actually see the subject himself due to the brief time it was in view; and the fact it had stepped out of sight before she brought his attention to it. However, he happened to taking some scenic photos with his cell phone’s camera at the same time and may have caught the subject in a shot with out realizing it.  By coincidence, I was only 5 minutes away when this encounter occurred near Morris Mountain.  But fate being what it is, I did not learn of it until later in the evening when she called my home.  When they checked the images on the cell phone when they got home (Surrey, BC) she spotted the figure and told Robert he had indeed captured an image of the figure they saw.  They emailed the picture to me.

My thoughts on the photo: is possible, but the figure is too distant to identify clearly.  I plan to visit the area tomorrow to see if any stationary object could account for the figure in the photo. To Maria Muller’s credit, she is not saying that it defiantly was a sasquatch.  She admits it might have been a man she saw or even someone dressed up to fool people.
A full interview with her now follows.
Thomas Steenburg

Would you please state your full name?

Maria Muller.

Do you wish to remain anonymous?

No. Why should I, LOL?

I always ask a witness that, as many do not wish it to be known that they have seen a Sasquatch, as I am sure you can understand why?

No, I am fine with it.  I know what I saw.

What is your occupation?

I’m a graphic artist.

Do you wear corrective lenses?

I do use reading glasses now as I am older, but my vision is good.

Were you wearing them at the time?

No.

How old are you?

49.

Where did this incident occur?

Weaver Lake.

This took place today? (Aug 21,2014)

10:30 am.

10:30 am this morning?

Right.

Tell me what happened.

We were at the water, we had gotten off the dock. We were parked right at the boat dock there.  Nobody was around, we had just gotten dressed, my boyfriend had started taking pictures with his cell phone, you know, before we left for memories.  There was nobody around.  No noise, no nothing, and off in the distance I could see somebody coming down the trail.  I saw the feet first, and then I saw the body, and it looked like a gorilla. And then it turned off to the left, and I said to my boyfriend as he was taking pictures, ”did you see it, did you get it with the camera, I just saw a sasquatch!” and he said, “no way”, and I said, “it looked just like a gorilla.”  He didn’t be leave me, and I said, “lets go over there and look,” and he said, “No, no, you’ve got Sasquatch on the brain, we are going home,” and so we went home (Surrey BC).  When we got home I told him to show me the pictures, I want to see if you got it on camera and sure enough, he did.

Describe the area where this took place?

OK, we were at the end of the dock, at the boat launch, not the end of the dock but the beginning of the dock, sorry.  Looking towards the area where the host resides, (site host for Weaver Lake, Mrs Andrea Colwell); the bridge is to the left and the beach area is to the right and the host is right behind that, can’t tell that from the picture though, and to the right of that is the beginning of the lake hiking trail, goes around the lake, we took a hike on the trail yesterday (August 20th); that is where we ended up yesterday, where I saw this thing.

What distance would you estimate you were from this thing when you saw it?

I don’t know.

Do you recall what color it appeared to be?
Yeah, it was all black.

What was your first impression?

I first saw the feet coming down the trail, from where we were, it was the only human-like movement I could see, so immediately it caught my eye.  I saw somebody walk down the trail, but when I saw the body and the head and it looked like a gorilla, I was shocked, and I said to my boy friend, “Did you see it, did you see it!?”.  “Are you getting it!?”  He didn’t know what I was talking about.  Then when I tried to tell him it was a Sasquatch and it looked like a gorilla, he just figured it was someone walking down the trail and I was seeing things.  But later, when we looked at the pictures, he saw that it was all black, and big, and it looked like it had a gorilla chest, and the fur or hair or what ever, there was no neck line, the head and shoulders were all one.  There was no neck.

What was it doing?

It was coming down the trail, I could see it between the two trees, as you can see in the picture, it was coming down the trail and then it just went left.  It was just walking.

Did it appear to be hairy, or could you tell?

I thought it was a gorilla, so I would say hairy.  It looked as though it saw us!

Did it stand and walk upright?

Yeah, it was walking like a man.

Did you ever see it go down on all fours?

No.

How tall would estimate it was?

I have no idea. Because I first saw the feet then I saw the upper body, but by then the feet were behind bushes and stuff.  So, when I saw the chest area and the head, something was in front of it, and when it turned left and walked away it went behind a tree and I couldn’t see it anymore.  So I couldn’t describe the whole length it.  But in the picture it looks like you can see one arm and the chest.

How much do you think it weighed?

I don’t know.  It was over too fast; there was nothing to compare it with, there was nothing beside it that I could of, you compare it to?

How long did you see it for?

I would say 3 seconds. That was it.

Did it stop at all or was it moving the whole time?

It was moving the whole time. But it was facing us, I know it saw us.

That was my next question, do you think it saw you?

Yeah, it saw us.

It’s reaction?

It turned left.  All of a sudden it was behind the trees and that was it.

You never saw it again?

No.

Did you notice any facial features?

It was too far away.  All it looked like to me was a gorilla walking like a man.

Could you tell if it was male or female?

No.

Did you notice anything about the arms or anything?

What I thought, well, what I thought was: sasquatch was suppose to be all furry?  But what I saw today, it looked like it had a bit of a bare patch like a gorilla has (chest area), so that’s weird, because I always thought the sasquatch was all fur?  This one appeared to have a bit of a shine on the chest, like I don’t know, a chest plate?

Did it make any noise?

No.

Did you smell anything during, before or after?

No. But at night we were hearing some strange noises.  We were joking, “maybe it’s the Samssquatch,” LOL.

Like Bubbles from ‘The Trailer Park Boys’?

Yeah, LOL.

Are there any other physical characteristics of the subject which stand out you recall?

It was just walking like a man.  It wasn’t hunched over, no nothing.  All it was, like, was a gorilla.

Did you check for footprints?

No.  I wanted him (Robert) to go over there, but he didn’t even believe I saw anything.  He thought I was seeing things.  But later, when he saw the picture he believed me a little bit more because it was all black and I said, “I know it looked like a gorilla”.

Did you report what you saw?

Yes, you.

Steenburg note: since this interview, Maria has posted about her encounter on a couple of web sites concerning the Sasquatch mystery.

Describe your general outdoor experience, do you guys camp a lot?

No, maybe twice a year. That’s about it.

There was only one other witness and he actually did not see it?

He took the picture but he didn’t see it.

That was your boyfriend, and his name is Robert Bailey?

Right, correct.

What do you think it was?

I think it was a Sasquatch.  Or a gorilla standing up.  Or it could have been someone playing a hoax, who knows?

Do you feel someone could have been playing a hoax?

I don’t know, we were the only ones there, though there was a dog somewhere barking at the time?

Steenburg note: follow-up investigation at the site, by my self and Brad Trent, concluded that there were still a very large number of other occupied sites that morning.   We determined this by checking with the camp host, Andrea Colwell, as the weekend crowd really had not started to arrive yet.  Also, Host Andrea Colwell, has a dog which does bark a lot, so this probably explains the dog barks she heard at the time.

Has any of your friends or family members made a report like this before?

No.

Have you every made a report like this at any other time to anyone else?

No.

As far as you are concerned, you ether saw a Sasquatch or someone pretending to be one?

Yes.

Robert actually did not see it, but he snapped the picture in question?

Correct.  Yes.

Steenburg note: this concluded the interview, other than general back and forth concerning the photo and other things.  I left early the next morning for Weaver Lake with Brad Trent to do some on-site investigation.

UPDATE, AUGUST 22, 2014.

Myself, along with Brad Trent, arrived at Weaver Lake Campground at approximately 10 am this morning.   After introducing ourselves to the camp host, Andria Colwell, it was moments only to locating both the photographer’s location and the location of the subject in question.  Andria has only two beach front campsites and knew what we were asking about right away, along with being fascinated why we were there.  Both camp sites, which were vacant 24 hours before when the sighting occurred, were now occupied and two large tents had been erected . Fortunately for us, their location did not interfere with our re-creation attempts.  Some of the occupants seemed to be amused by the reason for our being there.  Investigating the location of the subject was revealing.  What Maria refers to as the trail she saw the subject on during the short time it was in view, was in fact the main road through the campground, also the object which blocked the view of the subjects lower half, both to her eyes and the photo taken by Robert, was a combination of two large logs and a boulder about waist-high, which the subject in the photo is directly behind. She said that the subject turned to its left and walked out of sight, and she did not see it again. We noticed that at the location to the left, was the beginning of the hiking trail which goes around Weaver Lake, as well as a bear-proof garbage container, and a recycling container for bottles and cans.  Also, the camp host trailer site was only about 60 feet away from the location.  Finding the spot where Robert took the photo from, was easy, too. Brad went to the spot and took a photo of myself standing right behind the boulder and logs, which the subject had been behind.  After, we changed positions and repeated the process. This was all done at approximately 10:30 am, August 22, exactly 24 hours after the encounter. When these photos are examined, both Brad and myself appear to be just as large, if not larger, than the subject.  It seems there is a very good chance that Maria saw a person wearing dark cloths either going to the garbage bins or starting to hike the Lake Side Trail, and this is a case of simple mistaken identity?  Which is what Robert suggested to her when she first told him about it.  The camp host did do some rounds through the camp ground at that time in question.  However, she always wears a high-reflective yellow jacket, the same type flag men wear on the highway, at work sites.  When she stood at the spot, she stood out like a light bulb.  I would be prepared to declare this a case of mistaken identification outright, if it weren’t for the witnesses insistence that the subject she saw was so gorilla-like in appearance, though I must admit the figure in the photo does not cry out gorilla to me.  I can state that no stationary object accounts for the figure in the photograph.  So to conclude: there are two possibilities here; 1 – it was a Sasquatch and she is right in what she saw or 2 – it was a human and she misidentified what she saw? I lean to the latter due to our on site investigation, but a Sasquatch cannot be totally ruled out here.

Thomas Steenburg

Credible Witnesses

Video, , ,

I was informed that an individual on another site (the BFF Forum) had posed a question to me: if I personally had any friends and colleagues who claim to have seen a Sasquatch, whom I believe? 

I found the question myself and tried to answer on the BFF site, but found that my spell-checker no longer corrects things for me there.  Having the spelling skills that a grade 5 student would laugh at, I decided to try and fix the problem before making any more posts on their website!

But as we were out and about in the Bush during one of the warmest January’s I can remember, it was decided to try and answer the question right then and there.  So, here you go, Terry, I hope this answers your question!

A quick note: In hindsight, I noticed I did not mention the late, Bob Titmus in the video.  I knew him for many years and as he claimed sightings on two different occasions, he then should also have been added to the list.  Once again, I have to state that if the Sasquatch does indeed exist (something I do believe, by the way!) then these men saw one.  If I am wrong, and the Sasquatch does not nor never did exist, then these men have had very good examples of mis-identification of common animals or humans.

Thomas Steenburg

HOW IT ALL BEGAN FOR ME

Biography, ,

I have often been asked, “What was it that got me interested in the Sasquatch mystery in the first place?” Well, it was in early childhood (mid 1960s), I think I was about 6 years old. My folks bought a hard cover education book put out by Readers Digest; it was a large thick text book which had chapters on all aspects of our natural world in it.  Wonderful color photographs and diagrams on everything from tornadoes and hurricanes to Volcano’s, wildlife from elephants down to soldier ants and about 300 pages thick.

As a impressionable young lad, I had spent many an hour just skimming through it and asking questions.  Well, one of the chapters in the back of the book was on the age of the Dinosaurs; lovely drawings of T-rex standing straight up, dragging its tail of the ground as was thought back then. Most sauropods up to their belly’s in swamp water as it was claimed they were too heavy to spend much time on dry land, etc, etc.  Well, right in the middle of this beautiful, full color chapter suddenly there were two pages with three black and white photos of something in some kind of body of water.  The title of these two pages were ‘The Mystery Of Loch Ness’.  The three photos being the Surgeon’s photo, the castle photo, and the 3 humps photo of something called the Loch Ness Monster.   I must have read those two pages over again about twenty times.  Cryptozoology was implanted in this boys young mind and I drove my parents nuts with questions.   I still can remember my father telling my mother, “Don’t worry, he will grow out of it.”

Searching for other books in stores and the school and the public library, I realized very early on that I was never going to move to Scotland, so my attention for the most part started to concentrate on this other monster in Canada, called ‘The Sasquatch’. Finding books on lake monsters often included chapters on other mysteries as well.  But what really did it was, not too much time after getting that Readers Digest book, I for some unknown reason woke up in the middle of night and I could hear my folks down stairs watching the late movie on our old black and white television set.

Walking into the living room my folks were watching a movie with the lights out, only the glow of the TV screen providing any light at all.   I remember hearing my father saying something like, “Lets let the lad watch, he is interested in this stuff.”  My mother protested, “No he will have nightmares, blah, blah…”  Well, fortunately for me, and I am sure much to my folks’ later regrets, I was allowed to stay up and watch this movie with them.  It must have been a weekend for this would never have been allowed on a school night.

What they were watching was the old Hammer Film staring Peter Cushing ‘The Abominable Snowman Of The Himalayas’.  From this day on, Sasquatch dominated my thoughts.  Books by John Green, Ivan T Sanderson, were read over, and over again. And I still would read Tim Dinsdales book on the Loch Ness monster.  I do not remember any of the public attention concerning the P/G film in 1967, as in Canada, Expo 67 dominated the media and ,of course, that was the last time the Leafs won the Stanly cup.  Readers Digest did do an article on the film and I still possess that issue.

A couple of years later, in 1972 the movie, ‘The Legend of Boggy Creek’ played in our local town theater.  I snuck in to watch it about 5 times; myself and another boy knew a way in through the vent system and fortunately, we never got caught.  I did pay the first time. but I wasn’t about to let the lack of money keep me from seeing it again and again.

Growing up, I did several school presentations on the Sasquatch, and other crypto subjects.  One high school presentation on the Loch Ness Monster so impressed my teacher that she gave me a mark of 110 out of 100 and had me redo it for the other classes. Something that annoyed me at the time, as I recall.  Later, as a young man doing my military service, when our time was our own and my buddies all went out to chase women and alcohol, I would head into the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta to look for evidence of the Sasquatch, and I have never looked back.  My serious research commencing in September of 1978, this in a nut shell was how I got started – I never grew out of it!

Thomas Steenburg

P.S.  I find it interesting that one of Thomas’ earliest triggers for his interest in sasquatch was a Reader’s Digest when many years later, he himself is featured in a Reader’s Digest article!  The article can be found here:

http://www.readersdigest.ca/magazine/searching-sasquatch-curious-lives-cryptozoologists?page=0,0

The original article can be found here:

http://maisonneuve.org/article/2014/02/20/trail-ignored-beasts/

Happy reading,

Webgirl

 

SASQUATCH AND LARGE GAME?

Video, ,

This is a short video interview by Jason Cain. He along with myself and Brad Trent, spent  Sunday December 14, 2014 up Statlu Creek FSR.   Jason wondered how I personally felt on the issue of the Sasquatch being a big game predator.  Here is what I had to say on the subject.

The rest of the day was spent searching along the roadsides and the creek and river banks looking for tracks.  Unfortunately, other than a lovely rare sunny day in December in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, nothing of any real interest was found.