Acknowledgements
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing the first book is not an easy endeavor and is often a lonely one. Thus, I feel it is crucial to acknowledge the people who have encouraged me on this journey. When taking on a project as ambitious as this book, it always feels wonderful to know that there are people who have your back.
Firstly, I want to thank John Kirk, Adam McGirr, and the rest of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club (B.C.S.C.C.) for continually supporting my research at Okanagan Lake and other lakes in British Columbia. Your sage advice and words of encouragement never cease to excite me. Thank you for encouraging me to do cryptid fieldwork wherever I am. As well, I must profusely thank you for allowing me to use information from the annual Quarterly publication for this book.
Thanks must be given to the Kelowna Heritage Museum for graciously sending me a digital file of Ogopog-related materials. Your assistance and generosity has not gone unnoticed.
I thank Raphael Nowak for his kind words and collegial attitude towards me and my research into this freshwater enigma. It is refreshing to see another young person with as much interest in Okanagan’s deep-water mysteries.
Thanks goes to Wayne Hall and Peter Beach for allowing me to use their sighting and Expedition Reports to Okanagan Lake. This sharing of information is vital to our understanding of these biological enigmas, so I cannot thank you enough for your openness and generosity.
As well, the author simply must recognize and acknowledge the BC Regional Digitized History archives and the BCHistorical Newspaper database for having such a large resouece to trawl through. It is immensely appreciated.
Lastly, I want to thank my Dad and late Mom for being beacons of support throughout my young years. Your dedication, love, support, and words of encouragement mean the world to me.
This book is dedicated to the late Mary Moon and Arlene Gaal, who--in my young mind-- are absolute heroes in the world of lake monster research. Without your work, none of this would be possible. May you rest in peace, knowing the answers to the mystery of Okanagan Lake that you once so intensely sought.
Foreword
Foreword by Raphael Nowak
Throughout the centuries, beginning with the various First Nations in the Okanagan Valley (the Syilx and Penticton En'owkin bands being a few), reports of a mysterious creature inhabiting the waters of Okanagan Lake have kindled widespread curiosity. As with many phenomena on this planet, the mystery creature has received its share of credible research, but has also often been misjudged. Fictitious and often ridiculous reports, recreations, and spoofs have marred the thousands of legitimate sightings that have occurred over the years, by credible and sincere individuals. While we do not have a definite answer as to the nature of the Okanagan Lake phenomenon, it is a topic that should receive a fair assessment, in light of our comprehensive understanding of natural history, and that of our valuable Okanagan Lake.
There will always be debate as to the credibility and likelihood of a yet unclassified creature inhabiting the waters of the large, deep, and largely unexplored Okanagan Lake. Naturally everyone is entitled to their own opinion. That said, there are those who are curious researchers, and would rather prefer fact, scientific, and methodical observations before jumping to an uninformed conclusion.
This type of research has been undertaken by independent researchers, authors, academic institutions, and filmmakers to name a few. It is my honest opinion that there have been a handful of very comprehensive investigations performed on the Okanagan creatures that were careful to avoid bias and sensational reports. It is always a thrill to come in contact with individuals (or groups) who are curious and passionate about Okanagan Lake, and have a desire to undertake an honest investigation into the mysteries surrounding the local waters.
In the Fall of 2018, I had the honor of releasing the first and only book ever written about Okanagan Lake at Mosaic Books, in Kelowna. The book, Okanagan Lake: An Illustrated Exploration Above and Below the Waters provides a holistic review of the science, history, and environmental aspects associated with the lake, and also includes a chapter summarizing over ten years of personal underwater investigations. The book would not be complete without a chapter dedicated to some of the mysteries associated with Okanagan Lake.
It was during the book signing that I met Breyden Halverson, a local researcher and then UBC Okanagan English student. After a brief but intriguing conversation, we both recognized the need for further meetings and collaboration. Breyden’s interest was primarily in researching the Okanagan Lake mystery, and I was impressed to learn more about his thorough and careful documentation of personal unexplainable observations on the lake. In many ways, this has been the first time that I have met an individual so intrigued with this phenomenon, and so faithful in documenting strange patterns on the lake surface – in writing, and in video.
As we progress further into the 21st Century, sightings of the Okanagan Lake creatures are still reported, and the topic continues to fascinate many. If there were ever written a new book about the lake mystery, it would have pleased me to see an individual such as Breyden to author that text. And now, with that goal a reality, it is my greatest pleasure to support Breyden on the creation of this text, and to provide my full support for his analysis of the mysteries associated with Okanagan Lake and other British Columbian lakes.
~Raphael Nowak,
Author of “Okanagan Lake: An Illustrated Exploration Above and Below the Waters”
Founder of the Institute for Underwater Research (IFUR)
Introduction
NTRODUCTION: A Land of “Lake Monsters”
If someone were to walk right up to you out of the blue and ask you, "When someone says "lake monster", what do you initially think of?" your mind most likely would turn to one particular, infamous mystery aquatic animal that is said to live in the Scottish Highlands in Loch Ness: "Nessie", or as it is also known, "the Loch Ness Monster." That would not be surprising, since the image of the Loch Ness enigma has practically ingrained itself in the minds of thousands, if not millions, of people the world over.
The mental picture of a long-necked behemoth rising up from the waters of the dark, equally mysterious Loch Ness is without a doubt one of the most popular visages in cryptozoology, popular culture, and monsterdom. Sighting allegedly of the Loch-dwelling beasties continues to this day; just in 2022 alone, no less than four reports have come in of something living in that vast Scottish body of water. However, what if I were to enlighten you and say that Loch Ness is far from the only lake of its kind which has reports of mystery aquatic animals in its depths? Moreover, what if I told you that one of the most active hotspots, said to rival Scotland in lake quantities and water creature reports in terms of the number of lakes and--in some cases surpass it--the quality of reports, is the western-most province of Canada: British Columbia?
With over 20, 000, deep, freshwater lakes--all of which have been carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age--and many miles of coastline, reports have emanated for centuries about unusual aquatic creatures of purportedly unknown classification in this vast, beautiful province. Rivers and inlets have also been places where accounts of so-called "sea monsters" have taken place, from the waters of Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, the waters of Haida Gwaii (then-called the Queen Charlotte Islands), and even to the Alaskan coast. As expected, descriptions come in quite the menagerie. Many of the reports describe serpent-shaped beasts looping and coiling vertically through calm waters a la old mariner drawings of sea serpents. Others describe a long neck and piece of a body breaking water much like the archetypal "lake monster" image that is all too popularly held nowadays. Others are so unique that they are ultimately in their own categories altogether. These descriptions can be found in the southern interior of the province, to the northern reaches of British Columbia, to the west coast, to Vancouver Island, and even east towards the Rocky Mountains. But one thing remains the same: there is a sizable chunk of reports that have yet to be adequately explained away. Though not all sighting reports of alleged lake beasts and sea cryptids have turned out to be 'real', it would be foolhardy to dismiss all reports outright as mere hallucinations, hoaxes, cultural exercises, or simply ploys used by tourism parties for monetary purposes. The only way to disprove or prove these stories have any validity at all is through rigorous, focused efforts which use the scientific method to examine this zoological phenomenon.
To the author of this book, there is no province in Canada and fewer places in North America for that matter that boasts the same or more quantity of “lake monster” reports than British Columbia. The province alone has 20, 000+ bodies of freshwater and of those lakes, there are over 40 lakes that are said to have creatures that were—and are—residing in their murky depths. Whether in historical ages or in the contemporary era, these stories persist to the modern day. Call it whatever you will, but the author is of the opinion that, based on intense research, hours of scrolling through archival materials that have not been given their dues and on-shore lake research that something truly noteworthy is occurring in these lakes.
Undoubtedly, British Columbia’s most famous mystery lake is Okanagan Lake, located in the southern-central interior but the author argues that the province ought not to be defined by this monopoly of reports. Similarly, the author argues that coastal cryptid sightings should not all be lumped into the “Cadborosaurus” category, for the differences are too distinct for them to be messily categorized. Such laziness and lack of attention to detail is something that, in the author’s opinion, needs to be done away with entirely in cryptozoological research.
The reasons for choosing to focus on the subject of British Columbian unidentified aquatic animals are numerous, but the core reasons are as follows.
- These bodies of water, which are quite deep, were carved during the last Ice Age. And according to paleo-geological studies a number of these were once part of a larger glacially-fed, freshwater lake named “Glacial Lake Penticton” which stretch from the north to south, dammed by the south by an immense wall of ice until it broke free and the water moved south thousands of years ago. With such connections, these lakes were tangentially connected to rivers such as the Columbia which drained into the ocean, leaving the possibility that large marine or semi-marine animals could have entered these lakes and over time, inhabited these waters even before the lakes were shut off from the ocean.
- There is a rich history of pioneer and white European settler sightings of animals which as yet have not been fully explained away by modern science and zoology. Up to the year 2022, sightings have been made, though not quite as heavily publicized as in previous years and all of these reports–for better or worse–have been consistent with each other, in each differing lake, no matter the decade and the witness in question. In few or none of the cases, no witnesses knew each other in a way that would suggest they colluded to forge a hoax on people. The chances of a hoax or similar collusion are not only comically unfeasible
- Discoveries in freshwater areas are not only still being made, but the results are surprising. Everything from previously uncatalogued shipwrecks, unexpected biological discoveries and findings, and more are a part of these biomes, so the possibility for other things to be discovered is not so far-fetched. This goes for British Columbian lakes and the province's vast coastal waters, as you will read in the Epilogue.
- Nearly all of these lakes--even popular ones such as Okanagan and Shuswap Lakes with heavy recreational uses--have had little to no concerted, systematic explorations in their depths. This means that there are still spaces and parts of many provincial lakes that are relatively untouched by human interference. These could include deep areas, canyons, possible caves or pseudo-tunnels, and any other geological formations that could provide hiding place.
With all of that in mind, I encourage all to read this book with a healthy balance of open-mindedness and critical thinking. I am not here to change your mind; I am merely presenting all of the records, reports, information, and other related trivia to help readers get a better understanding of the subject that I have spent more than 10 years researching and investigating. In my view, British Columbia is replete with cryptozoological enigmas and phenomena. This ranges from sasquatch/Bigfoot reports, mysterious giant birds of unidentified categorization, mystery black cats and primates, unusual camel-type animals, and other zoological wonders.
That obviously does not include the vast, immense coastlines that are the scene of many water creature reports over the years. Despite that other cryptozoology-related books bring up the creatures dwelling in Okanagan Lake or Cadborosaurus, they do not touch on the fact that over 40 British Columbian lakes have or had, at some point in time, sightings of creatures that would rival the famed Loch Ness Monster or “Champ” of Lake Champlain in terms of similarity. While they are not as famous as Loch Ness, they are just as worthy of further investigation. After reading this book, you may find yourself looking at a big lake differently than before.
Before we begin, the author wishes to stress that this book will employ a scientific, zoologically-bent approach to the lacustrine mysteries in the pages of this cryptozoology tome. While he appreciates that there are people who prefer a more "fringe" or otherworldly explanation to these creature reports, the author stresses that cryptozoology is based on traditional zoology which focuses on flesh and blood animals. Any other speculation on the nature of such unconfirmed species is just that: speculation. Until hard evidence is presented to the contrary, the author feels it is best to keep things grounded for this survey and investigation. He also hopes that it does not detract from the reading experience, as he feels that the diversity and multitude of reports are enough to keep interested readers turning pages. The author only intends to present the information as he has gathered without inserting his own speculation on the matter.
SECTION 1: Survey of Lake & Marine Cryptid Reports
SECTION 1: Survey of Lake & Marine Cryptid Reports
“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand
everything better.”
~Albert Einstein
SECTION 1.1: Lake Creatures of British Columbia
SECTION 1: Lake Creatures of British Columbia
“Nearly all the large lakes in British Columbia …are reported to
contain or to have contained monsters of some kind.”
~George Mercer Dawson, 1849
According to British Columbia-based cryptid researcher John Kirk, there are over 40 lakes which contain stories of at least one kind of creature in its depths, in a province where over 20, 000 such bodies of freshwater are recorded. Many of these lakes have serpent-like beasts in them, others have something that people would call “prehistoric-looking” and others are simply bizarre! These other provincial lakes include Upper and Lower Lakes, Bennett Lake, Martin’s Lake, Kathlyn Lake, Mill Lake, Nitinat Lake, Chadburn Lake, Francois Lake, Somenos Lake & Vancouver Island’s Spirit Lake. But even rivers such as the mighty Fraser River, Kootenay River, and the Oyster River have also had reports of freshwater oddities swimming in their otherwise turbulent waters.
That does not, however, mean we ignore these lakes just because they are not as popular or limit our focus/efforts to the best-known ones. In my view, each of these lakes is worth investigating and deserves to be mentioned in this book. I have decided to compile a list of 21 of these cryptid lakes from the province; unfortunately, though I wanted to put more, I had difficulty finding more information on the others prior and decided the list below had to do. If more reports from other B.C. Lakes are forthcoming and compelling, they’ll be included in a follow-up publication.
To begin our survey, we’ll start with the most well-known of the British Columbian lakes and narrow things down before proceeding to marine enigmas off the coast of the province. This is done to ensure familiarity with the sighting, provide a foundation for those interested in the subject and act as a launching pad of sorts into lakes not as well-known for the cryptozoological-inclined. All in all, this section is meant to introduce some of the more obscure lake creatures purported to exist in the other lakes and to encourage research into them as well. While the author regrets not having more lakes here, information on reports from other bodies of water in the province has been hard to find. Therefore, the author urges the reader not to take this as a “complete list” of all the creature lakes of British Columbia. Without further ado, here are the lakes of B.C., where unclassified, lake-dwelling creatures have been reported by many witnesses.
Chapter One: The Seldom Seen Lake Creatures of Okanagan Lake
Chapter 1
The Seldom-Seen Creatures of Okanagan Lake
Photo of Okanagan Lake. Taken at Bertram Creek, May 2023, personal files.
Okanagan lake is a large, glacially-created fjord lake located in the southern interior of British Columbia, in the Okanagan Valley. It measures 135 kilometers long, is 2 kilometers on average and is 5 kilometers at its apex. It has a surface area that covers over 348 kilometers and its shore length is 280.3 kilometers. It’s oligotrophic (which means that it doesn’t produce any nutrients naturally) and it has an average depth of 107 meters; at its deepest, it is 232 meters and it has a surface elevation of 351 square kilometers.
Indeed, as the author attests, the Okanagan Valley is a gorgeous region, one that attracts hundreds of tourists each summer to enjoy its water, its warm temperatures, world renowned vineyards and wine, along with its natural beauty. It is also the most famous lake in British Columbia, but not for its size or necessarily solely that it draws many tourists each year but rather that it is the reports of unidentified water creatures bearing a remarkable resemblance to sea serpents. This record is not meant to be exhaustive but does contain some of the most impressive sightings of this famous British Columbian cryptozoology phenomenon.
Sightings (Historical to Recent)
The first of many white European settler reports came in 1872. Mrs. Susan Allison, a teacher for Okanagan First Nation students and pioneer woman, was waiting on the shores, up on a bench at Sunnyside Ranch above the lake on the westside. The lake was churning white caps and the wind was howling at that time. Their home was located near what is now the location of Quail’s Gate Winery (a location where vineyards are grown and not far from Green Bay). While she was keeping a watchful eye for her husband, she noticed movement amidst the waves and looked to see what it was. What Mrs. Alison saw was a large, blackish creature moving against the waves. It first appeared to be like a log, but again was swimming against the waves. It was clear to Mrs. Alison that this was no log, but an animal of uncatalogued variety cavorting in the waters below her location. Mrs. Alison estimated the creature to have been around 50-70 feet long. After the creature had submerged into the water, she told her husband later about the sighting. He initially scoffed at the sighting, but then changed his mind when he heard about another instance made by John Macdougall.
John MacDougall, who had his experience earlier in the year 1860, was attempting to bring his horses across the lake by tying them to his canoe. The location of his departure is the current one where the now-W.C. Bennett Bridge (connected West Kelowna and Kelowna) is present. After he secured the ropes on his horses, he began his trek across the lake to get supplies for his home. When near the center of the lake, his horses suddenly whinnied in fright. MacDougall turned around to see his horses suddenly being pulled under, presumably by some kind of massive beast under the water. As they were tied to his boat, he was at risk of being pulled under. His only choice was to cut the rope and save himself, but leave his horses to be left to their fate. He severed the rope and went back to shore, leaving him with a traumatizing encounter that haunted him until his death.
Another man, H.D. Lyons had an even closer encounter with the purported creatures of Okanagan. In 1901, Lyons was fishing near Rattlesnake Island (a prominent site in the lore of such creatures as it is a sighting hotspot and alleged home) when an unseen animal or force grabbed hold of his line beneath the water and began pulling the poor fellow halfway around the islet. It eventually lets go of Mr. Lyons’s line, leaving him with one of the more dramatic encounters in Okanagan creature history.
In 1886, a man by the name of Richard Wellington Neil also had a sighting—but not from him specifically. He tells of an elderly Scottish gent who, while out on a rowboat and visiting Ewings Landing (located on the shores of Okanagan Lake) told of a more frightful close encounter. The man said that an unusual animal shaped like a “log” moving on its own and at the speed it was going, it was outpacing the man as he rowed from the creature. The old Scot was quite perturbed by what he saw that day as he told by Neil.
Artistic hypothetical illustration of what the Okanagan Lake creatures dubbed "Ogopogo" by white settlers might look like. Author's files.
However, that was not the last of the pioneers who saw of the storied water beasts of Okanagan. In 1896, an old French cook by the name of Frank Stevens was fishing off Grant Island, located near the town of Fintry in the northwest part of Okanagan Lake. Much to his shock, a large serpentine creature surfaced near the boat. According to Stevens the beast measured 20 feet long and had a head or face not unlike that of a sheep head (not an uncommon description by those who saw the Okanagan beasts). A man who knew Stevens, Northcote Caesar, did not believe his story at first, but confessed later that he had heard later that other people reported seeing what was in likelihood the same creature; the description and length by others were identical to what Stevens reported.
Sightings continued into the 20th century afterward. In a 1925 article by the Winnipeg Tribune there were two sightings that year that were noted in the paper. One was made by four young gents; the group was out on a raft in the lake when they all observed a creature stretched out on the lake surface; six feet (2 meters) of its body was visible above water. Initially, the boys thought they had come across a log that had somehow got to that point in the lake...then the animal, perhaps sensing their presence, abruptly dove into the water. Realizing what they saw was not anything known in the area, the boys beat a hasty retreat and quickly got to shore afterward.
Later, a man named Mitchell Boyd confessed his story. He was enjoying some fishing when something out in the water caught his attention and shifted his focus away from fishing. A large object was simply laying on the surface of the lake, not moving, and appeared to be formless at first to Mr. Boyd. Mr. Boyd judged that he was no more than 300 yards away from his position. Then he noticed what he first thought was a large tree branch moving through the water and he rowed to take a closer look. He felt his hairs stand up as he realized that this thing was no tree branch, but an aquatic animal he had never seen before. He estimates the individual creature to be 30 feet long, though the amount of body showing above the surface indicated a much greater mass. The head, Boyd noted, looked very much like that of a sheep, matching earlier witness reports. A later report indicated that the time of day was 7 a.m. PST.
Skeptics argue that for creatures such as the Okanagan lake beasts to exist without incident, there must be a breeding population; henceforth, they argue there must be adults, juveniles and infants, not just one creature. In fact, in the history of Okanagan creature sightings there are cases where various individuals, not just a single animal, have been reported. One of those instances comes from May 1927 by two women, Mrs. F.V. Royle and Mrs. W.A. Newton, residents of Kelowna. The two women were at the end of an avenue located south of Kelowna and at a spot which would later be called Kinsmen Park. At 182 meters (200 yards) from their location onshore, the woman observed several creatures, darkish in color and estimated to be 3-4 feet (1 meter or more) long that were seemingly playing among themselves. Based on their descriptions, it would seem they have espied the activities of young members of the Okanagan creature kin. The women also noted–and noticed–the creatures were always in a straight line, in groups of two composed of 5-6 members, while a third group was noticed a bit further from their location.
1927 brought on a much more harrowing encounter with one of the lake beasts, this time on the water! It occurred in early July that year and was made by one E.H. Hancock while fishing off Chute Creek near Penticton. At one point, Hancock’s vessel was suddenly greatly disturbed by a mysterious rush of water as if some large animal were swimming just beneath the surface, moving under his boat. Then at one point Hancock saw an unknown animal raise its head above water and continued to swim fast through the water, described as rush of swift moving water on the surface. Thinking it best to avoid any trouble, Hancock wisely vacated the area.
Sightings of the head or neck, while not uncommon, are hardly as frequently reported as the multi-humped configuration so synonymous with British Columbia’s myriad of lake creatures, but the morning of August 16, 1928 was one such tantalizing instance. The location of the sighting took place on the shores of Summerland. It was early in the morning and a man by the name of Mr. H. Neill, who worked as a CPR freight agent in the town, spotted a strange happening out on the lake. He retrieved a pair of field glasses to ascertain the object making the disturbance; his wife noticed it as well and the couple hurried to see what was happening. Using the ocular tool which he had brought with him—and coincidentally while a local ship named the Pentowna was making one of its rounds to Penticton—he saw the sheep-like head of some unknown animal raised out of the water, creating patch of very churned up water behind it. No other part of the cryptid was above water at that point in time. Neill handed the glasses to his wife and she also got a good look at the animal; wanting to back up their sighting for their report, they headed—equally as hurriedly—to the local station to obtain further second-hand verification, but by the time all had returned to the spot, the creature had already submerged out of sight.
In 1931, a gentleman by the name of Cecil Hope was out on the lake near the southwestern town Summerland, testing out a new speedboat that he had recently obtained (how, the paper did not specify to readers) in early August. At one point, during the ‘testing trip’ he encountered one of the creatures at close range, primarily observing the tail region. In contrast to other reports, this tail was not split or had flukes and that its’ coloration was of a green-brown. He was unable to see whether the beast possessed scales or other types of texturing as the creature swam off quite fast and submerged not long afterwards.
The outskirts of the town of Peachland in July 1932 would be the scene of the next sighting. Ted Topham and his wife were driving a mile away from the community near the shore of the lake, but soon they noticed a creature or animal they couldn’t identify simply lying on the surface, as if taking in the sunlight of the day. They observed that the animal had a length of 30 feet (9.1 meters) and had a distinct snake-like appearance. Then, they saw the creature beginning to move through the water before he dove under the water. Right after it did so, numerous fishes leaped out of the water as if to escape a potential bout of hunting by the mysterious subject the pair just saw. The Daily News that year noted that Peachland residents’ positive thoughts on the lake creature of Okanagan felt particularly vindicated as Mr. and Mrs. Topham were very reputable citizens of the community.
June 1933 saw two ball game players, Frank Phips, Dick Hammond and Ernest Baulkham making a trip–rather hurried, as the paper noted–to Penticton from Summerland. Returning to their local experimental station, only 4 kilometers (3 miles) from the south end of the lake the trio espied the activities of a remarkable animal in the water. They observed serpentine coils that were black in color (which they compared to that of oil), swimming around as if in a playful mood. While not being able to observe for much longer, they noticed three large coils submerging gradually into the depths of the lake. They also noticed that it created a massive disturbance in the water as it did so.
Early September of 1934 had a sighting made by multiple people by the community of Okanagan Landing, located near the northern city of Vernon. While at the local railway yards, six unnamed persons bore witness to an unidentified swimming animal, apparentlyfrolicking vigourously in the calm lake waters, royally catching their attention. The paper admitted that precise descriptions of the animal were sketchy, but what they did mention was that the cryptid in question was estimated to be 15 feet (3 meters) long, a conservative estimate to be sure.
Most eyewitness accounts describe Ogopogo-type creatures as snake-like and with heads described as horse-like, goat-like or sheep-like and sometimes with a split tail (though those accounts are much rarer). Author's files.
The late Arlene Gaal, an eminent researcher into the reports of the legendary creatures of Okanagan Lake and witness herself, wrote in her book In Search of Ogopogo, that having sightings happen to people is as commonplace as winning a lottery—in other words, very rare! But, when conducting an exhaustive look at the chronology of reports gathered and stored over the decades, it is even more clarifying that sightings on land are even less-commonly reported. One of those instances happened on July 24th, 1935 by one Axel Sanberg who was leisurely riding his horse between WestBank (now called “West Kelowna) and a local First Nations reserve area. A skeptic of the entire “Ogopogo” phenomenon, he had scoffed at those who told their stories prior—but little did he know of the events that would come that day. As he rode on a high bank area which overlooked the lake, he was drawn to something happening in a clear, shallower part of the lake down below his location. He stopped his horse to investigate the unusual sight, but what he saw he was not all prepared for.
A large creature, estimated to have been seventy-five feet long, sinuous and two feet thick was in the midst of foraging and feeding on some lake vegetation in water around thirteen to fourteen feet in depth. Axel noticed the animal had an equine-esque head without any distinct ears and that its color was a mottled colour of greyish, greenish with some reddish in the mix. Its tail moved in a vertical fashion unlike what one would expect of a snake and that its head bobbed and reared akin to what a goose would do. Axel watched the creature without twitch of motion for the longest time, content to watch the unusual water beast in fascination. However, the creature went into the deeper parts of the water, out and away from the shallower region—identified as a ledge—submerged itself and disappeared. Sanberg reported his story to the Daily Courier the day after hi report, now admitting he was among those to whom he had scoffed before. His story was picked up a local newspaper named "The Daily Courier" not long after.
An even more impressive sighting and one of the few reports of predation by the creature clan of Okanagan was had by Geoffrey Tozer and Andy Aiken in mid-August of 1936. Both being youngsters then, the two heard rumors that one gent had repeated luck catching sturgeon not too far away from a local creek. Tozer and Aiken decided to take a canoe raft Andy had and camp for four days in a bid to see if they could find and reel in a few specimens. The afternoon was calm and hot and Tozer and Aiken were offshore of Mission Creek, one hundred yards from it heading southwards to their destination. They drifted quietly towards a large flock of gulls that were floating on the surface of the lake. Suddenly, all of the gulls took off, screeching in fright. Then, the head and neck of some kind of large creature broke the surface and snatched one of the gulls in mid-air at fourteen feet. It disappeared below the water, leaving a couple of ripples on the lake's surface. Aiken and Tozer gave up on their camping trip there, so great was their fright. The creature had a long neck and a head not unlike that of a cow. It was thicker than a telephone pole and its coloration was darkish.
1936 also brought on one of the more dramatic yet odd encounters with the Okanagan creatures to grace the pages of an old newspaper, this time in late October. Taking place near Vernon in a reed-filled area near the lake’s edge, the witness in question, Tom Kaufman, was hunting when he spotted an unusual creature browsing in the foliage 20 yards (18 meters) away. Kaufman managed to shoot his gun in the direction of the monster, but apparently it had no effect as the beast continued to do its thing. While this is an odd detail, depending on how good an aim Kaufman had he may well have mis-aimed his gun or the creature was positioned so that the creature survived the encounter. Apparently, one of the Okanagan lake kin had survived; this is also one of the few instances where the creatures were seen on land. Add some more detail on why this story is questionable.
Late September of 1937 had quite the lake cryptid story to tell regarding the Okanagan’s famed elusive denizens. Howard J. Thornton, a Vernon resident, P.W. Welch and R.J. Veale (both from the nearby northern community of Okanagan Landing) reported to The Daily News that they were startled to observe the antics of one of the Okanagan serpent-like creatures out in the water while standing upon the shoreline. For most sightings, that would end there, but not for this trio of cryptid observers! Thornton, Welch and Veale had the idea to go into a rowboat and get a better look at the creature, to which they promptly did. As they approached the location of the creature, the creature abruptly went under the water, and as Thornton said, then the creature made a splash, and as it went under, a vortex of water. Just afterwards, the party saw black-coloured snake-like coils of the large beast shooting underneath their boat. Then, as far as the Thornton account goes, the boat actually bumped into the creature, making this one of the few times physical contact has been made between human and lake creature. The animal disappeared not long after, undoubtedly leaving the party with quite a story to tell!
The summer of 1939, however, is not without its own sightings of Okanagan Lake’s enigmatic aquatic menagerie, as attested by a dozen firemen when returning from fighting a blaze in the area of Osprey Lake. The sighting occurred on August 30th and as they round a turning point onto a local Princeton Road, not far onto the lake from a local orchard owned by one P.N. Derland, they noticed and subsequently observed exposed hide and flesh of a large, unidentified creature creating a huge disturbance on the lake rising some six feet out of the water. The lake was serene at that point in time; the truck’s driver—Arnold Ferguson—saw the beastie as well and stopped at a corner so that all could see the antics of the unknown animals for themselves. The sighting did not last too long, though. The creature dove beneath the otherwise still-as-glass surface and did not reappear again. The Kelowna Daily Courier, who carried the story on September 7th that year noted that no skeptics or doubters were left in the party and that all agreed that what they was one of the Okanagan Valley’s resident lake-dwelling creatures.
On August 2nd, 1938, The Daily News carried a story on another possible sighting of the elusive animals of Okanagan Lake, this time sighted by three witnesses. Len Leathley, Charles Kirby and Pete King all observed a series of black, elongated coils of some kind of creature undulating through the waters of Okanagan, described as tranquil by the paper. All witnesses were convinced that what they saw was indeed a ‘serpent’ of some kind.
Winter sightings are rare in the history of sightings, but are not so uncommon that they do not exist! One such instance comes from Georgina Harvey in February 1941. Miss Harvey was driving on a straight stretch of road, entering the town of Peachland—a site of many Okanagan Lake animal sightings—from the north when she noticed a creature in the water. According to her description, the beast had a reptile-like head above the surface of the water and a sinuous, elongated girth.
August 1944 was the year and month of one of the most impressive sightings of the Okanagan Lake animals. It took place the week before August 17 at 8 p.m. PST; Mr. And Mrs. Craig, their daughter, Mrs. R.E. Curran, and Miss Melvor noticed some strange happenings going on in the water in front of their Naramata house. Naramata is a town located in the southeast part of Okanagan Lake and is not far from Penticton. Mrs. Curran was the first to notice something moving in the water from their dining room, which overlooked the lake, and called the others to see the remarkable sight. Mr. Craig, who had been a skeptic before, came to where Mrs. Curran was. It was there that his mindset changed completely and noted that what they could observe was quite plain. Mr. Craig used his Zeiss field glasses to study the enigmatic swimming subject at close range. The creature was one-third of the way across Okanagan Lake between Summerland and Naramata, so it was close enough to be seen with fair clarity. They described the creature as serpent-like with a large, elongated head that stuck out of the water and its body mostly submerged beneath the water.
Sketch of the creature the Craigs and Curran saw in August 1944. Author's files.
Mr. Craig went on to say that he likened the head to that of either a dragon or a horse. Its dorsal region was of a serrated nature and roughly 10-15 feet of it was visible above water. Mrs. Craig similarly described the head of the beast, providing further corroboration to her husband’s testimony. The beast swam around in circles, submerged, and re-emerged repeatedly while moving back and forth while staying in an area that was estimated to be roughly a quarter of a mile square. Mr. Craig noted the creature seemed to be playing in the water. Eventually, the creature moved out of the line of sight when it swam beyond a line of trees that blocked the view of the witnesses. This sighting lasted ten to fifteen minutes, making it highly unlikely that misidentification was at play. Mr. Craig, a former skeptic, commented that he thought it was a hoax at first until he watched the animal playing in the water and noted he was skeptical before the sighting, but afterward he was convinced something large and special does live in Okanagan Lake. As another footnote, this story was also picked up by The Daily News based out of Nelson, B.C. at the time (not far from Kootenay Lake, a lake with its own reports of unusual animals).
That was not the only sighting to be had during the year 1944; as noted by The Daily News, that January saw a milder winter than normal for the Okanagan Valley, which according to some locals may have influenced the lake’s local cryptozoological residents! Two young ladies witnessed, according to the paper, a large black creature vigorously swimming through the lake much like how other reports have described between Crescent Beach (located in Summerland) and Squally Point, a much-told abode for the Okanagan lake creatures.
The year 1945 also had a sighting, this time reported by The Daily News on June 6. The witness in question was one Mr. W. Oakley who was staying as guest at a place on the shores of Okanagan Lake called Lake Shore Inn; the location of the said tourism hospitality space was in Okanagan Centre (which as we’ll soon see is a place of many Okanagan cryptid sightings). On June 5th, Mr Oakley spotted some sort of creature moving above the surface of the water for an undescribed period of time before it dove beneath the water. Oakley could see the head of the animal raised above the water, which he describes looking not unlike that of a camel or a sheep.
In 1947, several boaters were out on the lake, enjoying themselves when they all bore witness to an incredible sight rising from the depths. A 30-foot-long, sinuous unidentified animal rose to the surface and submerged and repeated the process multiple times to one Mr. Kray and several other boaters who were also witnesses to the event. The beast created five undulations—appearing as sea serpent-like humps above water—separated two feet apart from the other. One-half of what appeared to be a fluke tail broke the surface, visible to the witnesses in clear daylight. That very same year in March, Eric Beardmore was heading from Naramata (one of the southernmost towns located on Okanagan’s shores) when he caught sight of a massive disturbance out in the lake. The lake at the time was calm and the whatever-it-was was .80 kilometers (half a mile) from the shore. Beardmore stopped his vehicle in order to get a clearer view of what he was seeing. Out in the water he observed a creature rolling, churning in the water; he could see no definite shape or characteristics, but could readily tell that there was some kind of animal in the water.
In July that same year, on a very hot Thursday, three men working on the roof of the Kelowna Grower’s Exchange were all privy to seeing one of Okanagan Lake’s enigmatic denizens. One of the men, Mr. Boyer, and two other men said that a creature, measuring about 50 feet in length, broke the surface initially staying there for a minute before submerging. It resurfaced and basked in the sun for two minutes in duration. Mr. Boyer noted that about ten to twelve coils were seen pushing water up about two feet (nearly a meter). Mr. Boyer ran down to call other nearby employees for confirmation, but when he returned the mystery water beast had already vanished beneath the
Impressum
Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG
Texte: Bradyn Harrison
Bildmaterialien: Bradyn Harrison
Cover: Bradyn Harrison
Lektorat: Bradyn Harrison
Korrektorat: Bradyn Harrison
Satz: Bradyn Harrison
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 05.10.2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-5512-7
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