Page 74 - EM 1 Oct Nov 2019_june_july_2009_Neat

74 Alleged Ogopogo Sighting On Video

‘Bigfoot’ Hunter Frightens ‘Pretty creepy’Alleged legend dates back as early as the 1700s, when
First Nations knew of a water beast in Lake
Campers By Trying To Ogopogo Sighting Caught Okanagan.

The Kelowna retiree, who has dedicated
Shoot Mythical Beast On Video his life to proving the creature’s existence after
his own encounter in 1978, is skeptical of La
Global News Global News Rocque’s alleged sighting.
“By watching this video, I don’t believe
it’s evidence that a lake monster exists,” he told
If Bigfoot does exist, he must be a small — or A south Okanagan man is convinced he’s
Global News.
fast — target. captured the most conclusive piece of evidence
“We have much better shots and videos
Police and park officials in Kentucky are yet of the legendary and elusive lake monster in
here in the Okanagan over the years that would
investigating a report that a gun-toting hunter the Okanagan known as the Ogopogo.
crashed a couple’s campsite in the middle of the Jim La Rocque was enjoying his mother- confirm a species of something in the lake.”
night and fired several shots at “Bigfoot” in in-law’s lakefront property with his two children Steciuk said the majority of sightings are
on Okanagan Lake, meaning the creature would
Mammoth Cave National Park. in Kaleden, B.C. on June 1 when he says he
have to travel through the Penticton dam and
Brad Ginn and Madelyn Durand say the noticed an inexplicable wake on Skaha Lake.
channel to reach Skaha Lake near Penticton.
self-proclaimed monster hunter woke them up La Rocque scrambled to record the
“I believe that this used to be all one
with gunshots on Sunday night while they were mysterious ripples breaking through the lake’s
connecting lake, Okanagan and Skaha, and
sleeping in their tent. They emerged from the glassy surface.
there’s rumours that there are caverns deep
tent to find the man standing in the middle of His son was wading on a paddle board
their ruined campsite. nearby. down, because the lake is so deep they still don’t
The armed man told them they were in “Eventually he turns and sees a flipper know in spots how deep it really goes,” La
“Bigfoot country,” Ginn told local broadcaster come out of the water and hit the water, and Rocque said.
Steciuk, a self-proclaimed legend hunter,
WBKO. “I hope you have weapons,” the man that’s when he… turned around and started
is also unconvinced based on the reported size of
told them, before flashing his own gun at them. coming back in,” La Rocque said.
the creature.
“I have this so if anything happens to you, then The longtime Okanagan resident said he
“There’s never been really any reports of
just yell and I’ll come.” couldn’t believe his eyes.
anything that big,” he said.
Ginn and Durand returned to their tent La Rocque believes he witnessed a giant,
Robert Young, an environmental
and left the Bigfoot hunter to his quest. serpentine creature swimming across the lake
The gunshots rang out again a few with at least seven fins paddling in sync. scientist at the University of British Columbia’s
moments later, so they quickly gathered their He estimates it was at least 36 metres Okanagan campus (UBCO) said there could be
gear and decided to leave. The couple called (120 feet) long. an explanation for the bizarre sight.
“I think it’s a product of overturn that
police, then hiked several kilometres back to “I’d describe it as like a dragon boat
happens seasonally where lake layers of
their car so they could report the incident to park race, like with oars, so if you flipped the dragon
different temperatures and depths will pass each
officials. boat upside down, you would see all those oars
other,” he said.
“Mammoth Cave Law Enforcement coming out of the water,” he said.
“Where the layers pass each other, they
Rangers responded to an incident involving an La Rocque owns the Fairview Liquor
form a wake, these waves only form when there
individual with a firearm at one of the park’s Store in Penticton, B.C., and curious customers
backcountry campsites at approximately 2 a.m have been stopping by to get a glimpse of the is no other waves to mix it.”
on Sunday,” a spokesperson for the park told the cellphone video for themselves. Young has studied the myth of the
Courier-Journal on Wednesday. She added that “I don’t know what it could be. That’s Ogopogo, and says emotions tend to overpower
logic.
it’s legal to possess a firearm within the park, but pretty weird, it’s not like normal waves,”
“People don’t like not knowing, they
firing one is “strictly prohibited.” customer Jesse Deuschle said.
have to have an explanation… they come up
As of this writing, the man has not been “At first I was thinking maybe just
with myths and legends… it’s not surprising to
identified. waves, but there is obviously something more
me that people would want to hang onto the idea
No Bigfoot corpses have been recovered there,” liquor store employee Jack Holman said.
of a mythical lake monster,” he said.Regardless
from the park. Yet. [] Tales of the snake-like creature —
similar to Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster — of any logic or explanation, La Rocque is still a
have been making waves in the Okanagan for believer, and if anything, it proves the legend is
THE ‘X’ ZONE TV CHANNEL
the past century. still very much alive. []
Is On SimulTV
According to Bill Steciuk, who runs a
www.SimulTV.com
website documenting Ogopogo sightings, the