In search of a Cameron Lake monster

Cryptozoologists set date to explore what’s beneath the surface.

What lies beneath the surface of Cameron Lake on Vancouver Island? John Kirk has been eager to find out for a few years. On September 19th he’ll have his chance when he searches the lake about 30 km west of Parksville-Qualicum Beach in search of an elusive lake creature people have reported seeing for years.

“Our organization has received reports coming from Cameron Lake since 2004,” said John Kirk, co-founder of the BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club (BCSCC) and author of In the Domain of the Lake Monsters. “Witnesses have been describing what looks like a dark creature in the lake.”

Kirk and his crew of researchers are traveling to Cameron Lake to look for scientific evidence of the creature. The team will spend the day traversing the lake in a boat, attempting to lure it to the surface and get a visual sighting. They have been planning to explore the lake since a 2007 sighting by Bridget Horvath, who noticed a strange wake in the water and three objects or creatures going in a circle.

“British Columbia is number one in the world for lake monster sightings,” according to Kirk. “There are 39 lakes in BC where some type of creature has been seen.”

In 2004, a woman and her father reported to Kirk’s organization that they had seen a very large, long black creature in Cameron Lake. The animal swam along the lake near Highway 4 and the two were able to see it from their car until the highway veered away from the lake.

The BCSCC was founded in 1989. Elusive creatures, such as lake monsters and Sasquatches, are known as cryptids and their study is called cryptozoology, from the Greek cryptos for hidden and zoology, the study of animals.

Kirk spent time on Okanagan Lake this summer in search of Ogopogo, one of many expeditions done by his organization. Kirk is also chairman of the Crypto Safari Organization which sends investigators around the world, and has traveled to Africa as part of research teams in search of living dinosaurs.

Besides numerous sightings of the Cameron Lake monster, Vancouver Island has been the location of Sasquatch sightings, and a film and History Channel program based on the elusive animal, as well as home to specialists in the field.

Cameron Lake, BC
September 9, 2009
Oceanside Tourism Association

Visit the website of the The BC Scientific Cryptozoology Club — http://www.bcscc.ca.