To watch the video is chilling to say the least. While the majority of it is largely narrative by a group of rafters, when the creature appears in the background it may take a double take, but it’s certainly there. And there’s something to it that simply has an eerie feel to it. A creature was spotted in video later after it was reviewed by canoers that seemed shadowy and roughly humanoid, but what exactly was it?
The blog Phantoms and Monsters displays images of the mystery creature seen in the distance on the banks of the Mackenzie river as canoers row past apparently unaware. And yet as the image in the distance shifts, it seems the creature in question actually seems to be appearing out of thin air and then moving about. There’s no question that the mysterious form is humanoid in appearance, but is it evidence of the legendary Sasquatch? Or is it something else making its way across the bank?
In studying the film it does appear those in the boat are entirely unaware of whatever phenomenon is happening on the banks nearby. As the rafters talk to one another and even look out onto the banks, they do not seem to see anything out of the ordinary suggesting a Sasquatch or any other type of sighting. Furthermore, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that anything paranormal at all is going on unless you take into account the figure doesn’t have any real features to speak of aside from an unusually tall stature.
Javier Ortega of Ghost Theory shares a theory by Dave R, who suggests the Sasquatch looking figure that appears to pop out of nowhere is likely actually a hiker. From the video, it looks like the rafters are in the middle of a very dense area of forest far from civilization. A google maps analysis by Dave indicates a heavily traveled gravel road nearby the area and a high likelihood for hikers to stop by the river as they pass through. Though it certainly looks strange, this would explain the strange appearance of the hiker, the general lack of attention the rafters pay to it, and the heavy tree shadow juxtaposed with a brightly lit surrounding area could explain why the figure appears to look like an anthropomorphic freely roaming shadow.
So is this a case of something mundane appearing paranormal due to lack of light and information? It seems so in this case. Perhaps the most curious aspect of the story is why anyone thought it might be paranormal in the first case. Though the figure was shadowy and in the woods, it didn’t exhibit anything that indicated that it was anything but human. It seemed more the fact that this being was existing on the banks unbeknownst to the rafters as they continued down the stream that really made it seem unusual and even paranormal. This story definitely had more of an emphasis it seemed on the horror element of the story than the actual paranormal aspect.
At 1:40 you’ll see it the creature in the background.