Last December, I published a video on suspected time slips in Canada and around the world,
in which individuals appear to have briefly, inexplicably stepped back
in time while touring historic palaces or walking through bygone battlefields.
The most interesting of those stories, in my opinion, was the experience of Mr. Sam Thibeault
of Quesnel, British Columbia, who related his own very mysterious childhood adventure to me
back in early September 2021. Unfortunately, at the time I released that video, I didn’t have any
footage of the setting of Mr. Thibeault’s story- namely a body of water in south-central British
Columbia called Courtney Lake- and so, for the visual element of his story, I used footage of
neighbouring Nicola Lake, located about 20 minutes to the north, as well as the proximate Nicomen
River. Very recently, I had the opportunity to visit the actual setting of Mr. Thibeault’s
experience, and to take videos of Courtney Lake and the surrounding area. I thought that you
might enjoy revisiting Mr. Thibeault’s chilling tale in its proper visual context,
and so I’ve republished it here with footage of the very lake in which it took place. Enjoy!
Several months ago, I was contacted by a gentleman named Sam Thibeault of Quesnel,
British Columbia, who had a strange and unnerving experience in southern BC in
1977 which evokes the scenic apparitions above described. The following is Mr. Thibeault’s
story in his own words, lightly edited and published here with his permission:
“I am 59 years of age now, but at the age of 15, four of my friends and I experienced
what I now believe to be a portal in time. It may be an explanation as to why people
have just disappeared without a trace in the area. I lived in Merritt, B.C. at the time.
The incident took place at a lake between Merritt and Princeton called Courtney Lake.
I believe it could shed some light on disappearances in the British Columbia Triangle.
“I experienced this with four of my closest friends, Rocky B., Tim C.,
John C., and, if memory serves, Wade W. We were all around 15 – 16 years of age.
“I’ve told very few people, as most don’t take me or us seriously.
All I can say is that it did happen. We all saw it, and it scared the hell out of us.
“My friends and I often hitchhiked to different locations in and around Merritt,
B.C., mostly to explore, build forts, fish, and go swimming.
We also explored abandoned mine shafts just south of town, where we would crawl under
cave-ins in order to come out into the main tunnels where the coal tracks were.
“On one of our weekend trips, we got a ride to a spot near Courtney Lake.
I believe it was Rocky’s brother, Roger, who dropped us off.
The hike to our destination was a few miles or so, through some thick brush and heavily wooded areas.
The old path was overgrown, but you could still make it out enough to follow it.
This was the second time I came to this place with my friends.
“The road eventually led to a large open valley of grasslands that stretched out in front of us.
The valley stretched out as far as you can see, and eventually rounded a bend and disappeared.
You could see a well-structured tree line across the valley that rolled up and down with the hills.
“When looking to the left, you could make a few buildings in the distance, nestled up against the
lake. I believe they were once used as layovers for cattlemen driving their cattle through the
area. There were a few rectangular bunkhouses with flat roofs and a rectangular cookhouse
built up against a small outlet from the lake. “We made our way to one of the bunkhouses, in
which we had stayed during our first trip to the lake. It had wooden bunks built into the walls,
and nothing more. I chose the lower bunk against the right wall when entering the building.
I had brought my bow and arrows, and hung the bow above my bed on the wall.
“Once settled, some of us tried to catch some fish for supper, while other sat around an open fire.
Sometimes, when we saw bears and their cubs in the valley, we would chase them back into the trees.
“The incident happened sometime in the afternoon. What I find strange to this
day is why we all decided to gather in the bunk house at that particular time,
as there was plenty of daylight left, and it wasn’t time to bunk down for the night.
“It all started with some noise coming from outside the bunk house.
We stood there looking at each other, wondering who could possibly be outside.
“The bunkhouse was made of logs, and its windows were covered with wooden shutters.
I remember opening the door with my friends close behind me, and what we saw still stays
with me to this day- not because of what it was, but because it hadn’t been there minutes before,
when we filed into the bunk house. “There were cattle everywhere. I
couldn’t tell just how many, as there was a thick cloud of dust from their hooves.
There were many cowboys that were riding about trying to keep the herd in check.
“Then one of the riders pulled his horse sideways along the little path that led to the bunkhouse.
The only thing between us were the remains of a very old wooden fence without a gate.
“The stranger looked directly at us. He sat tall in the saddle, and was covered in dust. He had a
rope in one hand, another tied to his saddle, and a rifle in a scabbard that jutted out visibly.
His surprise at seeing us was very apparent. There was something very different about him.
He was fully dressed head to toe in what we all grew up thinking cowboys looked like.
Everything about him was rugged and hard, as if he’d been doing this for many years.
“When I met his gaze, I immediately felt very uncomfortable. He continued looking at us for a
few moments while he got better control of his horse, as it was rearing up a little, as if it
was frightened by our presence. He then jumped off his horse and started to talk towards us.
“We all panicked, thinking we were trespassing on someone’s property and were about to be caught.
I slammed the door, and we all ran around the room grabbing our gear.
I remember grabbing my bow off the wall. We opened the shutters to the
back window facing the lake and jumped out one by one until we were all out.
“We ran towards the lake, then took a right and followed a small trail leading behind a
small hill overlooking the area in which we were. I can remember sitting there all huddled together,
wondering if they were following us and what kind of trouble we were in.
After what seemed like five minutes, John C. and, I believe, Wade W., ran up to the top of the hill
we were hiding behind to get a better view and to see if they were, in fact, following us.
“John and Wade came back moments later, looked at us, and said ‘there’s no one there.’
We all scrambled to have a look for ourselves, and what they said was,
in fact, true. There was no one there. “I remember walking back towards the bunk house.
The first thing was to look down the valley to see if they were going away from the lake. But
the valley was empty as far as the eye could see. No hoof prints were visible.
It was as if no one was ever there. I remember thinking that a herd as large as the one we had
seen could not have disappeared in a few minutes. The valley is very open, and there was nowhere
that a cattle drive of that size could hide. “We all left and called it a weekend,
unsure of what we had just experienced, but glad to get away. I’ve always wondered what might have
happened if I had walked out to meet the cowboy at the end of the walkway leading to the bunkhouse.
Would I still be here today, or would I be missing without a trace?
“I’ve come to believe that we stumbled upon a portal in time.
What we all witnessed was a once in a lifetime experience.
Most of the boys I was with never told anyone about the experience, and some have passed on.
“One day, Rocky and his new wife came up north to visit my wife and I.
While sitting around the fire, my wife asked Rocky if the strange adventure I had been telling her
about all these years was true, and not some made up story. I remember Rocky’s face going white.
He said that he had never told anyone about that summer day in 1977. He went on to tell his memory
of the event to my wife. When he was finished, my wife couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
His account was identical to my own recollection of what had happened to us all those years ago.
“After watching your British Columbia Triangle series on YouTube, I realized that Courtney
Lake is within the Triangle. I believe that when these portals in time appear,
they are only there for a few minutes, and then vanish along with anyone who walks into them.
“I’ve wanted to tell my story for years, but was just uncertain who to share it with.”