Here are but a few of the many reported sightings over the years. Although many people who believe they saw the creature have not come forward because of possible ridicule, "Legend Hunter" Bill Steciuk has received many reports from people who wanted to share their stories through this website, www.ogopogquest.com . There have also been many details of sightings over many years reported in a variety of publications, based on sightings by early area settlers going back to as early as 1873.
We thank everyone who has shared their stories, and appreciate the pictures shared with Bill through this website by some of those reporting sightings. If you have a sighting you would like to share, please click here to give details of what you saw.
Drawing Found on Internet - Author Unknown
Just a Few of the Earlier Recorded Sightings
- 1873 - The first recorded sighting by a caucasian was by Mrs. Susan Allison, a B.C. pioneer and author, near her home, Sunnyside Ranch, which is the location of today's Quail's Gate Winery in West Kelowna. Mrs. Allison was very specific in her description of seeing a snake-like creature, which closely mirrored the often repeated local native legend about the lake creature.
- 1926 - Occupants of about 30 cars along an Okanagan Mission beach reported seeing "Ogopogo".
- 1947 - A number of boaters all saw the creature at the same time. One of the witnesses, a Mr. Kray, gave a detailed description: "it had a long sinuous body, 30 feet in length, consisting of about five undulations, apparently separated from each other by about a two-foot space, in which that part of the undulations would have been underwater.There appeared to be a forked tail, of which only one-half came above the water. From time to time the whole thing submerged and came up again.".
- 1959 - Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Miller and Mr. and Mrs. Pat Marten reported seeing a "tremendous creature with a snake-like head and a blunt nose swimming some 250 feet behind their motor boat". The group watched the unknown animal for over three minutes, after which it submerged.
- 1964- A Parmenter family member was able to take a photo of what they saw in the lake.
- Year unknown - Geoffrey Tozer, the son-in-law of British Columbia Premier W.A.C. Bennett (B.C. Premier from 1953 to 1972), reported seeing the "creature".
- 1976- Ed Fletcher of North Vancouver reported being able to take a photo of what he saw in Lake Okanagan.
- 1978, 1979, 1981 - Photos taken by author Arlene Gaal.
Bill Steciuk had his first sighting in 1978 and he vowed to one day find the elusive lake "monster".He established the www.ogopogoquest.com website in 2004, in the hopes of receiving reports from others who had also had "sightings". Little did he realize that over the next 20 years, there would be hundreds of reported sightings in the area, with many of those contacting him with their stories. In the days before the popularity of cell phones with cameras, sightings were mostly reported verbally. On the rare occasion that someone had a camera handy, the existence of "Ogopogo" was sometimes captured for all to see!
