EP 15: Mushroom Picking Mysteries

[00:00:00] - [Nina]
In the damp, decaying undergrowth of the forest, moisture breeds life in the darkness, and fungi thrive. Seemingly overnight, they appear. While in the same places, a human can just suddenly disappear. For our fifteenth episode, we're going to take you on a journey throughout the province with five different dark stories of foraging gone wrong. This is episode 15, mushroom picking mysteries.

[00:00:29] - [Nina]
Welcome to mishaps and mysteries.

[00:00:31] - [Nina]
I'm your host, Nina. And I'm your host, Cassie. Our podcast explores stories of misadventures in the wild landscapes of British Columbia, Canada. Thanks for being here with us today. Today's episode will have brief discussions of death and human remains.

[00:00:52] - [Cassie]
Please take care when listening. Nina, have you been mushroom picking? I have actually. I have been mushroom picking, just a couple times. You know, it's something I really should try.

[00:01:03] - [Cassie]
I know that it's a really popular activity here where we live on Vancouver Island. I have been given chanterelles before from friends, and they are so good. They're really good. BC has many ideal areas for mushroom foraging. The moisture and abundance of our rainforests provide optimal conditions for growth.

[00:01:25] - [Cassie]
Wildfires and sudden increases in moisture, like a heavy rainstorm, can breed a large amount of fungi. Today, we're illustrating that out in the woods, even a low key activity like hunting for tonight's dinner can still be dangerous. September and October are the best times to look, so take us along with you. One headphone only, low volume if you're out on the hunt this month. There are many thousands of species of mushrooms in our province, but only about 50 are safe for human consumption.

[00:02:00] - [Cassie]
Those out on the hunt have to know their mushrooms. The episode is going to take you to five different places in BC, and this is a good opportunity to let our listeners know that you should visit our website and check out our case map. Nina has set this up to show the locations of all of our stories so far. Just go to the episodes page. But please keep listening on Apple or Spotify as that really helps with getting our podcast out there.

[00:02:29] - [Cassie]
With some of these stories, we share the local RCMP contact info. But remember that you can also use Crime Stoppers to remain anonymous.

[00:02:42] - [Nina]
Story one, Jacqueline Bob. On July 6, 2004, deep within British Columbia's Central Interior, a group set out to forage for mushrooms in the Brittany Triangle, a remote high elevation plateau located in the Niemaya Valley, roughly a 150 kilometers southwest of Williams Lake. It's a dense, unforgiving wilderness, home to heavy bear and cougar populations. Her full name was Jacqueline Mary Bob. She commonly went by Jackie.

[00:03:17] - [Nina]
Born in 1963, she was 40 at the time. Jackie was indigenous and from Alexis Creek, which is a small unincorporated community of only about 53 recently. It's in the Chilcotin region also. Sometime while out in the woods, the group consisting of her boyfriend, and we don't know his full name, but we know that the initial of his first name starts with a and his last name is Whitey, and they were with his friends. They realized Jackie was nowhere to be found.

[00:03:49] - [Nina]
But in a terrain that's isolated, calling for help isn't immediate. Because of the vast distance and lack of reception, her friends had to make the long journey back to town. Jackie wasn't officially reported missing until the following day. The conditions were critical from the start. Jackie was not prepared to survive an overnight in the wilderness.

[00:04:11] - [Nina]
She had no food, no camping gear, and was wearing only light layers. She was last seen wearing a bright red jacket and a red baseball cap. Striking colors meant to stand out against the thick green forest. A massive week long search was launched across the land and air, bringing together over 150 volunteers, search and rescue units, RCMP, canine handlers, helicopters, and members of the Tsilhqot'in National Government. As official operations began to wind down, Tsilhqot'in spokesperson, Joe Alphonse, made it clear the community wasn't giving up, stating, when they discontinue their search, our members will continue staying at the location and will continue searching until hopefully that person is found.

[00:05:02] - [Nina]
Years passed, but the search never truly ended. Six years after she went missing, local news highlighted how family and community members were still out in the Valley searching for answers. While police state that foul play isn't currently suspected, RCMP emphasized that it cannot be ruled out. Jackie stood about five'three and was described as thin with black shoulder length hair. She notably had scars on her chin, hip, and abdomen, and she had just recently had hip surgery.

[00:05:35] - [Nina]
Hopefully, someone is able to come across something one day. We have the link to the RCMP RCMP dossier in our show notes for you to review an image of Jackie and what she was wearing. Anyone with information about Jackie's disappearance is urged to contact the RCMP e division North District Major Crime Unit at (250) 649-3900. You can reference case number 2005E1341.

[00:06:10] - [Cassie]
Story two, Peter and River Oleski. On 10/22/2020, father and son, Peter and River Oleski, were out for the day mushroom picking in the Pemberton backcountry. Peter, 48, and River, 21, were from the Lil'wat Nation. They didn't return home that night, and their nervous family reported them missing the morning of October 23. Searchers from the Stl’atl’imx tribal police, local RCMP, Pemberton search and rescue teams, citizen volunteers, and helicopter search members of four two two squadron Comox searched for Peter and River.

[00:06:56] - [Cassie]
Crews found their pickup truck close to the end of Mackenzie Forest Service Road. This helped hone in the search. Now it's not clear what day this happened. Some reports said on the day the search began, some say on October 29. At about 2PM on October 29, a week after they'd gone missing, they were sadly found deceased.

[00:07:20] - [Cassie]
The discovery of their bodies was in a heavily forested area. It's not clear how far from their truck they were found, but it was 500 meters from a popular mountain bike trail called Jack The Ripper in the Mount McKenzie area. The area is popular for lots of outdoor activities and is about six kilometers from the community of Mount Curry. In February 2022, approximately sixteen months after the discovery of their remains, the coroner's report was released. The report found that the evidence was consistent with hypothermia.

[00:07:58] - [Cassie]
It was suspected that they had gotten lost in a snowstorm and that they had died from exposure in the cold. While Peter had experience in the outdoors, the coroner's report theorized that an unseasonably early snowstorm caught them off guard, and they weren't prepared to be out overnight. Their clothes were drenched from the conditions when they were found. The communities of Lillooet, Mount Curry, and Pemberton were shocked by the news of the discovery of the Alaskis. Many people from the small communities had been involved in the search.

[00:08:37] - [Cassie]
A day of innocent family time turned tragic so quickly. We wish the loved ones of Peter and River well.

[00:08:50] - [Nina]
Story Three. On Thursday, October 3 2019, Valentina Kushnareva disappeared while going mushroom picking in the Chilliwack area, south of Cultus Lake. She left her Frost Road residence to go mushroom picking and has not been seen since. Frost Road has Cultus Lake Provincial Park behind it. Cultus Lake is a very popular area in the Chilliwack region, given its close proximity to the greater Vancouver area. It's famous for the Cultus Lake waterslides.

[00:09:22] - [Nina]
The lake itself is warm and large with beautiful forested mountains surrounding it. They said that they thought she either was injured and struck somewhere or she had gotten lost. The latter wasn't very likely given her familiarity with the area. The same day she went missing, search and rescue volunteers from Chilliwack and Mission began searching. The property was searched twice by volunteers and family.

[00:09:49] - [Nina]
And searchers scanned the broad area all night. Nothing. The search was stood down October 14, eleven days after Valentino went missing. There is still a Facebook group called Missing. Valentina Kushnareva, of which mishaps and mysteries is now a member.

[00:10:10] - [Nina]
There haven't been updates in recent years, but in March 2020, about five months after her disappearance, her daughter-in-law, Tatiana, made a post that the RCMP had come to collect DNA samples in case they count anything. And they also did another search and would possibly be doing subsequent searches. Valentino was 82 years old at the time, described as a white female standing five one with short gray hair and blue eyes. The area has a number of mysterious missing persons cases, including Gordon Segu and Christopher Couture, which are stories in our case catalog. Interestingly, we couldn't find the RCMP missing person dossier for this case.

[00:10:55] - [Nina]
We did have it in our case catalog from a while back, but the link no longer works. And when we tried to search again, we couldn't find Valentina on the RCMP's Canada's missing website, but we also couldn't find any confirmation that she had been found. If you have any information about Valentina, please call the Chilliwack RCMP at (604) 792-4611. The case number is 2019 dash 43930.

[00:11:27] - [Cassie]
Story four, the Englishman River John Doe. On 11/05/1992, a mushroom picker was out foraging about two and a half kilometers from Englishman River Provincial Park in the Parksville area on Vancouver Island. They were mushroom picking close to the Englishman River when about 30 meters from the banks of the river, the mushroom picker comes across human remains. It's a terrifying thought that someone could stumble on a body when they're just out living their life. After the mushroom picker reported their discovery, the remains were examined and estimated to belong to a white man in the age range of 40 to 55, about five feet eight inches tall.

[00:12:21] - [Cassie]
He wore the following, a red hat with the letters k w on the front, a royal comfort brand t shirt, a blue ski jacket, gray sweatpants, black rain pants, and Brooks brand white and gray runners. He also wore a Casio watch. An important detail that sticks out in this John Doe case is that American currency was found on him. It wasn't clear whether it was just American currency or if he had a mixture of Canadian and American. The man had extensive dental restorations.

[00:13:05] - [Cassie]
He recently had surgery for ingrown toenails on both feet and had a healed fracture to the left collarbone, which was repaired with surgical wire. It is estimated that he may have died several months earlier. The range given was two to six months prior to his discovery. Foul play is not suspected in his death. There are so many specific details in this case from the medical work to the details of his outfit, and yet just shy of thirty four years later, he still has not gotten his identity back.

[00:13:44] - [Cassie]
It's pretty hard to wrap your head around the fact that now with all of our current technology that there are still John Does and Jane Does out there, but there are. We hope one day to talk to someone on the podcast about the work that is being done to give does in Canada their names. What happened to him? And most importantly, who was he? There's a model created of what the John Doe may have looked like when alive.

[00:14:12] - [Cassie]
This link is in our show notes. Please study and see if this rings any bells.

If you have any information. Please contact the Office of the Chief Coroner 1-877-660-5077 or BCCS.SIU@gov.bc.ca

Reference Case#: 1992-0112-0057

[00:14:35] - [Cassie]
Ca. And you can reference case number 1992 dash 0112 dash 0057.

[00:14:48] - [Nina]
Story five, Gregory Paul Agnew. Gregory was seen for the last time in his green Pontiac Sunfire leaving a mushroom pickers camp in Gitlaxt'aamiks, formerly New Aiyansh. This is the capital of the Niska nation in the Nass Valley in North Coast Region BC. Nass Valley was formed by molten lava and is the most recent volcanic field in Canada. So the area is filled with lava formed landscapes.

[00:15:19] - [Nina]
It was 09/26/2019. The mushroom pickers camp was on Kinsckutch Forest Service Road at the 11 kilometer mark. Gregory was seen leaving the camp in his car to go to Terrace. He had some errands to run-in town. Terrace is approximately a 100 kilometers from Kitlat Damicks.

[00:15:42] - [Nina]
Round trip would be about three hours of driving. The unsettling piece is that the next night, September 27, his Pontiac Sunfire was observed by a fellow mushroom picker. It was at Gregory's campsite near the Nass River Bridge along with his camper van, but Gregory was not there. Did Gregory return and just wasn't seen? Why did he leave on foot in a remote area, or was his vehicle dropped off by someone else?

[00:16:11] - [Nina]
He wasn't reported missing until October 5 after another mushroom picker noticed he still hadn't returned to his campsite. Searches began on the morning of October 5, but nothing has ever been found. Terror Search and Rescue led the Valley Search. Bulkley Valley, Prince Rupert, Fort St. James, and Houston Search and Rescue teams all joined in.

[00:16:34] - [Nina]
They also had RCMP search dogs, RCMP air, and civil air search and rescue looking from above. NISCO wildland firefighting team also assisted. Everyone searched for five days. It was a massive search. On the night of October 9, the search was called off because it was determined that the survivability window had likely closed.

[00:16:57] - [Nina]
Gregory is described as a white man who was 65 at the time of his disappearance. He had brown hair and blue eyes. Unfortunately, the photo of him in the official dossier case for the RCMP is terrible. It looks like it's a screen save from a surveillance camera.

[00:17:15] - [Cassie]
Oh, yeah. That really bugs me.

[00:17:17] - [Nina]
Yeah. It's it's hard to get a feel for any particular features of Gregory. Why is there not a better photo of Gregory out there? We don't know. Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact Daily Sims, NASS, Valley, RCMP at (250) 633-2222, and the reference case number is 2019 dash 1033.

[00:17:47] - [Cassie]
This episode safety lesson, how to pack for mushroom picking. We don't want this episode to be a turn off after all. We just want you to be safe. Make sure you bring your mushroom picking guide, something to take notes with, a magnifying glass to look up close, a breathable container, something that's not plastic, like paper bags, for example, a map and or a GPS, gloves, waterproof clothing and boots, a knife or scissors for harvesting, and a headlamp or flashlight.

[00:18:26] - [Nina]
And I've got a tip that I learned about from a friend who goes mushroom picking a lot. What he does is he puts his knife down on the edge of his bucket facing the direction that he just came from so that he gets off the trail, then he's got a knife pointing in the right direction.

[00:18:44] - [Cassie]
I really like that because Yeah. That it's so easy to get turned around.

[00:18:48] - [Nina]
It's a great... Yeah. It's a great idea.

[00:18:50] - [Cassie]
And, of course, the usual. Go out with a plan that others know. If you find an item out in the forest that you feel may be useful to report, we've included information about how to report what you found to the RCMP in our show notes. With any of these cases, if you have information, you can call Crime Stoppers at 180222 or visit their website to report anonymously.

[00:19:26] - [Nina]

It wasn't that there was any added danger to the individuals in our stories, but something went wrong.
and the environment for mushrooms to grow often dark, thick, and damp forest is also the ideal area for secrets to stay hidden.

We hope that the families and loved ones of the missing mushroom pickers and the John Doe get their answers and closure one day. May Peter and River rest in peace.

Thank you for joining us this episode. New episodes are out every Tuesday.

[00:19:52] - [Nina]
You can reach out to us at info@mishapsandmysteries.ca. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe and leave us a rating and a review. It really helps new people find us. Also, share with your friends. Be safe and never stop exploring.