Police on B.C. island respond to reports of mysterious screaming — and find a 'sad goat'

CBC
Thu, November 16, 2023 

Mysterious screams on Quadra Island were traced back to a mama goat — not pictured here — who was separated from her young, according to RCMP. (jctabb/Shutterstock - image credit)

No ghouls, just goats.

That's the final verdict from Quadra Island RCMP after officers responded last month to reports of someone screaming near a ravine.

As it turns out, what sounded like someone yelling in distress on Oct. 30 was actually a mama goat calling for her babies that had just been removed from her care — and not, in fact, someone who had fallen off a cliff.

"Further investigation revealed that the 'help' heard was actually a sad goat from neighbouring goat farm," reads a statement from the local RCMP detachment.

Quadra is located in the Discovery Islands, a group of small islands on the Inside Passage between Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.

This week, the Mounties published a report detailing island incidents between Oct. 23 and Nov. 12 and debunked any worry that phantoms were to blame for the hijinks happening around Halloween.

When it came to goat-gate, officers noted while on the scene, according to the report, that the cries did sound similar to someone yelling for help. However, no one but mama goat were in any kind of distress.

The very next night, which was Halloween, officers were alerted to more mysterious screaming, and were told this time by a concerned complainant that it was coming from Quadra Island Cemetery.

RCMP say the complainant was hearing "unsettling" screams from bushes in the cemetery and didn't know if someone was in pain. When officers arrived they found two people who said they were screaming because "one of them lost a scarf?" (The question mark was included in the police report.)

Despite it being Halloween, police said "there were no signs of ghosts or ghouls."

The island has four RCMP officers and, according to Const. Rebekah Draht, the community requested that police put out weekly reports.

Draht, who wrote the comedic copy published this week, said in an email she tries to be sensitive and cognizant of the files included and those involved. She said if it is a more serious file, she tends to put out a release solely about that case.