In the summer of 1987, something strange happens in the spot where the whiskey creek murders will occur more than 30 years later. Here's a written account told by someone who was there that night. A night described as dark and clear skies. It was about 11 p.m. on a Saturday night in the summer. Myself and two friends arrived near the whiskey creek gravel pit because we heard a rumor that there was a party going on, all three of us were 18 years of age at the time.
I was a driver and I pulled my car off the highway. The rumor was false. There was no party. And the area was completely deserted. As I was about to back up and turn the car around, my friend pointed out what appeared to be a set of eyes looking at us from out of the darkness. I distinctly recall thinking the eyes likely belonged to a bear. But out of curiosity, I turned the car in that direction and drove a little closer. As we approached, I turned on the high beams to get a closer look.
There caught in my headlights standing at the base of the western edge of the pit was a creature that was clearly not a bear. We were about 50 feet away and had a clear, unobstructed view. The creature was very tall around seven feet and muscular with long arms. It stood very still and had a forearm similar to a human, only much larger. It was covered completely in long dark hair with the exception of its face.
The creature's eyes had a distinct orange glow about them and it seemed to be looking directly at us. Almost as though it was stunned or maybe thought we couldn't see it. For a few moments there was a period of complete silence. All three of us tried to take in what we were looking at. Then I remember being overcome by an overwhelming sense of fear as every hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. My friend in the passenger seat started yelling at me to get the hell out of there.
And we did. Stories and songs about Bigfoot, Yeti or Sasquatch have long been told by indigenous people on the West coast. In fact Sasquatch is the anglicized version of Sasquatch, which means Harry Man in Halcomaylam. Some traditions hold that the creature can change from its physical form to a rock, a tree, or even another animal. That it's a shape shifter and can walk in two realms, the spiritual and the physical.
The mythology that something dark, mysterious, dangerous even, lurks in the whiskey creek area doesn't surprise me. The area is jaw-droppingly beautiful, but at night as the mist drifts down into the thick forest, there is another world-li-quality that can be a little unnerving. On November 1st, 2020, a dirt biker happens upon a scene that would surely have made his blood run cold. He finds a man lying on the dirt road and he calls 911. That man is Tyler.
In this episode, you'll hear from people who love and miss him, who can't believe this kind, gentle man, was brutally murdered and no one seems to give a damn. I'm Laura Palmer. This is Whiskey Creek, island crime season 5. My wristwatch is broken, my shoes are untied, time is a ticking, so is the tide. But I am not worrying, things are what they are, come rain or come shine or a shooting star. Tyler has never been publicly identified, but I now know who he is.
Once again, out of concern for the man's family, I won't be making his last name public. In the months leading up to his murder, Tyler's social media accounts take on something of a fatalistic tone. Live for today, because yesterday is over. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow. It is Tyler's mom, who first contacts me about her son's death. The email that comes through my island crime website reads, Hi, I would like to discuss with you an unsolved case involving my son.
I'd like to know if you'd be interested in delving into it and possibly getting some answers. I'm not very tech savvy, so I appreciate all the help that I can get. I want to learn what she knows about the murders, of course I do. But first, I need to get a sense of who she is and how her son came to be a victim out at Whiskey Creek. Oh, I've lived on Vancouver Island, born and raised here on the island.
She marries and she and her husband work hard to make a life for themselves and the family they hope to raise together. When Tyler is born, I'm newly married. Well, his father and I had been married for two years. We had built a new home that we struggled to do with the money that we had. So it was a home bought and paid for before Tyler was born. And then we had Tyler. Tyler too is a born islander. Son, who is the victim in this case was born and raised here.
Tyler was born August, 1982. Tyler's parents are together for almost 30 years. They build a successful business and raise two kids. You know, there was some bumpy roads and a lot of that had to do with the children and the business. So, I don't know what I say. Can I come back to Hollywood because my wife finds out I say I say I say I'm gonna whatever it's that is all for all. That's Tyler's father.
He's open to speaking with me about his son, but he worries about awakening old grievances with his now ex-wife. And unfortunately, our conversation takes place on a phone so you'll need to listen closely. I need to tell my wife and make a good and harder breathing to tell her. Work and money were his life and family life really got in the way. I don't know what you're listening to. I'm waiting for all of my guys. You can say. Tyler's mom believes their son felt let down by his father.
There was no support. There was no huge let down. It was like why? Like, you know, why does he do that? He could do that wrong. He got in trouble with school. My wife would defend him. Get on with the medicine. He was always on my back about, oh, you got a paper and strings. You got it, you know. She believes Tyler had a learning disability, but maintains her husband never really came to grips with it.
And not accepting that his son really did have a learning disability that hampered him from being able to read and write and do math as well as a, I don't want to say normal, but an average person needs drugled. My wife would go and learn to raise how the teachers and their son would do no wrong. Not one of all was to just get them home. Just so come learn to learn to get used to it. Still, both his parents agree that Tyler was a sweet kid. His mom described him as, meek, mild, easy to raise.
He was a very softhearted kind boy. That is probably true. They share fond memories of Tyler's years growing up when the family is still together. You love growing up with the proper, but to come up with you need lots to come to me. Like many Canadian kids, Tyler takes to the ice. He played hockey. He wasn't a good hockey player, but he played the game and he had a bit of fun with that.
Looking back, Tyler's mom believes her son's gentle nature, combined with his learning disability, make him an easy target. He used to get teased a lot to vote his learning disabilities all through his school life. And not surprisingly, the bullying carries on in Tyler's time in hockey too. He told me years later that the other guys who were the good hockey players used to throw his hockey gear in the shower and get it all wet.
And trip him up when he was coming out from the shower rooms to the ice. So, you know, he was, he was really bullied a lot that way, but he never fought back. He wasn't a fighter. Tyler doesn't have it easy through school, but he makes it. He wasn't academically inclined, so it was a struggle for Tyler, but you know what, he hung in there, and he actually graduated. A shining accomplishment, and a memorable moment for Tyler and his family.
One of the happiest days remembering his graduation, he wanted a white suit and he picked all that out, and you know, he was so proud to graduate from from school. I've seen pictures of Tyler as a young man. I describe him as tall, lean, handsome, a sensitive looking young guy. He appears to be intelligent and thoughtful. I'm told Tyler loves listening to Johnny Cash and CCR. Fish and chips are one of his favorite meals.
He's also really into trucks and enjoys watching TV shows like The Dukes of Hazard, The Deadliest Catch, and The Simpsons. But throughout his adulthood, Tyler struggles to find work. His dad owns a business and offers him a job, but working together proves difficult for both of them. I'm not alone. I love to work. He didn't like to work, he was lazy. What do I want to do with someone that's lazy over time? Tyler's mom recalls her boy trying to make a go of several occupations.
He makes repeated attempts at qualifications to drive heavy vehicles. He gets a certification to use Hazard's cleaning products and cleanse commercial buildings for a number of years. He's a mover, a rougher, a carpet cleaner. In the years to come, Tyler's parents both remarried. I back off, I didn't want to be a good father. I was a sweet son. You could say, because he was, in my eyes, he was spoiled.
Hearing from Tyler's parents helps me to understand his background and to see him through their eyes. I also reach out to those who knew him as a friend. One of Tyler's best friends is dumbfounded. When he begins hearing rumors that Tyler has been murdered. I can't remember who told me, and then I didn't believe it at first, of course. I mean, Tyler's being murdered. I mean, yeah, right.
When I saw it on Facebook, when the family had posted that they appreciate everybody's well-wetish, but they were just like, left alone. And that's when I find you for a fact that that unfortunate thing had happened. Immediately, this knew that it was, he had to be in the wrong place, long time. That it had nothing to do with doing anything wrong. Out of an abundance of caution, I'm not identifying this young guy by name. Yeah, I'm Tyler's friend.
But again, I know who he is, and I've been trying to reach him for months. When we first finally speak over the phone, it's a pretty emotional intense conversation. Tyler is one of his oldest and dearest friends. Now, he's had years to wrap his head around his friend's death. But because of all the secrecy around the whiskey creek story, he still has lots of questions. And he is clearly still shaken by the loss.
He wants to talk about his friend and how much Tyler's life and his death have impacted him and many others. He and Tyler met when they were about 10 years old. Great seven PE class. We were in the same PE class, I remember that. He lived up the road. I used to go dirt biking up by his neighborhood, like all the time he lived right by the pipeline. There was a group of us. We just all hung out. That's how I met him. Great seven PE class. And then we were both learning assistance class.
He smiles and laughs as he thinks back on childhood memories with Tyler. He's always up for whatever. I mean, he spent a lot of time mountain biking and stuff like that. He's just a happy kid. Just like all of us, I guess. I mean, we grew up in the suburbs. So, you know, it was really nothing, nothing to not be happy about. We got the ocean, the river and the mountains. As the boys enter their teen years, Tyler, it seems, is living a great life on the island, full of fun and adventure.
The head bought a boat is built for the lake. It was like one of those like 80s speed boats with the tiny little windshield. And we got this idea to go to Hornby Island. And it was just a two of us. And barely made it over there. Almost sunk the thing. And then we met these girls on the beach. And we got distracted and the tide went out. And I guess the tides that at that time of the year were every day they were getting lower and lower so they wouldn't come up.
So the boat was completely beached. And then in the weekend, we had like six guys to tow the boat down. So we finally get in the water and make the trek back. Way the adventure. But I just remember it being funny that we let that happen just because being a couple young horn dog kids, not even paying attention to the boat as soon as we saw bikinis. That was good time. When someone meets a violent end, there's a tendency to focus on that.
And whatever the horrible circumstances were that led up to their deaths. But I love hearing these stories about the good times in Tyler's life. He's not just a nameless victim of a shootout. His friend is helping to bring Tyler into a clearer focus with these memories. I mean, we used to camp a lot. I remember he got a brand new dirt bike one time. No license at all, no helmet. And he showed up at my place at two o'clock in the morning.
And Chuck O. when I just got, I was kind of like, you know, pardon my language, just no fucks given at all. And not even thinking he's doing anything wrong. He's just so excited to have the bike. He didn't even realize he's ripping around with no helmet. And that's two o'clock in the morning. Uninsured. I think we were probably about 17 or 18 at that time. That was pretty funny. The two remain friends. But Tyler's pal moves east. And he's unclear about how his friend's life goes downhill.
You're always having a good time. And, yeah, he's a great guy. I mean, it just blew me away. What happened? I can't. I went to Alberta. And he stuck around. And I guess, you know, Corgi's got a, there's another side of it. You know, other than, you know, the beautiful bounds and the rivers and the ocean is, you know, this side that Tyler got caught up in, not even sure how it happened. But I've seen it happen to other people too. And it happens really quick. Well, it just blows me away.
That this unfortunate thing, this horrible thing happened. We all have friendships like this. The bonds so strong that you can be separated by time or geography or both for years, decades even. But when you're together, it's like you've never been apart. Even though I hadn't seen even years when I saw them last, we hadn't skipped a beat. It was just like I saw them, yes. His loyalty to his friend is such that he's reluctant even now to say too much about his friend's drug addiction.
But he also wants to honor his friend's memory with the truth. Oh, he was open about it. That guy went in Hong Kong out at his place. He asked me if I wanted a beer and he gave me a near beer. So he wasn't drinking. But he was, yeah, he had substance abuse problems with other things. Like I just, I had your friend use past away. I mean, like, but I mean, you're looking for the truth, right? So, and I think that's what his mom's looking for too.
So when I saw him last, he, I guess I mean, what's the whole point of this, unless they're going to be perfectly honest. He told me that when I offered him a beer, he's like, no, but I'd get some heroin if he had some. We talk about the call Tyler made to his mom, claiming he was being held against his will at Whiskey Creek. Tyler's friend has had family members involved in the drug world over on the Lower Mainland. And he offers this perspective. I call that a dealer move right there.
Yeah, it's what you call a big people and others. It's a thumb. It's no different than what like a pimped does it. Yeah, it makes him feel like he owes him or something. I don't know, I see him first and ugly stuff. Today, he chooses to remember his friends' optimistic approach to life. A disposition, he says, Tyler held even when he was going through some really tough times. The last time they were together. The last time I saw him, he was smiling in my outfit and we having to get time.
My outfit in my beer, he wasn't drinking. I know he was living in a van at the time just down the road. I would say he was content. Yeah, he was, there was no shame in his, he was like this van. Like being able to go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and his house to be right there. No complaints, that's for sure. Outside of things, you stoke. It's like all those wonderful things to say about it. It's a positive person. You were friends for, which is always 10. He was a great friend.
You know, even though we hadn't seen each other in my few years, every time we started together, it's like I seen him yesterday. We hadn't skipped a beat. The woman you're about to hear has been close to Tyler from much of her life. She is fearful that speaking publicly about Tyler could put her in danger. So I agreed to keep her name confidential and to alter her voice. Okay, 30 years, I've known Tyler most of my life. He was picked on. He never thought that. He never stood up for himself.
He was, he was a very loving, loving person. He wouldn't hurt a fly. Tyler has a few serious long-term relationships, but ultimately, his relationship with drugs proves to be his most enduring one. Tyler was a good, gentle man, but only everyone in the health people. When he had so much hurt and pain on his own heart, he was a hurting soul trained to cover with pain and trained to mask the hurt and the pain on his heart, but he couldn't understand. And the drugs gave him a escape. How about it?
He wasn't a thief. He was a robber. He wasn't a bug. He wasn't a drug dealer. He just, he couldn't see any light. He couldn't see any hope. He couldn't find and he couldn't see anyone wanting to help him. By the time Tyler is in his late 30s, he finds himself homeless. In the same town where he once played hockey, went to school, had friends, worked, and was a contributing part of the community. So yes, Tyler was in the homeless camps here in Courtney.
So we were constantly having communication with him, right? He's living on the streets of Vancouver Island and he's on drugs, but he's still in regular contact with family. Well, it looks like he comes to my sister's house to make contact. Does he have phone? He has different phones all the time, but he sells them for drug money. Like I've still got the last Texas on my phone that I kept from a phone that he had. And the last text I got was, this isn't his phone anymore.
Tyler's father recalls seeing his son one last time before Tyler is murdered. In the period leading up to Tyler's death, his closest contact is with his aunt. Around this time, Tyler's mom moves up the island. His aunt gets diagnosed with cancer. She is gravely ill and worries that Tyler might bring COVID to her doorstep. Remember, this is all unfolding in 2020, the height of the pandemic. My sister and I are constantly happy heard from, you know, I would phone it.
Well, has Tyler dropped in? No, I haven't seen him so I'm getting worried. He hasn't was getting to be COVID time and my sister was ill. She was really afraid of who Tyler had been in contact with. She didn't want to get COVID, but he would come and he would sit on her back porch. And so he was still making, he was still contacting my sister. She still had, we still had communication with him. Even when he sort of lost his phone, right? He would come and check in.
What his mother doesn't know what those close to Tyler will later learn is that during this period, Tyler is driving for Sean McGrath. This makes sense to me. In examining McGrath's criminal record, there are charges for driving while prohibited. It would have been useful for him to have someone like Tyler to drive. Living close to McGrath, acting as his driver, she believes Tyler is witness to things that make him fear for his life.
It's the end of summer 2020 when she sees Tyler in person one last time. It was the end of August when Tyler was finding in the woods. And I said, where are you living Tyler? And he said, I'm out in the bush. I said, what do you mean you're out in the bush? He said, I'm living in some RVs out in the bush. I said, that doesn't sound good Tyler. He says, it's fine, it's fine. So he is completely defending. And I said, Tyler, you're going to get yourself killed.
And then she gets a call that something terrible has happened. I got called, but I had to meet. And I walked in and I don't even see anyone told me. And they just looked at me. And that's not my phone call. I asked what she believes happened that night at Whiskey Creek. Apparently they came and they boarded out the RVs. And Tyler was able to escape through one of the windows.
And but when he apparently he got out of one of the windows of the RV and hid under the other RV that was parked right beside the RV. And I don't know what happened from there because Tyler was found on the service road. Tyler was not found inside the RVs. So I don't know if he had gotten up. From the other RV and tied to a length through the service road. Now of course my brain says, why didn't you go through the bus? Maybe if you had gone through the bus you would still be alive.
Today her memories of Tyler are mixed with guilt and fear. You hold a lot of guilt though because you think maybe if I would have visited and rehabed maybe if I would have gone to a council. But maybe if I could have just gave him a safe place, you know you beat yourself. Maybe I could have helped. Maybe I could have been there. There's a lot of guilt there for me. Those who love Tyler are determined to fight for justice. I would like to see the person respond. So vote for it behind bars.
I would like to see the cops stop trailing a blind eye because they just think it's some junkie that was killed. Justice rate, but legal justice. The way it's supposed to be done. They are speaking out despite a fear for their own safety. I'm really scared. I really don't want to get myself hurt. These people are so alive. So that's scary, right?
I'm talking about the people that have done this, the people that have killed him, the people that are encouraged, the people that are high up there, the people that when they don't on the island, they all worked together. There was a pretty big head to just be some peddling street, but that's so in a ground here and a ground there. Tyler's mother wants someone to be held accountable for her son's murder. Nobody showed up when there was shots fired.
Nobody went to the fire when it was when it was alerted to the person. So nobody's even trying to figure out who murdered my son. They don't care. If you've ever had a loved one wrestle with a serious addiction, you will appreciate that they are at the mercy of whatever it is they're addicted to. But Tyler's mom believes her son may have been quite literally being held hostage at Whiskey Creek. Those close to Tyler describe how throughout his life he was bullied, harassed, and victimized.
Is it possible this gentle young man was being held hostage in the period leading up to his murder? It sounds far-fetched, but this story alleging people were confined against their will out at Whiskey Creek has legs. We heard it from Outreach worker Kelly Morris, and I also stumble on a story of a young man who tells a very similar tale. I've heard his information through someone I know well and trust. This man says he escaped from an encampment in the woods.
At the time he was addicted to drugs and unhoused. Let's call him Charlie. Charlie describes fleeing in the dead of night, running barefoot through the forest. He agrees to speak with me. We exchange messages and calls. But to date I've yet to record his story. It's not a lot, but it adds a little weight to the possibility that Tyler's account could be true. I look through Tyler's online life, searching for any clues. His mother tells me Tyler loved
animals, that he had dogs growing up and a few as an adult as well. The last content he shares is about his dog, who he describes as his best friend. The brief video shows a small golden pitbull terrier in a bright red harness. Tyler didn't make it out alive, but the other young man did. His story ahead. And from the grace of God to some reason, he just happened to build some sort of a
self-testing and he went jump into it. If you have information about the Whiskey Creek murders, please call the Vancouver Island Integrated Major Crime Unit's tip and information line at 250-380-6211. I'm Laura Palmer and this is Whiskey Creek Island Crime Season 5.