Many UFO investigators fear they and their works are being watched – by governments, aliens, Men in Black, secret agencies and even other investigators. There have been stories since the early days of ufology of mysterious visitors, threats and even unexplained deaths. Those fears are now crossing over into other realms of the paranormal – cryptozoology, spiritualism and other fields of the anomalous. The mysterious and unexpected death of a young man who posted a video of what appeared to be a giant, then reported being stalked and threatened by unidentifiable forces, then seemingly admitting it was a hoax, has many scratching their heads, closing their drapes and wondering if they could be next. What exactly did Andrew Dawson see … and was it related to his mysterious death?
“It’s a giant.”
On April 4, 2022, Andrew Ryan Watchorn Dawson posted a video on TikTok of what he described as a giant walking across the top of Whistlers Peak Mountain in Alberta, Canada. The Whistlers is an 8,100-foot (2,470 meters) mountain summit located in Jasper National Par and Dawson claimed he and a colleague were driving to work on their regular route – a road alongside the mountain – when he saw something unusually large apparently standing on or walking across the peak. (For those who wonder if the apparition was whistling, ‘The Whistlers’ are named for the hoary marmot, a species of ground squirrel native to the area which emits high-pitched warnings to other marmots of impending danger – which has given them the unfortunate nickname “whistler pigs.”)
“There is some kind of figure.”
Media reports on the unusual TikTok video say Dawson’s colleague did not see the figure and asked him what he was looking at — which seems odd since Dawson was able to record it – but it could be that the colleague was driving. Nonetheless, Dawson uploaded it and reports show (the comments are turned off) that the video quickly had more than 2 million views and many comments. As a result, it appears Dawson became intrigued by what he had seen and began to show it beyond TikTok, hoping to find someone who could explain what he recorded. Videos posted days later on TikTok show he returned to the location again to search for the mysterious giant and demonstrate how far away the peak was to illustrate how large the being must be. At one point, he says he thinks the creature was a Bigfoot. Unfortunately, Dawson did not see the being again and he speculated that it “comes and goes.” He eventually asked for help – sponsors, a helicopter, someone with better equipment to magnify the video, etc. For most people, that might be the end of the story. However, Dawson would not give up and returned to the area again. That is when it appears that someone who didn’t want him around found him.
“I just got stopped by some CIA agent. Told me to go back. Said I was trespassing.”
On April 12, Dawson posted a video recounting an encounter at The Whistlers with a person he referred to as a “CIA agent.” Since he offers no proof that this person was indeed a government agent, this sounds on the surface like Dawson was frustrated about someone harassing him in a public park. He said he planned to go back the following day and record any encounters, noting that he was also curious why the road into the area was blocked off.
“Did the thing on the mountain go home?”
Dawson returned on April 13 at 5:30 am with his dog. It doesn’t appear he encountered the “CIA agent” nor the being, but a video taken as the sun begins to rise shows what looks like a passenger jet in the sky but he implies is a UFO by playing the theme music to “The X-Files.” A little while later, he records helicopters and, as trucks go by, comments that they are “extracting something.” Again, that doesn’t seem to be unusual in these mountain areas.
“Participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt.”
Returning in the dark on the following day, he is stopped by someone blocking the road and issued a warning. The next TikTok video was uploaded on April 17th and labeled “Being stalked” because Dawson appears to see a car in front of his home which, when he goes out to confront the drivers, peels away at a high speed. No other videos are uploaded until May 6, when Dawson posts one titled “Official update” when he seemed to admit that the prior videos were all faked and he was “sorry to disappoint you guys.” In typical ‘coerced’ video style, he appears to be nervous, looking away from the camera, possibly at someone else in the room with him. One thing very eerie about this video – he opens it by saying: “I’m not dead.”
“To (sic) much has happened and i can’t be forced to be silent.”
On May 16, Dawson posts a video titled “I am scared” where he is walking quickly in the dark. On the following day, he uploads video of equipment on The Whistlers peak where he saw the being. He asks, “What is that? That was not there yesterday.” That video, labeled “Military?”, was the last video Dawson uploaded to @andykapt.
At this point, one could look at this as a typical attention-getting series of TikTok videos – and they certainly did get attention in the millions of views they attracted and the paranormal media coverage that followed them. That would be the end and time to move on — expect for a news item posted in the Campbell River Mirror on July 1, 2022 … in the obituaries.
“Andrew Ryan Watchorn Dawson
November 4, 1987 – July 1, 2022
In Loving Memory”
The photo accompanying the family memorial looks like the same Adrew Dawson in the TikTok videos. The comments on the obituary make note of the videos:
“Such sad news and his tiktok vids are compelling. It looks like real footage he captured on a Men in Black operation on that mountain? Others need to follow up his expose like local media should look into it?”
“The videos he posted make me wander (sic) what happened. How do you post things like that and just die? Is he dead because of his posts? Was he murdered? I have so many questions. RIP”
A search of Dawson’s videos show no others referencing Bigfoot, UFOs, the CIA, conspiracy theories or the like. Yet, some posts on YouTube and other Internet sites suggest otherwise, like this one: “Mysterious Video on TikTok Gets Andrew Dawson MURDERED by Goverment (sic) Agent? Bigfoot? Yeti? Giant? CGI”.
It is indeed sad that a young man has passed away. If it was under suspicious circumstances, let us hope his death and the events leading up to it are investigated properly and revealed to the public – and especially to those investigating UFOs, cryptids, government agencies, conspiracies and other anomalies so many people believe are being covered up.
