What really happened to Granger Taylor? (Vancouver Island, British Colombia, Canada UFO related disappearance in 1980)

I recently remembered reading about the case of a UFO enthusiast who went missing one night in the eighties after leaving a note about going on a journey to outer space and really wanted to look into it. The story is wild, so I thought I’d dig a little deeper and we could take a look at it together.

Disappearance:

On the 29^th of November, 1980, a 32 year old man named Granger Ormond Taylor walked out of his parent’s home in Duncan, Vancouver Island, British Colombia, Canada. He left behind a strange hand written note, promising his valuables and money to his parents and explaining that he was going to board an alien spacecraft where he would go on a trip around the universe. A hand-drawn map of Waterloo Mountain was sketched on the back of goodbye note.

The note:

“Dear Mother and Father, I have gone away to walk aboard an alien spaceship, as recurring dreams assured a 42-month interstellar voyage to explore the vast universe, then return. I am leaving behind all my possessions to you as I will no longer require the use of any. Please use the instructions in my will as a guide to help. Love, Granger.”

Granger had also left a will. He had scribbled out the word “death” in the document, and corrected it instead with “departure”.

I have questions: 

1. Was this a suicide note?

2. Did Granger truly believe he was going off into space with his alien associates? 

3. If so, how did he imagine this would be achieved? (for example, did he believe he was going to wait atop a mountain and be picked up in a UFO)

4. Was suicide involved in this mission?

When I read about this case I can’t help but think of the group suicide orchestrated by Marshall Applewhite and the “Heaven’s gate” cult. Applewhite taught that suicide was needed in order to board a spacecraft that would be trailing behind the Hale–Bopp comet. (View their active website here)

Did Granger Taylor have a hypothesis of his own when it came to inter-dimensional travel?

Also, note that he gives a time frame for his return: 42 months, or 3 and a half years. Did he cross out “death” in his will and replace it with “departed” because he truly believed that he would return to Earth after 42 months of interstellar travel? 

The man:

The note was found in the barn which Granger used as a workshop. He had a knack for taking things apart and putting them back together and was a naturally talented mechanic. Granger eventually dropped out of high school to pursue his calling and worked at a mechanic shop in the area.  He went on to rebuild various vehicles he found out in the woods in the surrounding areas of Duncan, such as a small World War 2 biplane, a train engine and a bulldozer. Granger restored the bi-plane (A Kitty Hawk) to such a degree that it reportedly later sold for $20,000 a year or so after he went missing.  

 He even constructed his own alien space craft in the backyard. Apparently he made it from scrap metal and a couple of discarded satellite dishes and spent endless hours reading, researching and studying the mechanics that went into creating such a craft. The obsession with this project may have come from the fact that he reportedly believed he was in communication with alien beings. Apparently he would talk openly about the conversations he had with the aliens, even mentioning the trip he was going to take on their craft. From what I can gather, though, his loved ones thought he was talking about dreams or fantasies and never for a moment though he would one day drive off into the night never to be seen again.

In an interview with Vice, a friend of Taylors, Mr. Robert Keller, explains that the missing man did frequently dream that aliens were going to collect him one day and that he actually slept in the space craft he constructed, now and again.  An article in the express describes the UFO as more of a space-themed structure that could be comfortably slept in overnight and had been fitted with various pieces of furniture, a TV set and stove. Taylor would sit inside of the craft and mill over the mechanics behind powering such a vehicle.

I managed to find a picture of the craft (here) and it really is quite impressive. It has a real retro look to it, a sort of up-turned flat-topped straw hat with a domed saucer on top and bunny ear antennas. It's reminiscent of the style of UFO you find in old stories of self-proclaimed alien abduction victims from the sixties and seventies.

Those who knew him describe him as a genius, lonely, a gentle giant, a brilliant eccentric with a love for all things outer space who liked to smoke a blunt now and again. He was serious about his creations, though, and he was serious about the existence of extra-terrestrial life forms. According to friends Granger Taylor had been dropping acid several times a day in the lead up to his disappearance.

Waterloo Mountain:

So what about the map of the mountain drawn on the reverse side of Grangers goodbye note? Waterloo mountain is just under 20 miles from Taylor’s parent house in Duncan via Holt road. It would have taken him around 50 minutes to drive there in his highlighter pink 1972 Datsun pickup, but let’s also keep in mind that the night of November 29^th was a rainy one. Searches of the weather for that specific date don’t correlate with the “raging storms” noted in other articles as we’re lead to believe, but still, dark night, slick road, possibility of an accident?

If the map of the mountain had any connection to where he was planning to drive that night, the 32 year old would have been in for a rough hike. There are many stories online of people attempting to hike on Vancouver Island in less than perfect weather conditions and having to be airlifted to safety after getting stranded for several days. Looking at the drive from his hometown to Waterloo Mountain we can see how rural and isolated the area is, nothing but trees and I imagine darkness for miles. Could it be a possibility that Granger Taylor veered off course or had an accident?

The conspiracy theory articles you can find online about this case indicate that no car or remains relating to Granger Taylor were ever found, but this is not correct. It may add to the spooky-factor to tell people he vanished without a trace, but it’s simply not true.

Take a look at this newspaper clipping and you’ll see that six years after Taylor went missing fragments of his Datsun pickup and pieces of human bone were found at a blast site nearby Mount Prevost. Mount Prevost is just under an hour away from Duncan. The bones were eventually identified as the remains of Granger Taylor.

So what happened?

Apparently Taylor had dynamite with him in his truck. It’s not as random as it sounds, as he regularly used dynamite to dispose of tree-stumps on his parents land. Either accidentally or deliberately the explosives blew up both granger and the car. The only thing we’re not sure of is, how and why.

Did he blow himself up or was it an accident?

Nobody knows for sure, but in my opinion, I feel as though coupled with the goodbye note and will, that he it’s certainly possible he did it on purpose. Check out the article:

(Source)

So there we have it. 

Solved. 

Apparently there's a documentary being made, due to be released sometime this year, so keep your eyes open for that.