- ♪
- JENNIFER: July 1977,
A family picnic is interrupted
when a dark figure emerges
- [camera clicking]
- JENNIFER: A moment captured
of an alleged lake monster
- SANDRA: I saw the head
and then the back.
- JENNIFER: For centuries,
sea creature have been
- And all of a sudden, out of
- JENNIFER: Recent videos
- MAN: Oh my God, the
- JENNIFER: Now a
new sonar images reveal
of two unknown creatures
- KATY: These definitely
- JENNIFER: Is America's
prowling the waters of Lake
Or is this just one more
What?
humps on it, you see that?
- JENNIFER: My name's
After serving in
a private investigator.
Now I'm decoding the mystery
- ♪
- JENNIFER: Sightings of
surface around the world.
These giant, seemingly
are reported lurking in the
on nearly every continent.
From Scotland's Nessy and
to the Phi-naga of Thailand
of Africa's Lake Victoria.
Are these widespread
that descendants of
Now new evidence that
is coming from the northeast
Lake Champlain stretches for
of Vermont and New York.
Most people don't know
four times greater than
Many people here do believe
of undiscovered sea
I'm on my way to meet
Nick Valenzuela, who believes
information could in fact
of a Champ-like animal in
It's a beautiful lake.
- You know, I think if I
I'd see something.
- I love cryptozoology
with the unknown ever
The idea that there's hidden
that science has kind of
is really what drives me.
There's been over 600
in this area, claim to see
like a sea monster.
The world's a very big place,
I think this lake, as deep
as it is, might just be the
- So why look into it now?
- NICK: There's a Champ
she has brand-new evidence.
I'd love for you to take a
get your professional opinion
- I don't think I'm ready to
that there may be
that we don't know about.
every day, so who are we
every single thing
There's a lot to dig into
the new evidence, we're
about the Champ sightings.
The ECHO Leahy Center is a
right on Lake Champlain with
Local historian Thea Lewis
to give us a breakdown
- How long do these stories
- They go back so far.
Champ predates the visit
of Samuel de Champlain.
- NICK: And Champlain
the monster, correct?
- THEA: He did.
sightings since then.
Not too far from here, a
caught some video.
He saw the water begin to
telltale humps.
- JENNIFER: Can you tell
- The very first credible
was taken by Sandra Mansi
at a time when people
to doctor things.
The photo is housed now at the
The photo is right over here.
When scientists looked at
they were astonished.
- JENNIFER: It's quite the
- THEA: And this is Sandra.
- JENNIFER: What do you
could possibly be if he does
- NICK: One of the most
is that Champ is a plesiosaur,
and fall in line with the
Plesiosaurs were actually
so they would have to come
- JENNIFER: I understand
the Mansi photograph
It does seem to match the
of a swimming dinosaur.
But I need more scientific data
and I know who has it.
Benjamin Radford is an
with more than 20 books
including Lake Monster
His science-based analysis
is taught as curriculum at
I wanted to ask you about
How often is it that we
- It's possible we can still
it's less and less likely with
Most of what people are
That being said, unusual,
they're still being found.
For example, off the coast
there was what's called a
which is, like, 150 feet long.
This really long, stringy
that sort of become a colony,
- JENNIFER: Now I know that
that is yet to be explored,
- Well, a lake presents an
Many of these lakes are
so they're not easy to explore.
These are deep lakes,
and it's hard to know what's
- What about Lake
- Many lakes, including
were once connected to
In theory, it's possible that
in there and had remained
landlocked.
Lake Champlain is the original
It's a fascinating story.
I've done lots of research
I've got photos, interviews,
I'll be happy to send it to you.
- JENNIFER: I'd love to
After seeing Ben's example
sea creature,
that Champ may not be
Legends of creatures lurking
stretch from Nessy and
the Lagarfljot Worm in
and the Lariosauro
Others, such as the alleged
by a Japanese trawler
caused a sensation in the
As did a suspicious sea
and colossal body which
in 2001.
But are these creatures
or us to them?
Now I'm even more curious
Nick mentioned and see
How did you end up getting
- NICK: I grew up in a
with a rich folkloric
There's an old Mexican tale
hidden creatures out there
about, that we can't really
sometimes science can't
I just kept diving into the
Now we're going after
There she is.
Hey, Katy.
- JENNIFER: Cryptozoologist
claims to have new evidence
the existence of Champ.
- There's been many
in the marsh systems
So I use these game
hot spots where there have
Now, this is some of my
This is a sonar image.
This right here is two
The one of the right-hand
that's why it's so blurry.
So these definitely were
This right here is actually
followed by little tiny bubbles
air out of its nose.
- Roughly how big would
- KATY: I would say
which is a very big specimen.
- Now is there anything
within the ecosystem that
sonar image?
- KATY: There's no fish,
Native tribes talked about
with that horse-like head.
This is the Mansi photograph
and here is a horn-like
on top of the head that the
and Iroquois tribes talked
- JENNIFER: Native Americans
told stories of a mysterious
that was said to dwell there.
The rock and surrounding
And the natives believed
of a spirit called Tatoskog,
of a giant serpent or lizard.
But myths are easily spawned.
A species with only a couple
is highly unlikely to have
Now these sonar images,
that you have?
- Here is a video that I
on Lake Champlain, and this
- NICK: Have you ever seen
that's comparable to the
of what's in the video?
I've seen sturgeon in the
very very large, around 7
but nothing of that size.
You start to think to yourself,
"a myth that the Native
"this is actually real.
"This is Champ."
- JENNIFER: If we find
this could change what we
- ♪
- MAN: Oh my God, it's
- WOMAN: I know, I see it.
- JENNIFER: Researcher
new sonar and video evidence
of a lake monster dubbed
- MAN: Wow, wow, wow,
- NICK: I'm pretty confident
I'm excited to go find him.
- The data that Katy collected
but I really wanna go out
for myself what we can
- ♪
- Here we go, guys.
We're gonna go look for
- NICK: Let's do it!
- ♪
- NICK: You think there's
to things like Nessy,
Do you think they're all
- I do.
that are very very similar.
There has been reports in
but there was also some
in Lake Okanagan in British
- You said your second day here,
- Yeah, it was around 15
blackish in color, and it
on a table, it was so bizarre.
I'm thinking to myself, "Okay,
"this isn't sturgeon.
"Sturgeon cannot move in
And I was just amazed.
I was so excited that I
that I could not explain.
Right now we're in about
Looking for anything strange
especially something long
The body shape of Champ.
- JENNIFER: I do like the
because you can actually
Now, what it is...
I think I would have to
beyond a sonar image--
- KATY: Oh yeah.
It definitely looks quite
- OBE: It's got the three
- Yeah, it does.
- KATY: Right now we are
and yeah, this image right
It almost looks like it's
a little bit.
And it looks to appear to
which is very consistent with,
- We're out on the lake for
there's a sonar image we
it looks exactly like Champ.
This is my first time on
and Katy says that this isn't
or sees very often so it
Either way, we're feeling
What do you think brings
- Basically feeding.
of these animals
fish jumping about,
and then these animals
- JENNIFER: If they are
shouldn't we be seeing
- Going by studies of
there's been some that can go
without food.
I believe they go
So nature has a way.
- So Katy, here's the
what exactly do you think
- I believe, even though
like a plesiosaur, they're
in our known fossil record.
- ♪
- NICK: You know, Katy had
She spent so many years
you know, I do think there's
The sonar images are really
- She is very passionate
which I can appreciate,
to some experts in the field
what their opinion is and
We've come back to the
the Mansi photograph.
This is the original Mansi
and it was taken on an
Now, when you're looking
it becomes rather blurry,
what you wanna see.
of the original so I can see
lurking in the image.
- NINA: What we know
is that it is an authentic
been doctored, that was
during a family trip to Lake
- JENNIFER: ECHO science
is giving us an exact-size
- NINA: I'm interested to
- NICK: I see a lake monster.
- So I believe that photo is
I think what's in that photo
- Is Lake Champlain large
a creature like a plesiosaur?
- NINA: So plesiosaur is a
of what Champ could be,
were a real animal.
The challenge with a
as far as we know,
66 million years ago.
- How likely do you think it
we just haven't identified
- NINA: There are certainly
that have been found that
And today everyone accepts
but at some point, the
as Champ.
It was this mammal that
is also venomous,
And if you heard those
"That is not a real animal."
- NICK: So, with that being
you, as a woman of hard
do you believe in Champ?
- NINA: I believe in the
of what Champ could be
could live in Lake Champlain.
- ♪
- NICK: I think Nina brought
Over 600 years of stories
I don't really think that can
- I am someone who's very
and facts and figures, but
to be said about legend
that occur over hundreds
and I'm not ready to just
right off the bat.
Any time that something
I always have to give it
There's so many eyewitness
that we need to look into it.
- ♪
- NICK: There have been
credible reports that can't
Two eyewitnesses from
and Jim Carroll, have agreed
- My wife and I were taking
The lake was just like glass,
The only boat there was this
the shore from the Crown
There were no features to
there were no masts,
So very slowly this thing
and submerged under the water.
What we saw was 15 to
That would be the part
- And Jim, what was your
- When I was a young kid,
it was dead calm flat,
I was the observer.
And when I looked forward,
something about that wide
it was a little 16-foot
right next to us.
All we saw was sort of a
of a hump, and then nothing
the other way.
You know, whatever it was
So we spun the wheel and
not to ski for the rest of
- NICK: Do you consider
a believer in Champ?
- JIM: I have no reason not
Whatever it was was
This was something that
as we were moving.
It was swimming alongside
It's something that is alive.
- ♪
- JENNIFER: We're here at
investigating claims that
of sea monster prowling
I am notoriously dubious
but I think there's something
about these accounts lasting
To make the most of our
Nick and I are splitting up
with more people who may
- NICK: Alright.
I heard there's an eyewitness
who lives just up the lake.
I wanna see exactly where
- ♪
- NICK: Kayaking out here
of how vast this lake is.
It just goes on and on as
In cryptozoology, we study
thought to have died out
could have survived.
Lake Champlain formed
so at one time, animals that
must have lived here.
- ♪
- NICK: I'm here at the
who claims she's seen Champ
How long have you lived
- I'm 93, forever.
- NICK: If I'm not mistaken,
out here on Lake Champlain.
- Well, it was about 35
And that night, I heard the
And I was looking out the
and it was all foggy.
And all of a sudden, out of
[unintelligible] and it was,
There was the head, there
and into the water, and
Then it just turned around
And then a couple weeks later,
- What do you think you
- I know I saw Champ.
And I'll tell ya,
You don't believe me?
You can't take it away from me.
- ♪
- JENNIFER: One thing that
is finding so many people
who are open to the
Hillery York is a historian
and extensive museum
She's also a podcaster who's
I've heard she has a lot of
as to why the stories
may be true.
So what is it like being a
based in fact, looking at
- HILLERY: To me,
little bits of evidence and
what eyewitnesses have seen
together and figure out
- JENNIFER: What makes
that something could be
discovered?
there was a glacier covering the
And as that glacier receded,
and connected the area to
And when that happened, a
And I could see that
could have been caught in
- How, theoretically, could it
- So the lake is about 400
and that's a perfect habitat
that is hanging out and
lower layers of, um, a lake.
- So if we think that there
that is several hundred
what would make that
from time to time? Is there
- HILLERY: Lake Champlain
because of something known
And this happens in long,
similar to Lake Champlain,
And what is actually
Winds that are over about
actually displace water at
pushing it to the other side.
So it's creating this
Now, there is essentially a
under the surface that can be
And it is taking the colder
almost to the surface, and
My theory is that it's actually
that may exist at this lower
- So it's not because of the
that the creature would be
it's because they're following
- HILLERY: Yes, they're able
- JENNIFER: But what is the
that it could be debris or
Why does it necessarily have
that we're not aware of?
- HILLERY: In the eyewitness
actions that are very indicative
The log wouldn't have these
that are being described,
bobbing up and down in a
very snakelike and organic.
- ♪
- NICK: 93 years of living here,
you've had a front-row view
- CHRISTINE: Yeah,
Boy, I'll tell ya.
- Christine, do you hope
- No.
Leave him alone.
I don't want him ever to
He's just so beautiful,
We got a big lake.
Let everybody see him,
- NICK: Christine has a good
Finding Champ may not
for Champ, we might
and destroy the creature.
Would you be able to sketch
- I can try it.
- When you close your eyes,
- Oh, I can see him.
moment to see a legend
- Yup, and it was great.
What do you think?
- Wow, that looks like a
That's amazing
- ♪
- Given your familiarity
what would be the next
what, if anything, is below
- There's a relatively new
that can be done in lakes
called environmental
And it's a great way to
might be living under the
- JENNIFER: According to
detecting a new species
a needle in a haystack.
But this environmental
which Hillery mentioned, is
for IDing species which
and wildlife.
But how about unknown
And if The Champ is related
what is it?
Fish, snake, or something
under the radar that it can
- ♪
- JENNIFER: After hearing from
I'm curious to hear what more
Benjamin Radford sent me
for his book on lake monsters.
He talked to Sandra Mansi
before she passed away.
His interview has never
I'm also intrigued to meet
what he's learned from
with one of the earliest-
of Champ.
So you met with Christine?
- NICK: Christine is 93 years
as a tack.
Classic plesiosaur sighting.
Long neck, giant hump on
- Interesting.
Well, witnesses certainly
in any investigation,
that I'm really passionate
So I met with a historian
and she does make a
for the existence of
in the lake.
We talked about a
environmental DNA,
Have you heard of that?
It's a really great way to
what's actually living in
- So if we could make an
of some sort of what's
- We might find Champ.
- JENNIFER: We're going
to collect some E-DNA
if these creatures are more
- OBE: Put your weight on
- NICK: We're gonna collect
from several spots where
have been reported.
- NICK: Marine biologists
to capture samples at
- KATY: You good?
And dropping.
- OBE: 38 feet of water.
- You good?
I see it.
- I got out of the Navy to
I'm just kidding.
- KATY: There we go.
Yay!
- NICK: Alright, there we go.
- JENNIFER: This looks
doesn't it?
- NICK: Katy, what do you
exactly coming out of the
- KATY: These marsh
of different things that,
of their diet, whether it be
and possibly even vegetation.
We are in a location where
many sightings of this
which is eye shine.
Like a reddish, yellowish
which is very similar to
- NICK: How often do you
- KATY: I've done it a few
like, I never go alone.
Oh, you see that?
- Down closer to, like,
- KATY: Yeah, there's some
It's really spooky out here.
Seems to be more of the
in the springtime in the
I think the reason for that
of their hibernation-like
they're probably hungry
and feeding on whatever
- NICK: I've seen a bunch
I didn't see any eye shine,
the environmental DNA
a long way to proving what's
and what isn't in the lake.
- ♪
- NICK: Whatever DNA
in the water will be collected
We're gonna ship this off
and see if we caught
in the lake.
Lake Champ.
- ♪
- JENNIFER: I'm excited to
but in the meantime,
alternative views on the
Champ exists.
So I've come to talk with
Dr. Ellen Marsden.
- ELLEN: So what we're
of the bottom of a lake.
It's telling us that the
150 feet aways.
And by the nature of the image,
So a hard bottom, bedrock
a very sharp echo and you
of the bottom.
Soft substrates, silts, small
some of the sound, some
And so you get a sort of
as we're seeing here.
Below the substrate, it
by the scale, there's some
- What are your thoughts
- ELLEN: It's hard to tell.
Most likely they're logs,
been accumulating sediments
A log settles on the bottom
it gets covered in more and
The challenge is this, I can
based on the scale, but I
because that's dependent
If you've got a 10-foot log
it'll look that big.
this big and you go over it
There are large animals in,
The largest is the lake
So you look at a
that could conceivably be
But the longest ones
You unexpectedly come
9 foot long in the lake
that look like shields along
it's a monster.
- ♪
- NICK: I've come to a
in California to hand over
at Lake Champlain.
We're gonna have those
for environmental DNA.
- Hey Nick, how are you?
I'm hoping this test can
what eyewitnesses are
- Alright, we'll take these,
and see what we can find.
- GREG: Did you take these
- NICK: I did. When we were
on the sonar that looked
to what everybody's
Champ, the lake monster.
- GREG: So we're gonna
to our extraction room.
- GREG: So we can extract in
We remove the actual
She'll extract the DNA
into a liquid, into liquid
When we get the liquid DNA,
and we can do PCR
for analysis.
- NICK: So we're basically
in the lake and what isn't
- GREG: In Lake Champlain,
there's amphibians, there's
All of these organisms leave
into the lake in the form
They die, they decay,
and they leave all
And it's floating around,
So yes, we're getting the
that you sampled, and it
which species were present
- Great.
- ♪
- JENNIFER: There is a
that Champ has evolved
What are your thoughts
- ELLEN: It's a good example.
Long neck, it's got a hump
The Mansi photograph, the
they look like this.
You have a neck because
The longest that any animal
is about two hours,
12 times a day.
You can't have one,
a self-perpetuation population,
breeding baby Champs.
But if each one of those
12 times a day in order to
we'd see them more often
- JENNIFER: What do you
that people are seeing that
- The water on the lake is
If you're not familiar with
or you hit circumstances
things become monsters
The classic one is a flat,
and in the distance you see
You go, "I just saw a monster."
The boat's gone, it's half
it's sent up wake, and that
three humps moving
In spring we get snow melt,
of large, woody debris
and into the lake.
out there. 20, 25-foot logs,
maybe with some branch
And maybe it rolls a little bit,
- ♪
- NICK: Right now the
are running a detailed
we collected at Lake
Their science director,
is gonna reveal what exactly
- So, we found a number
which is great.
And you might be interested
something that somebody
- We found a lake monster?!
Tell me!
- ♪
- NICK: The biologists at
have tested the water
at Lake Champlain for
They're saying we may
from the deep.
Alright Scott, so what
- Alright, well I wanted to
here's one of the DNA
from the water sample that
We turned that filter into
the DNA off of that,
The actual sequences from
are right here.
Some ancient fish species
We did get humans, some
Pretty common in the
- Sure.
So, one of the species I
to your attention is number
That's a very large predatory
in the middle of the night,
- So this is what you're
the monster that everyone
for generations in Lake
- SCOTT: I think it's
- NICK: Were there any
in the results?
- SCOTT: So there weren't
We only got fish and,
Reptiles can be hard to
they're somewhat armored,
they might not be shedding
so they're harder to detect
in the sample.
- So we know that sturgeon
we know they exist within
They didn't show up on the
Can you explain why that
- SCOTT: So with
your whole universe is in
that you sampled.
So if a sturgeon didn't
or perhaps a week,
in your sample.
Also, you know, sturgeon
they're not potentially
a lot of material.
Be easy to miss them in
- So we know there are
that the samples did not
- It'd be pretty easy for a
the samples that you had.
The amount of space that
was pretty limited compared
of the entire lake.
- So one of the common
is that it's a plesiosaur.
Is there anyway to identify
that went extinct over
like a plesiosaur?
- There is in the sense that
of the tree of life, from
reptiles that are still around,
to contemporary species
My guess is that if you had
such as an ancient dinosaur,
where we would think a
and probably mistaken for
- So we can't say we
but that doesn't mean
He just wasn't where
There's still plenty of
to go over with Jen.
- ♪
- JENNIFER: Hey, Nick.
- JENNIFER: Those were
You still have faith in
- Yeah, that went a little
Champ wasn't in that area.
Scott at Genidaqs pointed
to collect samples from all
to get a real makeup of
- Okay, I get that.
The one thing I keep coming
has never washed ashore,
any skeletal remains found.
And when I talked to
she said that one of these
would have to surface at
So if you're looking at a
it just doesn't match up with
we have.
that's pretty problematic.
What I have to lean back
of anecdotal stories passed
from the indigenous people
to Samuel de Champlain
And it looks exactly the same,
long neck, hump.
There's been no variation
I have to lean towards
more realistic than just a
- JENNIFER: So, speaking
there's something I want
An investigator, Benjamin
he had the opportunity
20 years ago, and this
been seen before.
- I'm looking out and I
kind of churning a bit.
And then the head and
of the water right here.
And so I saw that come up
"Wow, that is one big
And then I saw a head
and then the back.
And I snapped a picture.
I am convinced I saw
that should have been
I don't know how it got there,
I don't know
But I'm telling you, it was
or a 2,000-pound duck.
to the photo man.
And it came back,
and I went, "Oh my God."
He said, "I told you that
[laughing]
"So, but now what are
"I don't know,
- JENNIFER: So, what'd
- She sounds like somebody
She's not really gloating
she's just really telling you
- JENNIFER: I think she's
in what she thinks she saw,
important to note
any money off of this.
The National Inquirer
and she turned them down.
So to me, that gives her
- To me it sounds like
- One thing that Sandra
sticks out to me.
- SANDRA: I could see
I could see that it was a
I remember the mouth,
open when it came up and
You know what the
- MAN: Hmm?
- Ben Radford's theory is
that got rolled over, and the
this image just at the
- NICK: I think Ben's theory
However, it's not including
that Mansi pointed out--
water coming out of its mouth.
Those aren't gonna be actions
- JENNIFER: But that's the
Just by changing the
I think people are seeing
something that looks like
with the wake.
- However, that's not what
You know, logs don't swim
Logs don't break the surface
Sandra Mansi even said she
and she saw its mouth open
That's not a log.
moving, living, breathing
That's Champ to me.
To be honest, I'm not
a carcass or that the eDNA
But I think there needs to
into Lake Champlain,
water samples that need
- You know, I would love to
to come back here, Lake
But at the end of the day,
so for me, this is done.
- ♪