Filmmakers capture stunning drone footage of a mysterious creature in Lake Champlain, igniting excitement over America's own version of the Loch Ness Monster

LAKE CHAMPLAIN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES, August 14, 2024  -- Filmmakers Richard Rossi and Kelly Tabor were making a movie about the Lake Champlain Monster "Champ" when they inadvertently captured drone footage of a plesiosaur. They believe it is the legendary aquatic creature, and scientists have weighed in with a preliminary assessment. The clip can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dkpzfqlt3PI

The film's D.P. sent his drone soaring over the lake on a July afternoon under Rossi's direction. To Tabor and Rossi’s astonishment in reviewing hours of footage, they'd recorded a huge creature moving beneath the lake's surface near the boat containing two lead actors.

“We were just aiming for some scenic shots,” said Rossi. “We never expected to capture anything like this. We couldn’t believe our eyes. It’s an absolute thrill to share this unexpected discovery.”

Tabor Insists that "it is real footage, not manipulated in any way." Noting that their film Lucy & the Lake Monster is about "a nine-year-old girl and her grandpa" searching for the sea serpent, Tabor mused that "truth really is stranger than fiction."

The footage appears in their movie just after the four-minute mark. Additional footage of Champ is seen later in the film, but the filmmakers didn't want to give too much away.

Tabor grew up by the lake, looking for Champ for fifty years. She believes that a magical moment occurred during the making of their movie.

Rossi refers to himself as a "Doubting Thomas" who wanted the footage reviewed, to determine if they filmed the site's resident plesiosaur. Here is the initial scientific findings:

PRELIMINARY SCIENTIFIC EVALUATION OF THE TABOR-ROSSI CHAMP FOOTAGE

"The present document delineates the preliminary scientific evaluation of the Tabor-Rossi Champ footage, juxtaposing it with the renowned 1977 Mansi photograph. A comprehensive and exhaustive analysis is scheduled for dissemination in the following year.

The Tabor-Rossi footage constitutes the most compelling extant evidence to date supporting the potential survival of a plesiosaur-like species. It incorporates numerous elements that the 1977 Mansi photograph of "Champ" does not possess:

1. The inclusion of a boat in the footage, occupied by two individuals, provides a critical reference for scale, thereby facilitating an assessment of the dimensions of the observed organism. The boat's measurements are documented at 11.8333 feet in length and 4.28333 feet in width, with the subject appearing to exceed the size of the vessel. Notably, large sturgeon are documented to reach lengths of up to 7 feet, with the recorded maximum being 8 feet. Conversely, the Mansi photograph lacks any objects for scale reference.

2. The original Mansi Polaroid depicts the Champ entity in relatively shallow waters, not exceeding depths of 14 feet, in proximity to the shoreline. In contrast, the Tabor-Rossi footage was captured via drone technology further out in Bulwagga Bay within Lake Champlain.

3. An additional caveat regarding the Mansi photograph pertains to the inability of Sandra Mansi to determine the precise location where the image was acquired. In contrast, the Tabor-Rossi footage benefits from the corroborative accounts of multiple eyewitnesses, including cast and crew members, who have unequivocally identified the exact geographic coordinates of their filming location.

4. Importantly, Sandra Mansi did not retain the original negative of her photograph. The Tabor-Rossi footage is distinguished by its production in high resolution using a quality drone camera. The five seconds of footage available on YouTube represent only a diminutive sample of the entirety encompassing a broader five-minute segment that includes the subject in question. This raw footage was retained, allowing for enhanced scientific scrutiny through subsequent review. Initial morphological assessments, conducted through pixel and color threshold adjustments, as well as zoom enhancements, reveal concordance with established plesiosaur anatomical features, while presenting proportions inconsistent with sturgeon or alternative explanations. Noteworthy characteristics include, but are not limited to:
a. A flattened plesiosaur head
b. Locomotion via reptilian-like fins
c. A slender, serpentine neck in conjunction with a more robust body structure

A series of rigorous tests is slated for execution and will be submitted for scientific peer review as part of a scholarly article in the upcoming year, thereby inviting formal academic scrutiny of these findings."