An expedition aimed at obtaining a rare view of the bottom of Lake Tahoe netted footage of a mysterious creature swimming in the famed body of water.
The potentially historic study was the brainchild of a California man named Chase Petley, who became intrigued by the mystery of America's second biggest lake when he found out how little it had been explored.
In turn, Petley created a special submersible device designed to withstand the pressures of the lake's depths and equipped with a GoPro camera.
After a year of building the instrument, he was finally able to test it out this past week with the help of a family who volunteered the use of their boat.
Tethered by a cable attached to the boat, the device was lowered an amazing quarter-of-a-mile down to the bottom of Lake Tahoe in a feat which is believe to be the first of its kind.
Previous underwater explorations of the lake took place in shallower areas of the vacation destination and, as such, Petley's expedition was literally delving into uncharted waters.
Over the course of two days, the Tahoe Deep team plumbed the depths of the lake in the hopes of filming something of interest.
Perhaps helped by a glow stick and sardines attached to the device on the second day, the project managed to capture footage of an unknown creature swimming in the lake.
Experts who have observed the footage say that although it appears to swim like a shark, the fish is probably a large lake trout.
The success of the dive along with the tantalizing footage will no doubt inspire Petley and his cohorts to pursue future expeditions at the lake.
Lake Tahoe's considerable size and mysterious nature have inspired a number of urban legends over the years.
Local residents recall tales of the lake being the site of body dumps by organized crime figures and even a mystery cryptid named, appropriately enough, 'Tessie.'
Source: KCRA Sacramento