By Tim Binnall
The makers of a movie about the Lake Champlain monster captured some curious drone footage of an odd anomaly that they believe could be the legendary aquatic creature, but not everyone agrees with their fantastic assessment. The tantalizing scene was reportedly discovered by Richard Rossi and Kelly Tabor as they were doing post-production work on their forthcoming fictional film Lucy and the Lake Monster. While reviewing some drone footage shot at Lake Champlain, the pair were stunned to see a peculiar submerged shape that seemed to resemble some kind of sizable creature lurking just beneath the surface of the water.
Recalling the moment when they spotted the strange anomaly, Rossi marveled that "we just couldn’t believe our eyes." Insisting that "it is real footage, not manipulated in any way," Tabor expressed considerable confidence in what it is that they filmed, boldly declaring that "we inadvertently found Champ." His reasoning for that conclusion is that the anomaly "appears to have moving fins like a plesiosaur." Noting that their film is about "a nine-year-old girl and her grandpa" searching for the famed monster of Lake Champlain, Tabor mused that the possible glimpse of the creature in the drone footage "reminds us that sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction."
While the pair may believe that a magical movie moment occurred during the making of their film at Lake Champlain, others have expressed skepticism that their drone actually filmed the site's resident monster. To that end, longtime Champ researcher Katy Elizabeth reached out to C2C with doubts about the duo's determination. By way of a still shot from the clip, she suggested that it was likely "filmed near the Champlain Bridge" where she has previously done extensive study. "During my many drone deployments in this area," she observed, "it is evident that there are a few large rocks and sand mounds in this location, which are visible just below the surface of the water," and could account for the 'creature' seen in the footage.
Elizabeth goes on to point out that the ascension of the drone as it films "makes the object below the water's surface appear to be moving, playing tricks with your eyes." She also calls the abrupt ending to the clip "highly suspicious." Ultimately, the longtime monster hunter expressed disappointment with the proverbial near-miss of America's Nessie. "I would love for this footage to show some potential visual evidence of a Champ animal," she said, "but due to the location that I know very well, my conclusion is that it is a large boulder or sand mound." Where do you stand on the strange scene captured by the drone? Weigh in with your thoughts at the C2C Facebook page.