Bear Lake Monster

Region: Bear Lake on the Utah-Idaho border

Lead Investigator: Agent 71

Last Updated: 15 May 2024

Also known as Isabella, as named by a local 8-year-old girl.
Locals of cities surrounding Bear Lake enjoy entertaining the legend.
Some say it may be related to the Loch Ness Monster (or Nessie herself).

Identification:

Serpent-like, with short legs
Head like a cow, otter, or crocodile
most reports claim about 40 feet long, but length ranges from 6 to 200 feet
Light cream, reddish-brown, or shiny black in color
Swims very very fast

History

1868: Joseph C. Rich wrote in an article that, "The Indians have a tradition concerning a strange, serpent-like creature inhabiting the waters of Bear Lake... Now, it seems this water devil, as the Indians called it, has again made an appearance. A number of our white settlers declare they have seen it with their own eyes." and included several accounts of sightings. Around 1894, he admitted that he had made it all up.
1907: Two men claimed the Bear Lake Monster attacked them and killed one of their horses. Full article here.
1977: Mike Havertz and a group of friends were canoeing when they reportedly saw large bizzare waves caused by something huge under the water. 2013
2018: Brent Brunson and his daughter reported seeing a 40 feet long "huge black shiny serpent" while on their boat.

Proposed Explanations

Plesiosaur,
Loch Ness Monster can travel through under ground tunnels from Bear Lake to Loch Ness,
Misidentification of known animals,
Misidentification of inanimate objects, and
Hoaxes.

Selected Reports

One of Joseph C. Rich's Potentially Fabricated Stories

"About three weeks ago (likely early July of 1868), Mr. S.M. Johnson, who lives in the east side of the lake at a place called South Eden (about half-way north along the Utah side of the lake), was going to the Round Valley settlement, six miles to the south of this place and when about half way he saw something in the lake, which at the time, he thought to be a drowned person. The road being some distance from the water's edge he rode to the bench, and as the waves were running pretty high he thought it would soon wash into shore. In a few minutes two or three feet of some kind of animal that he had never seen before were raised out of the water."