>> male narrator: IT'S LIVED IN LOCAL FOLKLORE FOR GENERATIONS. >> GET AWAY FROM THE WATER. >> I'M LIKE, "OH, MY GOD." AND THEN IT PICKED ITS HEAD UP AND CAME UP. >> narrator: HISTORY SUPPORTS THE POSSIBILITY AN UNKNOWN CREATURE LURKS IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN. >> IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE WE COULD HAVE AN OCEAN MIGRANT WHO GOT HOPELESSLY LOST. >> narrator: THERE COULD BE LINKS BETWEEN THIS MONSTER AND REAL CREATURES. >> I BELIEVE THAT SOMETHING IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN ECHOLOCATES. >> narrator: SCIENCE EXPLORES THE PROBABILITY, CHALLENGING OLD EVIDENCE AS OTHERS SEARCH FOR PROOF. >> THE ONLY THING REALLY MISSING IS THE BODY. >> WE'RE GONNA BE EATING HERE. WE'RE GONNA BE SLEEPING HERE. THIS IS THE SPOT TO BE TO SEARCH FOR CHAMP. >> narrator: WITNESSES AROUND THE WORLD REPORT SEEING MONSTERS. ARE THEY REAL OR IMAGINARY? SCIENCE SEARCHES FOR ANSWERS ON<i> MONSTER QUEST.</i> LAKE CHAMPLAIN: A SERENE FRESHWATER LAKE IN NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND THAT COVERS MORE THAN 400 SQUARE MILES. IT IS BORDERED ON THE EAST BY NEW YORK AND THE WEST BY VERMONT. THE LAKE IS A QUIET PLACE, MAINLY USED BY SMALL CRAFTS, FERRIES, AND LAKES CRUISES AND PERHAPS SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING THAT SHOULDN'T BE THERE. THE LOCALS CALL IT CHAMP, AMERICA'S LOCH NESS. AND LIKE SCOTLAND'S FAMED NESSIE, HUNDREDS CLAIM TO HAVE SEEN IT. BUT WHAT HAVE THEY SEEN? ON HIS WAY TO CANADA, THE FRENCH EXPLORER SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN MAPPED THE LAKE THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY BEAR HIS NAME. BACK THEN, THIS AREA WAS LUSH, REMOTE, AND SPARSELY POPULATED. ACCORDING TO ONE VERSION OF HISTORY, IN JULY OF 1609, DE CHAMPLAIN BECAME THE FIRST PERSON TO RECORD SEEING A MONSTER HERE. AS THE LEGEND GOES, HE DESCRIBED IT THIS WAY: "A 20-FOOT SERPENT AS THICK AS A BARREL AND A HEAD LIKE A HORSE." >> IT KIND OF LOOKED LIKE, YOU WOULD GUESS, WHAT A SUBMARINE WOULD LOOK LIKE. >> BUT IT MOVED OUT, IT TURNED AROUND, AND IT WENT OUT INTO THE DARKNESS. >> HAD A GIRTH OR A TORSO ABOUT THE SIZE OF A PONY, I WOULD GUESS. >> A CROCODILE SHAPED LIKE A SEAL WITH A LONG NECK. >> AND IT CAME UP, AND I COULD NOW MAKE OUT PART OF THE HEAD AND A LITTLE BIT OF THE NECK. >> I WOULD SAY IT WAS PROBABLY A GOOD SIX TO EIGHT FEET LONG. >> VERY SMOOTH SKIN, NO SCALES, NO FUR THAT I COULD ASCERTAIN. >> AND FOUR SETS OF FLIPPERS AND A TAIL. THAT'S WHAT THESE THINGS LOOK LIKE. >> I DIDN'T SEE ANY DORSAL FINS AROUND IT. >> BUT THAT WAS NOT A FISH. THAT WAS LIKE A DINOSAUR HEAD. >> narrator: EYEWITNESSES TODAY DESCRIBE THE CREATURE AS LONG, SLEEK, AND PREHISTORIC-LOOKING. IT'S ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 6 AND 25 FEET IN LENGTH, POSSIBLY HUMPBACKED, WITH A SNAKELIKE HEAD. THESE DESCRIPTIONS INDICATE THAT WHATEVER THIS MONSTER IS, IT IS UNLIKE ANY KNOWN CREATURE FOUND IN FRESHWATER IN THIS PART OF NORTH AMERICA OR ANYWHERE ELSE, FOR THAT MATTER. THIS BODY OF WATER HAS A UNIQUE GEOLOGICAL PROFILE. LESS THAN 11,000 YEARS AGO, WHAT IS NOW LAKE CHAMPLAIN WAS CONNECTED DIRECTLY TO THE ATLANTIC. IN 1849, TWO IRISH WORKMEN WERE HELPING TO CONSTRUCT THE FIRST RAILROAD BETWEEN RUTLAND AND BURLINGTON, VERMONT. THEY WERE DIGGING IN THIS AREA WHEN THEY UNEARTHED AN EXTREMELY LARGE SET OF BONES. AT FIRST, THEY ASSUMED IT WAS JUST AN OLD HORSE. IT WASN'T UNTIL LATER THAT AN EXPERT RECOGNIZED THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THEIR FIND. ZADOCK THOMPSON, A PROMINENT NATURALIST AND STATE GEOLOGIST FROM VERMONT, DETERMINED THAT THIS 12,000-YEAR-OLD FOSSIL BORE A STRONG RESEMBLANCE TO THE STILL-EXISTING BELUGA WHALE. BUT WHAT WAS IT DOING BURIED EIGHT FEET DEEP IN MUD? AS IT TURNED OUT, THE CHARLOTTE WHALE FOSSIL WAS PROOF THAT THE AREA HAD A FASCINATING GEOLOGICAL HISTORY LONG BEFORE SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN ENCOUNTERED IT. >> THIS IS THE CHARLOTTE WHALE, AND IT'S SO NAMED BECAUSE IT WAS FOUND IN CHARLOTTE, VERMONT, SO IT'S ONE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH WE KNEW BACK IN THE 19th CENTURY THAT SALTWATER HAD ONCE, YOU KNOW, EXISTED HERE IN THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY. >> narrator: ACCORDING TO GEOLOGISTS LIKE STEVEN WRIGHT, THE REGION WAS ONCE A LARGER BODY OF SALTWATER KNOWN AS THE CHAMPLAIN SEA. >> WE CURRENTLY THINK THAT THE CHAMPLAIN SEA EXISTED HERE FROM APPROXIMATELY 11,000 YEARS AGO UNTIL SOMEWHERE IN THE 8,000- TO 9,000-YEAR RANGE. SO IT WAS IN EXISTENCE FOR PROBABLY 2,000, MAYBE 2,500 YEARS. >> narrator: BUT THERE IS PROOF SEA CREATURES INHABITED THESE WATERS EVEN FURTHER BACK IN TIME. >> ISLE LA MOTTE IS ONE OF WHAT WE CALL THE CHAMPLAIN ISLANDS. IT'S A LARGELY LIMESTONE FORMATION THAT IS A RELIC FROM 450 MILLION YEARS AGO, WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE VERY, VERY ANCIENT CORALS LEFT FROM THAT ERA. >> narrator: DOES THE ONE-TIME PRESENCE OF SALTWATER SHED LIGHT ON MODERN UNEXPLAINED SIGHTINGS IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN? >> LAKE CHAMPLAIN AND LOCH NESS AND SEVERAL OTHER PLACES WERE FLOODED BY THE OCEAN AND ACTUALLY BECAME ARMS OF THE SEA. AND AT THAT POINT, MARINE ANIMALS WERE FREE TO COME AND GO. >> narrator: SCOTT MARDIS IS A RESEARCHER WHO'S FOLLOWED THE STORIES ABOUT CHAMP FOR THE LAST TEN YEARS AND EVEN MOVED TO LAKE CHAMPLAIN TO STUDY THE LEGEND. HE THINKS CHAMP'S ORIGINS CAN BE TRACED BACK THOUSANDS OF YEARS TO WHEN THE BRACKISH WATERS OF THE CHAMPLAIN BASIN DRAINED NORTH INTO THE SAINT LAWRENCE RIVER AND THE LARGE OPENING TO THE SEA WAS EFFECTIVELY CLOSED. WHEN THAT HAPPENED, SOME FORMER SALTWATER CREATURES WERE TRAPPED WITHIN LAKE CHAMPLAIN. THEY HAD LITTLE CHOICE BUT TO EVOLVE OR DIE. >> THESE SALTWATER ARMS OF THE SEA WERE CUT OFF FROM THE OCEAN, AND WHATEVER WAS LIVING IN THESE LAKES EITHER DIED OUT OR ADAPTED TO FRESHWATER AND MANAGED TO SURVIVE. >> narrator: SCIENTISTS SAY THAT THE IDEA IS PLAUSIBLE. >> WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT RUMORS OF CHAMP, IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE--BUT ONE TALKS ABOUT PROBABILITIES WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT CHAMP. IT'S NOT INCONCEIVABLE WE COULD HAVE AN OCEAN MIGRANT WHO GOT HOPELESSLY LOST AND WAS REALLY INTENT ON GOING UPSTREAM AND COULD HAVE WANDERED HERE FROM THE OCEAN. >> narrator: ELLEN MARSDEN IS A UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT FISHERIES BIOLOGIST. SHE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT SOME FISH FOUND TODAY IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN EVOLVED FROM SALTWATER ANCESTORS. >> MOST OF THEM ARE NATIVE FISH THAT HAVE BEEN HERE EVER SINCE THE CHAMPLAIN SEA RECEDED, THIS LAKE BECAME ISOLATED FROM THE OCEAN, STARTED TO BECOME A FRESHWATER LAKE. THERE WERE SOME FISH THAT HAD REMAINED IN THE LAKE FROM SALTWATER, SUCH AS OUR ATLANTIC SALMON AND OUR STURGEON. >> narrator: COULD DESCENDANTS OF WHALES TRAPPED IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN EXPLAIN THE CHAMP SIGHTINGS? MARDIS DOESN'T THINK SO. >> PROBABLY THE CLASSIC THEORY THAT HAS BEEN BANDIED ABOUT FOR CHAMP, THE LOCH NESS MONSTER, OTHER LAKE MONSTERS, AND SEA SERPENTS, THAT THEY MAY BE SURVIVING PLESIOSAURS. >> narrator: THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN EXTINCT FOR 65 MILLION YEARS, THE REMAINS OF AQUATIC REPTILES KNOWN AS PLESIOSAURS HAVE BEEN FOUND ON ALMOST EVERY CONTINENT. LIKE BELUGA AND OTHER WHALES, THE PLESIOSAUR HAD LUNGS, NOT GILLS, MEANING IT HAD TO COME TO THE WATER'S SURFACE FOR AIR. PLESIOSAURS CAME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES, BUT A TYPICAL EXAMPLE HAD A LONG NECK, A BROAD BODY, A SHORT TAIL, AND FOUR PADDLE-LIKE LIMBS USED TO UNDULATE THROUGH THE WATER. TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF EYEWITNESSES, CHAMP LOOKS LIKE A PLESIOSAUR, NOT A WHALE. AND THIS WOMAN MAY POSSESS THE BEST PROOF THAT PREHISTORIC CREATURES STILL PROWL THE LAKE. JULY 5, 1977, NEAR ST. ALBANS, VERMONT. >> OKAY, YOU TWO. >> narrator: SANDRA MANSI AND HER TWO CHILDREN AND HER HUSBAND ARE TAKING A LEISURELY AFTERNOON DRIVE... >> RACE YOU. >> narrator: WHEN THEY DECIDE TO PULL OVER AND WALK ALONG THE LAKEFRONT. >> DO YOU SEE SOMETHING OUT THERE? >> WHAT? >> I THINK I SEE SOMETHING OUT THERE. >> KIDS. GET BACK. GET AWAY FROM THE WATER. >> narrator: USING HER INSTAMATIC CAMERA, MANSI TOOK THIS SNAPSHOT OF WHAT SHE SAW. SHE SAID THE HEAD OF THE CREATURE SHE SAW ROSE SIX FEET OUT OF THE WATER AND AT LEAST 12 FEET OF ITS BODY WAS EXPOSED. ACCORDING TO MANSI, THE ENTIRE SIGHTING LASTED AROUND FIVE OR SIX MINUTES. CRYPTOZOOLOGIST JOHN KIRK HAS EXAMINED MANY CHAMP SIGHTINGS AND SAYS CREDIBLE EVIDENCE LIKE PHOTOS ARE RARE. >> SANDRA MANSI'S PICTURE AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN IS PROBABLY THE BEST. >> narrator: BUT DOES SCIENCE SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT A PLESIOSAUR COULD EXIST TODAY IN THIS LAKE? >> DO I BELIEVE THERE'S SOMETHING UNUSUAL OUT THERE THAT WE DON'T KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT? ABSOLUTELY. THERE'S LOADS OF STUFF WE DON'T KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT OUT THERE. DO I BELIEVE THERE'S A PLESIOSAUR-TYPE MONSTER? NO, NO. >> OKAY, TED, SWING IT ON IN, AND I WANT YOU TO PARK IT PARALLEL TO THE LAKE. >> narrator: UP UNTIL RECENTLY, SCOTT MARDIS' RESEARCH HAS FOCUSED ON THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS OF OTHERS. >> SLIDE IT OUT. >> narrator: NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME, HE'S GOING TO TRY TO FIND HIS OWN PHOTOGRAPHIC EVIDENCE OF CHAMP. >> WHOEVER WANTS TO SPEND THE MONEY TO DO THAT SORT OF WORK NEEDS TO COME HERE AND DO IT AND TRY IT. THAT'S THE ONLY WAY TO FIND OUT. >> JAY, I THINK WE'VE GOT SIX CAMERA TRAPS TOTAL, THREE ON THE GROUND... >> narrator: MARDIS WILL BE WORKING WITH<i> MONSTER QUEST</i> VIDEOGRAPHERS JAY COLE AND JARED CHRISTIE. COMBINED, THEY HAVE 30 YEARS' EXPERIENCE CAPTURING IMAGES OF ANIMALS IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT. >> SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, WE'VE BROUGHT OUT A RESEARCH TRANSPORT VEHICLE AND SET IT UP ON A REMOTE LOCATION OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. WE'VE POSITIONED OURSELF HERE FOR AN EXTENDED NUMBER OF DAYS, BECAUSE MANY PEOPLE HAVE TOLD US THE ONLY WAY TO FIND CHAMP IS TO ACTUALLY BE ON THE LAKE. >> THREE-CAMERA SYSTEM: TWO COLOR CAMERAS AND AN INFRARED ONE TO RUN UNDERWATER. THE FORWARD AND REVERSE CAMERA SYSTEM IS GONNA BE THE TICKET TO HELP US TOUR THE LAKE AND FIND THIS CHAMP. >> JAY, WHERE WE'RE GONNA PUT THESE CAMERA TRAPS ARE IN SOME OF THE HOT SPOTS OUT THERE IN THE LAKE WHERE WE'VE HAD QUITE A FEW SIGHTINGS. >> narrator: THE CHALLENGE, IN A LAKE THAT COVERS MORE THAN 400 SQUARE MILES, IS WHERE TO BEGIN. THE ANSWER MAY LIE IN THE UNUSUAL FINDINGS OF ANOTHER EXPERT. >> I WAS STUNNED AT THE SIZE, BECAUSE I NEVER IMAGINED ANYTHING THAT BIG IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN. >> narrator: AS THE NUMBERS OF SETTLERS IN THE LAKE CHAMPLAIN AREA GREW, SO DID THE REPORTS OF SIGHTINGS OF THEIR LEGENDARY LAKE MONSTER. 1873 WAS A PARTICULARLY BUSY YEAR FOR CHAMP. <i>THE NEW YORK TIMES</i> REPORTED THAT A RAILROAD CREW ON THE LAKE HAD SEEN "AN ENORMOUS SERPENT HEAD WITH SHINING SCALES." IN JULY, CLINTON COUNTY SHERIFF NATHAN H. MOONEY REPORTED "AN ENORMOUS SNAKE OR WATER SERPENT" HE THOUGHT WAS "25 TO 35 FEET LONG." THE FOLLOWING MONTH, THE STEAMSHIP<i> W.B. EDDY</i> ENCOUNTERED CHAMP BY RUNNING INTO IT. ACCORDING TO TOURISTS ON BOARD, THE SHIP NEARLY CAPSIZED. 19th-CENTURY ACCOUNTS OF THE MONSTER GAINED SUCH NOTORIETY THAT SHOWMAN P.T. BARNUM POSTED A $50,000 REWARD FOR THE MONSTER'S HIDE. BARNUM INTENDED, HE EXPLAINED, "TO ADD TO MY MAMMOTH WORLD'S FAIR SHOW." BARNUM'S REWARD YIELDED NOTHING, BUT THE SIGHTINGS CONTINUED. DOES A FORM OF PLESIOSAUR OR GIANT AQUATIC REPTILE LONG THOUGHT TO BE EXTINCT LIVE IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN, OR IS IT SOMETHING ELSE? BACK AND FORTH ACROSS LAKE CHAMPLAIN, FERRYBOAT CAPTAIN B.J. BOMBARD HAS MADE THE TRIP FROM BURLINGTON TO PORT KENT THOUSANDS OF TIMES IN HIS CAREER. MOST TRIPS REMAIN UNEVENTFUL, EXCEPT FOR ONE DAY IN THE MID-'90s. >> I WAS ON MY NORMAL FERRY CROSSING. ON MY ROUTE, I LOOKED AHEAD. YOU COULD SEE SOMETHING COMING TOWARDS US, OR SOMETHING WAS THERE, AND AS WE GOT CLOSER, YOU COULD TELL IT WAS ON A RECIPROCAL COURSE. [ferry horn blaring] >> narrator: AS THE STRANGE OBJECT DREW NEARER, BOMBARD SAID HE ANGLED THE FERRY TO GET A BETTER LOOK. >> AS I LOOKED AT IT AND WE GOT CLOSER, IT KIND OF LOOKED LIKE, YOU WOULD GUESS, WHAT A SUBMARINE WOULD LOOK LIKE IF IT WERE REAL CLOSE TO THE SURFACE AND IT WERE JUST POURING WATER OFF THE TOP OF IT. AND I GOT MY BINOCULARS OUT, AND I WAS LOOKING AT IT, AND AS WE GOT CLOSER, YOU COULD SEE THAT IT JUST WASN'T A LOG AND IT WASN'T TWO THINGS. IT SEEMED TO BE JUST ONE PARTICULAR MASS THAT'S THERE. AND I WOULD SAY IT WAS PROBABLY A GOOD SIX TO EIGHT FEET LONG. I DIDN'T SEE ANY DORSAL FINS AROUND IT, AND THAT'S--IT'S WEIRD, BUT, YOU KNOW, I JUST DIDN'T SEE ANY FINS AT ALL. THE CLOSER I GOT, THE MORE IT LOOKED LIKE SOMETHING, BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT. >> narrator: AND ELIZABETH VON MUGGENTHALER WILL ADD SHE'S NEVER HEARD ANYTHING LIKE IT. >> THERE IS NO KNOWN FISH OR MAMMAL BESIDES WHALE OR DOLPHIN THAT PRODUCE ECHOLOCATION. IT DOESN'T LIE. I MEAN, THE SIGNAL DOESN'T LIE. >> narrator: ELIZABETH VON MUGGENTHALER IS FAMILIAR WITH STORIES LIKE CAPTAIN BOMBARD'S. SHE GREW UP ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. TODAY SHE IS AN ACOUSTICIAN WHO SPECIALIZES IN RECORDING ANIMAL SOUNDS. IN JUNE OF 2002, EQUIPPED WITH AN ARRAY OF SOPHISTICATED UNDERWATER RECORDING EQUIPMENT, VON MUGGENTHALER'S TEAM RECORDED AUDIO WITHIN IN THE DEEP WATERS OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. SHE WAS ASTOUNDED BY WHAT SHE HEARD. [rapid clicking] >> WE HAVE OVER TEN MINUTES OF THIS CREATURE IN THREE DIFFERENT PLACES DOING THIS ECHOLOCATION. >> narrator: ECHOLOCATION, ALSO CALLED BIOSONAR, IS USED BY MAMMALS FOR FORAGING AND NAVIGATION. THESE ANIMALS EMIT SONAR AND LISTEN TO THE ECHOES THAT RETURN TO LOCATE AND IDENTIFY OBJECTS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT. >> ECHOLOCATION IS LITERALLY BIOSONAR. IF YOU GO OUT IN YOUR BOAT AND YOU LOOK AT YOUR LITTLE FISH FINDER MACHINE, YOU'RE ACTUALLY USING SONAR. YOU'RE SENDING A BEAM OF SOUND OUT IN THE WATER, AND IT BOUNCES BACK. IT ECHOES BACK. >> narrator: ALTHOUGH SHE HAS STUDIED WHALES AND DOLPHINS, VON MUGGENTHALER SAYS THAT WHAT SHE RECORDED AT LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN 2002 IS NOT A KNOWN ANIMAL. INSTEAD SHE BELIEVES THE MOST LOGICAL EXPLANATION FOR THE SOUNDS IS A UNIQUELY EVOLVED CREATURE. >> THE FIRST SOUND THAT YOU WILL HEAR IS THE SOUND WE RECORDED FROM LAKE CHAMPLAIN, AND THE SECOND SOUND IS KILLER WHALE. AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY HEAR THE SIMILARITIES. [high-pitched rapid clicking] [low-pitched rapid clicking] VERY, VERY SIMILAR. IT TELLS ME THAT THIS ANIMAL IS ECHOLOCATING AND IT HAS AN ADVANCED, ADVANCED BRAIN. THIS IS AN ANCIENT AREA. HOW ARE WE TO KNOW THAT SOMETHING DIFFERENT DIDN'T DEVELOP WHEN THE SEA GOT CUT OFF FROM THE SAINT LAWRENCE SEAWAY AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN? >> narrator: EXPERTS DON'T THINK PLESIOSAURS HAD THE ABILITY TO ECHOLOCATE, BUT THEY COULD HAVE DEVELOPED THIS SPECIALIZED BEHAVIOR OVER TIME. >> THE FIRST TIME WE GOT ECHOLOCATION WAS RIGHT IN HERE AT RIGHT AROUND 24 FEET IN BUTTON BAY. THE SECOND TIME WE GOT ECHOLOCATION WAS RIGHT IN HERE AT HUNTER BAY. AND THE THIRD PLACE WE GOT ECHOLOCATION WAS RIGHT IN TOWN FARM BAY AT APPROXIMATELY 30 FEET. >> I THINK THE KEY TO THIS IS TO VERY QUICKLY INTERCEPT WHAT YOU GET ON SONAR WITH VIDEO EQUIPMENT TO IDENTIFY IT FAST ENOUGH. >> ALL RIGHT. [engine revving] >> narrator: CHAMP RESEARCHER SCOTT MARDIS AND HIS UNDERWATER VIDEO EXPERTS ARE TARGETING THE AREA OF VON MUGGENTHALER'S SOUND RECORDINGS FOR THEIR SEARCH. [engine turning] THEY WILL BEGIN JUST NORTH OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT... >> COME ON BACK. >> narrator: AND WORK THEIR WAY SOUTH TOWARDS VON MUGGENTHALER'S THREE LOCATIONS. >> HOW DOES THIS LOOK DOWN HERE? >> PERFECT. >> CAMERA TRAP TWO GOING DOWN. >> narrator: USING SOPHISTICATED 24-HOUR SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS, THE TEAM WILL HUNKER DOWN FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS AND WAIT FOR CHAMP TO APPEAR. >> ALL RIGHT, ALL THREE CAMERAS ARE STILL ROLLING. WE CAN SEE THE DIVERS. WE CAN SEE THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. THIS LOOKS GOOD. >> THE CAMERA TRAPS WE'VE POSITIONED ALL ALONG THE SHORE HERE IN THIS VERY REMOTE LOCATION OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN... >> THAT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD, THOUGH. >> TO CONTINUOUSLY ROLL VIDEO 24 HOURS A DAY... >> ALL RIGHT, RECORDING. >> SO IF SOMETHING WERE TO SWIM BY, SWIM UP TO SHORE AT ANY POINT IN THE DAY--NIGHTTIME, DAYTIME, SUNSHINE, DARK, LIGHT-- WE'RE GONNA HAVE VIDEO ROLLING. >> narrator: DOZENS OF CAMERAS WILL MONITOR THREE POINTS AROUND LAKE CHAMPLAIN. EACH CAMERA WILL PROVIDE A DIFFERENT VIEW: UNDERWATER, LEVEL WITH THE LAKE'S SURFACE, AND UP HIGHER FOR A MORE EXPANSIVE VIEW OF THE LAKE. >> IN ORDER TO FIND CHAMP, YOU NEED TO LIVE IT, BREATHE IT, SMELL IT, TOUCH IT, EVERYTHING, SO THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE. WE'RE GONNA BE HERE 24 HOURS A DAY, EARLY IN THE MORNING DOWN AT THE LAKE, LATE AT NIGHT DOWN AT THE LAKE. WE'RE GONNA BE EATING HERE. WE'RE GONNA BE SLEEPING HERE. THIS IS THE SPOT TO BE TO SEARCH FOR CHAMP. >> THE TEAM HAS BEEN CAREFUL TO POSITION ONE OF THEIR CAMERAS ALONG THIS SHORE. THAT'S BECAUSE NEARBY, MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO, ONE EYEWITNESS SAW CHAMP ON LAND. >> AND IT COME OUT OF THE WOODS, AND IT COME RIGHT HERE UNDER THE LIGHT, AND IT STOPPED. >> narrator: ALTHOUGH IT'S A SEEMINGLY TRANQUIL PLACE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN HAS BEEN THE SETTING FOR OVER 240 SIGHTINGS OF WHAT SOME SAY IS A MONSTER. THE FIRST OF THESE, IN JULY OF 1609, IS FREQUENTLY ATTRIBUTED TO THE LAKE'S NAMESAKE, THE FRENCH EXPLORER SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. THE STORY THAT HAS BEEN REPEATED, OFTEN IN PRINT, IS THAT CHAMPLAIN CLAIMED TO HAVE SEEN A 20-FOOT SERPENT THICK AS A BARREL AND A HEAD LIKE A HORSE, BUT A CLOSER LOOK AT HIS JOURNALS REVEALS SOMETHING STARTLING. CHAMPLAIN'S ACTUAL DESCRIPTION DOESN'T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT A SERPENT. INSTEAD IT SAYS THIS: "THERE IS A GREAT ABUNDANCE OF FISH, THE LARGEST OF THEM FROM EIGHT TO TEN FEET LONG WITH A SNOUT TWO FEET LONG AND A DOUBLE ROW OF SHARP, DANGEROUS TEETH. IT IS PROTECTED BY SCALES OF A SILVERY GRAY COLOR SO STRONG THAT A DAGGER COULD NOT PIERCE THEM." AS MENACING AS THIS CREATURE SOUNDS, EXPERTS SAY THERE IS A CREATURE IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN THAT FITS THIS DESCRIPTION: LAKE STURGEON. ITS ANCIENT-LOOKING ARMORED BODY CAN REACH LENGTHS OVER SEVEN FEET. >> YOU COULD SEE A STURGEON NEAR SHORE DOING A LITTLE BIT OF PORPOISING, ENJOYING ITSELF, PERHAPS AT THE SURFACE, AND WOULD READILY MISTAKE THAT FOR SOMETHING YOU'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE AND WAS PRETTY FREAKY-LOOKING. THEY'VE GOT A STRANGE FACE. THEY'VE GOT A LONG NOSE THAT YOU DON'T EXPECT IN A FISH. YOU MIGHT BE THINKING, "HORSE? MONSTER?" THEIR SIZE, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE PRETTY STARTLING IF ONE DID SURFACE. SO I WOULDN'T PUT IT PAST STURGEON BEING THE ORIGIN OF AT LEAST SOME CHAMP SIGHTINGS. >> narrator: WHILE FEEDING OR SPAWNING, FISH SOMETIMES CLUSTER HEAD TO TAIL NEAR THE SURFACE, POSSIBLY CREATING THE STRANGE UNDULATING HUMPS REPORTED BY EYEWITNESSES. >> IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL, WARM-- ONE OF THOSE VERY SPECIAL WARM NIGHTS. THE WATER WAS GLASS SMOOTH. OFF TO OUR RIGHT, WE COULD SEE A--A VERY GENTLE WAKE, NO SPLASHING, NOTHING, BUT WE KNEW THAT THERE WAS SOMETHING MOVING, SO WE KNEW WE WERE LOOKING AT SOMETHING VERY UNUSUAL AND PROBABLY THE CHAMP. NEVER HAVE A CAMERA WHEN YOU NEED IT. [laughs] >> narrator: ANOTHER THEORY: THE HUMPS ARE NOT ANIMALS AT ALL BUT, RATHER, MAN-MADE. >> MANY IS THE TIME WE'VE BEEN OUT HERE WORKING, PLAYING IN SAILBOATS, WHAT HAVE YOU, AND YOU SEE THREE HUMPS MOVING THROUGH THE WATER IN SEQUENCE, BIG HUMPS, ONE AFTER THE OTHER, AND THERE'S NO BOAT IT SIGHT. BUT WAKES LAST A LONG TIME. THERE'S A BOAT THREE MILES UP THE LAKE THAT CREATED THAT WAKE, AND YOU'RE STILL SEEING THAT RESIDUE OF THE WAKE ROLLING AS IT SORT OF EXHAUSTS ITSELF DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE. >> narrator: BUT IF THAT IS TRUE, HOW DO SCIENTISTS ACCOUNT FOR A SIGHTING OF CHAMP NOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LAKE BUT ON LAND? CHRISTINE HEBERT IS AT HER FAMILY'S MARINA JUST NORTH OF BURLINGTON WHEN HER TWO DOGS BEGIN BARKING EXCITEDLY. [dogs barking] >> THIS NIGHT, BOTH THE DOGS WERE BARKING, AND THEY WERE RIGHT ON THEIR HIND LEGS WITH THE LEASH RIGHT OUT. AND IT COME OUT OF THE WOODS, AND IT COME RIGHT HERE UNDER THE LIGHT, AND IT STOPPED. [dogs barking] BUT IT MOVED OUT, IT TURNED AROUND, AND IT WENT OUT INTO THE DARKNESS. >> narrator: ONE WEEK LATER, THE CREATURE RETURNED TO HEBERT'S MARINA. >> MY MOTHER WAS WITH ME THIS TIME. AND THE SECOND TIME, I COULDN'T EVEN TALK. I WAS PULLING MY MOTHER OUT AND TRYING TO TELL HER, "CHAMP, CHAMP." AND I WATCHED A LONG TIME, SO WHEREVER IT CAME FROM, IT CAME VERY SLOW, AND IT DIDN'T STOP. IT CAME RIGHT UP TO THE LIGHT. BUT THAT WAS A BROWN ONE. IT WAS NOT AS BIG AS THE GREEN ONE. THERE WAS NO MISTAKE ON THE SECOND SIGHTING. I'VE BEEN HERE ALL MY LIFE. I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT A FISH LOOKS LIKE. BUT THAT WAS NOT A FISH. THAT WAS LIKE A DINOSAUR HEAD. >> narrator: HEBERT DESCRIBES A PLESIOSAUR-LIKE CREATURE THAT HELD ITS HEAD HIGH WHILE WALKING. WHILE THERE IS DISAGREEMENT ON WHETHER A PLESIOSAUR COULD WALK OR EVEN SLITHER ON LAND, MOST EXPERTS AGREE THEY DID NOT HAVE THE BONE STRUCTURE TO HOLD THEIR NECKS UP HIGH FOR ANY PERIOD OF TIME. YET EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTATION DOES OCCUR IN ANIMALS OVER TIME TO ADAPT TO THEIR CHANGING ENVIRONMENT. A STRONGER OR LONGER NECK COULD EVOLVE FROM A NEED TO REACH A HIGH FOOD SOURCE, POSSIBLY ON LAND. ANOTHER CRITICAL COMPONENT OF THE HEBERT ACCOUNT IS THAT SHE SAW TWO ANIMALS OF DIFFERENT SIZES. THIS COULD INDICATE A FAMILY. >> YOU NEED, MINIMALLY, ABOUT 50 ANIMALS TO GET AWAY FROM THE ISSUES OF INBREEDING, TO MAINTAIN A POPULATION OVER A FEW GENERATIONS. IF YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT REALLY HAVING A STABLE POPULATION OVER TIME, WE KNOW FROM CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, WE'RE TALKING MORE LIKE 500, 600, MAYBE 1,000 INDIVIDUALS TO MAINTAIN A POPULATION OVER TIME. >> narrator: BUT COULD LAKE CHAMPLAIN'S ECOSYSTEM SUSTAIN SUCH A LARGE GROUP OF CREATURES? THE LAKE IS HOME TO A WIDE VARIETY OF AQUATIC LIFE, INCLUDING LARGE PIKE, TROUT, AND CARP, LIKELY FOOD SOURCES FOR A PLESIOSAUR OR AQUATIC MAMMAL. STILL... >> IF YOU'VE GOT 50 OR 60 ANIMALS AS BIG AS CHAMP IS REPUTED TO BE, THEY SHOULD BE HAVING A MAJOR DENT IN THE FOOD WEB OF THAT LAKE. >> narrator: AS MEMBERS OF SCOTT MARDIS' VIDEO TEAM WORK THE SHORELINE NEAR CHRISTINE HEBERT'S MARINA, MARDIS AND THE REMAINING CREW BEGIN THEIR SEARCH ON THE WATER. >> BIG DAY, HUH? >> YEAH. >> HERE IS THAT GIANT FISH CAMERA LURE THAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT. HOW'S THAT LOOK? >> LOOKS GREAT. >> narrator: ON THIS EXPEDITION, MARDIS IS EQUIPPED WITH TWO UNIQUE UNDERWATER CAMERA SYSTEMS DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR THE CHAMP SEARCH. THE FIRST CAMERA, A GIANT FISH CAM, IS ON A LURE MADE TO LOOK LIKE THE LAKE TROUT THAT LIVE IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN. ON THE FRONT OF THE LURE, NEAR THE NOSE, IS THE AQUA-VU CAMERA. IF CHAMP IS A PREDATOR, IT MAY BE POSSIBLE TO TRIGGER AN ATTACK WITH THIS FLASHING, FAST-MOVING LURE. >> YES, SOMEWHERE OUT IN THIS AREA IS MOST LIKELY. >> narrator: THE SECOND APPARATUS, A HIGH-SPEED FORWARD-REVERSE CAMERA, IS ONE OF A KIND. WITH AQUA-VU CAMERAS IN BOTH THE FRONT AND THE REAR, THE DEVICE IS DESIGNED TO MOVE AT SPEEDS OF UP TO 20 TO 30 MILES PER HOUR. THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE MAY BE THE ANSWER. ANOTHER TEAM OF RESEARCHERS POSSESS THE TECHNOLOGY TO ACTUALLY SEE THE CREATURE, IF IT EXISTS, THOUGH MONSTER HUNTING IS NOT THEIR REASON FOR BEING HERE. >> POND SIZE. >> YEAH. >> narrator: GEOLOGISTS TOM AND PAT MANLEY OF VERMONT'S MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE BEGAN MAPPING LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN 1996. >> AND THERE WERE TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS, ONE BEING THE GEOLOGICAL ASPECT TO ACTUALLY LOOK AT ALL THE DETAIL WITHIN LAKE CHAMPLAIN, AND THE SECOND ASPECT WAS TO ACTUALLY MAP ALL OF THE HISTORICAL ARTIFACTS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. >> narrator: ALTHOUGH IT WAS MAPPED ONCE IN THE 1800s, THE MANLEYS' WORK IS THE MOST EXTENSIVE AND TECHNOLOGICALLY SOPHISTICATED GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE LAKE TO DATE. THEY WILL EMPLOY SIDE SCAN SONAR TO MAP THE TOPOGRAPHY OF THE LAKE BOTTOM. FOR CHAMP RESEARCHERS, THE MANLEYS' EFFORTS COULD YIELD USEFUL INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAKE'S ECOSYSTEM AND ITS DEPTH. >> THIS IS A SIDE SCAN SONAR. AND WHAT IT DOES IS, IT SENDS OUT SOUND ON EACH SIDE OF THIS, THE STARBOARD AND THE PORT SIDE, ALONG A WHOLE SWATH. AND AS WE TOW IT, WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE ANYTHING THAT'S PROTRUDING ABOVE OR BELOW JUST THE SURFACE. >> narrator: THE MANLEYS' STARTING POINT TODAY IS ONE OF MUGGENTHALER'S ECHOLOCATIONS: THOMPSON'S POINT. >> THIS IS THE DIRECTION OF THE TRAVEL OF THE BOAT. THE RED LINE IS THE PORT SIDE, 50 METERS OUT, SO IT SHOWS YOU THE RANGE, AND WE'RE HEADING TOWARDS THESE DOTS, WHICH REPRESENT THE LOCATION OF THE LITTLE BOAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. NOW, THIS IS A LOG RIGHT IN HERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE, PROBABLY 30, 40 FEET LONG. YEAH, THESE ARE MORE FISH--SCHOOLS OF FISH RIGHT IN HERE, DIRTY FINGERPRINTS. HERE IT IS. OH, THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL IMAGE. YOU CAN GET TO SEE THE HATCH WORK, THE BOWSPRIT. >> narrator: THE MANLEY SONAR IMAGES ARE SO DETAILED, IT IS THEORETICALLY POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO CAPTURE AN IMAGE OF CHAMP. >> AND IF IT'S AN AIR-BREATHING CREATURE, YOU WOULD EXPECT IT TO HAVE REASONABLE-SIZED LUNGS, AND WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE A VERY, VERY LARGE, HUGE HIT ON THAT. >> narrator: SO FAR IN THEIR RESEARCH, THE MANLEYS HAVE FOUND MANY HISTORIC ARTIFACTS AT THE BOTTOM OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN. >> WE'VE UNCOVERED CIRCA 70 BRAND-NEW SHIPWRECKS SINCE WE STARTED THIS PROGRAM, ALONG WITH A LOT OF SMALLER ARTIFACTS THAT HAVE BEEN LOCATED. >> narrator: BUT AT THIS SPOT IN 1990, THEY ALSO FOUND SOMETHING UNEXPECTED. >> AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS AN OLD CHANNEL THAT'S STILL BURIED, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN STILL SEE SOME INDICATION OF, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT MAKES THIS LARGE DROP-OFF INTO A DEEPER AREA OF THE LAKE. >> narrator: FOR CENTURIES, LAKE CHAMPLAIN IN THE AMERICAN NORTHEAST AND LOCH NESS IN THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND HAVE BEEN FAMOUS FOR THE MONSTERS THAT ARE BELIEVED TO LURK WITHIN THEIR DEPTHS. OVER THE YEARS, EACH LAKE HAS GENERATED AN EMBLEMATIC PHOTOGRAPH SAID TO BE THE BEST EVIDENCE OF ITS MONSTER. THIS FAMOUS PICTURE OF NESSIE, AS THE LOCH NESS MONSTER IS AFFECTIONATELY KNOWN, WAS TAKEN IN 1934. FOR SIX DECADES, IT WITHSTOOD CAREFUL SCIENTIFIC EXAMINATION. AND THEN, IN 1993, IT EMERGED THAT THE PHOTO WAS A HOAX. THIS MONSTER WAS ACTUALLY A TOY SUBMARINE WHICH WAS MODIFIED WITH WOOD AND PLASTIC AND THEN FLOATED AND PHOTOGRAPHED. SO FAR, THE SANDRA MANSI PHOTOGRAPH OF CHAMP TAKEN IN 1977 BUT NOT REVEALED UNTIL 1980 HAS WITHSTOOD SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY. >> IT'S STILL A VERY INTERESTING PHOTOGRAPH, BAR NONE. AND IF IT IS REAL, THEN IT'S THE BEST OF THE LOT. FOR SOME REASON, THOSE OF US WHO DWELL HERE IN THIS COUNTRY SEEM TO HAVE HAD BETTER SUCCESS THAN A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM OTHER COUNTRIES WHO'VE ATTEMPTED TO FILM THIS PHENOMENON. >> I KNOW WE SAW SOMETHING IN THAT LAKE. AND HAD I NOT HAD THE PHOTOGRAPH... [laughs] NEVER... NEVER WOULD I HAVE TOLD. >> narrator: MANSI SAYS SHE CLEARLY REMEMBERS WHAT HAPPENED THAT DAY. >> I WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW THAT THIS IS REAL. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I SAW. I'M WATCHING OUT THERE, AND I COULD SEE, WELL, LIKE, TURBULENCE OR A DISTURBANCE OR SOMETHING. AND THEN THE HEAD AND THE NECK, RIGHT HERE, BROKE THE SURFACE. MY LEGS GAVE OUT. I WENT DOWN ON MY KNEES. THE WHOLE THING HIT ME AT THAT POINT. AND I HAD THE CAMERA, AND I PICKED THE CAMERA UP, AND I TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPH. [camera clicks] IT STARTED GOING DOWN, BUT IT WASN'T, LIKE, JUST CHOO, LIKE THAT. IT WAS--IT WENT DOWN. IT WENT OFF LIKE THIS. >> narrator: SANDRA MANSI BELIEVES SHE HAS THE BEST IMAGE OF CHAMP, BUT TWO SCIENTISTS MAY HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY TO CAPTURE AN EVEN BETTER IMAGE. PAT AND TOM MANLEY OF MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE IN VERMONT ARE ON THEIR 80TH EXPEDITION IN THEIR QUEST TO MAP THE ENTIRE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. IN EIGHT YEARS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN, HAVE THEY FOUND EVIDENCE OF CHAMP? >> THAT'S ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE USUALLY ASK US, IS WHETHER WE HAVE SEEN CHAMP, AND THE ANSWER IS NO, WE HAVE NOT. >> narrator: THEY HAVE, HOWEVER, FOUND EVIDENCE OF SOMETHING ELSE, SOMETHING THAT CHAMP RESEARCHERS FIND ENCOURAGING. >> AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE IS AN OLD CHANNEL THAT'S STILL BURIED, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU CAN STILL SEE SOME INDICATION OF, AND THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN, IT MAKES THIS LARGE DROP-OFF INTO A DEEPER AREA OF THE LAKE. >> narrator: THIS HIDDEN HIGHWAY RUNS THROUGH THE DEEPEST PART OF THE LAKE. IF THESE CREATURES DO EXIST, COULD THIS CHANNEL EXPLAIN HOW THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO HIDE AND AVOID CAPTURE FOR CENTURIES? >> EVEN IF I WAS DRIVING A SUBMARINE IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN, IF THAT SUBMARINE WAS AT A DIFFERENT ELEVATION THAN WE WERE ACTUALLY MAPPING, WE'D NEVER SEE IT. >> narrator: IT ALSO RUNS DIRECTLY THROUGH ONE OF THE THREE LOCATIONS WHERE AUDIO EXPERT ELIZABETH VON MUGGENTHALER RECORDED THE ECHOLOCATIONS OF AN UNKNOWN CREATURE IN 2002. THE UNDERWATER RIVER CHANNEL FOUND BY THE MANLEYS RUNS PAST THOMPSON POINT, WHERE SCOTT MARDIS HAS RETURNED FOR A FOURTH DAY. SCOTT MARDIS AND HIS UNDERWATER TEAM HAVE RETURNED TO THE LAKE ON THIS, THE LAST DAY OF THEIR EXPEDITION, WITH THEIR CAMERA LURE. TODAY THEY'VE ENLISTED THE HELP OF CAPTAIN AL MARTIN. >> I'VE OWNED POINT BAY MARINA FOR 37 YEARS. SO OVER THE YEARS, I'VE HEARD ABOUT ALL THE STORIES THAT HAVE COME TO LIGHT. >> narrator: THE FINAL SPOT MARDIS AND MARTIN HAVE CHOSEN TO SEARCH FOR CHAMP IS THOMPSON POINT, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE OLD RIVERBED DISCOVERED BY GEOLOGISTS PAT AND TOM MANLEY. THIS IS THE DEEPEST PART OF THE ENTIRE LAKE AND ONE OF THREE LOCATIONS FROM WHICH ELIZABETH VON MUGGENTHALER RECORDED AN UNKNOWN CREATURE ECHOLOCATING IN 2002. >> EVERYTHING'S HOOKED UP. CAMERA IS ROLLING. >> AT THE MOMENT, IT'S 393 UNDERNEATH THE BOAT. >> ANGLE'S GOOD. WE'RE AT 450 FEET ON THE CABLE. SCOTT, WHAT ARE WE SEEING? >> MOSTLY JUST WATER RIGHT NOW. YEAH, I'M SEEING SOMETHING. THIS IS REALLY-- IT'S REALLY STRANGE. >> narrator: IF CHAMP, THE MYSTERIOUS DENIZEN OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, TRULY EXISTS, HE IS AN ODDLY FRANKENSTEIN-LIKE ANIMAL, A SHADOWY CREATURE WITH CURIOUS PATCHWORK OF MAMMALIAN, REPTILIAN, AND FISHLIKE CHARACTERISTICS. THIS MAN, LIKE MANY EYEWITNESSES, SAID HE SAW CHAMP GLIDE THROUGH THE WATER LIKE A LARGE FISH OR SNAKE. THIS WOMAN SAYS SHE SAW TWO CHAMPS, A GREEN ONE AND A BROWN ONE, WALKING ON LAND. THIS ACOUSTICS EXPERT SAYS CHAMP PRODUCES BIOSONAR SOMEWHAT SIMILAR TO A DOLPHIN OR WHALE BUT UNLIKE ANY KNOWN CREATURE. AND THIS WOMAN SAYS SHE SAW THE CREATURE LIFT ITS NECK SIX FEET OUT OF THE WATER. THAT'S WHEN SHE TOOK THIS PICTURE. >> I SAW SOMETHING. I KNOW NOBODY'S GONNA BELIEVE ME AT THIS POINT. >> narrator: ALTHOUGH MANSI HAS REMAINED STEADFAST IN RECOUNTING THIS VERSION OF EVENTS, CRITICS SAY THERE ARE SOME PROBLEMS WITH HER STORY. BENJAMIN RADFORD IS A WRITER WITH THE<i> SKEPTICAL INQUIRER,</i> A PUBLICATION THAT HAS LONG MAINTAINED THAT CHAMP IS A GREAT STORY AND NOTHING MORE. >> IF YOU JUST GLANCE AT THE PHOTO AND YOU SAY, "YEAH, THAT COULD BE A LAKE MONSTER," THEN IT'S COMPELLING. BUT IF YOU TAKE MORE TIME WITH IT, IF YOU MORE CLOSELY EXAMINE IT, IF YOU DO THE INVESTIGATION, THE STORY FALLS APART. >> narrator: MANSI ACKNOWLEDGES THAT SHE DOESN'T REMEMBER WHERE EXACTLY SHE STOPPED WITH HER HUSBAND AND CHILDREN THAT DAY. >> I KNOW THAT WE WERE NOT INTO CANADA. I KNOW WE WERE ON THE VERMONT SIDE, AND I KNOW THAT IT TOOK US PROBABLY AN HOUR AND A HALF TO TWO HOURS TO GET BACK TO WHERE I KNEW WHERE I WAS. >> narrator: BUT HER INABILITY TO PINPOINT HER LOCATION MAKES IT DIFFICULT, IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE, FOR EXPERTS TO EXAMINE THE VERACITY OF HER STORY. >> AND THE PROBLEM IS THAT IN THE PHOTO ITSELF, THERE'S ALMOST NOTHING OF SCALE. THERE'S NOT, LIKE, A BOAT NEARBY OR A PERSON OR ANYTHING IN THE FOREGROUND OR BACKGROUND, REALLY, THAT YOU CAN TELL HOW FAR AWAY THE OBJECT IS. SANDRA MANSI SAID IT WAS, I THINK, BETWEEN 8 AND 16 FEET. ONE PERSON HAD CLAIMED THAT HE HAD DONE ANALYSIS, BASED ON THE WAVE HEIGHT IN THE PHOTOGRAPH, THAT IS WAS UP TO, LIKE, I THINK, 60 OR 80 FEET LONG. NOW, WHICH IS IT? IS IT--IS IT 10 FEET LONG? IS IT 50 FEET LONG? IS IT 30 FEET LONG? WHAT IS IT? >> narrator: ACCORDING TO MANSI, SOME EXPERTS AGREE WITH HER ESTIMATES. IN 1991, AN OCEANOGRAPHER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA EXAMINED THE PHOTO. >> I SAID 6 TO 8 FEET OUT OF THE WATER THIS WAY AND MAYBE 8, 10 FEET THAT WAY--12 FEET. AN OCEANOGRAPHER STUDIED THE PHOTOGRAPH, DR. PAUL LEBLOND, AND HE TELLS, ACCORDING TO THE WAVE PATTERN, IT'S MUCH BIGGER THAN THAT. >> narrator: BUT ACCORDING TO LEBLOND, HIS RESULTS ARE ONLY AS ACCURATE AS THE ESTIMATES GIVEN TO HIM BY MANSI. SO WHAT IS RADFORD'S EXPLANATION FOR THE IMAGE IN THE PHOTOGRAPH? >> I'VE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT IT'S ALMOST CERTAINLY A FLOATING LOG. >> narrator: RADFORD BELIEVES MANSI'S IMAGE IS DEBRIS CARRIED FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE. >> I'VE SEEN CASES WHERE A STICK COMING UP OUT OF THE WATER CAN APPEAR TO BE MOVING BECAUSE THE WIND IS ACTUALLY PUSHING THE WATER ACROSS IT. >> narrator: DECOMPOSITION CREATES GASES WITHIN ROTTING WOOD, MAKING THEM MORE BUOYANT AND, FOR A BRIEF MOMENT, PROPELLING THEM TO THE SURFACE BEFORE SINKING SLOWLY AGAIN INTO THE LAKE. >> IT'S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT THERE'S MORE THAN ONE EXPLANATION FOR LAKE MONSTER SIGHTINGS. ANY NUMBER OF THINGS THAT AREN'T IMMEDIATELY IDENTIFIED CAN BE INTERPRETED AS LAKE MONSTERS. >> narrator: IN THE CASE OF THE MANSI PHOTO, THIS IMAGE COULD BE THE ROOT OF A TREE TRUNK THAT WAS PUSHED TO THE SURFACE BEFORE DESCENDING AGAIN INTO THE DEPTHS. >> SO WHAT I'VE DONE IS, THROUGH MY ANIMATION, I TOOK A SCALE MODEL OF A TREE STUMP, AND I ROTATED IT 360 DEGREES TO SHOW HOW A TREE STUMP COULD LOOK LIKE A LAKE MONSTER FROM A CERTAIN PERSPECTIVE. IN MY ANALYSIS OF THE MANSI PHOTOGRAPH, I WAS TRYING TO SHOW THAT THE HEAD AND THE NECK AREN'T CONNECTED. IT LOOKS LIKE THEY ARE BECAUSE THERE'S A LITTLE PATCH RIGHT HERE THAT IS ACTUALLY A SHADOW FROM THE SUN COMING DOWN, BUT THE HEAD AND THE NECK AREN'T PART OF THE SAME CREATURE COMING DOWN. >> narrator: BUT MANSI HERSELF IS UNMOVED BY THIS HYPOTHESIS. >> IT HAS BEEN SCRUTINIZED FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS. AND THEY CAN CALL ME ANYTHING THEY WANT AND THINK ANYTHING THEY WANT, BUT THEY CANNOT DEBUNK THE PHOTOGRAPH. YOU KNOW WHY? THIS IS WHAT I SAW. >> YOU'RE GETTING PARTS WHERE IT'S BOUNCING AROUND IN THE MUD, BUT THEN YOU'RE GETTING OTHER SHOTS THAT'S VERY CLEAR OF THE BOTTOM. >> narrator: IT'S BEEN SIX HOURS, AND AT 30 MILES PER HOUR, SCOTT MARDIS HAS COVERED MOST OF THE DEEP CHANNEL, BUT THEY'VE FOUND NOTHING. >> GREAT SHOTS OF THE BOTTOM. YOU CAN SEE THE MUSSELS AND EVERYTHING VERY CLEARLY. SO IF CHAMP OR A STURGEON OR WHATEVER HAD BEEN DOWN THERE, WE WOULD HAVE GOTTEN EXCELLENT VIDEO FOOTAGE OF IT. IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF THE EQUIPMENT WE WERE USING. IT'S JUST A QUESTION OF LUCK, IF THE ANIMALS WERE GONNA SHOW UP, YOU KNOW. >> narrator: BACK ASHORE, THE NEWS FROM THE FIXED-CAMERA SURVEILLANCE EFFORT IS DISHEARTENING AS WELL. >> THAT SHOT RIGHT THERE, THAT MOVEMENT. RIGHT UP IN THROUGH HERE, YOU COULD USUALLY SEE SOMETHING. >> narrator: AFTER REVIEWING HUNDREDS OF HOURS OF SURVEILLANCE VIDEO, IT'S CLEAR LAKE CHAMPLAIN IS TEEMING WITH CREATURES, BUT THERE'S NO EVIDENCE OF CHAMP. >> YOU KNOW, WE WENT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, HOURS AND HOURS OF FOOTAGE, AND WE WEREN'T ABLE TO IDENTIFY ANYTHING THAT CAME UP. MAYBE IT'S THE THE WRONG TIME OF YEAR. >> narrator: STILL, SCOTT MARDIS IS NOT DISCOURAGED. HE INTENDS TO CONTINUE HIS PURSUIT OF CHAMP, DESPITE THE DISAPPOINTING RESULT OF THIS EXPEDITION. >> EVERYBODY HAS TO LOOK AT THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE AND MAKE UP THEIR OWN MIND ON THAT. IF I TURN OUT TO BE WRONG, I COULD AT LEAST BE JUSTIFIED BY SAYING, "WELL, LOOK AT WHAT I BASED MY BELIEF ON, IS THIS BODY OF EVIDENCE OVER HERE." >> narrator: SCOTT MARDIS AND SANDRA MANSI ARE DRAWN TOGETHER AGAINST A WORLD OF SKEPTICS. >> HI, SANDRA. WE'VE MET BEFORE. I'M SCOTT MARDIS, CRYPTOZOOLOGIST. >> HI, SCOTT. HOW ARE YOU? >> narrator: AMONG EXPERTS, OPINIONS ON CHAMP'S EXISTENCE RANGE FROM GUARDED OPTIMISM TO SOMETHING MORE HOPEFUL. >> I THINK THAT SANDRA MANSI IS PROBABLY A SINCERE, HONEST EYEWITNESS WHO JUST HAPPENS TO BE WRONG ABOUT WHAT SHE SAW. >> YEAH, I DO OCCASIONALLY HAVE PEOPLE COME AND TELL ME THEY'VE SEEN SOMETHING BIZARRE, AND THEN YOU SORT OF ASK ENOUGH QUESTIONS TO SAY, "DID IT HAVE THIS KIND OF MOUTH?" OR, "WAS IT DOING THIS?" OR, "WAS IT IN THIS PART OF THE WATER?" AND THEN YOU CAN SAY, "AH, WHAT YOU'VE SEEN IS A STURGEON, A SEA LAMPREY, A, YOU KNOW, SPAWNING POPULATION OF MINNOWS." I STILL THINK IT'S A BIG FISH, IF IT'S GOING TO BE ANYTHING AT ALL. >> ECHOLOCATION ONLY EXISTS IN THOSE CREATURES THAT HAVE A HIGHLY EVOLVED COMMUNICATION CENTER LIKE WHALES AND DOLPHIN. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS. BUT IF WE DO FIND OUT, I HOPE WE LEAVE IT ALONE. >> narrator: IN FACT, THE EYEWITNESS ACCOUNTS ARE SO COMMON AND APPARENTLY CREDIBLE, IN 1982, BOTH THE VERMONT HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND THE NEW YORK STATE SENATE PASSED LAWS TO PROTECT CHAMP, EVEN WITHOUT DEFINITIVE PROOF. THE CREATURE WAS PUT ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST AS A PRECAUTION. THE LAW WILL PROTECT THE CREATURE IF ANYONE EVENTUALLY DOES COME UPON A CHAMP. AND UNTIL THAT HAPPENS, THOSE WHO ARE INCLINED TO BELIEVE CAN TAKE SOME COMFORT IN THE INTRIGUING SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS GENERATED FROM THESE INVESTIGATIONS. >> THE ECHOLOCATION FOUND IN LAKE CHAMPLAIN IS THE FIRST AND ONLY ECHOLOCATION FOUND IN A FRESHWATER LAKE. AND FOR THAT ITSELF, THE SCIENCE IS AMAZING. Captioning by<font color="#00FF00"> CaptionMax</font> www.captionmax.com
