The Lake Champlain Serpent: America's Oldest Monster

In July 1977, Sandra Mansi captured what became the most famous piece of Champ evidence while vacationing with her family at Lake Champlain. The photograph shows a dark, serpentine neck and head protruding from the water near St. Albans Bay, Vermont. Mansi didn't report the sighting until 1981, when she contacted Joseph Zarzynski, founder of the Lake Champlain Phenomena Investigation. The image underwent extensive analysis by photo experts including J. Richard Greenwell of the International Society of Cryptozoology and computer analysts at the University of Vermont. The object appears to be 15-20 feet long with a distinctive neck structure unlike known lake fauna. Digital enhancement revealed no obvious signs of manipulation, though the original negative was reportedly lost. The photograph's chain of custody issues and four-year delay in reporting raised questions among skeptics. The analysis was documented in Zarzynski's book *Monster Wrecks of Loch Ness and Lake Champlain* (1986). Despite technical scrutiny, experts remain divided on authenticity. The photograph is publicly available through various cryptozoology archives and news sources. Why would a family fabricate evidence four years after the fact, or does the image show elaborate hoaxing techniques ahead of its time?

In July 2023, a chartered fishing vessel on Lake Champlain captured an anomalous sonar return using a Garmin Eco Map UHD unit. Captain Scott Thurber was fishing for lake trout when the equipment displayed a large, structured form moving beneath the boat. The sonar image shows what appears to be a sizeable body with distinct features — a set of fins, a long neck, and a possible tail — cruising at depth below the vessel. The return was captured using CHIRP sonar technology, which uses a range of frequencies to produce higher-resolution images than traditional sonar, making misidentification of debris or fish schools less likely. Thurber shared the image publicly, noting the object appeared on the bottom of the screen as the anomalous shape passed above. The capture quickly drew attention from cryptozoology researchers as one of the clearest sonar contacts potentially depicting Champ in recent years. While skeptics suggest the image could represent a large fish like a sturgeon or a sonar artifact, the defined anatomical structure visible in the return has made it a compelling piece of modern evidence in the ongoing investigation of Lake Champlain's unidentified aquatic presence.

On August 5, 2019, Katy Elizabeth, director of the Champ Search research group, captured a striking sonar image while conducting echo scans of Lake Champlain aboard a 17-foot Bayliner. Elizabeth and two fellow researchers were completing a 30-mile radius scan covering both the New York and Vermont sides of the lake when the image was recorded. The sonar — a Raymarine Dragonfly 4 Pro using CHIRP technology — captured what Elizabeth identified as two large animals near the lake bottom at a depth of approximately 165 feet on the Vermont side. She estimated the objects at roughly 25 and 30 feet in length, noting visible protuberances on their heads consistent with previous Champ descriptions. The image was taken while the vessel was traveling at approximately 45 mph. A Raymarine representative noted that at that speed, normal fish would typically appear blurred, but acknowledged he had no experience with targets of that size and could not dismiss the reading. The sonar's CHIRP technology transmits across a range of frequencies, producing higher-resolution returns than conventional sonar. Elizabeth, who has studied marine biology and bioacoustics, submitted the images to a retired optical physicist formerly with the U.S. Navy for independent analysis. New York's Department of Environmental Conservation has not acknowledged the findings, stating that solid scientific evidence of the creature has yet to surface. Elizabeth has continued conducting systematic sonar surveys of the lake, building what she considers a growing body of echo-location evidence for an unidentified aquatic population in Lake Champlain.