Filmmakers Richard Rossi and Kelly Tabor believe they have captured the strongest evidence yet of Champ, the legendary lake monster of Lake Champlain, according to the Daily Mail. the pair discovered the footage while editing their family film 'Lucy and the Lake Monster,' spotting a large unidentified creature swimming behind their 11-foot boat in background footage shot in 2023. the clip, unnoticed for nearly two years, has reignited interest in a centuries-old mystery that has inspired over 300 eyewitness accounts in the region.

Behind the 11-Foot Boat: A Two-Year-Old Discovery Resurfaces

During the editing process in 2025 , Tabor noticed something unusual on her large screen TV. According to Rossi, she called him and said, "There's a large creature swimming behind the rope." What she described seeing was a shape unlike any fish she had encountered on the lake. "When I saw it, I saw it was like a skinny neck, and that the body got larger... It looked like the skinny neck was oscillating back and forth, as if it was grazing underwater," Tabor told the Daily Mail. The footage had been captured during the production of 'Lucy and the Lake Monster,' a children's film centered on the mystery of Champ, but went unnoticed until Tabor reviewed it nearly two years later.

300 Eyewitness Accounts and the 187-Foot Snake: Port Henry's Enduring Legend

The mystery of Champ has deep roots in local culture, stretching back centuries. The first widely documented modern sighting occurred in 1819 when Captain Crum reportedly saw an enormous black creature in Bulwagga Bay, measuring roughly 187 feet long with eyes resembling a peeled onion, according to local lore. Since then, hundreds of sightings have been reported, particularly around Port Henry, New York, which markets itself as the home of Champ. Tabor, a native of nearby Crown Point, noted that the area has over 300 eyewitness accounts of the Lake Champlain monster. Some believers suggest Champ could be a surviving plesiosaur or an ancient whale ancestor called a zeuglodon, while skeptics attribute sightings to misidentified fish, floating logs, or waves . The legend is deeply woven into the region's economy and culture , with festivals and businesses celebrating the creature.

What the Footage Reveals — and What It Doesn't: Oscillating Neck or Optical Illusion?

The filmmakers' footage shows a disturbance behind their boat that they interpret as a large creature with a long neck. Tabor described the movement as oscillating back and forth, as if grazing underwater. Rossi admitted he was skeptical at first, but upon reviewing the footage himself, he was stunned. However, the footage remains publicly unreleased, and no independent expert has yet analyzed it. The filmmakers plan to submit the clip to specialists for analysis and release it to the public.. Whether it will provide the conclusive proof that Champ believers have sought for generations remains an open question. As the Daily Mail reports, the source does not include analysis from any marine biologist or cryptozoologist, leaving room for alternative explanations. As with many such sightings, the footage could be interpreted as a large fish, a log, or even a wake pattern — a point that will likely fuel debate until expert analysis is completed.