Filmmakers capture footage of potential Champ via drone

PORT HENRY | For filmmakers Richard Rossi and Kelly Tabor, an accidental drone capture during production of one of their films has put them on the map as discoverers of concrete visual evidence that the mythical Lake Champlain plesiosaur, Champ, may in fact really exist. On Friday, Oct. 3, the History Channel's television series "The UnXplained" hosted by William Shatner, aired Season 7, Episode 15, "Terrors of the Deep," in which Shatner explored sightings of giant sharks, ancient sea serpents, and other unidentified creatures in the world's oceans and lakes. Rossi and Tabor's footage caught the attention of the program, and their segment documented the mystery and possible discovery, of Champ. "This is really great in terms of Champ," Rossi noted. "A high point in this historical legend was the Sandra Mansi photograph, which was very iconic in the 1970s. There hasn't really been anything out on that level since." On Tuesday afternoon, July 5, 1977, somewhere between St. Albans, Vermont and the Canadian border (Mansi was never able to pinpoint her precise location), Mansi snapped what has been widely regarded as the best lake monster photograph ever taken, even appearing in the New York Times on June 30, 1981, triggering a short-lived media frenzy. Though the Mansi photo did gain national recognition and has been regarded for decades as strong proof for cryptozoology (so-called best evidence for the existence of a hidden animal) and the Holy Grail in terms of Champ sightings, substantiating claims dating back to Native American times, there were a few holes with the Polaroid image. "What I have learned from the scientists who looked at it, they felt the Mansi shot was great, but there were a few issues," Rossi said. "One, there was nothing for scale. Two, there was no original negative." In an article from The Skeptical Inquirer in June of 2013, author Robert E. Bartholomew wrote, "Images purportedly taken of monsters are notoriously blurry and vague; here was a spectacular image in full color, but without the negative or location, it was impossible to determine with any degree of certainty what was in the photo. Possessing the negative would allow the image to be magnified to see greater detail, while knowing the location could reveal important clues such as the object's size and distance." During the summer of 2022, while out in a deep section of Bulwagga Bay on Lake Champlain in a 12-foot rowboat, Rossi and actress Emma Pearson were filming a scene for Lucy and the Lake Monster. A brand new drone that had been donated to the production had just been unpackaged, and the camera crew were cutting their teeth on learning how to master it. It seemed like a normal day of shooting in, and though the drone users were wet behind the ears, they did manage to capture some aerial shots usable for the feature film. However, during editing in post-production, co-writer Tabor noticed something peculiar on the screen. "The water was clear, and there was this huge creature we caught swimming right behind us, Champ was following our boat from behind, swimming under the surface of the water," Rossi recalled. "When I saw the video of Champ swimming behind our boat after the fact, it gave me chills." It was poetic for Tabor to be the one to see the image, as she has been an ardent believer in Champ's existence her entire life. With the exact dimensions of the boat being 142" from the tip of the bow to the stern and 50.5" at the widest point, the drone footage showed Champ as being larger than the boat. "I couldn't believe what I was seeing," Tabor recalled. "It was incredible." The footage caught the attention of a production assistant as "The UnXplained", who reached out to Tabor and got the ball rolling for an interview. Rossi had already desired to get the drone footage examined by professionals, and luckily part of the process for the show is that William Shatner taps teams of scientists to vet footage before shown on television. "Shatner had the resources to do this, and when the team did tests the morphology of the body matches what they consider to be a plesiosaur," Rossi shared. "Shatner said this is perhaps the best contemporary evidence for Champ." The team of scientists also noted the subject in the drone footage included a flattened plesiosaur head, locomotion via reptilian-like fins, and a slender serpentine neck in conjunction with a more robust body structure. Adding further credence to the drone footage, Tabor and Rossi traveled to the ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT, and were treated to a rare viewing of the original Mansi photo. "What really grabbed me was of the images seen online, the picture has been zoomed in on and cropped for better effect," Rossi revealed. "In the actual polaroid, Champ is in very shallow water (not exceeding depth of 14 feet) and closer to shore… if this thing is a huge plesiosaur, how is it even going to swim in very shallow water? Shatner's team was blown away by the fact this thing we saw was bigger than our boat and we did have something for scale, as well as multiple witnesses of cast and crew." Between Tabor and Rossi, Rossi has always considered himself the "doubting Thomas" of the film team, but after his own experience, has crossed over and joined Tabor as a believer. "If Captain Kirk says it's the real deal, you can take it to the bank," he said. And if that excitement weren't enough, Tabor and Rossi are now in the editing phase of the second installment in the Lucy movie series. The film's sequel, "The Secrets of Lake Champlain," wrapped filming this past summer in Port Henry and is expected to premiere in 2026. "I have edited the first 47 minutes, and man, this is really coming along," Rossi said, adding that the final film will land around the 90-minute mark. "It's going a lot faster than last time." Tabor has relocated to the North Country for now, which has allowed her to film additional scenes here that were needed, and will be able to do so if more arise as the editing process goes on throughout the fall. "I was able to get back and get additional shots I felt would make the final film stronger," she said. "There is still a court scene that needs to be filmed, and we have scouted out Ticonderoga, Crown Point, as well as Port Henry. We haven't nailed the location down yet, but we have plenty of options." Please visit lucyandthelakemonster.com and Facebook for updates on the sequel and its progress. "Lucy and the Lake Monster" is now streaming on Prime. Full episodes of The UnXplained may be viewed at https://www.history.com/shows/the-unxplained.

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Filmmakers capture footage of potential Champ via drone

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