June 3, 2009 Strange sighting on Lake Champlain

BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A cell-phone video of a mysterious object in Lake Champlain has some wondering if it's "Champ," a legendary Loch Ness-style monster said to roam the lake's depths.

The video, taken by Eric Olsen, of Burlington, shows an object moving through the water in a small cove, apparently swimming and raising its head above the surface several times.

The video, which was shot Sunday from Oak Ledge Park in Burlington, was posted on Youtube. The Burlington Free Press says Olsen, who titled it "Strange Sighting on Lake Champlain" stopped short of calling it Champ. He couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. He has no listed telephone number, and he didn't respond to requests for comment made through social networking sites.

Joe Nickell, a cryptozoologist in Amherst, N.Y., says his best guess is that the object was a moose calf.

Information from: The Burlington Free Press, http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)