Fishermen have been frantically dragging a lake in Canada where the corpse of a bizarre looking animal was discovered.
But days of search party expeditions in Kitchenuhmaykoosib, northern Ontario, have so far proved fruitless with local residents failing to unearth the body of the mystery creature.
A website for the town has posted a link to pictures of fishermen searching for the white-eyed creature, dubbed a lake gargoyle in some media reports, using boats. Other photos show locals combing the shoreline for clues.
PHOTOS: Baffling mystery creature
The strange animal has generated worldwide interest after local authorities last week released a series of photos taken by two nurses who found it.
Bearing matted fur, a rat-like tail and a feline face, the animal was variously speculated to be anything from a bear to a mixed breed of an otter and a beaver.
But the mystery is likely to remain unsolved unless the corpse can be found.
The two nurses found the creature in early May said they left it on the rocky shoreline where they first saw it, the Globe and Mail news website reports.
Not being local to the area, the pair assumed the creature was a regional animal they weren't familiar with.
Once they realised the importance of their discovery, they returned to scene only to find the corpse had disappeared.
"Whether it was eaten by dogs or it was washed away because this was on the shore, or it was eaten by seagulls, I don't know," local councillor Darryl Sainnawap told the website.
"All we know is it’s not there anymore and what’s left of it are the pictures."
The creature is known in the town as the "ugly one" and, according to the website, community elders have seen similar creatures before.
Elders have described the discovery of an ugly one as a "bad omen".
It seems the town, which has a population of 1200, is no stranger to sightings of mythical beasts, with several local residents also claiming to have spotted their own Loch Ness Monster.
"Several community members have seen a huge water snake in the deep waters of Kitchenuhmay koosib. They have seen it even around the bay of the community,"a post on the town website reads.
"In the 40's and 50's, community members used to see Mermaids sitting on rock islands or popping out of the waters," it added.
The discovery has drawn comparisons with photographs taken of another mystery creature — the so-called "Montauk Monster" — which supposedly washed up in New York in 2008.
The photos received widespread media attention but the carcass was never found, prompting speculation the discovery was a hoax.
p>Then last year, photos were published of a mystery 'Gollum-like creature' spotted in Panama.
In North Carolina a supposed "sewer monster" was revealed as thousands of worms attached together.
Front page
RSS Feed