Creature record / 1959
March 28, 1959. A Saturday night on the swampy edge of Charles Mill Lake, Ohio, near Ruggles Road. Three teenage friends, Denny Patterson, Wayne Armstrong and Michael Lane, were on the shore. Then something rose up from the black water in front of them. It stood about 7 feet tall. It had no arms. Its eyes were luminous and green. Its feet were large and webbed. The boys made a quick getaway and called the authorities. Officers came to the shore. They found no creature. Only a series of tracks that resembled the footgear worn by skin divers.
Charles Mill Lake is a flood-control reservoir in Ashland and Richland counties, Ohio, about 10 miles east of Mansfield. Its dam was built in 1935 and 1936. Depending on the water level, the lake covers between 1,350 and 6,050 acres. At its edges, the shore turns to swamp.