Ontario

Written by Brian Baker
SCARBOROUGH - Strange 'thing' was reportedly witnessed and video-taped in the mid-1960s at the Scarborough Bluffs.

Lori Rutledge-Card was approximately nine years old when the sighting took place and her father was quick enough to catch the serpentine creature on film.

A recent immigrant to Canada in the 1960s from Scotland, the residence for Loch Ness, Rutledge-Card was a local visitor to the Scarborough Bluffs.

"Every Sunday, my dad would take my brother and me for long walks along the top of the Bluffs, so that we could enjoy the awesome view of the Lake [Ontario]," said Rutledge-Card.

The month of the particular sighting in question was estimated to be February, in which Rutledge-Card's father was filming the scenery with his 8 mm camera.

"It was chilly and unfortunately I cannot recall the month, but what I do recall is that the lake had ice on top, not everywhere, but further out from shore."

Consistent temperatures of under four degrees Fahrenheit during the months of February and March can cause freezing in Lake Ontario during winter months, running amuck with shipping routes and ferries.

It was during this time of year that Lori and her family witnessed what she calls, for the lack of a better term 'thing'

"[It] was out quite a ways from the shore, and [my dad] pointed it out to my brother and I… this thing appeared black against the floating ice, then it began heading in from the ice towards the shore - but certainly it ruled out a person in distress," said Rutledge-Card.

For the next 15 minutes the Rutledge-Card family filmed with their 8 mm camera as the creature traveled closer to the shore.

"I recall my dad saying that maybe it was something that we were unaware of, considering we were in a new country, and then we laughed and thought of our own Nessie, maybe she followed us to Canada." Rutledge said.

The Loch Ness monster, or Nessie - as it is more affectionately referred to as, is a plesiosaur like creature that inhabits a glacier carved lake in Northern Scotland.

"My dad filmed [the creature] as it did again move forward and go underwater and reappear, then it went under again and gone. Which made us wonder, if its head is out of the water, you would think it breathed air, then how could it just disappear underwater for so long?"

The plesiosaur was a marine reptile from the late Triassic period. First discovered in 1821, it was one of the first dinosaurs recorded in the annals of palaeontology along with the Iguanodon.

Most marine reptiles are known to swim with their heads above the water, as is the case with iguanas and Komodo Dragons.

Currently the 8 mm tape of the incident is being converted to contemporary media files.

Click here to view video clip!

Our thanks go out to the witness for this report and the usage of her video.