I knew this story was going to be trouble the moment
the Turner woman reported to me that she had found a mysterious animal dead
on her property. By trouble, I mean I knew it would turn into news. And I
knew that news would be big.
In Maine, we love our creatures stories. We want
something mysterious wandering the woods because there is so much of it.
Give us a legendary beast to talk about, and we can begin to explain some of
the strangeness that happens up here.
Not to mention, it gives us something with which to
chill relatives when they visit for the holidays.
But of course, it's not just us. There are very few
people who can resist a mystery. By the time I wandered out of bed the day
the story first ran, I heard about the calls, the emails, the newsroom
visits. Scientists wanted to talk. The media all over the world was
scrounging. Average Joe's wanted to talk about their experiences with "the
creature." Or, the way they told it: "THE CREATURE!"
One man told me he owns the bones of such a creature
and that those bones are lanced with razor blades. Another caller insisted
the animal found next to the power lines was extraterrestrial in origin and
he could prove it. And on and on it went. I received maybe four dozen
e-mails, phone calls and random encounters on the street by the time the day
was done.
But perhaps the most compelling email was the very
last one I received. It came from man in Wisconsin who flat out insists the
mystery beast is nothing more than an unkempt blue chow that was running
wild. And he provided photos. I'll include one of those photos below to be
compared with the enigmatic creature that so galvanized the news reading
world for those two days in August.
By Mark LaFlamme
Sun Journal
Staff Writer
TURNER - An animal found dead along the
power lines over the weekend may be the mystery creature that has roamed the
area for years, mauling dogs and frightening residents.
Or it could be a dog that has been running wild in the woods.
It depends on who you ask.
The animal was found along Route 4 on Saturday after neighbors say it was
struck by a car while chasing a cat across the street. The carcass was
photographed and inspected by several people who live in the area, but
nobody seems to know what it might be.
"This is something I've never seen before," said Mike O'Donnell, who lives
near the area where the creature was found. "It's an evil looking thing. It
looks like half-rodent, half-dog."
Wildlife officials and animal control officers told about the find declined
to go to Turner to examine the remains. By Tuesday, the carcass had been
picked clean by vultures and there was not much left of the dead animal.
But Loren Coleman, considered by some to be the leading cryptozoologist in
the world, said one thing is clear: the creature found in Turner is not
likely somebody's pet.
"It certainly doesn't look like a chow or any kind of domesticated dog that
I've seen," Coleman said after reviewing photos of the animal. "It may be a
hybrid between a dog and a wolf."
Since
1991, residents across Androscoggin County have reported seeing and hearing
a beast that defies classical description. Theories have ranged from a
fisher, a coy dog, a hyena or a dingo to more fanciful ideas: some believe
the local creature is Maine's own Chupacabra.
In 2004, the enigmatic animal was blamed for attacking and killing a
16-year-old Doberman in Wales. Last year, it was a suspect when a Rottweiler
was mauled in Greene. Others have reported seeing it or hearing the
creature's screams in the night.
Witnesses have said that the animal had eyes that glowed in the night.
Others reported a high scream that chilled them. One woman considered moving
out of her Litchfield home after hearing the animal's monstrous cry one
night in 1991.
Whether the creature found dead in Turner this weekend is the same one that
spurred those legends could not be verified, though the descriptions of the
animal were consistent with past accounts.
Michelle O'Donnell said she spotted the animal near her yard roughly a week
before the carcass was discovered.
"It was evil, evil looking. And it had a horrible stench I will never
forget," she said. "We locked eyes for a few seconds and then it took off.
I've lived in Maine my whole life and I've never seen anything like it."
Down the road, Kenny Buck said it was his cat that was chased by the
creature. The cat was found dead near Route 4 a day before the bigger,
meaner beast was discovered.
"That's no dog," he said of the dead animal found near his property.
Dana Johnson, a professional trapper known as "The Creature Catcher,"
examined the photographs Tuesday night. His guess: a black coyote with
abnormal features.
The neighbors who found the animal called a Maine game warden who told them
he could not drive from Poland to Turner to inspect the remains. The warden
told them it was probably a coyote and told them to research it online. They
were advised to call Central Maine Power Co. to haul the carcass away, since
it was found near the power lines.
Michelle O'Donnell said she researched the Internet extensively and could
not identify the animal that way. She and her husband said they were more
interested in finding out what it is than having it hauled away in haste.
"We've been hearing stories about this thing for years - about this thing
that's been attacking, shredding and eating other animals," said Mike
O'Donnell. "This is something that's not supposed to be out there."
Coleman, the cryptozoologist who has been studying wildlife for 46 years and
who has written 27 books on the subject, said he was bothered by the ears
and the snout of the creature found in Turner. It reminded him of a case
years ago in Northern Maine in which an animal shot by a hunter could not be
identified.
So perplexing was that case, wildlife officials sent away for DNA analysis.
In the end, it was declared a rare wolf-dog hybrid.
Since
the attack that killed the Doberman in 2004 in Wales, several people from
Litchfield, Sabattus, Greene, Turner, Lewiston and Auburn have come forward
to speak of a mystery monster that roams the woods. Skeptics have insisted
the creature is probably a coy dog, a fisher or a wolf. Those who have seen
it, demand that it is none of the above.
What was found dead in Turner over the weekend was described as charcoal
gray and weighing between 40 and 50 pounds. It had a bushy tail, an
extremely short snout and short ears. There were also curled fangs hanging
over the lips.
