The Bear Lake monster is a cryptid that has been appearing in folklore near Bear Lake which is on the Utah/Idaho border.
The most reported description is that it resembles a serpent, but with legs about 18 inches long. One report said that it was a light cream color and that it was faster than a locomotive. Others report seeing a monster like animal that was at least 50 feet long.
LDS leaders took an interest in the creature when in 1886 an article in the Deseret News announced that, "The Indians have a tradition concerning a strange, serpent-like creature inhabiting the waters of Bear Lake.... Now, it seems this water devil, as the Indians called it, has again made an appearance. A number of our white settlers declare they have seen it with their own eyes. This Bear Lake Monster, they now call it, is causing a great deal of excitement up here" and then the author went on to relate several sightings of the creature.
The LDS leaders decided to then visit the area on preaching tours and then took the opportunity to speak the residents firsthand. The Deseret News continued to publish articles though they did so skeptically.
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