Did People Really Spot a 20 Foot Long Monster in Caddo Lake?

It was March of 1969 when J.L. Wilson, a writer for the Shreveport Times, first broke the news to the public.

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Caddo Lake was home to a monster! This monster was approximately 18 to 20 feet in length, and though no one actually had photographic evidence of its existence, scores of other people reported they had also spotted the creature.

The Man Who First Reported The Monster Wasn't Known To Tell Tall Tales

According to Wilson, the first reported sighting of the creature was from someone who Wilson referred to as "a very reliable source" who "doesn't drink" "is pretty sharp and not easily fooled" and had been a commercial fisherman on Caddo Lake "for 35 years and has been on the lake night and day."

This source and a fellow fisherman were in the area of Swanson's Landing on the south shore of Caddo Lake, when they say they spotted a dark colored creature they estimated to be from 18 to 20 feet long, moving slowly along the surface of the water with approximately 6 inches of its back and head above the surface." He stated that at first he thought it was a "boat with its bottom turned up" but they kept watching and "it started to move."

Once The First Story Was Told, Many Others Supported The Sighting

After the original writing appeared in the Shreveport Times, the writer was notified by several other individuals that they too had spotted a creature matching this description.

In fact, a Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McLeod of Shreveport, stated that they had tied their boat to a tree as they fished for white perch near Fred Miller's old boat launch in Buzzard Bay, not far from the present day Buzzard Bay Marina, and the creature ran into their boat, capsizing it and spilling all three occupants into the water.

Caddo Lake Is Home To A Number Of Legends

Of course, Caddo Lake has had its share of perceived "near impossible" stories. Legend has it that its very creation came about because of a Caddo chief's failure to obey the Great Spirit which caused an earthquake that formed the lake.

In fact, other Native American folklore holds that Caddo Lake was once home to a turtle so large that they thought it was an island and held a dance on its back.

However, in the case of this "monster" so many people reported sightings that the writer felt it deserved to be named and he dubbed it "Cypress Cindy" in the event it was a female or "Cypress Bill" if it proved to be male.

Exactly What Was This Thing?

Though no one has ever proven the existence of this "monster" or its origin, it has been suggested that it was likely a manatee, which appear regularly in fresh water lakes in Florida. However, those manatees are typically 9 to 10 feet long, but there is speculation they could reach 13 feet in length, but no where near the estimated 18 to 20 feet that "Cypress Cindy" was reported to be.

So, who knows what it truly was, or if it's still there, just lurking below the surface, waiting for another opportunity to make a surprise re-appearance.

To read all of J.L. Wilson's articles on the matter, just go to HERE.