Mysterious sea creature spotted in Madeira Beach canal

Preston Rudie
17 November 2009

Madeira Beach, Florida -- Russ Sittloh says a mysterious serpent-like creature that's at least 20 feet long has been swimming in the canal behind his Madeira Beach home and he wants to find out what it is.

"The head will come up and then it will disappear and then the next thing you know, you'll see a couple rolls behind it," Sittloh said.

Sittloh has named the creature "Normandy Nessie" after the road he lives on. The 78-year-old retired engineer has also set up a camera to capture video of the creature and so far he's recorded "Normandy Nessie" six times.

Photo Gallery: Sittloh's images of Normandy Nessie

"When I first saw it (in April) I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was so unreal."

But Sittloh is not the only person who claims to have seen a mysterious serpent-like creature swimming around Madeira Beach. Bill Van Aken and his wife, Maria, say they have both seen it.

"I didn't see the tail come out of the water like Russ did, but I could see the wake that it was leaving. It had to be at least 15-feet or longer," Bill Van Aken said.

After watching some of the videos Sittloh has recorded, a biologist with Florida Fish and Wildlife says the creature in question appears to be a manatee.

"Like I said, the rate of speed and the size looks indicative of a large adult manatee taking a break and going back down," Andy Garrett with FWC said.

But Sittloh insists it's not a manatee. "I've swam with manatees, I've swam with sharks, I've swam with sea snakes, there is no way it's a manatee."

Sittloh says it's possible the creature could be an anaconda but he says "Normandy Nessie" has a tail fin that's not consistent with snakes.

You can find Sittloh's videos by going to http://www.photobucket.com/ and searching for "Normandy Nessie."

Sittloh adds he's seen at least two of the sea creatures and he's concerned they could be dangerous.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/mostpop/story.aspx?storyid=117916

(Submitted by Andy C)