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Idaho

The Bear Lake Monster: The Hoax That Would Not Die

November 9, 2026November 9, 2026 by Tommy Hayes
Aerial view of Bear Lake on the Utah–Idaho border, its turquoise water ringed by dry hills — the lake of the Bear Lake Monster legend

About 4 min readIn 1868 a young Mormon lawyer wrote newspaper stories about a serpent in Bear Lake — and 26 years later admitted it was all ‘a wonderful first-class lie.’ The monster, however, refused to die. The last reported sighting was in 2002.

Categories Cryptids & Creatures Tags Bear Lake Monster, Explained, hoax, Idaho, Joseph Rich, Utah Leave a comment

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