by VDC staff

There’s every reason to be skeptical about alleged sightings of Champ, the legendary Lake Champlain monster. Particularly when those claiming to have seen him are preparing a Champ documentary and publicizing a children’s book about Champ. However, the video released by Richard Rossi and Crown Point NY native Kelly Tabor is enough to make skeptics at least a little skeptical about their skepticism. 

As reported by CHNI and other news outlets, a drone video capturing a large, dark shape moving beneath a boat on Lake Champlain has landed filmmakers Richard Rossi and Kelly Tabor on an episode of William Shatner’s The UnXplained.

The footage was recorded in 2024 while the pair were filming a scene for their upcoming movie, The Secrets of Lake Champlain, in Bulwagga Bay near Port Henry. The video shows what appears to be a massive object swimming just beneath the surface behind their rowboat.

“The water was clear. It was a nice summer day,” Rossi said. “We were in our rickety rowboat out in the middle of Lake Champlain when we caught this huge creature swimming right behind us. When I saw the video later, it gave me chills.”

Rossi said the shape appeared only yards from the boat. After reviewing the footage, the filmmakers contacted scientists, some of whom suggested the object resembles a plesiosaur — a long-necked aquatic reptile believed to have gone extinct about 66 million years ago. Plesiosaurs were known to grow up to 40 feet long and lived in both freshwater and saltwater environments.

The sighting was featured in the Oct. 3 episode of The UnXplained, titled “Terrors of the Deep.” On the program, host William Shatner called the footage “extraordinary,” asking whether it could represent “a relic from the age of the dinosaurs, deep in the waters of Lake Champlain.”

The History Channel series explores unexplained phenomena around the world and is available on cable and streaming platforms.

The Secrets of Lake Champlain is a follow-up to Rossi and Tabor’s earlier film, Lucy and the Lake Monster, which centered on a young girl who befriends the legendary lake creature known as Champ. The new film is expected to be released in summer 2026 on Amazon Prime Video and other streaming services.

Tabor, a native of Crown Point, writes the stories the films are based on, while Rossi serves as the project’s producer.