By Tim Binnall
A Florida college student on vacation in Canada believes that he snapped a photo of a mysterious Nessie-like creature emerging from a river. The strange image was reportedly taken by Matthew D'Amico as he and his family were visiting Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada last week. During a break from hiking at the site, the teenager was admiring the Bow River when he caught sight of something strange protruding from the water.
"All the hairs on my body went up as I became astonished at what I saw," D'Amico recalled. The oddity that caught his eye appeared to be "a prehistoric animal swimming" that bore an uncanny resemblance to the infamous Surgeon's photo of the Loch Ness Monster. It would seem that the similarity was not lost on the young man nor his sister who also saw the possible creature and was said to be equally amazed. According to D'Amico, he sent his sister to run back and get their parents to see the 'monster,' but it had vanished by the time that they arrived.
Fortunately, D'Amico was able to take a picture of the potential creature using his cell phone. His assessment of the evidence leads one to suspect that perhaps the teen may not be taking the sighting too seriously as he declared that "I have what I believe to be the most accurate photo of the Loch Ness Monster that has been captured" since the iconic 1933 image. Beyond the implausibility that the famed cryptid could have somehow journeyed over 4,000 miles to Canada, skeptical observers will undoubtedly argue that the shallow water in which the 'creature' sits suggests that it is probably just a curious-looking stick.