Sea Monster Scare in Rhode Island

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Fall River residents Dennis Vasconcellos, Rachel Carney, Joey Mailloux, Tracy Roberts, a young child and another woman were at Teddy's Beach in the Island Park section of Portsmouth Tuesday afternoon when things got a little scary.

Half the group was fishing, while the other half were either swimming or playing in the sand. But what seemed to be the perfect summer afternoon got turned upside down the moment Vasconcellos heard his fiancÈ, Carney, scream.

Carney was screaming for help, yelling that something was after her. An unknown ominous sea creature seemed to be toying with Carney, who was swimming beyond the "Danger" sign posted at the quiet beach.

The sea creature -- described as being about 15-feet long, with four-inch teeth, greenish-black skin and a white belly -- was swimming around Carney and popping its head out of the water to expose its teeth and hiss in a manner that could not soon be forgotten, Carney said.

"I was deep out in the water and kept hearing this hissing sound. Then I saw its head come up showing me its big teeth," Carney said. "It kept rolling while it was swimming and knocking into my feet. I just froze."

In the meantime, Vasconcellos said he swam out to her aide and just grabbed her from the backside and told her "don't look back."

"This thing was big. I mean it's head was almost the size of a basketball," Vasconcellos said. "I just kept backing in to shore, but it was looking at me and hissing. The other people around there were pulling their kids out of the water."

Within minutes, the pair was back near the beach and safe again.

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth's Center for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, one of the leadingmarine science research centers in the region, has its lead aquaculturist baffled by the description of the serpent-like creature.

Ed Baker, the center's lead aquaculturist, said Wednesday that the description given is unlike any animal he knows. He said it is conceivable that a tropical animal was swept northward through a strong and warm gulf current.

He said a piranha was recently found in Coventry, R.I., and an alligator is on the run in Lincoln, R.I.

Therefore, the mystery animal may have been placed in the water by a local resident or it may have been carried into Rhode Island waters from the south.

While the drama was playing out, Mailloux, who was nursing a badly wounded leg in the brackish water said he witnessed the whole thing.

"I just saw (Carney) swimming as fast as I've ever seen anyone go," Mailloux said. "Then I saw this big, big thing spinning around the two of them.

"It kind of looked like a giant eel to me, but I'm sure it wasn't because it was so big and had that white belly."

Mailloux and the others said it was difficult to get to sleep Tuesday night. He said he felt partly responsible because the sea creature may have been attracted to the blood pouring out from his leg into the water.

Mailloux, just minutes before, had caught a fish and slipped on the rocks near the beach, cutting his legs.

"I don't know if it was a shark or what. All I know is that (Carney and Vasconcellos) were both hysterical when they got out of the water," Mailloux said. "I've lived near water for years and have never seen an animal like that, ever."

Vasconcellos is also a somewhat experienced fisherman and also stated that he has no idea what the creature was.

"My heart is still pounding. I don't want to seem scared but people should know to keep their children close, because that thing was definitely big enough to kill us," Vasconcellos said. "I thought I was dead."

Portsmouth police said Wednesday that they have not received any calls about the large animal. But Vasconcellos said he would be calling the police to report what he and the rest of his group saw.

Mailloux said he thinks the animal is nesting under the unusually warm waters of the protected cove. He said he saw the animal disappear near one of six broken-down piers in the area, which could be used as a nesting area.

"That thing was not from around here," Mailloux said. "I think it might have come up with the tropical stream of water and found a good place to breed this summer."

Baker said Mailloux's hypothesis about the animal breeding in the area is "somewhat of a stretch," and believes that the mysterious sea creature is probably in distress and is using the pier structure as a place to hide.

Gregg M. Miliote may be reached at gmiliote@heraldnews.com.

Well, a species of eel. Or maybe a species of shark mutaded. Are there any nuclear power plants arond? or a nuclear dumping ground? Or a new species of water snake. Or just a croc. Sure they weren't drunk?

It might have been a result of a bioenigineering experiment (chupacabra...) and it escaped. I've never heard of an eel or shark that grinned at the victim, showing the teeth.

Showing its teeth like gators do when they are showing dominance over visitor. Whatever it was, it was not scared and certainly knew it was in control. Doesn't sound like a creature that was lost and confused.

Aren't those waters pretty dark up in Rhode Island

it does sound like a gator, its green on its back, its white on its belly, it has 4 inch teeth, its 15 feet long, and it does the death roll, sounds like a gator to me...perhaps they were tippin the bottle a few too many times?

Yes, I agree the waters are as dark as their beer up their in Rhode Island. Gotta be a Gator.

It could have been an aligator,or some other animal in its nesting ground ,which could explain why it was trying to scare the people instead of actualy killing them.

this might be a far stretch but what about a anaconda? someone had it as a pet then let it go because it got to big.

Well, I am not sure about this 100%, but I am pretty sure the only salt water crocodiles are from Australia. I dont think I have heard of salt water alligators. Which is besides the point, there were several witnesses who said they had never seen anything like it. That include fishermen, who I suppose are the aqautic version of expert observers.

It could have been an anaconda I suppose, they spend most of their lives in the water and are reported to grow quite large. However, there is mounting evidence that there are "large" animals living in the ocean that we dont have a clue about. From my own research, if a plesiosaur "type" creature washed up on the beach I wouldnt be totally surprised.

I agrre will. How could there not be bigger animal's we have never seen it would be impossible to check the whole ocean at once correct? Just like I believe that there are land animal's that have not been seen and maybe never will. someone can not be everywhere looking at once so the only way that we here anything is when someone doe's see something and everyone think's they are crazy or drunk. Back in the early 70's me and my brother seen thing's that were quite strange but never got close enuff for a good look and didn't really want to at the time for I was only 4 or 5 at the time. let's just say that it was by those big entrance's to a sewer or whatever it was that we used to walk into. These were big enuff that a car sould drive into them.

This kind of reminds me of a wise old saying, even if I don't remember who it was that originally said it:

"The wisest animals are those that have never been seen by mankind."

Those that have been *rarely* seen make up the basis of creatures like sasquatch...

Then again, perhaps *this* particular story could be chalked up to misidentification, as SetiPsychic first indicated.

Still, my opinion on this is, "Who knows?" After all, I wasn't there, I've never seen this particualr creature & I have no idea what kind of other circumstances were involved (such as the imbibing of alcolhol, for example) during that time.

i still say its a bioenigineering mistake *coughchupacabracough* that escaped or killed all the scientists , and like another post, a giant squid showed up on shore in aussie or sumthin, we have no idea what the hell is really out there, in the amazon, theres probably atleast 50 species that have never been seen that have gone extinct

Only 50, Inspectah? Were you aware that the estimates of species (both plant & animal) made extinct by Amazonian clear-cutting comes out to about 200 extinctions per acre?

i was talking about species that havent been discovered and were driven to extiction because of natural selection or whatever

and i shouldnt know bout that crap, i not no wierd tree huggin enviromentalist

3/4 of this planet is covered in water theres probably hundreds of species of animals just waiting to be discovered.

probably a new specie or a genetic experiment gone AWOL,
because sharks dont do this --->