Legend Says a River Monster Lurked South of the Missouri Ozarks

No one knows exactly what it is or where it came from, but local legends agree that some sort of river monster really did lurk in the southern part of the Missouri Ozarks.

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I have heard whispers over the years of a monster that existed (or exists) in the waters of the southern Ozarks. I found one instance of this creature mentioned by Into the Ozarks that spoke of the White River Monster.

As the legend tells it, the White River Monster is said to have capsized boats during the Civil War era. It is a creature that is said to have made it's way up from the Gulf of Mexico into the White River in Arkansas right across the Missouri border according to Wikipedia.

This creature is not some old tale in the 1800's, but even the topic of a sighting in 1971 when someone claims they saw "a dinosaur fish" as shared in a feature by Animal Planet.

There have been many controversial explanations of what the White River Monster was (or is) including some saying it was a stray elephant seal. To state the obvious, elephant seals aren't native to the Missouri/Arkansas Ozarks.

There's still no solid answer as to what this creature was (or still is). All that is certain is that the legend of the White River Monster in the Missouri/Arkansas Ozarks remains. The feature by Animal Planet is an interesting peek into this regional legend.