Beast of Busco

The Beast of Busco Words from a Skeptic…

Churubusco, Indiana – Folk Lake While the idea of a massive turtle living in a lake is

First Sighting: July 19481 fascinating, and perhaps even the truth, there is a more

Last Sighting: July 19492 plausible scientific explanation for Oscar’s existence. It’s called

Alleged to have a shell the size of a car, the Beast of Busco is the alligator snapping turtle. The largest recorded alligator
said to be a massive turtle living in Folk Lake. It was first
sighted in July 1948 by Charley Wilson and Ora Blue while they snapping turtle weighs in at just over 230 pounds, though there
were fishing in the lake. The tale quickly spread through the
town, and the Beast of Busco was nicknamed Oscar after the are unconfirmed reports of these turtles growing as large as 403
original owner of Folk Lake. Most people were skeptical of the
story, since Charley Wilson was known for his dramatic stories, pounds2. The average shell length of these turtles is 26 inches,
however, when Gale Harris, owner of Folk Lake, also claimed to
have seen the turtle, the town begin turtle-hunting. In March of far larger than the average turtle, and is sometimes called the
1949, thousands of people came to Folk Lake looking for the
Beast of Busco, and that is when things got interesting1. “dinosaur of the turtle world” due to its prehistoric appearance4.

Harris developed an obsession with capturing Oscar. His The size and strange appearance of this turtle, which is pictured
methods included dynamite, divers, chicken wire traps, and
finally, draining the entire lake. When the lake was nearly in Figure 1, makes it subject to perceptual errors.
empty, the sump pump he was using broke and Harris was
hospitalized with appendicitis. By the time he was released from It is likely, that what Wilson, Blue, Harris, and others saw
the hospital, rain had ruined any chance of capturing Oscar2.
Harris, now broke from the unsuccessful turtle-hunt, sold his in 1948, was a larger than average alligator snapping turtle.
land, and Oscar was never seen or searched for again. One
theory posits that the turtle escaped through tunnels under the Wilson was known for having an overly active imagination.
lake, but the more likely theory is that Oscar suffocated in an
attempt to avoid the lake being drained1. That is… if the Beast Upon seeing a strange looking and likely unfamiliar animal, he
of Busco even existed in the first place.
could easily manufacture a story that a giant turtle lived in Folk
Sources
1 http://www.unknownexplorers.com/beastofbusco.php Lake. Townsfolk and tourists who claim to have seen Oscar
2 https://anomalien.com/the-beast-of-busco-what-happened-in-indiana/
3 https://turtledaysdotcom.wordpress.com/ probably experienced similar perceptual confusion, choosing to
4 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/a/alligator-snapping-turtle/
5 https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Reptiles/Alligator-Snapping- believe that the large, odd-looking animal, was an
Turtle
unexplainable cryptid rather than an oversized alligator

snapping turtle1. Want to see Oscar

yourself?

Figure 15 Churubusco, Indiana,

known as Turtletown USA,

hosts an annual Turtle

Days Festival celebrating

Oscar. The 2020 festival is

June 17-20 and will feature

concerts, fireworks, rides,

concessions, and more.

More details can be found

here: https://turtledaysdot

com.wordpress.com/ 3