| Beast of Busco | |
| Sub Grouping: | Lake monster |
| Similar Entities: | alligator snapping turtle |
| Country: | United States |
| Region: | Maumee Valley, Northern Indiana |
| Details: | Found in water |
| First Attested: | 1898 |
In Indiana folklore, the Beast of Busco is an enormous snapping turtle which citizens claimed to have seen in 1949. Despite a month-long hunt that briefly gained national attention, the "Beast of Busco" was never found.[1]
In 1898, a farmer named Oscar Fulk claimed to have seen a giant turtle living in the seven-acre lake on his farm near Churubusco, Indiana. He told others about it, but eventually he decided to drop the matter.[2]
A half century later, in July 1948, two Churubusco citizens, Ora Blue and Charley Wilson, also reported seeing a huge turtle (weighing an estimated 500 pounds) while fishing on the same lake, which had come to be known as Fulk Lake. A farmer named Gale Harris owned the land at that time. Harris and others also reported seeing the creature. Word spread.[3]
In early 1949, a UPI reporter from Fort Wayne sent the story out on the wire services, and the turtle became nationally famous.[3]
Curious mobs of sightseers began to invade Harris’ land forcing state police to be called in for traffic control.[4]
After many doubted the existence of the turtle, Harris made several attempts to catch the beast, including draining the lake by pumping the water into an area sealed off by a dam with the help of Orville Bright and Kenneth Leitch only for the dam to break when the lake had almost been entirely drained.[5] But despite many attempts, "Oscar" (named after the original owner of the farm) was never captured.[3] [2] [6] [7]
In March 1949, an attempt to send a deep-sea diver into the pond failed when the wrong equipment was delivered to the Harris farm.[8]
A photographer for Life Magazine, Mike Shea, took 299 photos at the site, but they were deemed unusable.[9]
Oscar's memory lives on in Churubusco's Turtle Days festival held each June.[10] It includes a parade, carnival and turtle races.[11]
A turtle shell labeled "Beast of Busco" hangs in the Two Brothers Restaurant in Decatur, Indiana.
A small concrete statue of a turtle sits on the sidewalk at the main intersection in the center of Churubusco.