Great White Shark Captured In Great Lakes: Lake Michigan Monster Finally Found, Or Was It All Just One Big Rumor?


If rumors are true, then the Lake Michigan Monster may have finally been found. A 3,000-pound great white shark was allegedly captured in the Great Lakes by a Canadian tourist fisherman.

It took 4.5 hours for John O’Keefe to finally reel the great white in after he eventually shot it in the head; otherwise it probably wouldn’t have been captured, according to Fishing Humor.

Allan Brooks, a friend of O’Keefe’s, mentioned that had he not had the rifle in hand, the Lake Michigan Monster may have roamed free.

“We reeled in the beast for a good 4-5 hours before we finally shot it and wounded it to the head. Luckily, I had my rifle in hand, or else this prize fish would’ve never been caught.”

The Coast Guard has confirmed that hundreds of people have came up missing in the area within the past decade. It is possible that this 3,000-pound great white shark could explain some of the disappearances.

Photo by Rob Wilson / Shutterstock.com]

O’Keefe was enjoying a long weekend fishing trip at Lake Michigan with hopes of catching some sturgeon.

“I’d heard of the Lake Michigan monster, but never did I expect to catch it myself.”

After the capture of this great white shark, authorities do believe that some of the missing people cases could have been victims of sharing the waters with this gigantic monster.

The strange part of this is that great white sharks are not typically found in fresh water, which brings up many questions. Firstly, how did the great white shark make it to the Great Lakes? Secondly, how did the shark survive?

According to National Geographic, a great white shark typically can’t survive for very long in fresh water because their bodies need salt. Without salt, a great white’s cells will eventually rupture, leading to death. The only shark that is known to be able to switch from sea water to fresh water is the bull shark.

[Image via Shutterstock]
Fabien Cousteau considers the bull shark an amazing creature.

“The bull shark is an amazing shark in so many ways. It can switch from salt to fresh water, which is a rare thing. For most sharks, that would be deadly.”

Allan Jameson, a biology professor at the University of Illinois, told reporters that it is not common to find a great white shark so far inland.

“Either rising sea temperatures and depleted fish stocks possibly led the shark to adventure itself further into the Great Lakes region, but this is clearly the first occurrence of such a beast in the region that I can remember of. It is also possible it traveled to the region through underwater tunnels that interconnect between the Great Lakes.”

Robert Helm, a local campground owner, reveals that he has warned authorities numerous times about people checking in, but never checking out. The Lake Michigan Monster has been suspected for many years.

“I’ve owned this campground for the past seventeen years. I’ve had my load of visitors disappearing mysteriously over the years, but I was told not to say anything about it. People would check in, but they wouldn’t check out. Nobody ever believed me anyway and it would’ve scared away the tourists.”

Now everyone is wondering, did this actually happen? According to multiple sources, including Snopes and MLive, this story may not even be true.

While the story seems believable, it is highly unlikely to be true. Not only would it be nearly impossible for a great white shark to make it so far inland in fresh water, the picture originally used by World News Daily Report dates back to 2013.

So perhaps this story could have some truth in it, it is unlikely that this occurred anytime recently.

[Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images]

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