A Tiny Indiana Town’s Titanic Turtle Tale
The Beast of Busco
We’ve all heard the stories of the Loch Ness Monster, Champ, Bigfoot, El Chupacabra, and other mythical creatures that are claimed to exist in modern times. Have you, however, heard the one about the massive turtle deemed the “Beast of Busco?”
The Beast of Busco
The story actually began in 1898, when farmer Oscar Fulk in Churubusco, Indiana claimed that he saw a giant turtle living in his seven-acre lake. It wasn’t long until the account was forgotten, as he was the only witness and there was no other proof of the creature.
50 years later, in 1948, the lake — now known as Fulk Lake — was owned by farmer Gale Harris. He allowed some of the townsfolk to fish on the lake, and one day, Churubusco citizens Ora Blue and Charley Wilson approached Harris with quite the tale. While fishing, they allegedly observed a HUGE alligator snapping turtle.
According to the two, they guessed it to weigh about 500 pounds. They stated that it was at least six-foot-wide and had a spiked shell the size of a large dining room table. Harris and others reported seeing the same enormous creature and Harris became determined to catch it.
