1962 Pensacola Sea Monster Attack
55:42 Share

Welcome to Theories of the Third Kind. Welcome to Theories of the Third Kind. My name is Aaron. The other host joining me is Daniel-san. Hello. Now before we start today's episode, I just want to say that we have brand new cameras. So hopefully everything looks good, feels good, and tastes good. Also, we have a few announcements that we want to make.

If you would like to support the show, you can do so by joining our premium subscription service, Supercast. For just $6.66 a month, you can enjoy weekly premium audio episodes and access to our entire back catalog of over 260 plus episodes that are all ad-free. Or if you are a big baller and you want to spend a little extra cash and shake that ass, then you can sign up for our premium membership, which is $9.99 a month and gets you access to not only our audio episodes,

episodes, our premium audio episodes, but also our video premium episodes each week. So you get two video episodes and two audio episodes. So there you go. Hell yeah.

You can sign up to that by going to our website, theoriesofthe3rdkind.com, clicking right there on the middle of the website. It says Supercast. You click on it. It will take you over there. It's super easy to sign up, super easy to do. It takes you 30 seconds. Now, we know things are tough out there right now, so if you can't afford a premium membership but you still want to help us out, you can leave us a written review on iTunes or Spotify. That helps us out a lot. However, don't feel pressured to leave us one. If you don't want to, then that's fine.

We just want you guys, girls, aliens, reptilians, bigfoot, sasquatches, trooper, cobbler, ghosts, Illuminati members, underground lizard people, whoever or whatever you are to enjoy the show. Also, remember, our content is entirely human made. No AI were harmed or used in the process other than working on the graphic. Oh, also our cameras now they have that. Is that the AI function? I guess it is the intelligent. Yeah. So our color seems off at any point or if it changes.

It's because these new cameras we got have like this automatic AI functioning thing that it does. Automatic adjustments. Technology. I know nothing about it. I tried to change it, but it looks like it does a better job than me. And that is the end of the announcements. All right. So today's episode is over what happened in 1962 called the escape from a sea monster.

And the first thing we need to talk about before getting into what happened in 1962 is about battleships, particularly the USS Massachusetts. Now, before we get into that, we are going to take a quick break and we'll be right back. This episode is sponsored by Shopify.

Dan, when we first started our podcast, our website, how was it? It was slow and it crashed all the time. Whenever we switched over to using Shopify as our website, how did it do? No crashes and it was so easy just to set everything up and keep it going. Honestly, there's tons of themes that you can pick from to help make your website look amazing.

Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10% of all e-commerce in the U.S. from household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started like Theories of the Third Kind podcast. You can even start off with your own design or they have hundreds of ready-to-use templates. Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store to match your brand style. What if I don't have a big team? Well, Shopify helps you handle everything

Anything from website design to managing inventory to customer service to global shipping and more, all in one place. Turn those what-ifs into and keep giving those big dreams the best shot with Shopify. Sign up for your $1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash theories. Go to shopify.com slash theories. Shopify.com slash theories.

Ready to level up? Chumba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of online social games like Blackjack, Slots, and Solitaire anytime, anywhere with fresh releases every week. Whether you're at home or on the go, let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus, get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today.

No purchase necessary. VTW Group. Void board prohibited by law. 21 plus. TNCs apply. All right. Welcome back. Since 1791, eight ships in the United States Navy have been named the USS Massachusetts. The first one was in 1791, and that ended up getting sold the following year in 1792.

The next one was built in 1793 to pretty much to replace the one that the United States just sold. Then in 1845, the next USS Massachusetts ship was built. It was a wooden steamer that saw action during the Mexican-American War. The next USS Massachusetts ship was built in 1860. It was an iron screw steamer that saw action during the American Civil War.

Then in 1869, the next USS Massachusetts ship was built and it ended up getting scrapped in 1884. The next one that was built was in 1896. It saw action in the Spanish-American War and then it was deliberately sank in 1921.

Following that, there were more battleships that were built named the USS Massachusetts. But none of those matter because the one that plays a role in today's episode is the one that was sunk in 1921. And we do have a photograph of that one before it was sank right there. There you go. That was in June 1901? Yep.

So like we said, in 1921, the USS Massachusetts BB-2 was scuttled, aka deliberately sunk, in shallow water in the Gulf of Mexico or America, whichever one you decide to use, off Pensacola, Florida and used as a target for experimental artillery by the United States military. The wrecked ship itself was never scrapped and in 1956 it was declared the property of the state of Florida.

Since 1993, the wreck has been a Florida underwater archaeological preserve, and it is included in the National Register of Historic Places. It serves as an artificial reef and diving spot. This ship is about a half a mile from the entrance to the Pensacola Bay in Pensacola, Florida, and it's almost two miles off the shore.

There's a picture of it underwater. Another photograph. And if you're not watching us on YouTube and you don't see this photograph, you should watch us on YouTube. But if you aren't and you don't want to go on YouTube, you can go to our website, theoriesofthe3rdkind.com, click on today's episode, and the photographs will be right there for you to take a look at. And yeah, it's just sitting there, sank on a sandbar. Now, are those diving boats or are those fishing boats? Because that one at the very bottom looks like a fishing boat. Fishing boat.

It's a popular fishing and diving spot. Okay. Yep. All right. Now that you are all familiar with that ship and its location, let's talk about an individual named Brian and what happened in 1962. Edward Brian McCleary was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1946. In 1959, at 13 years old, Brian took an interest in swimming and began taking diving classes. Two years later, in 1961, at the age of 15 years old, he moved with his family to Walton Beach, Florida.

Now, real quick, I have said this in previous episodes, but whenever we research a topic, we get our information straight from the source so that it is the most accurate information. And in this particular topic, whenever you research it, you will find that almost all of the stories about this event, excluding the newspaper articles, they all come from the same source, which is not the original source itself.

So we ended up finding a firsthand account of what happened in 1962 from Edward Brian McCleary himself. And that is what we're going to go over next. Brian's account of what happened on Saturday, March 24th, 1962 in Pensacola, Florida. And just an FYI, Brian is 16 years old whenever this happens to him.

All right, so let's get into the story. And it's going to read like a book for a little bit, by the way, because it's Brian telling the story of what happened. Oh, so kind of like a diary? Yeah, we're going to be acting it out. March 24th, 1962 was a warm, beautiful Saturday. I was having my morning coffee when the telephone rang. It was Eric Rule, which, by the way, Eric is the same age as Brian right now, 16 years old.

Now, Eric was a skin diving companion calling to ask me to go with him and some friends on a skin diving expedition off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. By the way, skin diving is the sport of swimming underwater without a diving suit, typically in deep water using just flippers. No swim trunks? Yeah, swim trunks as well, but no like skin suit or whatever. No alpha style. Okay.

I agreed to go after checking the morning paper for information on the day's tides and weather. I had been living in Florida for about two years, and I enjoyed the diving most of all.

Now, for the first time, I had a chance to dive around a sunken ship. Eric had said we would dive at a sunken ship near Pensacola Bay. I had not seen the boat before, but I pictured its open passages with fish swimming in and out, with moss-like growth hanging from its decks, and the hole covered by the blue-green Gulf of Mexico.

Which, by the way, this ship that Eric is taking Brian to is the USS Massachusetts BB-2 that we talked about earlier, the one that was deliberately sunk. All right, back to the story. Sorry. I collected my gear and walked out the front door, smelling the fresh, clean air of spring mixed with the salt spray from the ocean. There was not a cloud in the sky. The white sand ran for miles down the beach, reflecting the morning sun like a mirror.

As I stood there with the sun warming my back and heating the morning, I knew this was a perfect day for skin diving. A dilapidated Ford pulled into my driveway. It was Eric, Warren Sully, who was 17 years old, Brad Rice, who was 14 years old, and Larry Bill, who was 15 years old.

The five of us drove off towards Pensacola and a sunken ship called the Massachusetts. The boys told me it was on a sandbar almost two miles off the coast. And we do have a pretty much a map quest screenshot real quick that we're going to post up. And the blue circle is for Walton Beach, which is where the boys live. And the dropped pin all the way to the left is where

the ship is at that they are going to go to. Okay. And real quick, just a reminder in the car, there was 16 year old Brian, 16 year old Eric, 17 year old Warren Sully, 14 year old Brad Rice and 15 year old Larry Bill. Just so everybody is aware of that. All right, let's continue on. We had a seven foot air force life raft tied to the top of the car. It had a drift anchor and pockets for provisions and oars.

We planned to use it to get us back and forth to the ship. In a little over half an hour, we arrived at Fort Pickens State Park. The park is right across the bay from Pensacola and was a gun installation during the Civil War. The Massachusetts shipwreck laid just off the coast. We climbed the three stories of the main embattlement, a long rectangular structure with a square brick tower on top, which is mounted a telescope.

Through the telescope, I scanned the horizon and finally saw a box-like object sticking out of the water. Just off the coast, it was the Massachusetts. We changed into our suits, which he says suits, and they mean bathing suit trunks, not actual diving suits. They loaded all of their equipment into a raft and carried it down to the beach.

I waded into the cold water but came out quickly. It was very cold. We thrusted the raft into the foam and cleared the small waves with ease. The water was calm. On the way out to the ship, we took turns paddling so no one would be tired for the diving. When I was relieved, I sat back and lit a cigarette.

A small wind was coming down from the north, cooling the air down in the water. I could see the beams of sunlight piercing the surface to plunge below and become lost in the green depths. I guessed the visibility at about 40 feet underwater. I thought I would stand the cold to get into the fascinating world. My daydream was interrupted by Larry. Hey, we're not going anyplace when we took off the ship was on our right. Now it's on the left.

So paddle the other way, Eric said. You gotta make up for the drifts and the tides. Somebody relieve me, Warren huffed. This water's rough. My arm's killing me.

The water had, in fact, become toppled with small white caps which lapped against the side of our raft. I shifted my attention from the water to the sky. The blue now was overshadowed by some gray clouds which hid the sun and gave the water a dull blue color. The seagulls were skimming across the top of the waves towards shore. The salty breeze seemed stronger by the minute.

Looks like we won't do much diving today. Storms coming up. Looks like it anyhow. We better get back to the shore, Warren said. We spun the raft around and started paddling back to shore, which by now was a thin green strip in the north, harder to see each passing minute. Because of the wind, the waves were washing us into the bay channel, which extended out into the open sea.

In an attempt to keep from being dragged into the open water, Eric and Warren and I jumped into the icy water and began kicking behind the raft. Larry and Brad took the oars, but the tide was too strong for us. We climbed back into the raft, shivering and cramped from the numbing cold. The waves were so high by this time, we had to hold onto the sides of the raft to stay upright. As the sky grew darker, the small craft in the area began to leave the open water for safety in port.

Just entering the channel was a small criss-craft. We thought it would be our last chance to get to shore safely, so we all stood up and yelled, Mayday! It was difficult to yell, wave, and keep our balance at the same time. On the deck of the boat was an elderly woman. At first, she didn't notice us. Then she glanced in our direction and waved.

We're saved. She's seen us. Hey, over here. Mayday. Mayday. We yelled. The boat did not veer from its course. That old bitch. Dead old bitch. God dang. She's like, what's up? She's like, hey guys. Brad grabbed the shark gun, tied his red shirt around the tip, unhooked the line and fired it directly at the boat. The kick from the gun knocked him over and the raft almost overturned.

The spear hurled through the damp air and landed about 50 feet short of the boat. It was impossible for anybody to miss this distress signal.

but the boat creased into the channel and headed back into port. We're lost. Damn those fools. We're lost. We'll drown, Larry wailed. Look, we're not lost yet. There's a buoy over there, I pointed out into the channel. We'll tie onto it and we'll drag anchor as we go by. We'll be okay. No reason to get all shook up now. We tried to paddle to the buoy. The waves were getting to swamp the raft. Only the inflatable sides kept us afloat.

The five of us were sitting, numb from the cold, in a pool of icy brine. At last, we came close to the buoy. We were in for a shock. A massive piece of steel loomed above us like an angry giant. Its worn, chipped red paint contrasted with the black sky. It was covered with seaweed from top to bottom. As the waves lifted it from its mooring, a great riptide was formed at the bottom.

The water foamed, gurgled, and was sucked underneath the metal monster. All twenty feet of it looked down on us. I stood up and hurled the anchor at the buoy like a lasso, but before the line had a chance to reach the buoy, the raft was caught in the undertow and dragged right for the bottom of the buoy.

It was like going downhill in a roller coaster. Jump, I yelled, and just in time. As the last man hit the water, the whole thing came down full force on the raft, dragging it under. I surfaced, spitting water and gasping for breath. Over here! The raft came up over here! Warren yelled.

Eric and I were the first to reach it. We got everything out and threw it overboard. We turned the raft over and managed to get most of the water out. The rest climbed back in. We clung to the sides. The rain began to lash down like icy needles. The sky was black as night. Just as we left the channel, we were dragged past the ship where we had intended to dive.

The wheelhouse which stuck out of the water was being battered by the waves. The winds roared through the open windows of the bridge, making a noise like the wail of sirens. Back and forth the cabin lunged, rocked by the mighty sea. Sometime later, I don't know how long, the sheets of rain became a fine mist. The sea subsided, tapering off finally to the calmness of a mountain lake.

Out of nowhere, a thick fog rolled across the water, blanketing us in the stuffy, moist atmosphere of an undiscovered tomb. Not a wave rippled, not a fish broke water, not a seagull called. Silence hung on the fog. For the first time in my life, I was really scared. While I was sitting there, I felt a big, icy hand grab me around the chest and squeeze. Now, before we get into that, we are going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

Hi, I'm Kristen Bell. And if you know my husband, Dax, then you also know he loves shopping for a car. Selling a car? Not so much. We're really doing this, huh? Thankfully, Carvana makes it easy. Answer a few questions, put in your van or license, and done. We sold ours in minutes this morning, and they'll come pick it up and pay us this afternoon. Goodbye, truckie. Of course, we kept the favorite. Hello, other truckie. Sell your car with Carvana today. Terms and conditions apply.

On WhatsApp, no one can see or hear your personal messages, whether it's a voice call, message, or sending a password. To WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late-night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends, and your family. No one else. Not even us. WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone.

All right, welcome back. My stomach froze. My heart skipped and cold chills ran down my legs. We were exhausted from fighting the storm and the present atmosphere made matters worse. Brad began to whimper.

We're dead. We died in that storm. Oh, God, why did it happen to me? No, no, we're fine. Nothing to worry about. Calm down. We'll be back to land in a few hours. Eric tried to calm Brad. After quieting Brad, we tried to think what we could do. We decided we were helpless until the fog cleared and we could see where we were. Until then, we could only wait.

The fog showed no signs of lifting. Visibility was limited to 25 feet. There wasn't a whisper of wind. I tried some small talk to break the tension. Eric, see if the cigarettes got wet, will ya? No. There are two packs. Nice and dry. The lighter works, too. We're in luck.

We passed the cigarettes around and the tension seemed to subside. For some strange reason, though, we all spoke softly. We better get back soon. I've got a date tonight, Brad said. We all chuckled and felt a lot easier. But the conversation died down again and everyone was in his own thoughts. The water was unusually warm beneath us. Warm even for summer. And this was March. Larry bolted upright, saying,

I hear a boat or something. We all listened for the noise he had heard. The misty air became filled with the odor of dead fish. My stomach heaved and I gasped for breath. Just then, about 40 feet away, we heard a tremendous splash.

The waves reached the raft and broke over the side. What in the hell was that? Larry asked. Whatever it was, it wasn't any boat, that's for sure, Eric said. Again, we heard the splash and now, through the fog, we can make out what looked like a telephone pole. It was about ten feet high with a bulb on the top. It stood erect for a moment and then bent in the middle and dove under.

The sickening odor filled the air. I've never seen anything like that in my life. What do you think it was? I whispered. Maybe it was an oarfish. I've heard they looked like snakes, Warren answered. Oarfish don't stand straight up, Brad said. Maybe it's a sea monster, I suggested. Everyone looked at me in silence. We all had been thinking the same thing.

I was just the first to say it. The silence was broken once again by something out in the fog. I could only describe it as a high-pitched whine. We panicked. All five of us put on our fins and dove into the water. Patches of brown, crusty slime lay all over the surface. I began to swim and kick frantically. I felt a small current under the surface and I hoped it would carry me in the direction of shore. Keep together! Stay behind me and try for the ship! I yelled.

Eric and I were swimming together. The rest were together behind us. We made pretty good time at first. Our fear was indescribable. In back of us, we could hear whatever it was splashing and making that hissing sound. The fog was clearing some and the water was becoming a bit rougher. Darkness was closing in. The rain began once more and the water was losing its warmth. I began to take long, slow mechanical strokes to keep me afloat before I was becoming cramped.

Eric was still nearby. Every so often, we would call back to make sure the group was all right. I don't know how long it was before we heard a scream. It lasted maybe half a minute. Then I heard Warren call. Hey, help me. It's got Brad. It's got Brad. I've got to get out of here. His voice was cut off abruptly by a short cry. Brad? Warren?

Hey, where is everybody? I yelled back at the top of my lungs. Larry now swam with Eric and me. Warren and Brad were nowhere in sight. The only sounds now were those of the sea and the lightning. I had an eerie feeling swimming in a storm, not knowing how many feet of ocean were beneath me. What was down there waiting for me?

I wanted to sink into the green silence. I felt all alone, peaceful, and quiet. It would have been so easy just to surrender to the sea, but something inside me kept going. The pain in my legs was like fire, but I kept up the mechanical strokes. I knew I had to keep going. When at last I realized where I was again, Larry was gone. Eric, what happened to Larry? He was here a minute ago. I don't know. He was just here.

Both of us dove for him, tried to see if we couldn't get him to the surface, but there was no trace of him. After a while, we had to give up. Then Eric grimaced and sank. I swam over and wrapped his arm around my neck. Cramps, he said.

We swam like this for what must have been a couple of hours. I hoped we were going in the right direction. It was pitch dark. The waves were breaking on my head. My lungs were filled with salt water. I was ready to give up. Eric was becoming heavier by the minute, and I had no hope. Just as I was going under, the lightning flashed and I saw the silhouette of the Massachusetts. I began to take stronger strokes.

We were saved. Come on, Eric, I said. We'll be okay. Boy, the ship's just over the next wave. I've got to keep up. Come on, baby. Let's go. I was close to the ship when a giant wave pulled me under and yanked Eric's arm from around my neck. I came up and couldn't see him anywhere. Then lightning flashed and I saw him ahead of me. He was afloat and swimming for the ship.

Right next to Eric, that telephone pole-like figure broke water. I could see the long neck and two small eyes. The mouth opened and it bent over. It dove on top of Eric, dragging him under. I screamed and began to swim past the ship.

My insides were shaking uncontrollably. I do not know what happened after that. The Massachusetts is two miles from shore, but I do not remember swimming this distance after Eric was killed. I thought I went down, down. I thought I rested on the soft, sandy bottom. Voices talked to me. I felt warm and secure. I was at peace. I knew I was dead. I couldn't believe it when I felt sand under my feet and the silence of my peaceful death was shattered by pounding surf.

I was flung forward on my face and got a mouthful of sand. I tried to walk but kept falling to my knees. Then I remembered I had my fins on. I threw them back into the water and headed up the beach. I tried to find help. I could see the lights of Pensacola in the distance but I didn't know where I was. The cold night wind was making me shiver so I looked for a warm place. I finally came to a tower of some sort.

I climbed all the way up the ladder and passed out on the floor of the little cabin. I must have slept about two hours, but it seemed like two years. All night long, I kept hearing voices. I was woken by the Sunday morning sun hitting my face through a window of the tower. I ached all over from the long swim. I got up and looked out the window, across the white beach, across the calm gulf. The events of the previous day seemed like a bad dream.

I headed for the ladder. My legs wouldn't support me and I fell down the ladder to land face down in the sand below. I was crawling across the sand when a group of boys came up to me. Uh, say mister, you must have been one of those divers lost yesterday. Yeah, I've got to get help. How did you know about the accident? Well, the Coast Guard found the raft this morning and he began to search.

I've got to get help. Please. The next thing I remember was waking up in the Pensacola Naval Base Hospital. Breakfast was in front of me, but I couldn't eat because my throat was sore from the salt water. The director of the search and rescue units came in to see me that morning. Director E.E. McGovern was a mild-mannered, friendly southerner. I remember him well because of his kind face. I told him exactly what happened and what I had witnessed. Did they find any of the others? I asked him.

No, he replied. We've had planes out all morning and we've been combing the beaches, but we ain't found nothing yet. Do you believe me about what happened at all? I asked. You know, son, the sea has a lot of secrets. There are a lot of things we don't know about. People don't believe these things because they're afraid to.

Yes, I believe you, but there's not much else I can do. He asked me some more questions and then he left. Some reporters interviewed me later that day. After they had gone, I wondered if I really believed what had happened.

I thought it must have happened because the boys were dead, and I knew that thing that got them was real. It is true. The sea has some terrible secrets, and now I know how she manages to keep them. Both the Pensacola Journal and the Playground News of Fort Walton carry stories of this tragedy. These stories do not match Edward Brian McCleary's account or what the doctors at the Navy Base Hospital had to say.

One report says Brian drifted and swam more than two miles, but Coast Guard and Navy rescue units estimated he swam five miles. Doctors at the naval base said he was in the water for over 12 hours. The interviewing reporters told Brian their stories would not mention the sea serpent as it was, and we quote, better left unmentioned for all concerned. The bodies of Eric Rule, 16 years old, Warren Sully, 17,

but Larry Bill, 15, were never recovered. One body was washed ashore a week after the accident and Brian says, To the best of my knowledge, I identified the body as that of Brad Rice. Brad was 14.

The raft was found 10 miles from where Brian came out of the water. He was picked up near Fort McRae around 7.45 a.m. Sunday, March 25, 1962, by a helicopter from the Naval Air Station. He had spent the early morning hours in an old gun emplacement. Brian was suffering from shock and exposure but was released to his parents after brief treatment in the Naval Hospital.

Brian writes that after the accident, he had a nervous breakdown, but recovered and was able to resume his life in about three months. So that right there is the story straight from Brian's mouth as to what happened. Damn. Yep. However, like he mentioned, the newspapers never said anything about the sea serpent monster.

For example, we have a newspaper clipping from when that happened. Now, before we get into that, we are going to take a quick break. This is our last one, so don't go nowhere.

Don't miss Blinds.com's 4th of July Mega Sale happening now. Save up to 50% plus get a free professional measure. Blinds.com invented a better way to shop for window treatments with upfront pricing, no showroom markups, and no salespeople in your home. Choose from classic shutters to outdoor shades and more, all backed by our 100% satisfaction guarantee. Don't miss Blinds.com's 4th of July Mega Sale. Save up to 50% plus get a free measure. Rules and restrictions may apply.

DSW's Semi-Annual Sale is back! Take 40% off all clearance shoes in stores for a limited time. Literally every single clearance item at your DSW store is on sale right now. Sneakers, sandals, any style. If they're on the clearance racks, they're 40% off. So what are you waiting for? Don't sleep on these savings. Get to DSW ASAP. It's all or nothing, people. Shop the DSW Semi-Annual Sale today.

Running a business can be exhausting. Building your website shouldn't be. With Wix, you can express your ideas, give direction, then leave the heavy lifting to AI, from site creation to branded content and images. Have fun with the details, customize what you want the way you want, and manage your whole business from a centralized dashboard with expert AI tools. Build, scale, and enjoy the incredible results. You can do it all yourself on Wix.

All right, welcome back. And we'll post it up right now for everyone to take a look at it. The title says Bay Hunt for Boys Given Up. And it states, Searchers have abandoned efforts to locate the bodies of four teenage Fort Walton Beach boys who apparently drowned in Pensacola Bay last weekend. The boys have been missing since Saturday when they abandoned a rubber raft in the bay after tides threatened to carry them out to the Gulf of Mexico.

They were identified as Warren Solly, 17, Bradford Rice, 14, Eric Rule, 16, and Larry Stewart Bill, 16. A fifth youth, Brian McCleary, 16, was found on shore Sunday. He told the searchers the boys decided to swim the 200 yards to shore when a strong pretty much tide seized their raft. McCleary spent six hours in the water before making land about two and a half miles from where he entered the water.

And that newspaper clipping is pretty much what every other newspaper clipping claimed as well. Brian explained the reason that none of the newspapers mentioned the monster is because he claims it was a cover-up. But we'll save that for theories. Now, Brian will go on spending the rest of his life telling the monster story, joining online forums relating to encounters with the paranormal, and exchanging telephone calls with people who claim to have spotted the same green sea serpent that he saw when he was a teenager.

Also, Brian worked at a mental health resource center in Jacksonville, Florida for the majority of his life. Then on February 24th, 2016, Edward Brian McCleary would pass away at the age of 71. And that right there is the story of the 1962 escape from a sea monster. However, just like every week and every episode, it does not stop here because now we are going to get into the strange facts and findings that we uncovered while researching this episode.

Alright, so our first strange fact in finding is actually about a sketch. So later on in his life, Brian did some interviews about what occurred. And during one of those interviews, he drew a picture of what the creature that he claimed to have seen. And here's the sketch of it. Looks like a... Looks like Nessie with a buoy on her. Yeah, a buoy on the back of Nessie.

Now, some have pointed out that the monster that Brian drew bears a stark resemblance to the character Cecil from an animated series titled Cecil and Beanie. And this TV show began airing in January of 1962, two months before the incident. And here's a photograph of Beanie and Cecil. And Cecil does look like

the creature that he claimed to have seen. And another strange fact is that when this incident happened, it was directly in the middle of the season of the Beanie and Cecil. And I guess we have a storm that's hitting us.

Because we just had lightning strike. Uh-oh, we're about to get washed out to sea. We're about to get gang banged by Cecil. It was like clear as hell there. Clear as hell when we went to Best Buy, which fuck Best Buy. We bought some cables for our new cameras and one of them was broken, of course. And they were 30 bucks. Definitely going back, taking that shit back. Oh, this storm is just now developing right over the top of us. Hell yeah. Hell yeah, brother. All right.

So that right there is our first strange fact and finding. Let's get on to our next strange fact and finding. All right. So the next strange fact and finding is called different version. So as we were looking around online, we came across another interview that Brian McCleary gave. In that interview, he told his story. However, in that version, he states that when he got to the ship, he stayed there for most of the night instead of his original story where he stated that he headed straight for shore and never stayed on the ship.

The sink ship. Oh, the Massachusetts BB-2. So in the interview he gave later on, he was quoted saying, I finally made it to the ship, the top of which protruded from the water, and I stayed there for most of the night. Early that morning, I swam to shore and was found by the rescue unit.

That's not what he claimed in his original interview. Didn't he say the rescue helicopter picked him up in his original story too? So what happened in his original story, he got to the ship and then his friend was attacked by

And he was like, fuck this. And he swam and kept swimming and swimming and finally made it to shore. And then he took his fins off and then climbed into that building and went to sleep. And then the sun hit his face. He woke up and he saw some boys and they were like, mister, they're looking for you.

And then he was picked up. Yeah. Inconsistencies in the story. Yeah, a little bit, little bit. But let's talk about our next strange fact and finding. All right. So the next strange fact and finding is an additional sightings of sea serpents in the Gulf of Mexico or Gulf of America, whichever.

We have a few of them that we are going to go over. Serpent sightings. Which our first one is the 1847 Galveston Sea Serpent sighting. On Valentine's Day of 1847, Captain A. Hassel and his crew reported encountering a 70-foot long sea serpent approximately two ship lengths away from their vessel. The creature was described as having a broad snake-like head

large eyes, and a long, narrow neck. Captain Hassel's sketch of the creature was widely published, and through some modern interpretations, suggests the sighting may have been a misidentification of a group of whales breaching the surface. And we do have his sketch right there for everyone to take a look at. I can see the first one. Being a couple of whales? Whales, but the second one, no. Anaconda? No. Whale?

Maybe. I mean, if it's off the coast of Florida. Yeah, maybe. Do anacondas or can anacondas swim in the ocean? They are not adapted for saltwater and cannot live in the ocean. They are found in freshwater environments like rivers and swamps and marshes. Doesn't mean that they can't go into the water and then back out. They just can't live there.

This one got lost. His GPS broke, okay? Okay. He's not the smartest snake, okay? But he's the hardest swimmer, okay? That's right. All right. So let's talk about this next sighting. All right. The next sighting is the 1901 Mississippi River Entrance Sighting. In 1901, a report emerged of a 100-foot sea serpent near the entrance of the Mississippi River.

Modern research suggests that this may have been a misidentified or fish, a large elongated fish known to inhabit deep ocean waters. And we do have two photographs of an or fish. The first one, it looks like some like Marines or U.S. Army or Navy, Navy holding this or fish. And then the next photograph is a more modern one of

People at the beach all holding one. And that motherfucker is long. I didn't actually expect him to be that long. That's what she said. Never said that to me. I mean, I could see how that could be seen as a sea serpent. If you've never seen one before or didn't know they existed. I would actually kind of be freaked out if I saw that swimming in the water. I think it does like shine though. They do. Like the way it swims. Yeah, they're extremely shiny. I'm shining in the rough.

All right, so let's talk about our next sighting, which is the translucent snake in Bradenton Beach, Florida. So multiple sightings have been reported of a translucent pinkish snake, approximately two feet long and one inch in diameter, swimming near the surface at Bradenton Beach, Florida. Now these sightings are rare and they have prompted discussions about the presence of unusual marine creatures in that area that have not been discovered yet.

Interesting. Yeah. He just figured it'd be a type of snake. Snake. I'm a snake. I'm a translucent pink snake. Our last sighting is the 2017 Texas sea monster carcass. After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, a mysterious fanged creature washed ashore near Texas City, Texas. The carcass was eventually identified by experts as a fang-toothed snake eel.

Though its unusual appearance led to initial speculation about a sea monster. And we do have a photograph of that. And that thing is ugly. It is very ugly. That is a very thick eel. That baby's fat. It's been eaten well. And the teeth on that, my goodness. Would you take those teeth and wear them around your neck? You damn right I'd. Because I'm the one that fought it and killed it.

All right. With my bare hands. So now we are going to get into our theories and talk about the possible theories as to what could have happened or might have happened or what might have seen or not seen or whatever. All right. Our first theory is called Shark.

The sharks that live in the Gulf of Mexico include the bull, thresher, nurse, hammerhead, oceanic white tip, black tip, sandbar, short fin mako, black nose, and fine tooth. Several species of ray are also located in the Gulf.

Most shark attacks worldwide happen between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. and mostly on the weekends during the warmer seasons of the year. That has not so much to do with shark behavior, but everything to do with human behavior since these are the times when most people are spending time in the water.

Sharks will generally hunt at dawn and dusk and at night, but like many predators, they will feed at any time they come across prey unless they have just eaten. There are several species that can inflict injury when they are provoked or harassed, but only four species are considered to be truly dangerous. Tiger, bull, the great white, and oceanic white tip.

So a shark attack is not out of the realm of possibility. However, it doesn't likely explain what Brian saw since whatever he had seen had like a neck protruding out of the water like that of a light pole. And there is no shark like that that exists. No. So shark would be very unlikely, but it could be this next theory. All right. So this next theory is called hallucination or panic induced misinterpretation.

So stress, exhaustion, exposure, and panic during the storm could have caused Brian to mistake normal marine life, such as a dolphin, whale, or oarfish, for a monster. Poor visibility, fog, and storm conditions might have added to this confusion. I think that plays a role. I mean, that's pretty much for all of them, right? Yeah, you're just exhausted. You're scared. Your brain starts filling in spots that doesn't make sense to you.

That could definitely be it. Or it could be this next theory called government cover-up or suppression. Some suggest that Brian's friends were truly killed by a sea serpent and that the military and local authorities concealed this information. Brian himself claimed reporters and the authorities chose not to include the sea monster detail in their news reports and other reports, like the police reports and stuff.

So it could have been a cover up. We could have been a cover up or more than likely they're just like, well, we have this one 16 year old survivor and he's claiming sea monster. We're just going to go with drowning. That's more than likely. If we go with this story, people are going to laugh at us. Yeah. All right. So the next theory is called mental health crisis or psychological breakdown.

Now, maybe due to the severe trauma and guilt over his friend's deaths, it could have caused Brian to create or sincerely believe an imaginary scenario such as being attacked by a sea creature. Okay, I could kind of see that. Yeah. You know, I kind of believe the mental health crisis, psychological breakdown, hallucination, panic-induced misinterpretation,

Those were in my top running. The government cover-up or suppression is probably last, right there with sharks. And I thought I had it figured out with like the psychological breakdown until I put my brain to working and I'm like, it could have been this last theory. So this last theory is called cash grab by fate.

Now, the first-hand account by Brian was written by Brian himself, and it was sent to Fate Magazine, who published this story as an exclusive. Following that, Brian did not do any other interviews for quite a while.

This theory states that Brian approached Fate magazine with his story and stated that what really happened is that he was attacked by a sea monster and his friends were eaten and it was all covered up. He would be willing to write up his story and allow Fate magazine to publish it for a certain amount of money. Fate magazine agreed, paid Brian and published his story that he made up.

This way, Brian could make money and use the story as sort of a coping mechanism to a tragedy that had happened. Is there any proof to back this up? Well, when we were reading his story,

It is very clearly fictional. I mean, look at how much of the story is in speech quotations. Around one third or more of the entire story is what people allegedly said. I can't believe that anyone would recall the exact details of things said or small details about certain things. It

It does not read like an account of something that actually happened. And I read a lot of fictional stories and I can tell when something's fictional and when something's real, his story read as a fictional fake made up story that he just kind of like threw together and said, this is what happened when in reality, his friends just drowned and he decided to make money off of it and get fake magazine to publish it. Trying to act all cool.

Do we still have any dry cigarettes left? They were 16. You weren't supposed to be smoking. Yeah. And how, how would he remember all of the conversations? I don't even remember conversations I had this morning with you on the way to Best Buy. Can you recall any of those conversations word for word? I can't. Part of them. Dan, do you have a fear of turning around and turning? Well, that was because you missed the turnaround and you went up to the stoplight and I'm like, you have a fear of turnarounds or something.

Yeah. But besides that, like when they published that story, it was quite a time afterwards. So I can remember a lot of conversations, but when they're in a stressful situation like that, no, there's no way I can recall like people saying exactly this part or this part. I can try to

paraphrase it paraphrase but not in quotation like perfectly yeah and him remembering like oh i looked up as i laid back in the crap or in the uh in the air raft and my silence was broken by larry who stated this this and this it's a fictional story it's made up what truly happened is that the boys went out there in the raft they got caught in a storm because

Brian sucked at looking up the weather and he accidentally looked up yesterday's instead of today's because it was yesterday's newspaper and he ended up going out and because nobody else looked at the weather he was the only one he looked at the tides and the weather and

Obviously he thought it was perfect and then when they get out there it's not. Yeah as they're driving out there he's like oh what a perfect day for you know the sun was hitting and he was waiting or he was standing in the driveway sun was hitting him and he was like oh perfect day. What year was this again? 1962? Yeah. He probably grabbed like yesterday's newspaper or something. So that's what I'm going with. He got paid by Fate Magazine to make up a fake story and publish it exclusively through Fate Magazine and he just made money off of it and his friends just died in a tragic accident and

That's what truly happened. There was no sea serpent. The buoy was the sea serpent, quote unquote. Instead of him going to Fate Magazine, Fate Magazine came to him because five, four or five other boys, but Eric. Four. So four others died. They only found the body of one. They found the body of one. And then the only survivor was Brian himself. Maybe Fate Magazine asked him to write his story down so they can publish it.

And then that's when Brian was able to sit there and think about what everyone possibly said. And then he's just like, oh, we got to spice this up. It's like when we do research. When you get the story, I don't want to spice it up a little bit, but still tell the truth. We don't do that. Oh, no, I meant like not change the story, but make it exciting to tell it. Oh, yeah. Not change the story. Yeah.

Because like this one, this one was word for word from Brian. But we just meant like make it exciting to be able to listen to. Yeah. Except I'm pretty sure my acting voice sucked. It was good. But I think Brian spiced up his story to make it sound more interesting than what really happened. To really sell it to Fate Magazine. Yeah. I agree. And that's what I'm going with. I can see that one. But is that what you believe?

Actually, yeah, sadly. I mean, if it's not that one, then it's definitely a... Misinterpretation of an animal? Psychological breakdown. Oh, yeah. And his brain using that as a way of a coping mechanism of what's happening to his friends. Because he probably feels very guilty. Says if he's the one that was supposed to look up the weather, the tides and everything for that, and then you get out there and it's not, then all of a sudden you're caught in a storm, you're dragged out, people got cold, whatever.

Raph got flipped over. You're swimming. People drowned. You feel the blame. Do you really want to tell the story of you being the one that caused it? No. Then now you're beating yourself up. You have to tell us pretty much falsify a story. That's what I go with. Psychological breakdown, if not the him.

Spicing up the story. Well, if you are a loved one, have experienced a sea serpent, or you have family members that were involved in this tragic accident, and you would like to share some stories or experiences or whatever.

Feel free to shoot us an email at Aaron, A-A-R-O-N at theoriesofthethirdkind.com or Dan, D-A-N at theoriesofthethirdkind.com. We would love to hear from you. That's right. But with that being said, that is the end of today's episode. We hope our camera quality is good. If it's not, comment, let us know. If it is, comment and let us know.

We spent a lot of money on these cameras, a lot of ramen coming up for us. But with that being said, I want to thank you for joining us. And again, thank you for your support and love. Without you, we could not do this. That's right. We love you and we are proud of you. So with that being said, Dan, would you like to roll us out? Sure will. It's okay to be out of this world with your thoughts. Because you are not alone.