Mystery Creature Sighting Stuns N.J. Town; No One Has First Clue What It Is

RIDGEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – There has been a strange sighting of a strange creature in a suburban New Jersey town – and pictures of it have residents asking "What the heck is that?"

CBS 2's John Slattery was working the day watch out of Manhattan, when his boss gave him this juicy assignment.

He took a vehicle out of Midtown. The sighting happened on Friday. He and his cameraman headed for the leafy community of Ridgewood, which was apparently being terrorized by an odd creature that lurks in and out of storm drains.

Slattery obtained video of the creature from a resident, but, like CBS 2's reporter, was mystified.

"I saw a strange animal in the front yard," witness Rob Lyons said.

Lyons had the presence of mind to shoot a picture of the creature on his smartphone.

"It was too small to be a coyote. Definitely not a dog. Might be a cat. Prances like a cat. It was weird," Lyons said.

Slattery brought in Lyon's daughter, MacKenzie, for questioning, showing her a series of images of possible "suspects," including a bear and a turtle.

In Ridgewood, where there are animals of various stripes, there was a range of opinions about what the creature could be.

"I can't really tell, but it looks a little like a wolf, a fox, and I can't tell what that long tail would be," one woman said.

In some case, the guesses were downright wacky.

"The Loch Ness monster is in the pond," one man said.

Some have suggested a Chupacabra, a mythical creature with origins in Puerto Rico, but if the known images of the creature turn out to be doctored, it could be possible grounds for photo fraud.

It's also been suggested that the mysterious, wandering critter might be a coyote with a severe case of mange.

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