Where in the Champ World Are Dennis Hall and Elizabeth von Muggenthaler?
Posted by: Loren Coleman on April 2nd, 2012
Dennis Hall, former primary investigator of the Lake Champlain Monster, vanished from the cryptozoological scene a few years ago.
I wonder what happened to him.
While I’m at it, whatever happened to Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, who allegedly had new echolocation evidence of the Lake Champlain Monster?
That’s Elizabeth von Muggenthaler in the ballcap and a former associate who has passed away is shown behind the equipment (above). Von Muggenthaler, apparently not happy about something, is pictured below.
The July 30, 2011 conference in which von Muggenthaler was suppose to be the center of attention last summer was cancelled when allegedly everyone else scheduled to speak decided they did not wish to speak at that conference. Furthermore, reportedly a reality television production (supposedly Wild Case Files) involving von Muggenthaler was put on hold for a long time, allegedly, due to cooperation issues.
Has anyone got any greater details on either one of these individuals’ efforts at Lake Champlain?
These two investigators are still among the vanished, at least, publicly.
About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct).
Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015.
Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.
On the champ-trackers Yahoo group site, it was mentioned that Dennis Hall was still around in 2009 and last April 2011, but not much other details.
The last info I heard about Muggenthaler was she is due to appear on a new episode of Wild Case Files, which from what I understand has already been filmed. I can think of two possibilities for her and the lack of new info about her discovery, either after further study it turned out to be nothing, or after further study they are sitting on a big discovery until what ever agency is funding and or publishing the findings says its time to make an announcement.
At the website for Elizabeth von Muggenthaler, under the ‘news’ sction, she seems to be writing a book.
I always wondered why von Muggenthaler didn’t do more with her findings. It has been so many years now that it does call her findings into question. Does anyone know what she does in her day job? If she is a professor that would explain her being somewhat quiet about things. Her tenure would definitely be in question! Thanks for posting this, very interesting.
Elizabeth von Muggenthaler is president of Fauna Communication Research Institute, Hillsborough, NC 27278.
Rrib13- it looks like Liz has given up on the Champ noises and has become a dog and cat trainer in North Carolina. She teaches pets to be civilized for a sliding scale. Wish the best for her, though we’ll all moon over the possibilities of her leading crypto-studies
I corresponded with Dennis Hall more than a few times about 8-10 years ago.
Don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone in cryptozoology I’d consider stranger.
His theories about Champ disturbed me. It wasn’t so much that there was no science, but his theories were something one might expect from the fantasies of an eight year old. Very weird.
I have recently corresponded with Liz, and she is always cordial and freely shares her information. That being said, the Champ research crowd is very adamant about what they each think this animal is. The reason Dennis thinks it’s a Tanystropheus is because under certain conditions it looks like what a Tanny might look like.
Others like Scott Mardis who think it may be a Plesiosaur, do so because under certain conditions, it looks like what we might expect a Plesiosaur to look like.
Liz believes that it is a Cetacean because she has recorded similar echolocation data to Beluga Whales …. and thus, it should be a Whale, because as we are told by experts – “only Whales echolocate.”
Ironically, not one of these folks are correct about what it is.
Sociologist Robert Bartholomew, friend of Ben Radford, has written a book about Champ and the gang that study it. My understanding is that the book will focus on the sociological aspects of the phenom, like the researchers themselves and their obsessions with their own theories and uncooperation with other researchers and egos in general etc. Explanations for sightings such as imagination, expectation, misidentification, publicity seeking and the so called cottage industry spawned by the Champ legend are examined. Those Champ-burgers in Port Henry must be making the town rich!
There will however, be a book next year by an independent researcher that will clearly demonstrate for all to see what these animals are, how they live, breathe, eat, reproduce and why no one can find them. A Cryptomundo community member will be the type of person who is going to solve this mystery, not the academics who have continuously ignored data, photos, videos, eyewitness reports (over 300) and presented unimaginative and unresearched “explanations”.
The Champ family is very real, and we will all see the proof soon. In the end, Champ will be the star of this show.
@champ voucher… interesting…. any more details?
“The Champ family is very real, and we will all see the proof soon.”
This was written in April 2012. It is now August 2017.
Where is the proof?
Has anyone ever independently confirmed that there’s echolocation in Champlain? Has von Muggenthaler and the other researchers published that paper on their results that they promised almost a decade ago?
Considering the track record of cryptozoology, what are the chances you’ll spend your lives looking for something you’ll never find?
Unfortunately for cryptozoologists, these questions are far from rhetorical. As of writing this, no proof has been found. No echolocation has been confirmed and no independent study has been done. No scientist or researcher has presented their data for scrutiny by fellow scientists and researchers.
Yet, promises are still made that it’s coming, it’s coming. We are all going to be convinced in the end. At the same time this is promised, confident assertions are given that it’s been proven already, at least to the satisfaction of those doing the promising. How can you state categorically and confidently that Champ is real and in the same breath say the evidence to demonstrate this hasn’t been found yet? Are there scientists out there hoarding all the convincing data? What are they waiting for, precisely?
Here is a fact: Belief in a flesh-and-blood Champ has been and continues to be just that—belief. It is not a fact. It is not an hypothesis supported by facts. It is a not a good or strong abductive inference, especially when the data itself is either inconclusive or questionable.
That could change tomorrow. But you’ve all been saying that for countless yesterdays.