Montauk Pioneer - July 10, 2009

One of the biggest news stories in America last year was the story of Monte the Montauk Monster. The creature that allegedly washed ashore dead on a beach near Ditch Plains in July of 2008 took the country by storm. Fox News dedicated time to it and even Comedy Central commented on the mysterious creature that washed ashore.

The story became somewhat of a legend itself, with speculation that the decaying animal was an experiment off the coast of Plum Island. Stories ran like wild fire across the Internet, ranging from government experiments to aliens from outer-space. There was never any scientific answer that was given to the public about the Montauk Monster other than that it was an animal that was so badly decomposed it was unidentifiable. The Montauk Monster would remain a mystery.

There was one recent report that a group of young men off the coast of Shelter Island found a dead racoon and decided to give it a Viking burial by wrapping it up in a garbage bag and then setting it on fire out at sea. This story has been unconfirmed however.

Last week, PJ Monte, the son of Paul Monte who is the CEO at Gurney's Inn, saw a strange animal wash ashore at the beach at his family's resort. He and some friends were gathering around the unidentified animal that you see above and it looks strikingly similar to the Montauk Monster of last year, only it looks less decomposed. The photographs PJ took show that the monster has hair and that it has white fur with black spots, and the jaw of the animal is completely decayed, leaving only the bones.

According to one report, the animal washed ashore during an oceanfront wedding. PJ and his friends were able to get it down the beach, away from the wedding so that nobody would notice. The photos that PJ took made it all the way to Fox News the following day, as further speculation began to swirl once again about a mysterious new species that is yet to be identified.

Nicky Papers, the owner of the website www.montauk-monster.com, which sells Montauk Monster related products and who has dedicated time and research trying to figure out just exactly what is going on here, jumped on the news immediately and posted the story on his website. In today's information age, after PJ posted the photos he took of the carcass on the beach to his Facebook.com page, Mr. Papers was able to find out immediately what happened because he and PJ are friends on Facebook.

Mr. Papers said that he felt it was a little spooky that PJ Monte took the photographs and has the last name of Monte, which is also the name that was given to the Montauk Monster, also known as Monty the Montauk Monster.

Mr. Papers confirmed on his website that he traveled to Gurney's and saw the animal for himself. He states on his website, "With excitement, I rallied out to Montauk to once again get an up-close-and-personal encounter with the Montauk Monster. Upon arrival at Gurney's Inn, PJ introduced me to his friends and his father Paul Monte. (General Manager, Gurney's Inn) Paul Monte led the way as I was taken to a remote part of the property to witness the beast again with my own eyes.

The monster was removed from an ice-filled enclosure and laid out for all to view. The stench this time was so horrific it triggered my gag reflex and I was forced to take a step back. PJ and the crew lifted their shirts over their noses for relief from the rotting stench."

There are now four seperate instances in the last year of a mysterious animal washing ashore off the coast of Plum Island. It began with Monty the Montauk Monster last year and the legend of the Montauk Monster continues.