The Bear Lake Monster is a being appearing in folklore near Bear Lake, on the Utah–Idaho border. The myth originally grew from articles written in the 19th century by Joseph C. Rich, a Mormon settler in the area, purporting to report second-hand accounts of sightings of the creature. However, he later recanted the stories. In recent years the monster is considered to be a tourist attraction. The last reported sighting of the monster was in 2002.