In 1933, the first recorded sighting of the Zipperfinch Lake sea monster took place. Many credible witnesses have reported seeing the creature since that first sighting and they've all described the same type of animal. People used the words "sea monster" when they were explaining for the record what they'd observed but, from all the descriptions gathered, the Zipperfinch Lake monster doesn't fit the usual preconceived notion of what a creature of the deep looks like. Witnesses say the Michigan monster resembles a giant bullfrog. Some people say the frog theory would help explain the very loud, eerie sounds that emanate from the lake during the traditional bullfrog mating season.

Ethel Rumor of Saginaw, who has a summer cottage on Zipperfinch Lake, told authorities last year that a large creature came hopping out of the water and ate her pet Pomeranian. The authorities are skeptical of this sighting, however, because Ethel has reported many strange events that have happened to her during her visits to the cottage. One summer morning she ran screaming into the police station in the town of Zipperfinch Lake complaining that strange beings had abducted her and taken her aboard a space craft. She said the beings transported her to a planet somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. Her numerous bigfoot sightings are legendary and she once reported seeing Elvis at the local A & W drive-in. The police scoffed at her Elvis report because nearly everyone in Zipperfinch Lake has not only seen Elvis but considers him a friend and have had him over to the house for dinner on numerous occasions.

On the same day and at about the same time that Ethel Rumor claimed to have witnessed the horrible event, Oscar Jones, a reliable witness and former constable, reported to police that he'd seen what looked like a giant frog's head sticking out of the water out in the lake. He'd said that the frog seemed to be gagging and spitting out something that resembled dog fur.

A group of area residents conducted the first credible search for the Zipperfinch Lake bullfrog monster. They obtained financing from restaurateurs around the state who hoped to capture the reptile and use it for breeding purposes. The group hired a salvage company that had access to midget submarines and other submersible machinery. The University of Michigan also sent a small experimental submarine to assist in the search.

Since the average depth of Zipperfinch Lake is only ten feet, it's so shallow in most places that the machines spent much of their time resting on the bottom with their decks and undersea cameras still above water. Observers aboard one research vessel equipped with a small remote controlled underwater robot reported seeing what looked like large reptile prints on the bottom of the lake. That sighting wasn't photographed or confirmed by other searchers.

A Large contingent of Zipperfinch Lake residents gathered at the marina to observe the search. One member of the crowd was Ethel Rumor who stood at the end of the dock armed with a twelve gauge shotgun, vowing to avenge the untimely demise of her Pomeranian should the creature, as she put it, "show its ugly face above water." She'd blasted three surfacing robots and the University of Michigan's submarine with buckshot before the police disarmed her and sent her home.

"How was I to know?" she yelled over her shoulder as she stomped angrily up the path toward the road. "I'm wearing my reading glasses, not my seeing glasses."

The remaining members of the crowd were evenly divided between the pro-froggers and the anti-froggers, with those that were against the frog being the more vocal faction. Soon, protest signs began popping up on both sides and sporadic fighting broke out between the more adamant members of the opposing groups. Later in the afternoon, a riot developed and police called for reinforcements to help break up the melee. The crowd finally dispersed and neither side suffered any serious injuries. The people went home but an undercurrent of animosity continued for weeks afterward.

The group searching for the giant frog gave up their quest after scanning as much of the twelve thousand acre lake as they could, loaded their equipment onto trucks, and went home. With them went the hopes of the restaurateurs of ever developing very large frog legs for their menus.

A few individuals have sighted the bullfrog since then but there have been no other signs of its existence except for an occasional missing water skier.