The Elusive Loveland Frogman Of Clermont County, Ohio

Some of the most famous are BigFoot, the Loch Ness Monster, and even extra terrestrials have been placed in the category of Cryptid. Within the shadow of BigFoot and Nessie there are lesser known beings that are restricted to one area and are a factor as to why they fall under the radar of many Cryptozoologists. The Loveland Frogman (or Loveland Lizard Man) is one of those overlooked legends. 

This bipedal frog/lizard man is said to stand from three to four feet tall and only has four official sightings, beginning in 1955 and ending in 2016. The first reported sighting is said to have occurred on May 5, 1955, by an unnamed, lone businessman driving over a small, dark bridge at 3:30 AM. Suddenly the car’s headlights beam fell upon an unusual congregation on the side of the road and caused the man to stop the vehicle. For about three minutes this man observed three 3-4 foot tall lizard or amphibian like creatures that appeared to communicate with each other. They had heads like frogs, wrinkles on the top of the head, and webbed hands and feet. In some tellings of this sighting one of the Frogmen lifted a stick above its head and this “wand” appeared to have sparks shoot out from the end of it. This was the first and last of anyone in the Loveland, Ohio area to experience anything like this until 1972.

On the chilled evening of March 3, 1972 Officer Ray Shockey was patrolling around the Little Miami River on Riverside Dr. when he had to carefully stop his cruiser on the icy road when he spotted what he believed to be a dog laying prone in the middle of the road. He then became startled when the animal began to sit up on the road and then rise to stand on its two legs. The officer and the mysterious being stared at each other for a moment before the creature scrambled over the guard rail and down the small hill. Taken aback by what he had just seen, Officer Shockey called for backup. That backup was Officer Mark Mathews. There are several different versions of Officer Mathew’s encounter but in the end of all of them, Officer Mathews was confused as to what he was seeing and decided to shoot the creature as no one would believe their story otherwise. 

No reports or photos of what Officer Mathews shot is available. However, now retired Officer Mathews has gone on the record to say that his experience was greatly embellished. That what he shot that night was actually a four foot long iguana with no tail and is why he was not sure what the creature was at first. Mathews goes on to state that at the time both he and Officer Shockey agreed that it was in fact a lost pet iguana and nothing more. During the research of this topic there were no public records of an Officer Ray Shockey active during this period but there was a large Shockey family that did live in the area at this point in time. Also, Officer Mark Mathews was well known and active in the area at this time. Again, to point out there is no public record of the officers discovering an iguana or the shooting of one by Officer Mathews. 

In August of 2016, a teenage couple were playing Pokémon Go near Lake Isabella when they spotted a real life monster. One of the teens, Sam Jacobs, stated that at first they thought that it was just a giant frog, until it stood up on both legs. Shocked at what they saw, Sam Jacobs, managed to take a short video and a couple of pictures of what they discovered. Unfortunately, this encounter occurred after sunset and the area was not well lit with street lights. All that was captured was a grainy video of two reflective eyes. A slight outline of a bipedal figure can be seen once the photo has been lightened up. This video and its photos are subject to debate as to their authenticity; Mark Mathews concludes that these pictures and video are nothing more than a hoax. The few and far in between encounters with this elusive urban legend could mean that it may be several decades more until this creature can be labeled real or forever be a cryptid.