The story of the Big Muddy Monster is one of the most well known legends of Southern Illinois, and it originated in Murphysboro.  You can click here to read a story detailing the events surrounding the sightings and investigation of the Big Muddy Monster as published by The Southern Illinoisan in October of 2005.  

Below you will find the Big Muddy Monster case file.  The case remains open to this day.  The file contains  digital scans of the police reports from 1973, letters received from people from all across the world, artist sketches made from the descriptions of eye witnesses, and photos taken by the Murphysboro Police Department.