An Indonesian fisherman reported an incident that he and his crew had in the waters off of Florida. He later recalled the Orang Ikan, a humanoid 'Merman' supposedly encountered in his homeland.
Several years ago, an Indonesian fisherman, who was living in Miami, Florida, contacted me about an encounter that he and his crew had approximately 5 miles out to sea. They had left Ft. Lauderdale earlier in the day and were making their was to an area where they regularly fished.
As they were about to drop their net, a humanoid creature, about 3 feet in length, popped to the surface, then vanished back into the depths. This same scenario repeated itself twice more, each time in a different location near the boat. They attempted to capture a photograph of this being, but were frustrated at each opportunity.
The description given to me was of a finned creature with a human-like head, with a dorsal ray extending from the top of the head down the back. There was a tail of some type, but nothing definitive was seen. The color of the finned humanoid was light red with bits of green.
The fishermen were shocked by the incident and feared that this was a sign of danger. They quickly left the location and returned back to shore.
The fisherman who contacted me went by the name Tomas. He was quite adamant that he and his crew had witnessed an actual mermaid. He then proceeded to tell me about the beliefs associated with aquatic humanoids in his native country of Indonesia. Residents of that nation believe in the reality of these cryptids.
Tomas recalled an account he had heard decades earlier. This aquatic creature encounter occurred during a military training exercise in Jakarta Bay. At the time, the soldier witnesses had described that the creatures had hands and faces like a human man, but the mouths was very wide and similar to the mouth of the carp.
The length of these creatures was about five feet, their skin was pink, and on his head were spikes. Unlike classic mermaids, these beings had ordinary human legs, not fish-like tails. They briskly shoaled near the witnesses.
At first, the soldiers believed that these were people swimming. But when one of the creatures turned to face them, they noticed that the features are not human. Immediately after that, the creatures plunged headlong into the water and disappeared from view. The witnesses looked at the water for a while, but the creatures never reappeared.
When the soldiers met with several of fisherman at shore and asked them about these sea creatures, they said that these creatures are called Orang Ikan ('Orang' means people, and 'Ikan' is fish).
In another incident, a police commander was summoned to a village west of Jakarta. When the commander arrived, he was told that a dead Orang Ikan was found and was moved to the hut of the head of the village.
The commander went to examine the body. He described the creature was 150 cm in length, with reddish shoulder length hair. The neck was covered in sharp thorns, and the face was hideous and resembled the face of a monkey. It had a short nose, a low forehead, and small ears. The mouth had no lips and was wide as the face, and the teeth in the mouth were small, but sharp as needles. The fingers on the hands and feet of the creatures were webbed, and the rest of the body was covered with tufts of algae.
The commander could not understand what this creature was and of what species it belonged. Never before he had heard about these creatures and it frightened him.
No photos were taken. Many people outside of the village questioned the validity of the claims. The commander was later relieved of his duties.
Tomas told me that he believes the account, and that he heard of other sightings throughout his life. He said that his father was also a fisherman, and that he recalled an incident with the Orang Ikan by Japanese soldiers during the occupation.
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Have you had a sighting of a winged humanoid or huge bat-like creature in the Chicago, Illinois metro area / Lake Michigan region? The entity has also been referred to as the 'Chicago Mothman', 'Chicago Owlman' & 'O'Hare Mothman.' - Chicago / Lake Michigan Winged Humanoid Regional Interactive Map - Please feel free to contact me at lonstrickler@phantomsandmonsters.com - your anonymity is guaranteed. Our investigative group is conducting a serious examination of his phenomenon. We are merely seeking the truth and wish to determine what eyewitnesses have been encountering. Your cooperation is truly appreciated.
Thanks. Lon Strickler
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