A man was walking along a remote stretch off the bowlful Yaks river.

When he saw what he thought was a woman, drowning rushed to help.

When he got close, he realized that it wasn't a woman at all.

Creature was the size off a human, but it had a pale, shimmering body.

He says he found himself rooted to the spot, as if hypnotized or under a spell on the creature made its escape.

The report says that the man believes that what he saw Waas on ancient beast known in South Africa as the diamond I've heard.

There's a cousin of the Kaiman.

Eyewitness lives here in the town of Saw Brock.

Her name is Maggie John T.

Lis.

If I can find her, I could be a step closer to getting some answers about what was seen in the river that night.

Hello?

Hello.

How are you, you monkey?

Uh, Jeremy, Uh, I explained to Maggie how I got her name on my interest in her cousin's story.

In the religion would be driving a bride at the picnic area.

All of a sudden they get the way off the sound that came up out of the waters.

What did they say exactly?

The top of this lady and in the other hall is less fish.

When she comes up, she looks at him.

It was like the reed.

I just as if that I attacked him like, Yes, some people are talking about a caiman as a people is calling it a mermaid.

Sightings of mermaids mythical creatures with the head and upper body of a woman on the tail of a fish have been reported across the world and throughout history.

Mermaids turn up everywhere from ancient Greek mythology to medieval folklore.

Christopher Columbus describes seeing mermaids on his voyage to discover the Americas.

And I have investigated freshwater sightings in Guyana in South America, Maggie tells me.

But in this part of South Africa, belief in mermaids is widespread.

And to understand how deeply ingrained it is in the local psyche, there's a place nearby.

I have to visit.

No way.

Oh, look at this.

Look, look, look.

These are animals, four legged animals.

Right?

So here we go.

Those creatures here, there's several.

They will have a head arms on the tail.

You don't have to use your imagination.

It just it just leaps out.

These paintings of human fish hybrids could be 50,000 years old.

I'm not taking in more detail, so they all have a head, two arms, torso and then the tail like a fish tale.

But there's other things going on.

There's a wavy line forming a bit of a semi, sir, that could represent the surface of the water.

So you got most of them just under the surface.

And then you've got a few that have come through what I've often found looking to stories of water monsters.

Very rarely does anything come out of nothing.

It lends credibility to what I've been hearing lately.

It's tantalizing.

There is something that is really on a certain level.

Dusky Cobb or Kabir.

Leo is a man sized fish growing up to six feet on £150.

This is a fish that everybody thinks off as a sea fish, but apparently they are found up the rivers, including the bread, a river.

This is a river of actually fish before, so I think it's very clear from this very clear what I need to do next.

I need to go and fish.

Breeder River.

The bread.

A river in Western Cape Province is connected to the buffalo yaks.

The scene of the mermaid incident.

I came here to check out.

So my investigation has come full circle.

How are the numbers like today compared with I don't know, 100 years ago.

They under quite a bit of pressure.

A lot of recreational fishermen that catching some of the guys say food, speak.

She shivers and they'll take it down for the Mounties.

Got those quite big eyes at night.

If you if they catch the light, do they do they reflect back any little night time?

It seems it seems to reflect back.

Read.

Get the radio sheen in there are When she comes up, she looks a team.

It was like the read I I shine is only part of the story.

Could a dusky can't be mistaken for 1/2 woman?

Half fish with pale, shimmering skin.

The only way to know for sure is to catch one for a long time.

Nothing happens.

Oh, finally a take on this time.

It's big.

Yeah, Having way have a fish.

This is not a good sign.

Money to come along beside the swimming upstream.

Okay, Okay.

Okay.

Okay.

So forget it.

It's been interesting.

Officially, we're in about 15 feet of water.

It's going down.

I'm gonna vote.

I think it could be quite understa Get the anchor up.

I'm starting to worry a little bit now because this vicious is on this gear.

It's taking the world.

Come in.

Wrist shot would just come and chop it off.

We don't want Let's go.

So if its surface 30 30 30 30 running again.

Leaders inside.

Leaders inside.

See the fish?

Okay, way.

Have it in the boat.

We have it in the box.

Dusky co.

This is what I was after.

A good size one.

Dusty cops spend most of their life in the sea, but also migrate into rivers just over five feet long.

This shimmering fish is easily woman sized.

Mark, My guide has already confirmed that cop have a red reflective layer in their eyes.

So have I finally got my hands on the silvery creature behind the mermaid mystery.

So I'm thinking for some of those stories, at least where people claims to have seen a supernatural creature, A mermaid breaking the surface of the river last.

You think this real life flesh and blood creature It was what I saw.