It was captured by a trail cam in Upstate New York – a blurry black-and-white image of a young girl walking through the woods.
And now locals are wondering: Is the youngster a present-day person or a ghost from the past?
“I think it’s a ghost. … It’s definitely a spirit.”
“I think it’s just a little girl playing in the woods. I don’t think it’s a ghost.”
“I don’t know. It’s kind of hard to believe whatever you see on social media nowadays.”
Those are the words of residents of Cambridge, a picturesque town of just over 2,000 about 40 miles northwest of the state capital, Albany, according to local TV station WTEN.
Paranormal expert wants to view actual footage after mysterious photo of girl captured in Cambridge https://t.co/bvdMkR02Gs
— NEWS10 ABC (@WTEN) May 2, 2017
The camera, positioned near Route 74 in the town, was set up by new landowners who want to hunt in the area to make sure that people were not crossing the land and would be in danger, Cambridge Police Chief George Bell told the station.
Bell, who says he believes the image is real and not the product of countryside shenanigans, says he is mystified. “I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never heard of a ghost running around the woods,” he said.
He told WTEN that the landowners, who saw the image several weeks ago, have become more and more anxious to identify the girl and contact her family.
According to local news website NewYorkUpstate.com, residents say there is a legend about a girl who was hit and killed on train tracks that used to run through the area.
Meanwhile, the picture has attracted the attention of local paranormal enthusiasts.
"We like to look at the actual footage from the actual camera it came from," Tania Woodward, president of the Paranormal Research Team in neighboring Greenwich, told WTEN. “There’s a lot of historical places [in the area] and we do pick up a lot of stuff from that."
Woodward told the station that the image on its own doesn't enough information for her to interpret.
"Trail cams don't take the best pictures; it's tough," said Woodward, who would like permission to visit the property with her team to determine if there is any possible paranormal activity. The landowner has requested privacy, Bell said.
"What neighborhood kids are around? Do they have kids? What time of day it was set up? Where it was set up?” Woodward told WTEN. “Can we look through it to see what's going on and do some research on the area?"
Meanwhile, Bell told the NewYorkUpstate.com that a man had called and said that the girl is his grand-daughter, who was visiting from out of state and had walked on a path through the property.
And Bell said that his department has received other calls about the photo, but that there are no solid leads, adding that anyone with information about the girl should contact his office.
