A rare hybrid mutant was found dead in Maine along Route 4 evidently hit by a car while trailing a cat. The weird-looking creature is speculated to be the mysterious animal that has been the stuff of local legend and scared residents for almost half a generation.

The animal was charcoal gray, around 40 and 50 pounds with a bushy tail, a short snout, short ears and curled fangs over its lips.

Michelle O'Donnell admitted to seeing the animal near her residence before it was killed. She described it as a "hybrid mutant of something."

"It was evil, evil looking. And it had a horrible stench I will never forget," she told the Sun Journal of Lewiston. "We locked eyes for a few seconds and then it took off. I've lived in Maine my whole life and I've never seen anything like it."

For the past 15 years, residents across Androscoggin County have told stories of an unknown animal with frightening cries and eyes that glow in the night.

The animal has been attributed to killing a Doberman pinscher and a Rottweiler in the last years.

Residents are now guessing if the mysterious animal and the dead animal found could be the same one.

Wildlife officials and animal control officers refused to examine the carcass in Turner.

Based on photos, Loren Coleman, a Portland author and cryptozoologist, said he was disturbed by the look of the animal's ears and snout.

He added that it reminded him of another Maine case years ago of an unidentifiable animal shot by a hunter that DNA analysis showed to be a rare wolf-dog hybrid.