Loch Ness monster hunters release findings of biggest search in decades

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Loch Ness monster hunters release video allegedly capturing possible sighting

Hundreds of people gathered in the Scottish Highlands in August in what is considered the largest search for the mythical Loch Ness monster in at least 50 years.(Credit: Loch Ness Centre)

Loch Ness monster hunters who gathered in Scotland last month released their findings of what might lurk beneath the waters in the Scottish Highlands. 

"This excitement this weekend has proven that the ongoing hunt for the Loch Ness Monster is still very much alive and continues to draw and attract a global audience, from America, Canada, France, Italy, Japan and more," Paul Nixon, general manager of the Loch Ness Centre, said in a press release provided to Fox News Digital. 

"We all want the same thing, to see and find out what the Loch Ness monster is. We’ve been delighted to welcome so many people into the Loch Ness Centre for visitor centre tours and Deepscan boat trips across the weekend."

Hundreds of volunteers from around the world gathered at Loch Ness on the final weekend of August in what is considered the largest hunt for the creature in at least 50 years. 

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Organizers of "The Quest," the largest Loch Ness monster hunt in decades. (Loch Ness Centre )

The Loch Ness Centre, a historical group dedicated to "uncovering the mysteries of the loch," teamed up with a local voluntary research team called the Loch Ness Exploration group for "The Quest" and have released their findings from the hunt. 

Organizers said they captured video footage possibly showing Nessie with "mysterious ‘humps’" and moving in the loch before disappearing. Others submitted footage to the Loch Ness Centre of "streaks in the water" that could possibly be the monster. 

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"I’ve been hunting the monster for nine years, but this is my first official hunt. I’ve previously hired my own boat, so this is great as it’s organized by Loch Ness Exploration with support from the Loch Ness Centre," volunteer Christie McLeod, of Canada, said of the hunt, according to the press release.

Volunteers of "The Quest" on a boat searching for the Loch Ness monster. (Loch Ness Centre )

"I’ve heard lots of stories from the locals, which all contradict each other. There are two types of people in the world, Nessie believers and non-believers, and I’m not interested in the latter. I have a spiritual connection to the Loch Ness monster and think there is a portal to another dimension in the loch," McLeod added. 

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Volunteers searching for Loch Ness monster in Scotland. (Loch Ness Centre )

The hunt was also livestreamed, and an online volunteer said they spotted "a giant shadow just under the surface, moving, dipping out of sight, then returning and swimming across again."

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The Loch Ness monster's history dates back to the sixth century, when written documents claim Irish monk St. Columba banished a "water beast" to the River Ness, according to Reuters. The creature grew in fame in 1934 when a photo showed a beast with a long neck poking its head above the loch's waters. The photo was later deemed a hoax. 

A view of the Loch Ness Monster, near Inverness, Scotland, April 19, 1934. The photograph, one of two pictures known as the "surgeon's photographs," was allegedly taken by Colonel Robert Kenneth Wilson, though it was later exposed as a hoax by one of the participants, Chris Spurling, who, on his deathbed, revealed that the pictures were staged by himself, Marmaduke and Ian Wetherell, and Wilson. References to a monster in Loch Ness date back to St. Columba's biography in 565 AD. More than 1,000 people claim to have seen "Nessie" and the area is, consequently, a popular tourist attraction. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

The weather was reportedly wicked during the hunt last month, but volunteers braved the stormy conditions and stood on the banks of the loch or boarded boats to search for the creature. The volunteers even dubbed the weather conditions "Nessie’s Revenge," according to the Loch Ness Centre. 

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Two volunteers using binoculars to spot Loch Ness monster. (Loch Ness Centre )

"The weather in Scotland was horrific over the weekend, so much so that the Scottish Highland Games were canceled for the first time in 75 years, but that didn’t stop us – and that didn’t stop our volunteers," Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration, said. 

A general view of Loch Ness as people take part in the largest Loch Ness monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland on Aug. 27, 2023. (REUTERS/Russell Cheyne)

McKenna said that regardless of the weather, the weekend was "exceptional," with "lots of potential sightings and huge interest from across the globe."

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"We know the monster is elusive, so it is not surprising we don’t have a concrete sighting, but we’ve all had lots of fun and proven the mystery lives on," he said.