Loch Ness monster hunters release findings of biggest search in decades

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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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.

“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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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. 

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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“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. 

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

“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.