Well-Equipped Monster Hunters Gather for Largest Loch Ness Search in 50 Years

The rogue’s gallery of Universal’s Classic Monsters covers the gamut of fear. They’ve got a Dracula to drain you of blood or lock you in a centuries-long contract of servitude (as in Renfield, streaming now on Peacock!), they’ve got a Wolf Man for going wild when the Moon is full, and they’ve even got a Creature from the Black Lagoon, just in case you thought you could escape to the water.

Cultures all over the world have cooked up their own classic monsters to populate our collective psyche and, maybe, the real world. We have Sasquatch in the Pacific Northwest, Chupacabra in Central and South America, and the Loch Ness monster in Scotland, to name a few. And their existence has been, and continues to be, hotly debated. Now, a new picture and a large survey are sparking renewed interest in the monster of Loch Ness.

The Hunt for the Loch Ness Monster Is Back On!

The legend of the Loch Ness monster began in 1933, when Aldie Mackay, then-manager of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, reported seeing a large creature swimming in the loch. Real or imagined, Loch Ness is the perfect place for a legendary creature. It’s the largest body of water in the United Kingdom, stretching 36 kilometers (22.5 miles) between its longest points. The loch averages a depth of 132 meters (433 feet) but gets as deep as 227 meters (745 feet). Plenty big to hide a legend inside.

RELATED: Could the Loch Ness Monster Really Be a Monster Eel?

In the decades since the first sighting, the Drumnadrochit Hotel has transformed into the Loch Ness Center, dedicated to the study of the loch and its alleged star resident. Over the weekend of August 26 and 27, the center put on an event billed as the largest survey of the loch specifically looking for evidence of Nessie in more than 50 years.

Gathered volunteers used thermal-imaging drones, infrared cameras, and a hydrophone to patrol the 22-square mile loch from the water and the air. The event’s aim wasn’t necessarily to find irrefutable evidence of Nessie (though we're sure the gathered enthusiasts would have welcomed it) but to inspire people to reengage with the hunt and the surrounding mythos. Already, the endeavor has paid off.

Chie Kelly, 51, was on vacation in Scotland in 2018, taking photos of her family, when she spotted something unusual in the water. From the shore, Kelly witnessed two humps rising from the surface of the loch, a few meters apart. Kelly watched the object or objects moving from right to left for a couple of minutes, during which time she snapped 15 photos.

RELATED: U.K. vacationer splashes up Loch Ness Monster debate with strange new photo

Importantly, Kelly never saw a head, but she did see the mysterious object turning in the water before vanishing into the deep. She kept the images to herself for years, fearing public ridicule, but was inspired to release the images after the recent event at the loch.

It’s unclear what Kelly captured in her images, but one thing is certain, whether in our minds or in the loch, the Loch Ness monster is alive and well.

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