New images of a “serpent” creature claimed to be the Loch Ness Monster have been hailed as the “most exciting ever” of the mythical beast.
The photographs, which appear to show the body of a water beast on the surface of the loch, were taken in 2018 but were kept secret as the photographer feared public ridicule.
However, Chie Kelly, who said she took the images and witnessed the creature moving at “steady speed”, has been persuaded to go public following a high-profile search for the monster last weekend.
She showed the pictures to Steve Feltham, who has spent more than 30 years trying to solve the mystery, who described them as the best surface images of Nessie he had ever seen.
‘It was spinning and rolling at times’
Mrs Kelly, a translator, said she and her husband Scott had been taking photographs of the area after having lunch in the Dores Inn, on the banks of the loch, while on a family holiday on August 13, 2018.
“I was just taking pictures with my Canon camera of Scott and our daughter Alisa, who was then five, when about 200 metres from the shore, moving right to left at a steady speed was this creature,” the 51-year-old said.
“It was spinning and rolling at times. We never saw a head or neck. After a couple of minutes it just disappeared and we never saw it again.
“At first I wondered if it was an otter or a pair of otters or a seal, but we never saw a head and it never came up again for air. It was making this strange movement on the surface. We did not hear any sound. There were these strange shapes below the surface. I could not make out any colours – the water was dark.
“I could not accurately assess its length, but the two parts that were visible were less then two metres long together.”
She added: “I don’t know what it was but it was definitely a creature – an animal. At the time I did not want to face public ridicule by making the photographs public.
“I have always believed there was something in Loch Ness. There is something unusual there, but I don’t know what it is. What I saw looked like a serpent. It was definitely a creature and it was moving.”
Mrs Kelly was persuaded to release the photos by Mr Feltham, who quit his job and sold his home in Dorset in 1991 and has been searching for Nessie ever since.
The discovery will be seen as a major breakthrough for Nessie hunters, following disappointment at the weekend when hundreds of people took part in what was hailed as the biggest search for 30 years.
Bad weather hampered efforts to launch heat-seeking drones, and after underwater microphones picked up four “strange” sounds, investigators realised they had forgotten to turn on recording equipment.
Mr Feltham said: “These are the most exciting surface pictures [of Nessie] I have seen. They are exactly the type of pictures I have been wanting to take for three decades. It is rare to see something so clear on the surface.
“They are vindication for all the people who believe there is something unexplained in Loch Ness. They are remarkable. I have studied them and still do not know what it is.
“We are lucky the Kellys have decided to go public at last. I have met the Kellys twice and they are absolutely genuine.
“I persuaded them that these pictures were so important they should make them public. They warrant further investigation. It is not driftwood – it is a moving creature and totally unexplained.”
While the first recorded sighting of the Loch Ness monster was recorded in the year 564, the legend rose to prominence in the 1930s, following a flurry of supposed encounters and huge media interest.
It followed hotel manageress Mrs Aldie Mackay reporting seeing a “whale-like fish” in the waters of Loch Ness, On April 14, 1933, and making the Inverness Courier. The story was quickly followed up by the national press.
The following year, the most famous image of the monster, known as ‘The Surgeon’s Photo’, was captured and published in the Daily Mail. For decades it was seen as evidence of the monster’s existence.
However, it was described as a fake by The Telegraph in 1975, and is now believed to have been created as part of an elaborate hoax.
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