The biggest search for the mythical Loch Ness Monster ever is underway, with some beast hunters hoping to cash in on the elusive but potentially lucrative sight.
Running across this weekend, from yesterday (Thursday, May 30) to Sunday (June 2) at the iconic Inverness loch, The Quest has lured in beast hunters from far and wide.
Stuart Patterson made the trip to the loch with the aim of making some coin after “watching the mystery from afar”.
READ MORE: Fresh ‘Loch Ness Monster sighting’ as creature ‘as big as three men’ emerges from water
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star
He told The Scottish Sun: “I’ve been reliably informed that definitive proof of Nessie could be worth millions.
(Image: Getty Images)
“So after years of watching the mystery from afar I was determined to solve it once and for all, and make some cash.”
Although Patterson was sure he would spot the beast and “stayed glued” to his binoculars “for the entire voyage just in case the monster suddenly appeared”, he didn’t catch sight of Nessie.
“Thankfully the breathtaking scenery more than made up for not seeing the creature and not making my fortune,” he added.
Boatloads of visitors, like Patterson, motor across the loch on research boat the Deepscan, captained by Ally Matheson.
He’s been scouring the 23-mile long, 750ft deep lake for more than a decade, in which time he’s only found salmon and a discarded Nessie model abandoned by a 1960s film crew with his sonar.
(Image: John Payne / SWNS)
He said: “Nessie is a huge story and a big draw.
“I think locally people forgot just how powerful the myth and story is for everyone, especially kids.
“It’s amazing to be able to take people out on the loch and be a part of it.”
A trio of friends, Kelly Tino, 53, Linda Owen, 60, and Kelly Williams, 61, from Florida also joined the quest, with Tino describing their jaunt as a “bucket list trip”.
The nuclear medicine tech added: “It’s better than Mickey Mouse any day. It’s just fantastic.
“It doesn’t matter that we didn’t see anything. That just keeps the mystery alive.”
(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)
Another Amnerican, Ashley Range from Seattle, has returned to Inverness for this year’s quest after taking part in last year’s.
Obsessed with the monster since she was five, Ashley said:
“People scoff and laugh when you say you might see a dinosaur in the loch. But who knows? Something is there.
“I don’t want to be the person who discovers anything, I just want to be there when it happens. I had be there this time.”
Click for more of the latest news from across the world from the Daily Star