One woman has claimed she's took the 'most exciting photo of Loch Ness monster' but has kept it secret for years.
Photographer Chie Kelly captured some incredible shots of an unidentified large eel-like creature slowly spinning on the surface of the legendary Scottish loch back in 2018, but has only publicised them now after last weekend's massive search for Nessie.
The 51-year-old revealed she was previously too scared to show them - worrying she would face public ridicule and scrutiny for sharing the images.
Kelly, a translator, was snapping photographs of the area at Dores when she and her businessman husband Scott, 68, noticed something unusual floating about in the water.
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The strange creature in question was allegedly moving right to left over a distance of about 100 metres before disappearing and never resurfacing again.
While previously deciding to keep the shots to herself, Kelly has since been inspired to reveal them following the biggest search for Nessie in over 50 years at the weekend, in which hundreds of volunteers took part.
She showed the photos to veteran Nessie hunter, Steve Feltham, who has set a world record for the longest vigil of looking for the Loch Ness Monster - now over 30 years long from his Dores base.
Naturally, he was beyond astounded.
"My husband was originally from the Inverness area and Dores beach is a very special place to me as it where he used to take me when we first met," said Kelly.
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She recalled that fateful summer's day: "We had lunch in the Dores Inn and then started walking around. I was just taking pictures with my Cannon 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.
"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."
Kelly at first wondered if the creature was 'an otter or a pair of otters or a seal' but she 'never saw a head' and it 'never came up again for air'.
"It was making this strange movement on the surface," she went on, "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."
While she 'could not accurately assess its length', Kelly was able to observe that the two parts that were visible were 'less than two metres long together'.
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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.
"But I met Steve Feltham at the weekend and showed him the images and he said immediately that they were 'very interesting'.
"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."
Speaking of the groundbreaking shots, Feltham exclaimed: "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."
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He went on to say Kelly's photos were 'vindication' for everyone out there who believes there is 'something unexplained' in Loch Ness.
"They are remarkable," he continued. "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."
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Featured Image Credit: NorthpixTopics: News, UK News, Animals, Weird