Loch Ness Monster breakthrough as 'most compelling photos ever taken' released in bid to end mystery – The Mirror
The snaps were taken by Chie Kelly while on holiday with her husband in 2018 – she kept them secret at first, afraid to share her photos as she feared people would ridicule her
Photos that could show the Loch Ness Monster have been released and they are being called the “most compelling surface images” ever taken of the elusive beast.
The snaps were taken by a woman who was on holiday with her husband, when she happened to spot something strange in the water. Chie Kelly was afraid to share her unbelievable snaps as she feared people would ridicule her.
But now all 71 frames of her encounter have been released after she came forward, inspired by a massive search for Nessie. The frames have been digitally knitted together to create a seamless video showing something moving across the surface of the loch.
Translator Mrs Kelly, 52, was taking photographs of the area at Dores when she and her businessman husband Scott, 69, saw an unidentified large eel-like creature. The beast, captured in Mrs Kelly’s snaps, moved right to left over a distance of about 100 metres before disappearing never to re-surface.
The encounter on August 13, 2018, left Mrs Kelly so shaken that she did not release the images for fear of public ridicule. But last August hundreds of volunteers took part in the biggest search for Nessie in over 50 years and Mrs Kelly was inspired to share her puzzling pictures with them.
She plucked up the courage to show her startling photographs 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 base in Dores.
Mr Feltham was gobsmacked. Speaking today he said: “They are the most compelling surface images of the phenomenon. Putting all 71 frames out there will hopefully spark international debate and an analysis. That's the point of it.
"They still defy explanation. I don't think they are otters – those creatures are much smaller than what is in the images – or divers. It also appears there may be two objects. They certainly warrant further investigation."
Mrs Kelly was on holiday with her family from Ascot in Berkshire at the time of the sighting. "We had lunch in the Dores Inn and then started walking around,” she said. “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. 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 than two metres long together. 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 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."
Mr Feltham said: "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."
Today The Cryptid Factor podcast released and analysed all 71 frames in the hope that it would spark informed debate by investigators around the planet. Hollywood star, Rhys Darby and his Cryptid Factor co-hosts director Leon Kirkbeck and Dan Schreiber put together the images into a video.
The Cryptid Factor hosts said: "This video allows us to see how the monster moves, which is a game-changer." Dan Schreiber added: "Whether you're a sceptic or a believer, this mysterious video will give you goosebumps and have you debating late into the night over what was captured by Chie in the loch that day.”
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