The Loch Ness Monster hideaway may have been located in the depths of the loch as new crevices have been found making it deeper than previously known.
The loch has long been thought to be 813 feet deep at its deepest point, but this new crevice is 77 feet deeper than previous records. This new location makes the deepest part of the Loch Ness now 889 feet deep according to state of the art sonar equipment. It has long been believed by many that underwater caves existed in the loch and were the hiding places of the elusive cryptid said to inhabit its waters. This new location as being named “Keiths Abyss” by locals in reference to its finder Keith Stewart and many wonder if this could really be a Loch Ness Monster hideaway.
Stewart made his way around the worlds open seas for years using sonar equipment and says he decided to do something more sedate. Last March he became a captain for Jacobite Cruises, which does sight seeing tours down the Loch from Inverness. He says he was not a believer in Nessie beforehand, but two weeks ago, he came across a sonar image of what looked to be a long object with a hump lying on the bottom of the loch. He returned later and scanned the same location and it was no longer there. Many believe this could very well be a 2016 Loch Ness Monster sonar image or hit and Stewart admits it intrigued him. Could this actually be the first at least round about 2016 Loch Ness Monster sighting?
“Keith Stewart” (Photo by Peter Jolly Northpix)
He then found a dark shape about halfway between the Clansman Hotel and Drumnadrochit which ended up being the new crevice or trench. It is still unclear as to how long the trench is but the 3d equipment has verified its depth. Most sonar searches of the loch have traditionally been done in the middle of the loch but this location is only a few hundred yards offshore. This may be proof of local legends which claim there were underwater caves that connected Loch Ness to other lochs in the area and even the waters of the east and west coast. This new discovery is fueling new theories that this trench or perhaps even other yet undiscovered trenches could be home to Nessie or even a family of lake monsters and may explain why they are rarely seen.
Another theory being debated is that the trench could of been opened up by an earthquake. Loch Ness is part of an earthquake fault line that runs from Norway to Canada. Back in 2013 a 2.4 magnitude earthquake hit the loch which happened to be the same time that Nessie disappeared for an entire year. Perhaps the earthquake opened up this new trench, giving the lake monster(s) a new place to hide. Gary Campbell the president of the Loch Ness Monster Fan Club and the Registrar of Sightings said this discovery adds a whole new dimension to the search for the creature. Searches for the creature one of the most well known of the cryptids has mainly been in the middle of the loch and Urquhart Bay according to Campbell.
This finding will surely lead to more research into the location as well as the loch as a whole. This new research which is likely to include submarines and more state of the art sonar equipment may turn out to be another extremely interesting chapter in the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. Maybe this will even lead to new Loch Ness Monster sightings or even better Loch Ness Monster evidence.