A Google Earth image is now under review by The Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register for what would be the 17th potential sighting of the mythical creature this year.
British amateur sleuth Julie Fraser spotted three shapes in Scotland’s Loch Ness lake while browsing satellite imagery on Google Earth last week, ahead of a planned trip to the nearby city of Inverness, and reported the find to the Register, which has since confirmed that it’s reviewing them.
“I’m planning a visit to Inverness later in the year and was just playing [with Google Earth] when I spotted the three objects,” Fraser told the Inverness Courier. “Taking a closer look and enlarging the images — they don’t look like boats, and look like whales or something similar with an arc to their back,” she noted.
Fraser ruled out the possibility of boats after examining the wake. A nearby image of a pleasure boat crossing the loch shows a clear V-shaped trail behind it, while the three shapes she found appear nothing like that.
Fraser also pointed to a 2026 timestamp on the imagery and trees still in full leaf as evidence the photo is recent. “I’m not a crank,” she explained. “I’m not as familiar as probably local people, but it definitely looks like something significant to me,” Fraser added.
If the register confirms it, this would be the third digitally logged sighting since January, adding to what’s already a heavy year for the creature. The official count stands at 14 in-person encounters and two webcam sightings so far.
Fraser has her own theory about what she found. “The thought of a little family of Nessies is so exciting,” she told reporters.
Sources: Loch Ness Sightings, The Inverness Courier, New York Post