Second 2025 Loch Ness Monster Sighting Confirmed During ‘Quest’ Search Event

Eyewitness Reports Mysterious Sighting in Urquhart Bay

Loch Ness, Scotland – The second confirmed Loch Ness Monster sighting of 2025 has been officially recorded after a visitor reported a mysterious creature in Urquhart Bay on May 23. The sighting occurred around 3:40 p.m. during a special monster-hunting event known as “The Quest,” a weekend-long search organized by the Loch Ness Centre. The eyewitness, an unnamed man participating in the search, was observing the loch from a high vantage point overlooking Urquhart Bay when something unusual caught his attention.

According to the report filed with the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, the man noticed a small motorboat entering the bay and trained his binoculars on it. In the boat’s wake, he spotted “something long and thin” suddenly popping up on the water’s surface. The object or creature appeared and disappeared multiple times in succession. The witness managed to capture video footage of the encounter, which he later submitted as evidence. He estimated the sighting lasted between three to five minutes – an unusually lengthy encounter by Loch Ness standards, where most sightings are only a few seconds or fleeting glimpses.

Video Evidence and Official Confirmation

While the full video has not been released publicly, a single still image from the footage has been shared by officials. The grainy image shows an indistinct dark shape on the water, which believers suggest could be Nessie’s form. Register officials deemed the account credible and added it as the second “official” Nessie sighting of the year. (The first 2025 sighting was reported in March by other visitors.) The registry, which has logged over a thousand Loch Ness Monster reports over the past four decades, only awards official status to sightings that defy easy explanation and come from reliable witnesses. In this case, they say no obvious mundane cause—such as a known animal, floating debris, or wave pattern—could immediately account for what was described.

Event staff and fellow monster hunters present for The Quest were excited by the news of a possible Nessie showing up during their watch. “It’s certainly a highlight to have an encounter during the festival,” said one organizer at the Loch Ness Centre, noting that hundreds of volunteers had been scanning the water that weekend. Many enthusiasts viewed it as a validation of their efforts, especially since it coincided with a coordinated search using modern equipment. During the four-day Quest event (May 22–25), researchers deployed underwater drones (ROVs) and baited cameras in the loch. They did not capture Nessie on those devices, but they did record giant pike and other large fish beneath the surface – potential prey that could hypothetically support a large creature in Loch Ness. Organizers called these findings “a significant step” toward understanding the loch’s ecosystem, and the surprise sighting of an unknown figure at the surface only added to the weekend’s intrigue.

Experts and Public React to Latest Nessie Encounter

The latest report has drawn both excitement and caution from the public and longtime Nessie investigators. Believers hailed the Urquhart Bay encounter as an encouraging sign that the legendary lake monster might still be lurking in the deep. Local hotels and tour operators also noted a bump in interest, as curious visitors hope to glimpse the creature for themselves. The Loch Ness Centre described the sighting as an “unexpected and thrilling moment” for Quest participants, especially coming at a time when officially documented sightings have been relatively scarce (only three were recorded in all of 2024, down from ten in 2023). Alan McKenna, leader of the volunteer group Loch Ness Exploration that helped coordinate the search, said the weekend’s discoveries – from the huge fish on camera to the resurfacing of a long-lost 1970s research cable on the loch bed – have renewed enthusiasm for the ongoing mystery. “We’re finding more clues about what lives in Loch Ness,” he explained in a post-event briefing, “and while we didn’t find definitive proof of Nessie this time, every piece of evidence helps us get closer to the truth.”

On the other side, skeptics argue that the blurry video still is far from conclusive. They point out that a long, thin shape in a boat wake could be anything from a submerged log to an otter or a wave anomaly. No independent photographs or additional witnesses have corroborated the May 23 sighting beyond the primary observer’s report. Experts in wildlife and photography caution that without clearer footage, it’s impossible to confirm what the visitor saw. Naturalist Adrian Shine, a veteran Loch Ness researcher, noted in general that many Nessie sightings turn out to have prosaic explanations upon investigation, and he urges patience and scientific analysis of any new evidence.

Despite healthy skepticism, the enduring legend of the Loch Ness Monster continues to captivate imaginations. This latest incident at Urquhart Bay – officially logged and coming during a high-profile search event – has once again shone a spotlight on Scotland’s most famous lake. As summer approaches, Nessie enthusiasts are hopeful that more sightings or even stronger evidence might surface. For now, the mystery in the depths of Loch Ness remains unsolved, but the people who dedicate their time to watching the waves say they’re more determined than ever to find out what’s really lurking beneath.