The first time the Loch Ness Monster was refered to after centuries was in a letter to 'The Scotsman' newspaper in 1933 from a Mr. D Murray Rose. He tells of a story in an old book that spoke of the slaying of dragons and: "It goes on to say that Fraser (of Glenvackie) killed the last known dragon in Scotland, but no-one has yet managed to slay the monster of Loch Ness lately seen."
The letter to the newspaper in 1933 started a whole bunch of references to 'leviathans in the loch' and a host of sightings of the fabled monster. This was encouraged by a new road that was being blasted along the north side of Loch Ness and gave a perfect view of the whole loch. It was also in 1933, a time of depression and general misery, that Mr. and Mrs. Mackay, owners of the Drumnadrochit hotel were travelling along the new road. According to their story they saw in the center of the loch "an enormous animal rolling and plunging."
Since then to the present day there have been many accounts of sightings. Such as film footage of Nessie's humps travelling across the loch and the famous 'Surgeon's' photograph taken by R. K. Wilson in 1934 have all since turned out to be fakes.
Sonar surveys of the loch using the latest equipment have failed to find any conclusive evidence of Nessie's existence, but neither have they proved that she doesn't exist. Some accounts may well have been sighted through the bottom of a whisky glass, but there are still a remarkable number of eye witness accounts that ring true.
Also, the 'monster in the loch' phenomena seems to be spreading. A lake as far away as Japan now claims it has its own monster and the latest to join the 'monster in a lake' set is Lake Van, a salt water lake in South Eastern Turkey.
In 1962 The Loch Ness Investigation Bureau was formed to act as a research organization and clearing house for information about the creature. In the beginning it only conducted research for a few week in the year, but by 1964 they established a more permanent presence around the Loch. Eventually the Bureau established camera stations with both still and cinema cameras with telephoto lenses. They had vans which served as mobile camera stations, and underwater listening devises. Searches were conducted using hot-air-balloons and infrared night time cameras, sonar scanners and submarines. A great deal of information was discovered about the Loch, but they have yet to produce any concrete evidence of a monster.
