An underwater camera from 1970 that had been submerged to capture evidence of the
Loch Ness Monster has been discovered by accident.
The U.K.'s National Oceanography Centre was conducting a routine test of one of their autonomous underwater vehicles, named
Boaty McBoatface, when it happened upon the camera system at a depth of around 590 feet.
The camera is thought to have been submerged 55 years ago as part of the Loch Ness Investigation Bureau's first attempt to use underwater photography in their
search for Nessie.
The center's underwater robot came across the contraption when part of its mooring snagged on Boaty McBoatface's propeller. When it was brought back to the surface, author and lifelong Nessie investigator Adrian Shine said he knew exactly what it was.
"It was a fascinating moment," Shine told CBS News.
He described the camera trap as "quite ingenious." "[It was] triggered by a bait line, which was above the camera on a float, and if that was pulled, an external magnetic switch was operated," he said.
Shine, who set up The Loch Ness Project in the mid-1970s to investigate Loch Ness, said around 24 film exposures had been taken but there was no evidence of Nessie in those pictures.
