By Tim Binnall
A diligent Loch Ness webcam viewer with a remarkable penchant for spotting anomalies that could be the site's legendary 'monster' has been credited with ending a months-long drought of reports by recording the first official Nessie sighting of 2022. Eoin O'Faodhagain of Ireland was watching the popular livestream on March 23rd when he "noticed wake like movements involving two objects moving parallel to each other" approximately 450 feet from shore. In a video capture of the virtual sightings (seen above), the peculiar oddities appear on the water for a few seconds before disappearing and then another odd object appears in the general direction where they were headed.
Although the footage is admittedly rather hard to decipher, it was apparently strange enough to be accepted by the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, which has deemed O'Faodhagain's video to be the first report of 2022 to meet its rigorous standards. In some ways, the case couldn't have come at a better time as many Nessie aficionados had begun to notice that the famed creature had yet to be spotted this year. Concern surrounding the 'missing' monster grew to such a level that Gary Campbell, who has run the official registry for over two decades, was called upon by a Scottish media outlet earlier this month to offer his take on the matter and he assured the public that the lack of sightings was not all that concerning.
At the time, the seasoned monster hunter explained that the lack of tourists and daylight at Loch Ness during the winter months make for particularly poor conditions for Nessie sightings. He also noted that the organization had actually received a handful of webcam reports "but we've been able to explain them." Campbell's words of assurance to the public proved to prophetic as it was only a few weeks later that O'Faodhagain submitted his video and Nessie was officially on the proverbial board for 2022. With warmer months and longer days set to begin soon, Campbell hopes that this year will see an increase over 2021's exceptional tally of 16 sightings.