London (AP) – An underwater robot exploring Loch Ness has discovered a dark, monster-shaped mass in its depths. Disappointingly, tourism officials say the 30-foot (9-meter), object is not the fabled Loch Ness Monster, but a prop left over from a 1970 film. Billy Wilder’s “The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes” puts the great detective on the trail of the monster – which turns out to be a disguised submarine. A model of the submarine-monster sank during production to the bottom of the 750 foot (230 meter) -deep lake. Tourism body Visit Scotland is backing a survey of the Highlands lake by a marine robot to study its depths and see if there is any sign of the fabled monster, which helps attract hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to the region. Visit Scotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead said that whatever the survey finds, “there will always be a sense of mystery and the unknown around what really lies beneath Loch Ness.”
In this picture taken April 13, 2016, engineer John Haig helps launch the Munin AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) at Loch Ness. An underwater robot exploring Loch Ness has discovered a dark, monster-shaped mass in its depths. Disappointingly, tourism officials say the 30-foot (9 meter), object is not the fabled Loch Ness Monster, but a prop left over from a 1970 film. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)
