Loch Ness Monster found

Loch Ness Monster mystery solved: This is face of Nessie says man after 24-year search September 23, 2013

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Is this the face of the mysterious Lock Ness Monster?

But Steve Feltham, 52, is going to upset fans of the paranormal, folklore and mythology, as his conclusion more than two decades on is that it is probably just a huge cat fish.

The Wels, or European catfish, was introduced to the lock in Victorian times to give fishermen a trophy specimen.

Drawing of the wels from the Encyclapedia Britanica The famous 1934 picture, now widely considered a hoax

Mr Feltham gave up his job, home and girlfriend, to focus on tracking Nessie, but has never had a sighting of anything prehistoric or unknown.

Celebrities who have come looking for the monster during that time included Robbie Williams, Billie Connolly, and Charlie Sheen who reportedly brought a leg of lamb as bate for the creature in 2013.

Now Mr Feltham says he’s convinced the legendary Scottish monster is just a myth.

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Steve Feltham by the loch on Dores Beach where he lives A plesiosaurus, the dinosaur some believed Nessie may have been a descendant of Loch Ness with the ruins of Urquart Castle

After seeking the creature and investigating the case for so long, he deduces it’s more likely any reports of a water beast are a very large Wels.

Despite the realisation he was chasing a more mundane explanation, he said: "I certainly don’t regret the last 24 years."

And he still lives in a caravan on the shore of the lock selling Nessie nick nacks to tourists.

A wels catfish, which can grow to 13 feet An underwater picture taken in 1974 alleged to have been the flipper of a huge unidentified creature

It was long believed there was a mysterious serpent like monster in the lock or a prehistoric plesiosaur had survived the ice age in the inland water and gone on to reproduce.

Will his conclusion kill of the legend once and for all?

Probably not hoax pictures being exposed have failed to do that nor unsuccessful sonar searches.

Plus, the first recorded sighting dates back to the 6th century AD, so how does he account for that, believers will say.