International- Hundreds of volunteers are set to descend on Loch Ness, Scotland, for the search of a lifetime.
- The volunteers will spend a weekend trying to confirm the existence of the Loch Ness monster.
For the first time in over 50 years, hundreds of people will descend onto Loch Ness, Scotland, with modern-day gadgets, in hopes of locating a mythic creature known to locals as "Nessie."
This weekend, volunteers and researchers will meet up in Inverness, Scotland, at the site of the Loch Ness freshwater lake, trying to find "Nessie," the Loch Ness monster.
The Loch Ness Centre, a group of researchers and enthusiasts organizing the trip, claims participants will help to "scientifically investigate Loch Ness and its famous monster mythology." The organizers invited participants to join the "hunt for truth," where they will attempt to locate the mythical beast.
According to CNN, at least a hundred participants are joining from as far as New Zealand, and Japan. Part of the purpose of the trip is to get to the bottom of the folklore surrounding the mythic creature, but there is yet to be any physical proof of the animal.
According to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, there have been 1,148 claimed sightings, with the first reported one coming from 565 AD.
But the first alleged sighting in Scottish newspapers dates back to 1933, CNN reported, where onlookers described a "dragon or prehistoric monster" in the lake.
The Loch Ness Centre, hosting the event, reopened this year after a $1.9 million construction project at the site of the Drumnadrochit Hotel, which is where a hotel manager described seeing the beast some 90 years ago, per CNN.
They're working with Loch Ness Exploration, an independent research team, to organize the search. According to the Guardian, the Loch Ness Centre and Loch Ness Exploration will oversee participants, and after a surge in applications, others were invited to join the adventure virtually.
The trip will span over the weekend of August 26 and 27, where volunteers will take shifts observing the lake at different times, using pieces of equipment like infrared cameras meant to produce thermal imaging of the water, or devices used to track acoustic underwater signals.
"A hydrophone will be used to detect acoustic signals under the water, listening for any Nessie-like calls, as well as further technology in the hunt for the truth," organizers said on their website.
The goal will be to see whether any unnatural movement occurs in the water during the two-day period, per the Guardian.
After in-person slots filled up this month due to "an overwhelming surge in demand from enthusiastic Nessie Hunters," others were invited to watch virtually, the Centre said.
The Loch Ness Centre did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.