By Tim Binnall
There has been a changing of the guard at the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register as, after nearly three decades, founder Gary Campbell has reportedly handed the reigns of the record over to his daughter Paige Daley. Serving as the arbiter of possible evidence for the famed cryptid, the project began back in 1996 after Campbell spotted something unusual at the famed Scottish site and then found that there was no place to report his observation. Shortly thereafter, he established the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, which has since recorded a staggering 1,155 reports and, with the appointment of a new registrar for the project, the collection of cases looks to continue long into the future.
Taking over both the somewhat iconic sightings register as well as the Loch Ness Monster Fan Club that was also formed by her father back in 1996, Daley called the dual leadership role "a huge responsibility," though observed that she is well-prepared to take on the challenge. "The register has been there the whole of my life and I have been involved from a young age," she explained, "I am now bringing it on to the next generation." To that end, Daley operates a TikTok channel that boasts 18,000 subscribers to date and features possible Nessie videos as well as insights into the longstanding mystery creature.
Although she has yet to see the famed monster herself, Daley declared "I have no doubt there is something" lurking at Loch Ness and she now has the daunting task of being the one who decides which reports pass muster. As for how she will judge potential sightings that are sent into the register, Daley intends to follow in her father's footsteps when it comes to the often indecipherable photos and videos submitted to the website. While acknowledging that "people try their level best with hoaxes," she indicated that "we are going to keep the standards high. We will weigh up whether what people are seeing is something unexplained or whether there is an explanation."