By Tim Binnall
The total number of officially recognized Loch Ness Monster sightings for 2026 has increased by two after a pair of reports were recently deemed worthy of inclusion on this year's tally. The first case (featured above) was of the virtual variety and came courtesy of a rather familiar source. On July 9th, indefatigable Loch Ness webcam watcher Eoin O’Faodhagain reportedly spotted an anomalous object emerge from the water of the famed Scottish site. Shortly thereafter, a second mysterious form appeared nearby and seemingly swam past the first suspected Nessie, which subsequently joined it in moving northward. A few minutes later, O’Faodhagain marveled, an approaching speedboat caused both objects to vanish back into Loch Ness.
The webcam watcher's report was followed by an on-site account from a nine-year-old Australian girl named Crystal. While visiting the site with her family on July 23rd, the youngster was on the bottom deck of a cruise boat when she snapped a picture (seen here) of what she asserted was "the head of a creature in the water." While, like most purported photos of cryptids, the image is admittedly rather difficult to decipher, there does appear to be something unusual under the surface of the water in the picture.
After being submitted to the Official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, the venerable website gave the proverbial nod to both cases, which have now been added to this year's tally. The recognition of Crystal's report raised the number of on-site accounts for 2026 to eight. With five months remaining in the year, including several weeks of tourist season, one imagines that there could be a few more sightings added to the list before 2026 comes to an end. Meanwhile, O’Faodhagain's virtual sighting was credited as the 2nd webcam case of the year, with that tally being two short of 2025's four recognized reports, meaning the dilligent livestream viewer still has some work to do over the next few months.