One of the world's most enduring mysteries added another layer recently, as amateur sleuths have discovered what they claim to be the Loch Ness Monster lurking under the water of the famous lake using satellite imagery from Apple Maps, after finding Google's monster tracking solutions unworkable. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "It was purely by accident that I came across the image," Loch Ness Monster enthusiast Andy Dixon told the Daily Mail. "I was trawling through satellite transmissions of different parts of the country and I thought I would try Loch Ness.""I could see something big under the water and I saved it to my phone. My first thought was that it was the monster and I contacted Gary Campbell of the Official Loch Ness Monster Club," he added. Unofficial clubs have yet to weigh in.Campbell noted that the ghoulish image does not appear on Google's satellite images of the loch, only those used by Apple's mapping application. Apple's overhead imagery is provided by satellite firm DigitalGlobe, though it is not immediately clear what Apple or DigitalGlobe have done to make the combined solution more suitable for those combing for cryptids.While the anomaly initially appears to be the wake of a boat, "experts" have noted that it is unlikely as there is no visible hull or superstructure. Imaging errors are also unlikely, as other boats in the area are clearly visible, making the appearance of a mythical creature clearly the more reasonable explanation."What ever it is, it's just below the surface and heading south so unless there have been secret submarine trials going on in the loch, the size of the object would make it likely to be Nessie," Campbell said."Nessie" can be viewed by clicking here on an iOS device or Mac running OS X Mavericks. ||||| Have Apple's maps found the Loch Ness Monster? Satellite image reveals mysterious shape lurking in the Scottish Highlands 
 
 Satellite in the atmosphere was accessed using Apple's satellite map app 
 
 Shows a creature swimming below the surface of the world famous loch 
 
 Location just south of Dores - only be viewed on some iPads and iPhones 
 
 Creature in the water is about 50ft in length - half the size of a blue whale 
 
 
 
 So large that it can be seen from space, it is enough to send shockwaves through even the most cynical Nessie sceptic. 
 
 This shadowy form measuring around 100ft long and seemingly with two giant flippers powering it through the waters of Loch Ness was photographed by a satellite. 
 
 For six months the image has been studied by experts at the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, where excitement is mounting after various explanations for it were ruled out... leaving them to conclude it is ‘likely’ to be the elusive beast. 
 
 Scroll down for video 
 
 A satellite high in the atmosphere, accessed using Apple's satellite map app, may have provided proof that the legend lives on - with amazing images of a creature swimming below the surface of the world famous loch 
 
 This sonar image appearsto show a mystery object in the loch. A shadowy form, pictured, measuring around 100ft long (30 metres) with two giant flippers was photographed by a satellite and spotted on the Apple Maps app 
 
 Club president Gary Campbell, who keeps a register of sightings, said: ‘We’ve been looking at it for a long time trying to work out exactly what it is. 
 
 
 
 ‘It looks like a boat wake, but the boat is missing. You can see some boats moored at the shore, but there isn’t one here. We’ve shown it to boat experts and they don’t know what it is. 
 
 ‘Whatever this is, it is under the water and heading south, so unless there have been secret submarine trials going on in the loch, the size of the object would make it likely to be Nessie.’ 
 
 He said other ‘logical’ explanations – such as a floating log or a seal causing ripples – could not be used to account for the imposing shape either. 
 
 The photographs were captured by two different amateur Nessie hunters scanning different satellites transmitting images of the earth from space - Peter Thain from Northumberland and Andy Dixon County Durham 
 
 The image has ended a recent drought in ‘confirmed sightings’ of the creature. In February Mr Campbell announced that no one had come forward in the previous 18 months to say they had seen Nessie – the first time since 1925 this had happened. 
 
 The club was alerted to the new image by two people who noticed it at the end of last year on satellite pictures used by Apple for its smartphone maps. 
 
 One of the spotters, Andrew Dixon, 26, a charity worker for the Great North Air Ambulance, from Darlington, County Durham, said: ‘It was a total fluke that I found it. I was looking at satellite images of my town and then just thought I’d have a look at Loch Ness. 
 
 ‘The first thing that came into my head when I saw it was, “That’s the Loch Ness Monster”. It was the shape of it, I thought it had to be something more than a shadow. 
 
 State of the art sonar equipment, a yellow submarine, Hollywood actors and even a white witch have all tried to find the elusive Loch Ness Monster 
 
 Mr Dixon said: 'It was purely by accident that I came across the image. I was trawling through satellite transmissions of different parts of the country and I thought I would try Loch Ness' 
 
 The image was recorded by sonar equipment on board the flagship vessel of Inverness-based Jacobite Cruises as it sailed on Loch Ness, pictured 
 
 ‘It was exciting. I’ve never been to Loch Ness but I’m always interested in that sort of stuff.’ 
 
 Peter Thain, from Newbiggin by the Sea, Northumberland, also came across the same image through Apple’s satellite map app. Both he and Mr Dixon forwarded the image to the club. 
 
 Mr Campbell, 49, a chartered accountant who lives in Inverness, said: ‘Now that we have spies in the skies above Loch Ness, maybe we will get more sightings which will whet the appetite of more down to earth Nessie hunters to come north. 
 
 ‘Furthermore, the use of satellite technology means that if Nessie is just swimming below the surface like in this case, we can still pick her up.’ 
 
 He added: ‘Last year was the first time in almost 90 years that Nessie wasn’t seen at all. After Nessie “going missing” for 18 months, it’s great to see her back.’ 
 
 Despite the club’s claim, however, another explanation for the shape seen in the image could simply be underwater currents in the loch. 
 
 Elusive sight: This picture, taken by Dr Kenneth Wilson in 1934, is said to show the Loch Ness Monster 
 
 THE LOCH NESS MONSTER: FACT OR FICTION? 
 
 The legend of the Loch Ness Monster has been around since the sixth century, when an Irish monk called Saint Columba witnessed locals burying a man who had been attacked by a 'water beast.' One of the first famous sightings was in 1933, when George Spicer and his wife claimed they saw 'a most extraordinary form of animal' which was 4ft high and 25ft long crossing the road near the loch. The following year, Dr Robert Kenneth Wilson took a picture, in main story above, which is now the most famous picture of the monster, although it was later revealed to be a hoax made with a toy from Woolworth's. Hunter Marmaduke Wetherell, centre, was said to have faked footprints which he said were the 'monster's' And in 1935, renowned big game hunter Marmaduke Wetherell found a footprint he said was the monster's. It was later revealed to have been made by him using a dried hippo's foot of the type used as umbrella stands at the time. Despite many recording sightings over the years, most have been revealed to be hoaxes and scientists do not give credence to the suggestion that a monster lives in the loch. 
 
 
 

– Apple Maps may have gotten a bad rap upon release—but when it comes to monster-hunting, it beats Google. So say Loch Ness Monster hunters who have apparently detected the creature on Apple Maps' satellite imaging. A close look at the right spot in Scotland's Loch Ness, pinpointed at AppleInsider, reveals a blurred, whitish image of what might be an underwater Nessie. "It looks like a boat wake, but the boat is missing," Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, tells the Daily Mail. "Whatever this is, it is under the water and heading south, so unless there have been secret submarine trials going on in the loch, the size of the object would make it likely to be Nessie," says Campbell. Two people noticed the image last year, the Mail reports. "It was a total fluke that I found it," says one. "I was looking at satellite images of my town and then just thought I’d have a look at Loch Ness. The first thing that came into my head when I saw it was, 'That’s the Loch Ness Monster.'"