Man claims he’s caught the Loch Ness Monster on his webcam… from 4,000 miles away
The snap has been approved as a credible sighting of the monster - the third this year
A PARANORMAL investigator claims he's spotted the Loch Ness Monster without even leaving his American home - nearly 4,000 miles away.
It is the first sighting of Nessie over the web in more than a decade and proves you do not have to visit the Highland loch to catch a glimpse of its legendary monster.
Jim Winiski was monitoring the loch's webcam from his home in Iowa, US, when he saw a neck-like object appear up to ten feet out of the water.
It has now been logged as a credible sighting by the
Jim was watching the 'Nessie on the Net' webcam during his lunchtime when he saw the mysterious object, and the sighting lasted for up to 12 seconds.
Jim said: "I'm into the paranormal, so at lunchtime every day I have a series of sites I like to check out – one being the Loch Ness cam."
The Nessie webcam is situated above Urquhart Bay - one the famed favourite haunts of the so-called monster - and looks east over the loch.
Mikki Takala, who runs the webcam, said: "I'm delighted that a good image of Nessie has been seen again on our cameras.
"It is clear that Nessie is still alive and well and probably migrates to and from the loch - much like salmon and other creatures."
Sightings of Nessie were at their highest in more than a decade last year - and already there has been three in 2016.
The first this year was recorded by an Aberdeenshire family in April and the second by a visitor from Texas, who took pictures last month of a "dark creature" just under the surface following the boat she was on.
Gary Campbell, keeper of the official sightings register, said the fascination of Nessie was showing no signs of dwindling.
He accepted five sightings for 2015 - the most in 13 years.
Gary stressed that the majority of claimed sightings do not get included on the register - as most can be explained.
The 51-year-old said: "Anything that is later proved to be a hoax or can be subsequently be explained is removed from the register.
"The reports also show that Nessie doesn't just hide out in one part of Loch Ness - she's just as likely to appear at either end so I suppose the message for monster hunters is to keep your eyes peeled no matter where you are at the loch.
"It's 1450 years now since the first report of a monster in Loch Ness - it doesn't look like Nessie's going anywhere just yet."
It was in 1996 that Gary saw something resembling a "mini whale" - with a black shiny back - at the south end of the loch.
He continued: "Loch Ness would have been a block of ice 10,000 years ago - but whatever is in there dwells at the bottom."
According to Google, there are around 200,000 searches each month for the Loch Ness Monster.
The monster mystery is said to be worth £30m to the region.
Irish missionary St Columba is first said to have encountered a beast in the RiverNess in 565AD.