The legend of the Loch Ness monster has passed from one generation to the next, as the tale of Scotland’s mysterious lake creature has become one of our most well-known tall tales. After decades of numerous expeditions, and a loch’s worth of time, money, and effort committed to proving Nessie’s existence, researchers have finally found the…no, wait…a Loch Ness monster, the one that accidentally sank during the making of a Billy Wilder film in 1969.

That’s right, a large, 30-foot prop Loch Ness monster built for Wilder’s film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, the one that sank on the first day it was towed out to the lake for filming, has been located on the floor of the lake, and was (of course) discovered by a team looking for proof of the real (ahem, “real”) Nessie.

Kongsberg Maritime, a Norwegian company, found the long lost prop when their underwater drone equipped with sonar imaging was exploring the lake bed. Andrew Shine, a “Loch Ness expert,” told the BBC that the “shape, measurements and location pointed to the object being the prop.”

Apparently Wilder wanted the prop’s humps removed, which may have been responsible for its sinking. The neck, but a lack humps, point to this being Wilder’s missing monster. A second prop was built, but only had a head and neck. The film was released in 1970, starring Sir Robert Stephens as Holmes with Sir Christopher Lee as his brother, Mycroft Holmes.

I’m no “Loch Ness expert” or anything, but I feel very confident in saying this is the closest anybody will ever come to “finding” a Loch Ness monster in those waters. Now Champ from Lake Champlain? That guy is definitely real.

What’s your favorite mythical creature legend? Don’t leave just Yeti, we want to hear from you in the deep depths of our comments below.

Featured Image: United Artists
Body Image: Kongsberd Maritime