PHOTO: Attendees of this weekend’s Loch Ness Monster hunt in Scotland, the largest in decades, went home disappointed as the mythical creature was nowhere to be seen

Attendees of this weekend’s Loch Ness Monster hunt in Scotland, the largest in decades, went home disappointed as the mythical creature was nowhere to be seen.

Despite the failed discovery of Nessie, hunters claim to have heard “four distinctive noises” during their investigation in the Scottish Highlands.

And the hunters came armed with high-tech help: sonars for mapping the lake bed, thermal-imaging drones for scanning the surface and hydrophones to hear strange sounds from the depths.

The events were even opened to the global public — hundreds were invited to a livestream of the water’s surface to add more eyes to the search.

With boats running from 10am to 6pm on Saturday, August 26, and Sunday, August 27, searchers stopped at 17 different spotting locations around the Loch, where volunteers involved in running the search could keep an eye on proceedings.

The Loch Ness Monster hunters have reported to hear “four distinctive noises” while braving the “horrific” Scottish weather.

Recently undertaking revamping, the Loch Ness Centre has joined forces with the Loch Ness Exploration (LNE) to carry out this hunt. LNE is an independent research and volunteer team.

Travelling from Edinburgh for the hunt, Alan McKenna took part in this record breaking search on a boat, using a hydrophone system. The hunter described the hydrophone system as “an underwater microphone so we can listen to the underwater world of Loch Ness”.

But even with all the machines and added manpower, the gathering at Loch Ness was as much about reviving old lore as settling hard science. Organizers said they planned the weekend to excite interest in the legend among a new generation of Nessie hunters.

“It’s about inspiration,” said Alan McKenna, the head of Loch Ness Exploration, an independent research group based on the lake’s shores that planned the event as a kind of call for volunteers. “For very selfish reasons I don’t want the Loch Ness mystery or interest in Loch Ness itself to diminish in any way whatsoever at all.”

VIDEO HERE