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A recently resurfaced police report from 1938 reveals just how much some people truly believed that the Loch Ness Monster was real. The report details how local police clashed with a group of people who were determined to hunt down the creature with a “special harpoon gun.”
It was written in 1938 by Inverness-shire chief constable William Fraser and only recently came to light thanks to Kenny Welsh of The Loch Ness Centre in Drumnadrochit, Scotland.
“It has now come to my notice that a Mr. Peter Kent and Miss Marion Stirling, both of London, are determined to catch the Monster dead or alive,” the police report reads. “Mr. Peter Kent visited Fort Augustus on Friday, 12 August and was seen there by my Officer stationed at Fort Augustus. To whom he stated that he was having a special harpoon gun made and that he was to return with some twenty experienced men on the 22 of August for the purpose of hunting the Monster down.
“That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the Police have any power to protect it is very doubtful,” chief constable Fraser continued. “I have, however, caused Mr. Peter Kent to be warned of the desirability of having the creature left alone, but whether my warning will have the desired effect or not remains to be seen.”
Later this month, a massive search for the Loch Ness Monster, organized by the Loch Ness Centre, will take place between May 22 and May 25. It will be the third year in a row the Loch Ness Centre has conducted such as search.
Regarding a recent sighting of the Loch Ness Monster, Loch Ness Centre general manager Nagina Ishaq said, “The conditions on the day of this sighting were absolutely perfect. This could very well be our first significant sighting of the year, further fueling the mystery surrounding Loch Ness and its most famous resident.”
The Loch Ness Monster was first brought to the world’s attention in 1933, but the earliest report of its existence dates all the way back to the sixth century. Interestingly, a famous article published in 1933 stated that “Loch Ness has for generations been credited with being the home of a fearsome-looking monster.”
“The 1938 police report is a rare moment where the mystery of Loch Ness crosses into official record,” said Alan McKenna, of Loch Ness Exploration. “It reminds us that even authorities couldn’t ignore what people claimed to see.”