People have been searching for the Loch Ness Monster for decades, using all kinds of scientific gear in and around Loch Ness in Scotland to see if the creature is real or fake. Is it possible they just needed to search Google Earth, instead? (Probably not, but play along with me on this.)

Jason Cooke of Nottingham, England, thinks he spotted the monster on Google Earth, and the British tabloid The Sun ran the story with the image above. You can see it for yourself by using the coordinates Latitude 57°12’52.13″N, Longitude 4°34’14.16″W in Google Earth. If you don’t have the full Google Earth, but have the browser plug-in, you can also see it on EarthURL.org.

A spokesman from the Loch Ness Project told the Sun, “This is really intriguing. It needs further study.”

This is the second time this year that Google is getting credited for possibly uncovering one of the world’s great mysteries. You may remember the buzz back in February when some thought that Google Ocean had uncovered Atlantis. Google refuted that rumor at the time … but there’s no word yet from Mountain View about this mysterious creature on Google Earth.

Meanwhile, I was about to make a funny/snarky comment asking what’s next after Atlantis and the Loch Ness Monster? Google finding Elvis Presley? Turns out they already have his ghost on YouTube.

Postscript: A Google spokesperson gave us this statement about the purported discovery of the Loch Ness Monster: “Google Earth has enabled users to make many discoveries, including new animal species, Ancient Roman villas, and meteorite craters, but we aren’t quite ready to add the Loch Ness Monster to that list.”

Related Topics: Channel: Consumer | Did You Know? | Google: Earth

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Search Engine Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the U.S. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee