Witch, Scientists in Loch Ness Spat

L O N D O N, April 24 -- The epic search for the Loch Ness monster turned ugly today, as a witch cast spells on an angry team of Swedish scientists.

Armed with long nets, multi-beam sonar equipment and acoustic cameras, scientists led by Jan Sundberg set out on a 12-day mission to capture the legendary creature and take a sample of its DNA. But they probably would have considered themselves lucky to get a little media attention, or a few blurry photographs.

But in an unusual turn of events, the team’s efforts were temporarily scuttled by the forces of witchcraft, as one man threatened to steal the show.

Kevin Carlyon, a high priest in the British Coven of White Witches, turned up to cast spells on the group’s boat and the loch, the body of water where the beast is said to reside.

The Swedish researchers seemed more angered than scared of the witchcraft.

“I’m trying to be as scientific as possible while he casts his mumbo-jumbo spells,” Sundberg said, pointing a finger Carlyon. “If he shows his face down here again, we’ll throw him into the lake.”

Carlyon told ABCNEWS.com he was simply trying to protect the creature, known as “Nessie,” from harm.

“As a bit of a joke I said, ‘Think sometime I’ll have to come up and save Nessie.’ It’s pure coincidence that we’re up here at the same time.”

Just Another Day at Loch Ness

Loch Ness researcher Adrian Shine, a self-described monster skeptic, says he’s seen it all before.

“It’s not the first time someone’s tried to catch a monster, and it’s certainly not the biggest net,” Shine says of the Swedish team. “The sonar equipment probably generated most of the media interest, but it’s low-resolution.”

Scientists carried out a thorough “deep scan” of the Loch using a fleet of ships and sonar equipment during the 1980s. Just like all of the other efforts, that one failed to turn up a monster.