04x02 - Demon in the Dark

[bunniefuu]

Previously, on Expedition Bigfoot, In
Alaska, everything has to fight for survival.

What do you think?

I think we're dangerously close
to what we've been looking for.

Something didn't want us here.

If I was you, I would stay
as far away as possible.

Come on!

There is a tree stuck in the
ground upside down up there.

Oh, my God.

I just found a pile of bones.

What the?

There's a chunk of skin
hanging from the branches.

What the hell is that?

I'm seeing a heat signature
in the water to your right.

Holy.

Holy.

Ronny, whatever I'm picking up
on my thermal is red-hot.

There's no definition to it,
and it's just sitting still.

You're kidding me.

On Prince of Wales Island, Alaska,
near the shores of a remote alpine lake,

Mireya has just spotted what appears to be
a massive thermal signature in the water.

Ronny is just 100 yards away.

She's seeing something
in the water to my right.

Let's go over here.

Be careful.

I've got you on the thermal and
you're heading right in the direction

of what I'm seeing in the
water, and it looks really big.

I'm gonna check
with night vision.

I'm not seeing anything
on my night vision.

I'm not seeing anything, either.

Let me check the thermal again.

Stand by.

Wow, I think it may have gone
below the surface.

What the hell?

Now it's gone.

So bizarre.

Hey, Ronny.

I zoomed in, and there's
nothing there anymore.

Are you seeing anything?

No. Negative.
I'm not seeing anything.

God, this is all so weird.

You were walking right in the direction of
where I had that heat signature, and it's gone.

I mean, it just really
disappeared below the surface.

I find it interesting that right before that,
I'm getting what sounded like a fricking howl,

but I'm not entirely surprised.

In this area, so many reports of seeing
them swimming, jumping onto boats,

walking in and out of these shorelines, and as
soon as she had that heat signature, it was gone.

This sounds
exactly like the Kushtaka.

Alaskan indigenous legends tell of
the Kushtaka, a shape-shifting monster

known for their frightening screams
and ability to possess men's minds.

Encounters with the beast
often end in death.

Many locals believe this creature
and Bigfoot are one and the same.

Everything I know about local legends tells me
that that's what we're experiencing out here.

Hearing those sounds, I wonder.

Were they trying to draw me
closer to the shoreline?

Were they trying to harm me?
I don't know.

But there could be possible
evidence out there for me to investigate.

We know that there's something here, but we
have no idea where this thing could have gone.

Hey, Ronny.

Go ahead.

We don't know what's
out here, so be cautious.

Copy.

Watch your step.
Watch your step.

Wait, wait.
Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh.

Okay, come on.

On the northeast side of Gray Mountain, which
locals believe could be a Bigfoot hotspot,

Russell is tracking a large,
unknown creature headed due east.

Look at that.

The base of this tree
is splintered.

There are pieces everywhere.

Look how it looks like
it was just kicked through.

I'm following something
and I know that I'm close.

I'm finding trees
that have literally been

broken off at the bottom,

and they're laying across the trail
as if to tell me I'm not in charge here.

This is a display of the strength and power of
whatever it is that took that skin from the tree.

I want to try to intercept this
thing, and see where it's going.

I'm gonna stay on this trail
and I'm not gonna let up.

Listen. Listen.

Shh, shh.

That came from out this way
in front of us.

Let's go.

Are you seeing this?

Looks like we found
our coastline.

I'm finally getting out here
on this coastal line,

which is nothing but water in front of me, and
it's a target for me because the ease of movement,

the shellfish, and the
abundance of food here.

Everything comes
to the water to feed.

Predators will come
to the water to hunt.

Check this out.

Wow, look at this.

Look how big that thing is.

See how big that is
compared to my hat?

That's a wolf track.

We're not
in Kansas anymore, buddy.

That is one large animal.

I do not want to run into
that boy out here.

In Alaska, I know
I'm not in charge.

I've never seen
wolf tracks of this size.

This thing is huge.

But with this amount of
evidence it's very, very difficult

to not keep rushing towards whatever
it is that's moving out in front of us,

so I'm gonna stay just inside the
shoreline, and set up my tripod,

and do as much thermal work
as I can.

I have such a vast amount of area
I can cover with thermal imaging.

Anything that moves
I'll be able to see.

Let's see what's going on here.

It's amazing how this hour at night, it's like
everything is coming alive, the loons, the ducks.

I swear there's something
on that shoreline over there.

That was fricking loud.

There's something
moving over there.

Look at that.

What the hell is that?

Look! Look, look, look.

There's something over there.

Do you see that?

Look at that.

What the?

Look at that.

It's right there.

I'm seeing a thermal hit.

I can't tell what it is, 'cause
it's still kind of in that tree line,

but it looks like it's walking on
two feet, like a human would.

You got all your gear?

Let's go.

Come on, come on,
come on, come on, come on.

Let's dip below the tree line,
and follow that coast.

Russell is approximately 200
yards from the thermal signature.

He'll maneuver to the position through
the dense forest that lines the shore.

Keep moving. Keep moving.

Shh, shh, shh. Stop.

Did you hear that?

It sounded like a tree falling.

It's above us.

Let's go. Let's keep going.

Check this out.

This must be what caused that loud
noise we heard just a couple minutes ago.

See that stump right there?

See how there's
a root system over here?

And over here, it was like
it was kicked out of its way?

But then,
look where it's standing.

It's standing
above the trail, not below it.

Look at that.

This might not be the smartest thing I've
ever done, going out looking for something

that can do this kind of damage to a tree,
but I'm gonna find this thing, no matter what.

- Hey, Bryce?
- Hey, Bryce.

Hey. What's going on?

We're actually getting
a lot of activity here.

Yesterday, we found some hairs.

- White ones.
- Really?

You know, it's pretty rare, but I
have heard reports of a white Bigfoot.

Let's get those to a lab
as soon as we can.

Also, we had something really
interesting happen last night.

I took the thermal out after we
heard some really weird howl.

Right after that, I picked up a
really big heat signature in the water.

It was definitely large, but
I saw very little definition.

I mean, bears swim, deer swim.

The only thing is, it disappeared
and went underwater.

It went underwater?
That's weird.

Yeah.

Yeah, well, whatever it is, that's
not gonna make it any easier to track.

Exactly.

We have a hard enough time
honing in on targets above water.

We've set up trail cameras all around
the lake in case something else shows up,

but for me,
it's a bit of a dead end.

Well, maybe it's for the best, because Ronny,
Mireya, I actually have a new target for you guys.

I spoke with some locals
around here who know the area.

They told me about something that
might have been created by these creatures,

and could have
some cultural significance.

I'm talking about a pair
of upside down trees.

Holy!

Bryce, are you saying, like, the
roots are sticking up in the air?

I've seen pictures of them.
They're pretty impressive.

I mean, it looks like something
large put these things upside down.

Maybe it's
an Alaskan tree structure.

Huh.

That's what I'm thinking, right?

And look, I know you guys aren't
exactly close to where this location is,

but if my hunch is right, and this is a culturally
significant spot for Bigfoot, then that means

there's more evidence
around there to be found.

That's great,
but it could be a ton of area.

Any thoughts on how
to go about searching it?

Absolutely.

Just recently, they discovered a
previously unknown Mayan city

under the jungle canopy,
using lidar.

There is so much new information to
glean when you scan some of these areas.

Ronny, if this spot does hold
some type of significance for Bigfoot,

then that means we're gonna
find more evidence around there.

I hope so.

Here's what we're gonna do.

I'm gonna send you guys
the plane.

Here we go.

I'll grab that hair,
so I can get it analyzed.

I want you to start making your
way to the upside down trees,

where you're gonna meet
lidar specialist Pete Kelsey.

Up this way.

We'll have him scan the entire area, and anything
that doesn't belong, we're gonna know about it.

Good luck, you guys.

Well, Bryce sent us some
coordinates, so we should start up here.

Getting to work with Pete
Kelsey again is awesome.

Last year, his lidar technology captured a
ghost image of what we believe is a Bigfoot.

What the is that?

His lidar equipment is the exact technology
that we need to analyze this upside down tree.

These are supposed to have been
here before they were doing any logging.

I've heard of these before, but I have
never had the chance to see one in person.

I strongly believe that Bigfoot manipulate
trees as a way to communicate with one another,

but this is typically in
the form of tree structures.

Many Sasquatch researchers believe that tree
structures are a form of Bigfoot communication.

They are used to claim territory, mark important
locations, or warn others to stay away.

I believe what we're looking at here
is something completely different.

These upside down trees could be
indicative of some sort of Bigfoot culture.

I'd be curious if there were any natural events,
like landslides, or anything else like that

- that could have caused...
- Right.

...this, and also just looking for what man
can do, any cut marks, any heavy machinery.

When you're talking about symbolism and culture,
only an intelligent being can create that,

so then, the question may become
if humans didn't do it, what did?

There it is.

Oh, my God.

Wow, wow, wow.

That's weird.

That is weird.

What's your
first impressions, Mireya?

My first impression is that my
landslide theory is out the window,

'cause we're nowhere
near a slope.

The other thing is, the
moss up there says that

this thing's been here
for years and years and years.

You know, the other upside
down tree is right over there.

You can see it's smaller,
but it looks pretty similar.

We can assume the same
entity placed both of them.

For now, let's just focus
on this first one.

Yeah, it looks like some thing intentionally,
you know, drove this thing into the ground.

It's almost like
a totem pole, to me.

To have it almost look like some
kind of identifier of some sort.

If you do notice, this thing is like,
almost in the center of this entire area,

like, from all around, you
can see this thing as a marker.

Do you see
any cut marks anywhere?

Well, the lidar, it's a great forensic tool, so
if there's any signs of mechanical picking it up,

- we'll be able to see that in the post processing.
- -Oh, okay.

I think what we should do is
get that drone up in the air,

and see if we can establish some kind of a
pattern that tells us who put this here and why.

Yeah.

- All right. Let's get started.
- All right.

The drone is equipped with a
high-powered laser that will scan the area,

and produce a precise 3D map that can reveal
tiny details the human eye could never catch.

Okay, taking off.

A thousand acres
of landscape will be scanned.

Similar to the discovery of the Mayan city, Pete
will be searching for disruptions in the earth

that could be signs of activity,
like structures or burial sites,

but first, they'll scan
the upside down tree.

So, are you seeing anything
that looks like human tampering?

All right. Let's begin
scanning the rest of the area.

We will scan
the hell out of this.

Here we go.

If there's anything odd, that
should just jump out of the lidar.

If this were an archaeological site,
you'd see shapes in the landscape,

or lines that just don't belong.

Um... I'm not seeing
any anomalies like that.

What's that right there?

Yeah. What is that?

That's interesting.

That just doesn't belong.

Wait a second.

Are those roots
or branches we're looking at?

It might be.

And there's one here, and
one here, and even another.

This is it. If this is a pattern, then
the upside down trees could prove that

there's a group
of Bigfoot out here.

Holy.

I think I've got at least
three potential targets here.

It's impossible for me to tell
you that that is one of these.

There are a lot
of dead trees here, right?

The potential for false
positives is kind of off the charts.

So, the only way we're gonna find
out is if we go and put our eyes on it.

So that's what we'll do.

- We'll split up, and we'll go take a look.
- Yeah.

Lidar expert Pete Kelsey has discovered what
appears to be three additional upside down trees.

- That anomaly is over there.
- Right.

About a mile and a half away.

It's gonna be a good walk.

The team believes if there
are more upside down trees,

it could reveal information about
the beings that placed them there.

This would, for me, signify that
this place is special for Sasquatch.

This could be what we're looking for to
find proof that Bigfoot does indeed exist.

We're gonna find the truth.

Looks like there's been some deer
through here, which is good for us.

Back in the target zone, Russell is continuing
to track the animal he spotted on thermal.

He's headed northwest, up a ridge
that leads towards the mountain's peak.

You gotta keep quiet.

Keep an eye
on where you're stepping.

Try to avoid those big sticks.

See all this green moss?

Stay off the sticks,
stay off the trail.

The element of surprise I'm trying to
get, we can't do it with noise like that.

Okay.

I have a new camera guy
that I'm working with this time.

The last several years, I've worked with
Zack, and over the years, we've learned

how to work with each other, We
have our methods of communicating,

and navigating the terrain, and he seems
to always be there exactly when I need him.

My new camera guy, Ryan, is gonna have
to learn some of these things that we do.

If I go like this, I want you
to come back in behind me.

Okay?

What we have to work through is our
dynamic of working together as a team.

We have a learning curve ahead of us to
where we can actually navigate this forest,

because the dangers out here
are real.

Do you hear that?

There's something
walking above us.

We definitely have to get up
just a little higher.

Let's go.

Come on. Just stay close.
Stay really close.

Where the hell is this guy?

Whatever it was that's in front of me,
I realized that Ryan has fallen behind.

That right there,
that's not gonna work for me.

Come on.

Don't get away from me.

Don't let me walk off
on you like that.

Freakin' sound off.

You can't be a liability
out here.

I gotta have us close.

All right, man.

It's essential as a team to
move in unison, side by side.

Now, Ryan is a good guy.
He works hard.

He's just got some
catching up to do.

Okay.

Shouldn't be too much
longer now.

I think he lives
just up here, actually.

I've been thinking a lot about Ronny
and Mireya's encounter with that

thermal that disappeared
into the water.

I'm gonna be speaking with a gentleman who
had an encounter that left him pretty shaken.

And it happened on the shores of a lake,
not unlike where Ronny and Mireya were.

And I'm hoping he can provide me with some
context as to what they've might've encountered.

Well, Doug, thank you for talking with me today, - man, I appreciate it.
- Absolutely.

Understand that you had an
encounter with your family, is that right?

- I did, that's correct.
- Can you tell me about that?

Me and my family and, um, a couple
of other families decided to go camping.

After s'mores and all that and kids wound
down, this was probably around midnight.

All of a sudden, we hear some weird, guttural
noises coming from the other side of the lake.

And then we heard some
stomping, like running in the mud.

And then splashing in the water, like, uh,
somebody's running on the beach and then jumping.

- And then he got out...
- He's coming your way, it sounds like.

So it's... yeah, I mean, it was
coming, yeah, towards where we were.

Did you feel like you guys
were in danger?

It was definitely something that made
the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

- Yeah.
- You know, it felt weird.

It was about three times they
would come out of the water,

and then run back down
and jump in the water.

It was almost like two animals
are talking to each other.

One of them made more of
a higher voice, like a female,

and then the other one
was low like a male's voice.

Wow. It sounded like they
were talking to each other?

That is correct.

So it sounded like
they were communicating.

- Do you think these things are intelligent?
- They'd have to be.

I mean, it didn't sound
like snarling.

- Right.
- It sounded like they were just communicating.

Had you ever heard
anything like that before?

I've never heard anything like that before, no,
I mean, I've heard loons, bear, deer, you know,

nothing sounded like that sound.

After that, they both kinda
raised their voices at each other,

and then just took off up into
the woods on the mountain.

Wow.

What Doug is saying
has me intrigued,

because he believes he heard two
Bigfoot communicating with each other.

Now, if that's true, then that tells me that
these creatures are extremely intelligent.

And right now at this very moment, Ronny and
Mireya are looking for patterns in the trees

that they believe were placed
there purposefully by Bigfoot.

And it's got me thinking.

Are we dealing with an even more
intelligent creature here in Alaska?

Do you think these
were Bigfoot you saw?

That's what... that's what I believe,
you know, that we had an encounter.

Sounds like a hotspot.

- Yeah, it's, uh...
- of Bigfoot activity.

It is, it is a very big
hotspot for Bigfoot activity.

You know, I got a team member near the
area that you're talking about, right now.

Well, not a lot of people
go out there.

- Really?
- Because it's shrouded in these mysteries and these stories from way back.

And, uh, that's where
weird things happen.

Something's come
right through here.

Look at this.
That's been turned over.

Right on the side.

Russell believes he may
finally be gaining ground

on the creature he's tracking
towards the mountain's peak.

There's something
been through there, Ryan.

Listen, listen. Listen.

See right here?

'Cause, like, all the soil
is pushed that way.

But everything here has
been going in this direction.

These tracks are fresh.

It's like, it's almost like... It's like
something got dragged through here.

Oh!

Oh, !

What the hell?

Oh, man.

Look at that. That thing
just hit the ground.

My legs are shaking.

I've never been in a forest where a tree
just falls when I'm standing next to it.

Man. Did you see that?
Did you catch that?

Holy.

This is a big tree.

I'm not wearing a hard hat, I'm not
wearing anything to protect myself.

Look at this.

That's still solid.

Dude, there's no wind.
Look, look straight up.

I don't wanna jump
to conclusions here.

Trees fall in the forest all the time,
because they rot underneath and they fall.

But this is the second tree
that's fallen in front of me.

Holy smokes.

In this one, the base
is still solid.

And it appears that it would've
taken pressure to push this thing over.

This is something that
I cannot explain.

Okay, guys. Stay close by me.

Ronny and Mireya have split up
and are searching for what they believe

could be additional
upside-down trees.

We don't know what's
out here, so be cautious.

Mireya is headed towards two targets
on the western side of the mountain

that are over a mile away...

Now it's starting
to get a little thick, here.

...while Ronny has gone in search of a single
target two miles from the first two trees.

We know that wherever we find Bigfoot activity,
we also encounter these tree manipulations.

We've discovered them in Kentucky,
Washington, northern California.

We don't know what they mean, but if we
can find any additional upside-down trees,

that would lend us some sort of a pattern that
could possibly get us closer to understanding

what created them
and what they mean.

Let's just go up here
a little bit further.

It's pretty thick.

Can barely move in here.

Pete said that there were no signs of mechanical
disturbance on the trunk of that tree.

But I'm not sold on the idea that
humans didn't stick it into the ground.

Truth is, I don't know
how that tree got there.

Hopefully we'll find more and
that will give us the answer.

Well, that's interesting.

It's possible that this top here is
what was giving off that anomaly.

'Cause all the other trees,
it's pretty conical.

And this flares out a bit, in the
way that that upside-down tree did.

Okay, onto the next target.

Some of the locals
won't go out here.

And that's typical of those
Native American stories where.

Bigfoot has a certain section
of the forest that they live.

And they stay out.
That's the case.

And with all the different
sightings and reports,

there may have been,
and frankly still could be,

a family or pod of Bigfoot
that are living up here.

Do you hear something?

When you lived on the island for quite a long - 30 years.
- ...a long while. Yeah.

Do a lot of the people of the island
have these types of encounters?

I mean, pretty much everybody
knows somebody that does, at least,

- if not have a story of their own.
- Really?

We have some team
members in that area right now.

What else do you know about it?

There was a group of schoolkids, uh, that were
taken out there for a school camping trip.

And the way the story goes, it was a
nasty evening and raining in the morning.

And when they went out there, - huge rocks come flying out of the trees.
- Oh, really?

You know, they just don't
want people around.

Interesting. Do they mention
the word "Bigfoot"?

- Or I've heard the term "kushtaka".
- Bigfoot, kushtaka.

- There's always been stories of something.
- Mmm.

In those neck of the woods.

I've heard stories
of a shapeshifter.

Um, a lot of the places where
Bigfoot is said to be as well.

And, uh, they can take the form of
one of your friends or family members.

- Really?
- Mmm-hmm.

So, if you see somebody out in the woods that's
not supposed to be there, don't follow them.

Look.

Something came through here.

Uh, so definitely don't go
alone, and trust your gut.

If you don't feel like something's
right, there's probably a reason for that.

I just heard something.

What was that?

One hundred and ten percent.

I have no idea what that was.

I'm not getting anything
on the thermal.

That's so weird.

I'm not sure what I heard
moving nearby.

But I am definitely more aware
of my surroundings here.

There are a lot of bears
and wolves on this island.

We're not far from
our target now.

Hold on, is that it?

I can see why the scan may have
read those as upside-down trees.

They're wider at the top.

Looks like this is a dead end.

I hope Ronny's
having better luck.

No luck finding that tree.

I'm not seeing anything
that matches that.

What?

Holy.

Whoa.

Definitely looks identical
to the other ones.

This could be a major
breakthrough for us.

We've proven that there's more than
just two of these upside-down trees here.

This could be a pattern.

Whoever put this here, something put
this here, on this mountain, for a reason.

And we just have to figure out
what that purpose is.

We're gonna analyze this tree
and its position to the other trees.

And we're gonna find
something, I can feel it.

I firmly believe that Bigfoot put these
trees here and we're gonna find out why.

- Hey, Mireya?
- Come in, Ron.

You won't believe
what we just found.

I just received word
that the lab where we sent

the hair samples that Mireya found on the Devil's
club have come back, so we have results now.

This is a forensic laboratory that
often does work with law enforcement.

And they specialize
in mitochondrial DNA.

This is the smaller portion of DNA that's found
in hairs that's used to identify animal species.

So, I'm gonna get in contact
with their project manager, Gloria,

and, uh, see what
results they found.

- Hi, Gloria, how are you?
- Hey.

Appreciate you taking the time
to speak with me today.

So, I'm really excited to find out what
information you discovered from our hair samples.

Looking at what you sent - seemed to be good samples.
- Mmm-hmm.

I would classify them as white.

Yeah, we kinda thought of them like, a yeti hair,
which I know you have a lot of experience with.

Yeah, like the study we
participated with Bryan Sykes.

In 2014, An Oxford professor of
human genetics created the Yeti project,

which was the first project of its kind to
scientifically catalogue credible Yeti DNA samples

from around the world
for testing.

So, the idea for that study was to
determine these credible samples,

if they could be tied to a specific
species that's never been identified.

I'm dying to ask, what about
the samples we sent you?

What were those results?

So, our method that we use in the laboratory
is designed specifically to locate human DNA.

Yeah, but what
if it's not human?

If we can't get results using that
method, then we go to species testing,

because our samples could have originated - from a non-human source.
- Right.

So, if you search something in
the database and it matched nothing,

- that would be intriguing.
- Yeah.

So, looking at your sample,
we took one hair.

And it yielded no results.

There were no results?

You are correct.

There were no matches of any
living species in your entire database?

I know there are extinct
species in there, so, yeah.

How big is your database?

It is a vast database, information
that has been generated

in research laboratories
across the US.

I mean, that's incredible.

We were shocked that
we were unable to get results.

So let me ask you, do
you think this is a real find?

In our method, there could be
reasons why we can't get results.

The sample may be too degraded.

So would the next step be to
continue testing the sample?

Right. Being able to reproduce
results is, um, extremely important.

Sure, it's the basis of science.

Absolutely. So, we're gonna
continue testing this.

Got it. Well, thank you
for your work, Gloria.

Having the opportunity to participate in
something with an unknown species is exciting.

I couldn't agree more.

Look, we will continue to send you more,
uh, hairs as we move along through Alaska.

And please, let me know if you
yield any further results.

- All right, have a good day.
- Okay. You, as well.

I mean, that's incredible.

My mind is just kinda blown right now,
because the hair sample that we sent her

doesn't match any known animal species
on planet Earth, which is incredible.

And we're that much closer to
finding what we've been looking for.

Bigfoot.

I'm telling you, we're not
the first ones to be here.

Do you hear that?

There's something out here.

Too close for comfort.

I'm hearing twigs snapping.

There's something big out here
and it's moving across that soil.

Let's move slow and steady.

See what's out here.

Look at that.

They call it skunk cabbage
because of that smell.

You smell kinda, almost has a
almost a skunk-y texture to that smell.

Let's just kinda
follow that food.

That stuff is everywhere.

Do you hear that?

Something's moving.

You know how when
something steps in a

steps in something and comes
up, that suction of the water?

Wish I knew where
that sound came from.

Shh, shh, shh. Listen.

It's right here. Let's go.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

It looks like a trail

of half-eaten skunk cabbage.

Look at this.

Holy.

This almost looks
like a handprint.

Like something was digging
the skunk cabbage out.

Look, you can see the fingers.

Whatever it was,
it was just here.

No joke,
we're following something.

Do you hear that water?

We're getting close
to another water source.

We have water, we have
seclusion, we have food sources.

Right here in the ground,
skunk cabbage.

This is the perfect environment.

I think that's a freaking cave.

This is just like that cave
in northern California.

Oh, wow. Check that out.

This is creepy, Russ.

Look at this.

Scratch marks.!

- Stay down.
- Oh, !

Like a moth to a flame,
I'm drawn to this cave.

Because I've always believed
that Bigfoot is subterranean.

If what I've been chasing
all night long

is back here

we're gonna have a meeting.

Holy cow.

Sort of lime-y.

That goes way back in there.

Check this out, man,
look at this.

This is where I would hide.

There's gotta be answers
beyond this threshold.

We gotta go.