04x03 - Death Trap

[bunniefuu]

[narrator] Previously on
Blind Frog Ranch...

As the team intensifies
their search for

the lost Aztec treasure,

Duane decided it was time
to expand their operation.

Fellas, this is Josh.

[narrator] So he recruited professional
treasure hunter Josh Feldman.

This isn't just a cattle
ranch, I'll tell you that.

[narrator] Who's found millions
of dollars' worth of gold and gems.

What a great place
to hide treasure.

[narrator] After assessing
the South Cave...

That's not that safe
underneath there.

One rock comes down, that's it.

- Yeah.
- You're dead.

[narrator] Josh and the team
decided to excavate the Bead Site...

-[whistles] -...where they discover
possible signs of the Aztecs.

These look like to be
some sort of copper beads.

[narrator] But their quest
for the treasure might be

more dangerous
than they anticipated.

- All right, here we go.
- That gold is cursed.

It's not meant to be found.

- [bleep]
- [yells]

[narrator] Legends
of ancient treasures...

This has to be
hundreds of years back.

[narrator] And
unexplained phenomena...

What the hell is that?

[narrator] Meet at a 160-acre
property in northeast Utah

known as Blind Frog Ranch,

where Duane Olinger
and his team are digging

in search of
long-lost Aztec gold.

The Aztecs have discovered this?

- But the closer they get...
- Finally get to hold [bleep] gold in my hand.

[narrator] ...the more
the land fights back.

- [man] Poison gas!
- Go! [bleep] go!

- [narrator] Now Duane will move heaven...
- Here you go.

[narrator] ...and earth...

- Fire in the hole.
- [narrator] ...until he gets to the bottom of this mystery.

We start this whole deal and
we sure as hell gonna finish it.

[narrator] And solves
what's lurking below...

Holy [bleep], there's
something in there.

-[rumbling] -[indistinct
shouting] Josh!

[narrator] ...at
Blind Frog Ranch.

Let's find something
good, James.

- Yep.
- [narrator] Yesterday, the team made

a significant and unexpected
discovery while excavating

the shelter area
of the Bead Site,

handmade copper beads
of possible Aztec origin.

[James] Who traded
copper beads the most that

you and I both know of?

- The Aztec?
- The Aztec.

[narrator] Intent on finding
the rest of the jewelry that

the beads came from,
James and Josh are continuing

to excavate the area.

So I am building what's known...

in archaeology as a
provenience screen or grid.

It'll help me keep
track of the coordinates

of anything I might find.

Now all we need to do is
start locating those artifacts.

[beeping]

Nothing there.

- Nothing, nothing, nothing.
- [beeping]

Oh!

Look at this. Look, look, look.

- You got something, James?
- Yeah.

- Look at that.
- Look at this [bleep].

Oh, my God.

[James] It's a radial bead.

[Josh] It's a what?

A radial bead. It's a
bead with a spiral pattern.

This is nothing like
any of the other beads

that we've found here before.
Look at the amount of time

it took to carve
the outside of that.

Look at the
design, the intricacy.

It looks like it's made from
some type of green stone.

- [Josh] Maybe a jadeite?
- Possible.

- I'll have to check.
- What'd you find?

This is really something, James.

Charles, we found a radial bead.

It's been worked on all
sides, and look at the design.

Check this out, Charlie.

[Charlie] That could have been, like,
from a ceremonial necklace or something.

You could tell it
was done by hand.

Oh, absolutely.

What tribe would have been here that
would have done something like this?

I don't believe any of
the Utah Territory tribes

would have done this.

This isn't from here.

They're usually from
further down south,

like in Mesoamerica.

Is that an Aztecan design?

They would have had these.

[James] The only place a jade
bead like this would have come from

is Mexico or even further south.

[narrator] When the Spanish
Empire invaded the Aztec capital

in what is now Mexico
City, the Spanish discovered

that the Aztec prized two
highly valuable minerals,

gold and jade.

Revered as a symbol
of life and purity,

they carved the
vibrant green mineral

into intricate jewelry,
figurines, and tools.

But only their Gods and
royalty were allowed to wear it.

And even then, only
for special ceremonies.

Here's a trade bead right here.

Look at the
difference in the size.

- Look at that.
- Wow.

[narrator] Duane has named
this area the Bead Site because

of the trade beads that
are buried underneath.

These 500-year-old beads
were originally brought

to Mexico by the Spanish,
but were traded by the natives

throughout the
Americas for centuries.

[Charlie] What you're saying
is that this is a whole new era

as opposed to the glass
beads we're finding on top.

- So now we're talking about a second civilization era.
- Yes.

This is a lot older
than the other beads

that we've found so far.

If this is one, I'm
hoping we're going

to find more of them right here.

I want to see if I
can find the rest of

the jewelry that this came from.

[Josh] That's a fantastic find.

- Yeah, good job.
- [Josh] It's great.

[James] Well, hell yeah.

Duane,

I found something big.

Found a radial bead at
about a foot to a foot and a half

past the level that you dug,

and the bead's much
larger than the beads.

- Completely different, dude.
- Completely different.

Was this getting us
closer to establishing that

the Aztecs were here?

Now we can say, you know,

at least they were trading
and stuff was coming up

from Mexico, Central or South
America for this to be here.

This could have easily
come up with the Aztec when

they were making their way
up here to hide the treasure.

- No [bleep]?
- No [bleep].

- Here we go.
- Here we go.

The jadeite bead would
have had a religious meaning

or function in Aztec culture.

For them, jade was sacred,
more valuable than copper.

This is a huge clue
telling us that we need

to keep excavating
here at the Bead Site.

[Duane] Hey,
guys, how's it going?

Eric, what do you got
for us there, young man?

We got the results back from
the logs from the south cave.

Nice.

[narrator] Eager to find
out the age of the hewn logs,

Duane decides to pause digging

at the Bead Site and
go back to the hideout

to get the results from Eric.

This is from the hand-hewn
logs that I got to see

just the other day
with Chad, right?

- Yes. Yep.
- We got you.

- They're huge.
- Yeah.

- I had to get in some other way, though.
- Yeah.

[narrator] A few days ago, Chad and
Eric took samples of the hewn logs...

- That'll work.
- That are wedged deep in the South Cave.

Let's pack her up
here and get out.

[narrator] If the logs
are 500 years or older,

they could be from the Aztecs.

So it turned out the
absolute age of wood

is about 380 years old.

- [Duane] Really?
- [Eric] Yeah.

So that means these logs
are from approximately 1600s.

- Much younger.
- Much younger than our other samples.

- Okay.
- So that's different than the box?

- Different from the box, yes.
- Box sample?

Chad found a submerged
box made out of timbers.

[narrator] Three years ago,
Chad discovered a large timber box

in the flooded caverns
under the pond.

He grabbed the core of it.

We sent it into the
lab, and it turned out

- to be about 500-plus years old.
- Yeah.

Dating from the 1500s,
experts agree that

it could be Aztec in origin.

It does look kind of like
how the Aztecs made rafts.

I mean, the Aztecs
were master boaters.

They've made boats and canoes.

They've usually used
long logs just like that.

They were using the
same testing company.

Yeah, it was the same one, yeah.

The species also is from
a local species, Douglas fir.

- So it's different trees, it's different.
- Yes, yes.

- Huh.
- So it's not a match at all from the older stuff.

- Two different ages.
- So it's totally different.

Different people.

Well, yeah, we're looking
at about 500 years old...

- Right.
- For one and less than 400 years for this sample.

- Right, right.
- So we'd have one group that we knew came in there

at a certain time. Now we
have two different groups.

If the Timbers were Aztec
era, that would be evidence

that they are in this cavern.

But this result is also huge.

Someone else brought the
Timbers in after the Aztecs.

They would have only gone
through the trouble to do that

if they truly believed that
something valuable is in here.

And it makes me think
we're on the right track.

We don't know if it was local
people who brought them in.

- Right.
- We don't know if it was Spaniards.

- We don't know that yet.
- Yeah, 100%.

The Spaniards sent
search parties to look

for Montezuma's gold
for hundreds of years.

These timbers could very well be
from an expedition from the 1600s.

Does that mean that the
treasure has already been

moved out and gone?

No, I doubt that because we
would have seen it hit the market.

We're talking about a
massive amount of gold.

If you melt that down
and put that on the market,

you're going to reduce
gold prices instantly.

- Yeah, flood the market, huh?
- Oh, yeah.

There's no way to
have kept that quiet.

That's the thing.

- There's a lot of questions to be answered in that cave.
- Yeah.

Does that cave go much
further back in there?

- It's possible, yeah.
- There's a hollow back there.

That absolutely could
lead to a different level.

Either the hollow-sounding
floor or the tunnel floor

could lead us to
that hidden entrance.

I recommend we get a
magnetometer into that cave

and see if there's a
bigger cavern under there.

- Right, exactly.
- Hail, hail.

Let's get back at it, fellas.

- You heard the man.
- Let's get there.

[upbeat music playing]

[Eric] Hey, you guys up there?

- Yeah, right.
- Yeah, come on up.

It's a party up here.

All right, I'm coming through.

[narrator] The next morning,
Chad, Eric, and James head back

into the South Cave
armed with a magnetometer

to see if they can
locate a hidden void

that may lead down
to the keyhole chamber.

Come on up, man.
We're right at the fork.

All right, I'm coming through.

I'm pushing that
magnetometer through.

Hey, guys, hold up real quick.

Wait, wait. Give me a sec.

I see something here.

[Josh] What do you mean?

What the [bleep] is that?

I think I'm seeing
some big tracks.

[Josh] What'd you say, tracks?

[James] That's not
anybody's handprint.

No.

It looks like the
biggest canine I've seen.

Hey, I'm going to
take some shots of it

before I meet up with you.

I don't see any
other indications,

no scat or anything like that.

Whatever that is, I
hope we don't run into it.

- Could you tell what direction it was going?
- I could.

It was coming in.

Wait, you said it's coming in?

It looked like it was this way.

- Chad, that means it's ahead of you.
- Jeez.

And you said it's coming in?

It's so freaking big, I don't know
how it would have fit through

- what I just came through.
- Child, that means it's ahead of you.

Jeez.

[narrator] On a mission to scan
the South Cave's larger cavern

for voids that could
potentially lead them down

to the keyhole chamber,
James has discovered evidence

of a large creature
in the cavern.

Are we going to keep on going?

Hey, I say we go forward.

Well, let's get this
done and get out of here.

- Keep going, boys.
- Yeah.

[grunts]

Yes. All right.

You're through.

- [whooping]
- Oh, man.

-[exhales] -Hey, do
you guys see anything?

I don't see anything yet.

All right, James,
what do we got here?

So we have a magnetometer.

This is going to look for voids.

So if there's a lower
magnetic field below us,

meaning there's material
missing, it's a void.

- And that could lead us to a hidden tunnel.
- Yeah.

A magnetometer
senses the magnetic field

of every object around it,

identifying voids
by locating areas

with no or low magnetic fields.

So I'm going to put
this down at my ankle.

The controller is
right here in my hand.

This activates
what's on my ankle,

and then it transmits
back to the tablet.

Okay. Let's go back in
where it sounded hollow.

See what's under there.

- [device beeps]
- So frickin' narrow.

Here was the hollow
spot that you could hear,

like, when you bang on it.

- Yeah.
- Listen to this.

So if you could bring that and
see if there is some kind of void.

I'm not going to be
able to get that far down,

but I'm hoping that the void
is larger where all this dirt is.

- Yeah.
- It could just be under. Exactly.

So I set the point each
time that I move my foot.

- And that collects a data point?
- Correct.

- Right where your foot is?
- Each individual data point.

As you can see,
we're limited with room.

If you hit a void, would
we hear it or see it?

- Or is that something you have to...
- You'll see it.

[bleep]

You all right?

Yeah, no, look at this.

Look at the formation here.

Look at that.

That red shaded area shows
lower magnetism in the soil.

- That's the far side over there.
- That's the back.

Nice.

I'm picking up a
void in this area.

If this is the deepest spot,
the void may actually be

back to here, and it's
just an irregular hole.

What I'm talking
about is a slant,

like maybe a sloping downward.

This almost looks
like a buried ramp.

That's where the logs
could have gotten in.

It's going all the way
back because you see

the difference in depth,
approximately five feet.

And it may just be
a start of five feet

because it may be at an angle.

There's something
pretty large back there.

[Chad] Ever since I first
found this hollow spot,

there's not a day that
goes by that I don't think,

what could be under there?

James found a buried ramp.

I think this could lead into the
underground cavern system.

That's where we find this gold.

We got to open that up.

Yeah, we need a little something
more than this rock hammer, though.

Right.

We could jackhammer
a lot of that.

- Well, let's get that jackhammer.
- Yeah, let's go get it.

- I'll go tell your dad.
- Good stuff, James.

[upbeat music playing]

[narrator] As James
heads to the Bead Site...

- Yeah, so you can get that jackhammer in there.
- Yeah.

- Tight in here.
- Yeah.

[narrator] Eric and Chad are
attempting to use a portable jackhammer

to open up the void.

- Let's just be as careful as we can.
- Yep.

[drilling]

- You're breaking through.
- That's solid.

I'm not hearing
that hollow noise.

Trying to get down,
but it's just not really.

- It's so g*dd*mn tight.
- Yeah.

- There we go. Right there.
- Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, a couple more like that.

When we get in this chamber,
we're going to prove everyone wrong.

[drilling]

- And then we'll move some of that material out.
- Yeah.

And then we'll take some
of that out. Here, I'll get this.

You got it? We'll jackhammer it

and then clear it,
jackhammer it and clear it.

Look at this right here.
See that little gap right there?

Yeah, it looks
like it's opening up.

- Hey, let me see that camera.
- There you go.

- I can see in there.
- Thank you.

Oh, look at that.
It's opening up.

- You see it at the bottom of that?
- Yeah.

Look at that. I mean, it's
opening up down in there.

It is.

I feel like cool air
coming out of here.

- This could be it.
- Yeah.

Let's drill.

[drilling]

It's opening up.

[drilling continues]

[rumbling]

[rumbling]

Everyone out, everyone
out. Get out! Out, out, out!

[bleeping]

Out, out, out!

- Go, right there.
- Go.

Oh!

Watch out.

Come on. Let's get out. [grunts]

Let's go.

Right here. [grunts]

[exclaims]

Come on.

Up here?

Everyone get out?
Everyone's out?

Is everyone here? Is everyone
out? We got the cameras, audio?

- [bleep] Bro?
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

- What the heck's going on?
- What the hell?

- [rumbling]
- Do you hear that?

What the hell is that?

[rumbling]

- It's still going.
- [rumbling]

[Charlie] Can you
hear that rumble?

Charlie boy, I can hear that...

Sounded like a big groan to me.

Did you hit anything?

You think maybe you hit
a hard pan or something?

No, that's too loose
of soil down there.

Ten-four.

[Josh] That was
definitely weird.

Ah!

[bleep] There's no way
we can go back in there.

No, we got to find
another entrance, dude.

That's two we survived now.

We got to find
another way in, man.

If someone dies in there,
this whole [bleep] thing's done.

This is a big setback.

We had big hopes
for this South Cave.

Now, I don't know
what we're going to do.

[dramatic music playing]

You know, fellas, this is what
goes on all the time out here.

Yeah.

We just chalk it up
as Blind Frog Ranch.

Weird [bleep] just
happens out here.

[Josh] Well, my neck of the woods,
we have something similar there.

Call it the Thunder Gods.

What's Thunder God?

It'll just be a rumble
out of the mountains.

Can't explain where it's
coming from, what's causing it.

I guess you have it here, too.

[narrator] According to native
legends, the thunder Gods

are vengeful spirits
that live in the mountains,

protecting their
gold from outsiders.

For decades, locals
have talked about

hearing strange sounds,
mysterious disappearances

and unexplained deaths that
accompany this strange tremor.

So God only knows what forces are
happening underneath these mountains.

[mysterious music playing]

As we dig, you probably
expect to hear it again.

Whether it's
supernatural or not,

I mean, we've drilled into
the underground water traps,

poison gas.

This land just fights back.

[James] The Gods
don't want us in there.

[mystical music playing]

So, I appreciate you coming out.

Absolutely. Yeah,
this is interesting.

- Yeah.
- Very interesting.

[narrator] After experiencing a
strange tremor throughout the ranch...

This is what goes on
all the time out here.

Yeah, we just chalk it
up as Blind Frog Ranch.

[narrator] Eric has brought in
seismologist, Hector Estrella

to help identify the source
of the mysterious rumbling.

My name is Hector Estrella.

I worked as a geologist for 35
years, and I'm a project consultant.

[narrator] Before
calling in Hector,

Eric checked the USGS report

to look for any reported
earthquakes in the area.

There's a history of... Of the
ground shaking in the area

that doesn't seem to
correspond with earthquakes.

And reportedly, uh, it's been
going on for, like centuries.

We've heard some rumbling,
seems to come out of the mountains.

There's an old
legend about a hill

that, um, rumbles all the time.

And it's going to rumble
until things are fixed.

For us.

And so we want to try
to see if we can come up

- with some answers here.
- Yeah.

Are there any faults
around here, or...

There are some faults, but
I don't believe they're active.

Okay.

So the machine is called a
seismograph and records any movement.

You know, if you
stomped on the ground,

- it'll record it.
- Okay.

And then the reader will tell us

if it's natural
or it's artificial.

[Eric] As I
understand, it'll detect

both the ground shaking
and air blasts, basically.

- Air pressure. Changes in air pressure, yes.
- Okay.

This is the sensor.

- It will detect the, uh, movement on the ground.
- Okay.

And, uh, that is
the blast detector.

It detects any changes
in the air pressure

- caused by explosions or movement.
- Okay.

Whatever's happening here,
we're gonna get answers.

We're gonna get a graphic.

We're gonna get data that
we can read afterwards.

- That's it?
- And let's... Let it do its thing.

I'm really hoping
between Hector's expertise

and the seismograph
that he's bringing out,

that we can get
some scientific data

that can help explain these
rumblings that are going on.

To dig safely, we need to
know what's going on here.

[suspenseful music playing]

[narrator] Undeterred
by the recent tremors,

Duane continues
excavating the soil

from The Bead
Side's smoke vents,

in search of a potential secret
opening to the keyhole chamber.

Whoa!

Look at that.

[beeping]

Hey, hold up,
everybody. Hold up.

Yeah, I found something here.

[James] What did you find?

Uh, almost like, uh,
almost like concrete.

Concrete?

[Charlie over the radio] Duane,
can you hold off for a minute?

Copy that.

I don't know. I mean,
that almost looks like...

It was...

Like a wall or a
side of something,

and it almost looks like it was

on the outside of a, of
a building or something.

[Charlie] Duane dragged
them up from there,

and they landed
right... Right in here.

Um...

So, it came from ten foot.

Wow.

Yeah. I mean, this... [sighs]

It could possibly be man-made.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Charlie] I've never seen
anything up here like this before.

And I think Eric should
look at it, for sure.

Hey, Eric, you got
a copy? It's Charlie.

[Eric over the radio]
Hey, Charlie. Go for Eric.

Hey, I found some rocks up here

and it looks like...
Almost like a...

concrete or collegiate
type concrete.

I'd like for you to
take a look at it.

[Eric] Copy that. Bring
it to the hideout. Cut.

Copy that. Thank you.

There shouldn't be concrete
in the middle of all this dirt.

We found this thing under
hundreds of years of sediment.

Where the hell did it come from?

[mysterious music playing]

[Eric] What you
got there, Charlie?

- [Charlie] There it is right there, brother.
- [thuds]

[Eric] I have an idea of
what this is, right off the bat.

So you see the
finer grained matrix

with the aggregate,

and you can almost see

where it had been poured
when it was a semi liquid state.

That's concrete.

Is there a way to
tell how old that is?

I can't tell the age of it.

I don't know if it's
modern concrete.

The next question
for you, Duane is,

are you aware of
any concrete work

that has been done in that
specific area on the ranch?

No. No, not at all.

You never had any
pours over there?

- No, I don't know.
- [Eric] Okay.

Let's first determine
that it is, in fact, concrete.

Let's do a little test on this.

The concrete is
made from limestone,

and limestone calcium
carbonate will fizz

when we hit it
with hydrochloric.

So we'll just drop a bit
of hydrochloric on there.

- Yeah, there we go.
- [Josh] Immediately.

[James] That's pretty quick.

[Eric] I'm 99 percent
sure it's concrete.

The age of it, I don't know,

but it's odd that you found it,

when you haven't done
any concrete work over there.

So a bit of a mystery there.

The native Americans in this
area didn't use anything like that.

[mysterious music playing]

Now where I have seen this,

- I've seen this all throughout Mesoamerica.
- [Eric] Mm-hm.

The Aztec created

massive structures
using mortar and concrete.

That's what the entire

central portion of
Tenochtitlan was like.

This is at Temple
Mayor in Mexico City.

The material is different,

but they would have used,
obviously, what's local.

[Eric] The matrix
is a little finer grain,

but you're right. I mean, they
could have made aggregate

out of local sand,
gravel, and crushed rock.

For what reason, I don't know.

Because it doesn't
seem to belong here.

[Josh] Wow.

Well, that tells
us that the Aztec

could have been building
structures right here on the ranch.

I mean, why, why?

[James] We found
artifacts here before

but this feels different.

It seems like it's part

of a larger, religious
Aztec structure.

I think we're going
to need help on this.

[suspenseful music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

So in geology, we would call
these allochthonous deposits.

They don't belong here.

Basically, they came
in from somewhere else.

[narrator] While
digging at the Bead Site,

the team found
a slab of concrete

that isn't native to the area.

Geologist Eric Drummond
dropped hydrochloric acid

and confirmed it was
made from limestone,

a building material
often used by the Aztecs.

Why the hell would
just two pieces be there?

- Absolutely.
- [Chad] Yeah.

[James] Finding this
concrete here is mystifying.

Fortunately, I have a
colleague, Dr. Roger Blomquist.

I'm gonna conference him in,
so we can get some answers

to see if this concrete
could be Aztec in origin.

[narrator] Dr. Roger Blomquist
is an expert in Aztec history

and their possible
origins in ancient Utah.

Dr. Blomquist, were
you able to take a look

at the photos that I sent you?

Yes.

[James] We know that the local
tribes here didn't use concrete at all.

Is it possible this
concrete is from Mexico?

Well, it's quite possible.

And we know that the
Aztec world tradition

was that they came from seven
caves up here in the Utah area.

So them coming back up here,

is extremely plausible.

If they did, they'd start building
what was familiar to them.

To recreate a home as they
knew it, away from home.

We're finding all kinds
of ancient, spiritual rituals.

Stuff like ancient
artifacts, bones, or tools.

We're trying to figure out what
they would have used it for.

Yeah, if it's a religious
site, that you're looking at

that you're digging up,
then it could be an altar.

The thing to be looking for
with the pieces of concrete

are large stones,

more than likely,
they're going to be

- squared off stones.
- Okay.

Watch for the square stones
that would represent an altar.

[Chad] Gotcha.

Both of the pieces
of the concrete or rock

are totally flat on one side,

like they were part of a
wall, or a roof of some kind.

Somebody totally
made them that way.

I think this could
be a religious site.

So if they were bringing
gold back to the north,

they would have hidden the gold

in a very sacred place
to them, I assume, right?

They wouldn't have picked a
tree out in the middle of the sticks

- and buried it.
- [Dr. Blomquist] Yes.

One thing to keep in
mind, is that history changes

with the turn of a shovel.

So what we know
to be true today,

as soon as you turn over a
shovel of treasure up there,

of Aztec treasure,

then all of a sudden
you've rewritten history.

[suspenseful music playing]

You know, after
everything you've told us,

I think we have a lot to mull
through and put our heads around it.

I already know we're gonna
end up, more than likely,

having to reach back out to
you with additional questions,

if that's okay.

Absolutely. I'm
at your disposal.

Take care.

[Josh] Impressive.

You know, that Bead Site

is our number one spot, as
far as I'm concerned, right now,

because that's where we're
getting most of our information from.

And if we can figure out what
took place at that Bead Site,

then maybe we can figure out
if there is a way into the cave.

[intense music playing]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Charlie over the
radio] Hey, Duane.

If you could stop,
just a minute.

It looks like we're
hitting that wall.

[narrator] After finding
copper, and jade beads,

and slabs of concrete,

Duane is convinced
the Bead Site was used

in ancient Aztec ceremonies,

and more artifacts still
exist in caves below.

Duane has finished
clearing the soil

from in front of the rock wall,

but so far, he hasn't
found any indication

of a hidden entrance down
to the keyhole chamber.

Charlie Boy, you've
seen anything?

Ah, that's negative.
Don't see anything.

[narrator] Failing to
find any visible holes

in the wall that
lead to the caves,

Duane will have to dig his own.

Charlie Boy, you guys are
gonna have to get out of the way.

I need to, uh, to put
this rock wheel on.

[narrator] To do this,
Duane will switch out

his excavator bucket
for a rock wheel.

[suspenseful music playing]

[engine revs]

Man, look at this.

That thing is amazing.

[metal wheels whirring]

- Pretty cool, isn't it?
- Great, yeah. It's cool.

Duane's cleared enough
dirt at the Bead Site

so we can start cutting
into the rock formation.

And this new attachment
that he has on his rig,

it's really going to
accelerate our progress

to get into the keyhole chamber.

I think it'll go through
that sandstone pretty easy.

Yeah. It'll punch
that rock just like that.

- [Charlie] Yeah.
- We need to find the right spot.

So you're gonna
have to spot it for me.

Well, I brought an endoscope and
I'm gonna run that down those chimneys

and we'll see which direction
those are headed underground.

I'm gonna spray
paint on the ground,

exactly the angle that
I want you to start at.

- Okay, great.
- And then, we'll just stick at that angle

and you'll just keep
working it down

and working it down
until we break through.

- Okay.
- Rock wheel, I love it.

- Let's do it.
- All right.

- [James] Get that job done. Yep.
- Here we go.

[intense music playing]

Charlie, let's find the biggest
chimney you've got up here,

and I'll start there.

- There's gonna be one here and one there.
- Okay.

[narrator] Using an endoscope,
they'll try to locate the path

of the vent shaft
inside the wall.

Duane will then
use the rock wheel

to grind open a hole
into the vent shaft

that he hopes connects to
the keyhole chamber below.

Ah, that's a nice
unit right there.

That's it.

I take pictures of the
whole family with this thing.

[Charlie] Inside and out.

[Josh chuckling]

Oh, Charlie, you always
take it to another level, brother.

Just thinking.

[alarm beeping]

[Josh] All right. I'm gonna see
which way these chimneys go down.

Here we go.

[suspenseful music playing]

Tell us what you're seeing.

[Josh] Well, it's still going.

I'm just getting
the right angle.

What direction do you look
like you're headed towards?

We're definitely
heading to the right.

[James] To the right, yep.

Trying to get
around this one spot.

Well, lookie here.

We're opening up a little bit.

- [James] Really?
- [Josh] Yeah, we are.

Like a large opening?

I don't know
how large it is yet.

But it's definitely opening up.

- That's good.
- Yeah, for sure.

- Look at that.
- Still going right.

Yeah, it's heading
to the right for sure.

[narrator] Josh has found
that one of the chimney vents

travels down 15 feet

to a void of indeterminate size,

giving the team
their best chance

to tap into a vent

that could lead to a
tunnel deep below.

Okay. That's as far as I
can get this camera down.

[Josh over the radio]
Duane, do you copy?

Yeah, go ahead.

Duane, I put this
camera down this hole.

It was narrow at first, but
it's opening up down below.

It's definitely
headed to the right.

I'm gonna put some
paint down for you.

That way, it'll mark exactly where
you need to place that rock wheel.

Copy that.

We want to make sure that we
get a piece of that void somewhere.

Looking through the endoscope,
it seems there might be

a larger void in
this rock formation.

It's hard to tell how big it is,

but it gives me a good
sense of where Duane

should punch in
with that rock wheel.

Right there.

[Josh over the radio]
Duane, do you copy?

Yeah, go ahead.

I got a nice, big
smiley face for ya.

Put that rock wheel
right on top of that.

And just let her go, man.

[Duane over the
radio] Copy that.

[machine revving]

[alarm beeping]

You know, this is the day
we've been looking looking for,

is to find out where these vents

are actually
going in this, uh...

this cliff face here, and...

It's a pretty exciting day.

[narrator] Seismic activity
has been documented

in the Americas for
hundreds of years.

Aztec pictograms and manuscripts

dating back to the 16th century,

where the first written records

of tremblers in the Americas.

In Aztec mythology,
earthquakes were represented

by the figure of Tepeyollotl,
the God of darkened caves.

Though they don't provide information
about earthquake size or location,

they demonstrate that the region

has been seismically
active for generations.

Some historical depictions
show devastation so large,

it suggests an
earthquake in 1496

Might have been


[suspenseful music playing]

Let's see what we got, Hector.

Yeah, we should get something.

[narrator] Eric and
seismologist, Hector Estrella,

have returned to
check the seismograph

to collect data on the
tremors on the ranch.

[mysterious music playing]

- [Eric] Oh, wow.
- [Hector] Wow. Look at that.

- Wow.
- We got information.

This is significant.

[suspenseful music playing]

It's not continuous, so it
can be equipment driving by.

[Eric] Look at the amplitude. I mean,
I haven't felt any ground shaking.

And it looks like pulses.

Yes. Yeah, anywhere from what,

three to five, maybe 12 seconds.

[Hector] It looks like it, yes.

The thing is, the
amplitude on that,

it's showing some pretty good

- ground shaking, yeah.
- Significant, yes.

I wonder if it's just localized

or have you checked to
see if, uh, we have any data?

Yeah, let me check on that.

[sniffles]

[sighs]

No. There's no,
uh, recorded USGS

uh, seismic events when
this... When this occurred.

So that tells me
that this is localized.

This is very strange.

I haven't felt
any... Any shaking.

Not me either.

So if the scientific
data cannot explain

what is happening here then,

Blind Frog Ranch has something

not natural happening.

[suspenseful music playing]

Let's leave it running?

Yeah. You should
leave it running and...

And see if, uh,

it keeps recording any...
Any more movement.

Whatever's going on,

is not caused by earthquakes.

[suspenseful music playing]

So it's got to be
something else.

- Something's going on.
- Yeah.

- Something's happening in this land.
- That's for sure.

[Hector] The question is, what?

[mysterious music playing]

[engine starts]

[Josh] Perfect. Let her spin.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Duane] You know, we found
beads and we found concrete.

But this rock wheel's gonna
finally get us inside that formation,

and I think we're gonna
find gold on the other side.

[Josh] Stay the course.
You're right on target.

You're right on target, Duane.

[James] Yeah!

You're grinding now!

[Josh] Now you're
ripping, Duane.

[James] Get it, Duane.

[intense music playing]

[Josh] Now looking good,
looking good, looking good.

[ground rumbling]

Cheat to the
right just a little bit.

Keep grinding, man.

Keep grinding.

[Josh] All right, we're in
about, uh, ten foot right now

from where you started.

We're doing good.
We're doing good.

[Josh] Hold right there, Duane.

Hold, hold, hold! Hold!

[intense music playing]

Duane, move back.

[engine whirring]

[Josh] Let me take a
look at those cuttings

that come off that
rock formation.

I mean, we're still in
the sandstone right here.

Just keep on going in, then.

[Josh] Oh, definitely. Yeah.

We've got to stop down
every once in a while.

Take a look at all the cuttings

that are coming out of the hole.

That tells the story.

It's like a ton of sandstone.

What's this?

Hey, we've got
some limestone here.

[narrator] There is no
naturally occurring limestone

at Blind Frog Ranch.

And it is extremely rare
in the surrounding area.

This could not have
gotten in that hole naturally.

Check that little
spot right there.

Where?

There's one right
in front of you too.

Look right in front of you.

Lower. Lower.

- Down lower. Right there.
- [Josh] Lower?

What do we got here?

Look at this.

That ain't sandstone.

[Duane] What is it?

[Josh] I'm not sure yet.

Different color.

You see anything on it?

Oh, it's kind of
[bleep]. Look at this.

What do you got, guys?

I don't know. There
is... It's something.

I'm thinking this
is an altar piece.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Josh] This is incredible.

[suspenseful music playing]

Look at this.

Very strange.

[narrator] Next time on
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch...

People don't build
things like this.

- Bone. Shin?
- Shin.

There's a lot of predators
preying going on here.

I just hope we're not the prey.

All right, we're going down
right now.

[James] Don't move,
don't move. Hang in there.

[James and Charlie]
What is that?

[Josh] What do you got?

It's a skull.

You got a skull?
Like a human skull?