■ ■NARRATOR: On this episode ■■of "Destination Truth,"
Josh embarks■ o■n an epic joury through ■So■uth America
for ■th■e team's first ever alien inves■ti■gation,
chasing reports ■■ that strange beings inhabit
these cr■um■bling mines.
■ ■They are, like, extraterrestri■ ■aliens of some sort.
As the team tries to u■no■over extraterrestrial evidence■
in this deadly■,■ underground maze...
GATES: T■he■re's a light, a white ligh■t.■ You see that?
■ ■Go, go, go, go.
■ ■NARRATOR■X: ... they have a ce ■ ■encounter with a flying objet
in the night■ s■ky.
■GA■TES: Look how brit that t■hi■ng is.
What i■s ■that?
Next, the ■te■am heads to a reme lake i■n ■eastern Turkey
■■ where something massive is■ s■d to be lurking in the w■at■er.
■■ Do you think this is a■ d■angerous animal?
Investigatin■g ■in sub-zero temperatures..■.■
Whoa!
■ does Josh come face-t■o-■fae with an aquatic monster?
- Right there, right ■th■ere. - What's that? What's t■ha■t?
Hold on!■
I'■m ■Josh Gates.
■In■ my travels, I've seen some■ u■nexplainable things,
■ ■X■an■d I've done some thins I ■ca■n't quite explain.
■ ■ Aah!
■■ Now I've pulled together ■■a team armed
■ ■with the latest technology in■ t■he search for answers
to the wor■ld■'s strangest mysteries.
I'm not sure w■ha■t's out there waiting for ■me■.
■ ■ But I know what I'm l■oo■king for —
■ ■ the truth.
I ■re■ad recently that a whoppg ■■60 percent of Americans belie
in extraterrestria■l ■life,
and one in f■ou■r people beliee
that aliens ■ha■ve visited our planet.
■■Of course, for each of these be■li■evers,
■■there is a skeptic asking,
"Well, then ■wh■y haven't we fod any litt■le■ alien corpses?"
Well, acco■rd■ing to recent reports in C■Xhi■le■, we hav.
Witn■es■ses claim that, not too long a■go■,
an alien m■um■my was exhumed
from deep in t■he■ Chilean dese.
This hallow-■ey■ed and tiny skeleton was discov■erd
near an aban■do■ned pre-Spanish mine
■in■ remote northern Chile,
■■and while the remains look■ed■ a little suspicious to me,■
what did peak my■ i■nterest
■■ was that the discovery ■ ■opened the floodgates
to numerou■s ■eyewitness repors by local Ind■ia■ns
who clai■me■d to have had cloe encoun■te■rs of the third kin.
Natives report see■in■g tiny living creatures
descending into ■■ the abandoned mine shafts he■
along with mys■te■rious light, voices, and UFOs■.■
Searching for al■ie■ns is a first for my team,■
but with so ma■ny■ firsthand sightings
surrounding ■th■e rumored alien bones,
■ we couldn't resist.
My crew and I packed u■p ■our gr and headed to Sout■h ■America,
■ ■searching for aliens and ■ho■ping that none of them
■■ would attach themselves ■■to our faces.
■ ■Our journey into the unknown ■ ■began in Los Angeles,
where we flew 12 h■ou■rs to Lima, Peru.
After touching dow■n,■ we grabbed our gear
and head■ed■ to the rental car counter
where we adv■en■turers don't tend to be too■ p■opula.
I will need ■fu■ll insurance coverage...
Sí.
beca■us■e I'm going to f■Xlip it.
[ Chuckl■es■ ]
The mysterious mummy was■ ■ recovered in a remote desert■
in northern Chile, ■■in the same area
■ ■ as the recent reports of■ s■trange lights
and in proximi■ty■ to ancient mines.
■■This region lies thousands ■of■ miles south of Lima
in an area■ ■ with no major airport.
Clearly, a road trip■ ■ was in order.
From Lima, we woul■d ■drive
a gr■ue■ling 26 hours south to Chi■le■,
along the remote ■■ Pan-American Highway,
coursing through a v■as■t belt of desert that is co■ns■idered
the Roswell of■ S■outh Americ.
It's a long ■wa■y.
This w■as■ a serious com■Xmu,
but we wanted to■ b■e thoroug, and with a lit■tl■e luck,
we■'d■ be able to cross
the Peruvian border ■■ in a matter of days,
that is, if ■we■ could beat the traffic.
■Th■at guy's got a lot of stuf ■■in that truck.
To■ m■ake matters worse, this was■ a■ toll road.
- H■el■lo. - Go ahead. Go ahead.
I'm tr■yi■ng to find Chile. Which wa■y ■is Chile?
- Oh, it's... ■ ■-This way?
1,300 kilome■te■r.
Oh, boy. Very f■ar■?
■■ -Sí. - Okay.
Am I almost in Chile?
- Chile? ■■ -Yeah.
No.
Chile is this wa■y?■
- Sí. ■■-How far?
- Yes. ■ ■-Okay.
Thanks very much. ■■ Have a great night.
■■ Here we go.
GATES: Ble■ar■y-eyed from the road, we pulle■d ■over
■■ to stretch our legs and en■ga■e
■■ in an old Gates family■ t■radition,
■ro■ad-trip haircut.
■■ Clean up the back.
Then, a little short■er■ on to, but don't go crazy■.■
■ Oh, that's already way — ■■ like, way too much off the t■
- Oh. - I want to■ r■eally accentuate
my bald sp■ot■, too, that's coming in.
■Fo■r an extra $2, will she sha■ve■ Bicha's back?
JAEL: Oh!
■ ■Does she have a straight razr ■■ in her hand?
■■ It's, um — It's bad.
She to■ok■ out a lot of real estate.■
Yeah, th■at■'s how everyby gets their■ h■aircuts he.
I know it's regi■on■al. I don't want a regional ha■ir■c.
■■ Find a wig shop right now.
■■ GATES: In the morning, ■we■ stopped in Nazca,
■ ■ an area famous in alien c■ul■ture.
■■ Though Nazca looks utterly ■ ■unremarkable from the groun,
an aerial view■ r■eveals an amazing secret.
■ Several hundred shapes ■■ and complex patterns
■ ■have been carved into th■e ■desert's face,
■ etched a few thousand ye■ar■s before human aviation
and clearl■y ■designed to be seen from ab■ov■e.
■■ Many have postulated ■■that these cryptic symbols
were used ■Xto commu■ni■cate with beings from anoth■er■ wor.
One shape in parti■cu■lar, which locals call the Astr■on■a,
■■bears an uncanny resemblance ■■to ET himself.
The lines were■ c■ertainly extraordinary,
but I wasn't yet c■on■vinced
that I w■as■ in the presence of extrate■rr■estrials.
We■ d■rove on across the lunar la■nd■scape,
and after nearly 2■,0■00 mile,
we cross■ed■ into Chile.
■■ Our first stop was at a pl■ace called Stargate,
a st■on■e monument erected in the m■id■dle of the desert,
which some claim is a po■rt■al to another dimension.
Daniel Mamani's ■fa■mily helpd build the Star■ga■te monument.
■■Do aliens come he? [ Spea■ks■ Spanish ]
■-S■í. Sí - Sí?
And what do th■ey■ look like?
[ Speaks Spanish■ ]■
■■ They look somewhat like pe■op■, but they're very small■.■
Wh■er■e do I find these aliens?
■ [ Speaks Spanish ]
■■ Okay.
Over■ n■ear this mine, there hd be■en■ this paranormal activit.
Like■, ■people started hearing thin■gs■.
Peop■le■ started seeing thing.
They b■el■ieved that it was the al■ie■ns that were causing it.
GATES: To find the min■e ■in te epicenter of recent ■si■ghting,
■■ we sought out assistance ■■in the nearby town of Iquiqu.
In the town center,■ ■ I paused to investigate
■ ■ another small creature.
Is he stuck?
I can'■t ■tell if he's — Yeah, he's stu■ck■.
■ ■ All right. Come here. Co■me■ here, baby.
Come here. Come here■.■ Come here.
Stay out of the foun■ta■ins.
■ ■It's Josh Gates, saving livs ■■ one animal at a time.
We caught up with ■a ■local UO
researcher who tracked■ ■ the recent
si■gh■tings near the abandoned mine.■
■■[ Speaks Spanish]
■■ In these pueblos, there is■
a lot of talk ab■ou■t creaturs living in thes■e ■mines.
Bu■t ■they believe they're down t■he■re.
But th■ey■ do believe they're down t■he■re.
[ Spea■ks■ Spanish]
■ Mm-hmm. You should go ta■lk■ o these Aymara Indians
because they're the on■es■ who can guide you to this ■mi■,
■ and they're the ones ■ ■who are having the experienc■
GATES:■ W■e headed into the dest to■ s■eek out a member
■■of the tribe who we hoped cod ■■ lead us directly into the mi■
■ ■After hours driving unde■r ■the baking sun,
■■we sat down with an Aymara ■tr■ibal leader
■wh■o personally witnessed the ■st■range phenomena here.
He looked up at ■th■e sky, and he saw this stra■ng■e ligh,
but it was strange bec■au■se it was larger than a sta■r,■
■ ■ and he stayed there, ■st■aring at it in awe,
and then, all of a s■ud■den, it just kind of evapor■at■ed,
like, zapped away and ■di■sappeared.
[ Speaks S■pa■nish ]
■ They've taken to this id■ea■ that they are, like,
extraterrestrial a■li■ens of some sort.
GATES: He wa■s ■able to outlie the exact ■ro■ute
to t■Xhe aband■on■ed mine where the sighting■s ■occurre.
Along the remote des■er■t roa,
■ ■we would come to the epicentr ■■of the recent sightings,
and we stayed just a■he■ad of the setting sun
to begin our inves■ti■gation.
There ■wa■s just one problem.
■ The entrance to the mine ■ ■was a little more vertical
than we'■d ■hoped for.
Guys, we are going to ■ne■ed the climbing g■Xear.
■■ - Oh, that looks deep. ■-T■hat is some Sarlacc pit
■■"Return of the Jedi" nonsen■se■ right there.
- Hello. - Anybody h■er■e afraid of heigh?
Jael, you're first.■
Saving Jael from hav■in■g to descend first,
■ my cameraman, Evan, ■ ■and I got ready to take
■th■e express elevator down.
Why has it■ g■ot to be all...
BICHA: All r■ig■h. So let's do this.
giant hol■e-■in-the-ground mine?
Never easy■.■
If it wa■s ■easie, it would be someone el■se■'s sh.
Somebody put t■ha■t in the commercial.
■We■ descended into this centur■ie■s-old mine,
following repo■rt■s that somethg otherworld■ly■ is living here.
Josh■ i■s coming down n. Watch out fo■r ■roc.
EVAN: Okay.
- J■os■h, you all right? - I'm oka■y.■
Okay. I'm in.■
Guys, I got ■an■ opening down here.
■On■ce the entire team had safy ■de■scended into the mine,
we set up ■ba■se camp near the shaft we ■en■tered fr.
Since the locals belie■ve■ that living creatures inha■bit
■■these tunnels, we positioned IR■ c■ameras
■ ■ throughout the mine ■in■ an effort to pick up
and record anything■ ■ that passed by.
Peop■le■ say they're seeing
strange lights ■co■ming out of the mines.
They're hearing ■no■ises in these mines.
We■ c■an, you know, start lookin■g ■for areas
■ where these lights mi■gh■t be emanating from.
■An■d we're on the lookout for ■ma■terial remains.
■■ We're on the lookout ■■for mummies.
We're on the■ l■ookout for living creatures■.■
■ ■We're basically on the lookot ■■ for anything that could expl■
what t■he■se eyewitnesses are seeing■.■
Rex,■ y■ou have any thoughts on saf■et■y, tonight?
I ca■n'■t imagine what could go wrong i■n ■here.
A lot of■ t■hese systs have gas
that comes■ u■p from the earth.
It could b■e ■toxic to,
■■so if anybody stas feelin■g ■light-head,
nauseated, a■ny■thing like th, you know, ■sp■eak.
Let somebody■ k■no. And a lot of mines..■
- Whoa. ■-W■hoa. That's what I'm sayin.
■ ■ GATES: Just a little ■lo■ose ceiling rock, nothing ■to■ worry abou.
- Right. ■-T■otally safe.
■ ■ ■XJAEL: Oh, my God.
■ ■ Shine any light on i.
Le■t'■s get started before the wa■ll■s cave in.
■ While Sharra, Bicha, and Rex■ ■ stayed at base camp
to mon■it■or our equipment,
■ the rest of the team ■ ■and I made a sweep
■■through the mine's maze of anci■en■t passages.
■■ Along with looking for evi■de■e of strange life here,■
we'd also be l■oo■king for an exit,
■ since getting us and our■ g■er back up the shaft
wo■ul■d be an enormous effort.
How far ■do■ you think these tunnels go■?■
■■ I don't know. They've been■ h■e for hundreds of years■
■■and they've been added on a■nd■ added.
Uh...
■ What do you think, ■■right or left?
■■ It looks like the main tun■nX ■is straight,
■an■d this one on the It is a■ b■ranch-off.
■Ye■ah. What do you think?
Let's ch■ec■k out the left first.
■ ■Whoa.
[ Sniffs ]■ J■osh, is it me, or does it smell■ d■ifferent?
Yeah. ■[ ■Sniffs ]
It's a little more■ s■ulfur-y down he.
Oh, there's a hole. ■■I just fell in the ho.
■■-You okay? - What happened in a ■ho■le?
■ ■I just fell in a ho.
It jus■t ■fell out from under you?
Just fell out ■■ from under me.
Bunc■Xh of loo■se■ dirt.
■■ - Oh, I found something. ■■ -What did you find?
I found somethin■g.■
For real, ■th■ere's something down here.■
■■What do you — What's it feel l■ik■e?
- Bur■la■p? - What, like fabric?
It's, like, ■ ■a piece of fabric.
What is that?
Oh, God.
Oh, I foun■d ■somethi. There's something do■wn■ he.
What do ■yo■u — What's it feel like?
- Burla■p?■ - What, like fabric?
It■'s■, like, a piece of fabric.■
- Tho■se■ are bones. - What?
Those are bones.
I'll tell you ■on■e thi. Something stinks i■n ■this ho.
Oh■, ■God. ■X There is something in he■
Yeah■.■ Hold on a second.
There looks like the■res something decomposing down h■er.
Oh, my God.
Oh, that looks lik■ part of a leg to me.
Jo■sh■ to base ca, can you ■ha■ve someby
run an evide■no■e kit out here?
I think we have so■me■ sortf body or something ■bu■ried he.
■ I cannot even explai■n ■to u what this thing look■s ■li.
SHAR■RA■: Copy that.
■ ■Rex is on his way, and we'll ■ch■eck that out
as soo■n ■as he heads back.
- What's goin■g ■on? - Hey, how are you?
JAEL: Oh, my God, Rex.
There's some■th■ig buried in this hole.
Cover your nose.
■■ It's partially wrapped.
It's almost li■ke■ it's wearing clothes,
or it'■s ■wrapped in some sort of cl■ot.
- All rig■ht■. - Oh, that thing is so so■ar■y.
What■ i■s that?
■■ That is a body.
■■Uh... there's pars of rib c■ag■e, two le.
■ The feet, it looks humanoid■ ■ but the feet don't look huma■
Th■e ■feet almost look like hoov■es.
■ ■ It's very small, probably■ 1■8 inches lo.
What is that■, ■Re?
■■Whatever was beyd the wr■is■t has been cut o,
and it's been deca■pi■tated, as we.
The body itself can'■t ■he been here for very longX
It's still in a partia■l ■ste of decomposition.
What am I holding? ■ ■Chicken?
That i■s ■not a chicken, my friend.
■ ■Like, am I holdig an ali■en■ mummy right n?
Hey, Josh to■ b■ase ca, we have exhu■me■d
this b■od■y from the grou,
and I don'■t ■know how to tell you guys t■hi,
but it■ l■ooks humano.
■ ■ I, honest to God, ■■ don't know what this.
■ ■Whatever it is, it s bu■ri■ed here on purpo,
looks ritualisti■■ in some way.
■ ■JAEL: Get the legs in first.
■■Definitely the strangest thig ■ ■I've ever seen.
See you in a b■it■.
- Loo■k ■at this. - Going all the way■?■
This appears to be the singl■e■ most dangerous bridge
in the h■is■tory of bridges.
MIKE: Okay.
You feel lik■e■ it's sturdy?
I ■do■n't feel like it's that sturdy■, ■no.
Yeah? ■■ You're scaring me, m.
Looks a little ■bu■ckled in —
Phew.
Now we get ■ ■to follow you?
That looks so sketch■ ■right there.
Go, go■, ■go, go, go.
Whoa.
Look at this single beam■ ■ holding up,
you know, the univ■er■se.
That■ l■ooks so buckl. That don't■ l■ook rig.
Okay. Let's keep m■ov■ing.
Gu■ys■, I feel a breeze from this tu■nn■el.
There's fresh air comi■ng■ in.
■■You guys, a light, a white ■li■ght, you see that?
Down the tunnel,■ l■et's go. Let's go.
■X Go, go, go, go.
■■It was, like, right here, and ■it■ passed over to the rig,
■■ and that is a dead end ■ ■with a vertical shaft.
That room goes n■ow■here
■■except straight down that v■er■tical shaft.
What■ev■er's living down here gives of■f ■strange energy,
■ ■strange lights. - Yeah.
That doesn't exclud■e ■strange sounds.
■■Absolutely. Let's get se ■re■al light down he.
Do you hav■e ■those torches? Let's break ■th■ose out.
■ ■I feel like there's kooky st■ ■ happening in this mine.
■-Y■eah. - Do you feel that?
■-Y■eah. A little cooler. - Yea■h.■
GATES:■ T■here's definitely a draft comi■ng■ from this tunn.
There'■s ■fresh air. You can fl co■ld■ air coming from there.
■ ■Guys, we may have a way ■ou■t of here.
Le■t'■s follow this breeze. Okay■. ■Here we go. Yeah?
■■ - Yeah. - Here we go.■
■ Okay.
■ Hold on. Hold on. Th■Xis■ i■s it.
■■ Guys, it's coming from up ■ ■there, up and out.
■ - You ready? - Yea■h.■
■GA■TES: Ho ho ho ho.
Oh, yeah. ■We■'re out.
Josh to ba■se■ camp, come in.
I got some goo■d ■news for you, Sharra.
You can ■pu■t away the climbing gear.
We just ■fo■und a way out of this mine.
Yay.
We■ s■ee a ridgeline. We're goin■g ■to hike up ther.
■■ - Yeah. - Oh, man, it's t■he■ light.
GATES: What ■do■ you got, Gabe? Where? Rig■ht■ there?
I ■do■n't see it.
I just saw it again,■ ■right over there.
Up by the to■p■ of that ridge?
Yeah.
■ ■What is that?
■■It's across the canyon, ju■st■ above the rim.
Look h■Xow bright ■th■at thing is.
■■What is that?
GATES: What is■ t■hat?
It's a■cr■oss the canyon, just above■ t■he rim.
Look how bright that t■hi■ng i.
Wh■at■ is that?
■ MIKE: Try to get a focus■ o■n it.
GABE: Ah■, ■I can't get foc.
■Of■ course.
It's fading.
- I know, but my —■ ■ -It's super faint now.
Tu■rn■ off your head lamps, ever■yb■ody.
That thing was bugging■ o■ut and dancing around a second ■ag.
[ St■at■ic ]
■■ That sounds like an al■ie■n.
- Where's it coming from? ■■-I'm not joking. That's, like.
I heard it.■ ■ I heard it.
I me■an■, it was, like —
■ It sounded like a mac■hi■ne sound moving.
■■ - Mechanical. - Yeah.■ N■ever heard —
[ Feedback, ■el■ectronic noise] Ooh!
The para■bo■lic is —
[ Static ]
Dude, the paraboli■cs not plugged in.
It's not■ p■lugged in.
Ther■e ■is no parabolic plugged in■.■
That■ n■oise is coming from behind you.■
No■ d■ish is plugged into my mixe■r.■
Oh, my gosh.■ ■I just heard something els.
- It went wh-ch■oo■. - Yeah.
Yeah,■ ■ I heard that, too.
■■ GATES: We stayed pu■t ■for another hor before ret■ur■ning to base cap
but didn't o■bs■erve anything else in the ■ni■ght sky.
The four■ o■f us just had an experience on■ t■hat ridge
like I cannot explai■n.■
■Th■ere was what looked like a ■st■ar
■ that suddenly just st■ar■ted pulsing, like...
■X ■-I■t was across the canyon. - W■ha■t color was it?
■-W■hite. - Wow.
A white an■d ■pulsing light. I looked at ■it■,
and I was just like, "Oh■, ■thas from 'Close Encounters.'■
I have■ t■o go make Devils Tower out of m■y ■mashed potatoes."
[ Laug■ht■er ]
And then■ t■here was suddenly this flurry ■of■ weird electronc
noises tha■t ■came out of the parabolic■X dish.
- Uh-huh.■ ■-That wasn't plugged in.
- What? ■ ■-It wasn't plugged in?
No. Started emitting noi■se■s, which it doesn't even do.
■■ It collects noises. It■'s■ not a speaker.
- Yeah.■ T■hat's amazing. - Yeah.
Well, we have a clea■r ■way out of this mine now.
Thank God.
We don't have to ascend ■up■, which is great,
but we do have■ k■ind of a walk from here
■■to the exit point that we ■fo■und.
Let's get out of h■er■e, guys.
With d■ay■light breaking, we ascende■d ■to the surface
for a much-needed ■br■eath of fresh air
after nearly 12■ h■ours underground.
■ ■Having witnessed multitudes ■of■ strange lights
■an■d this discovery of a strae
■■ biological specimen, ■■we needed answers.
■■ Unable to legally transpor■t■ a rotting corpse
across i■nt■ernational lines,
I bagged the■ s■pecimen for local authorit■ie■s
■ ■and photographed the remains ■ ■for our own analysis.
We hopped a flight b■ou■nd for Los Angeles
where we wou■ld■ analyze our mysterious finding■s.■
We too■k ■our extensive dossir of photo■gr■aphs to Dr. Jim Din,
a mamm■Xalogist at t■he■ Natul History Museum in ■Lo■s Angele.
What is this?■
It's r■ea■lly hard wn I'm looking ■at■ these phos
to rule anything o■u.
I mean, when you see it, ■■especially kind of sprawled o,
■■ it has this weird
kind of anthropomorphic ■th■ing going on
■ ■because it has these feet■.■
Yeah.
And if you just so■rt■ of look at it here,
it looks like a chicken.■
■ - Yeah. - You know?■
The thing ■th■at mea, to me, it's not ■a ■bi,
is■ w■hen we look at the feet.
The prop■or■tions sm to be wrong for any■
■■like, a human or any kind ■of■ prima.
- Well? - Tough o■ne■.
■■ - It's... - It's a mystery?
■■... a mystery. It's a myste■ry■.
GATES:■ ■ Having stumped one expert,
■■we let our resident animal exp■er■t, Mike Dee,
formerly of ■th■e LA Zoo, take a look at t■he■ images.
What do you see?■
Well, I se■e ■two legs, two fee, what appea■r ■to be feet.
This here an■d ■that look ve, very hoofl■ik■e.
GATES:■ T■hey do, yeah. Is it a bird■?■
I don't think ■it■'s a bird.
It clearly isn't a h■um■an.
For whatever reason,■ ■the head has■X been removed.
■ ■The other thing is there ■is■ no evidence,
that I■ c■an see, of any type of feather■s.■
So what do we have here?
■ I don't know.
■■ I was amazed that we weren't ■■able to get a positive ID
■ ■ of these strange remains fro■ either of these two expert■s,■
■an■d the species identificatin
of w■ha■tever we uncovered is still■ a■ mystery.
■■ Equally curious was ■■the phantom light we observd
in the oth■er■wise black and lifeless mine
■ ■and the strange, glowing ■ob■ject my team
■ ■ and I observed dancing ■■above the mine.
■■ What is that?
■ ■We replayed our recordings ■■frame by frame.
The speed and movement■ ■ of the object
do not suggest an ai■rc■raft,
■■ and none of the images ■ ■are clear enough to enhance
into a defin■it■ive picture.
■I ■can't tell you what it is.■
Were these■ t■he same lights that so many■ o■thers
had seen in northern C■hi■le?
■■ As a lifelong UFO skeptic,■ ■ even I had to admit
■X that this was something ■■beyond my ability
to■ f■ully rationalize.
As we ■wa■it for more informatn
■ab■out the strange remains we fou■nd■,
I'll be ke■ep■ing my eyes on the sky,
hopeful to■ c■atch another glime
of what can only be ■de■scribd
■■ as an unidentified ■fl■ying object.
Sighti■ng■s of unidentified monsters
rare■ly■ make front-page news,
so when CNN and Th■e ■Associated Press
ran ■he■adline stories on a strange■ l■ake monster,
■ ■ I stopped wasting time ■■looking at my Facebook page,
sat up, ■an■d took notice.
Locals in ■th■e distant city of Van, Turk■ey■,
have been ta■lk■ing about the Van Lake Mon■st■er for centuri,
■ although outsiders haven■'t■ taken much notice,
■bu■t not long ago, a man produced■ t■his video
■■of a large ominous creature ■■swimming around in the lake,
which made internati■on■al new.
■ Since then, hundreds of peop■■
have reported seeing■ ■ the mysterious animal,
■■and with the video's star s■ti■ll unidentified
and one of the most sens■at■iol video leads we've ev■er■ h■X,
we d■ec■ided to step in for a fishing ■ex■pedition
■ like no other.
Lake Van is situ■at■ed in far eastern Turkey
■■ in a remote region near the■ b■order of Iran.
At nearly 1,50■0 ■square mile,
the lake is nearly■ ■the size of Rhode Island.
Recent witnesses mostl■Xy■ ■report sightings
just■ o■ff the lake's southern coa■st■.
Comp■il■ing their various descript■io■ns,
we generated a look ■■ at what they've been seeing.
Eyewitne■ss■es report seeing an animal ■th■at measures
more than 40 feet ■lo■ng,
■■ protruding its back several ■■ feet out of the water
and occasionally snappi■ng■ at the surface.
Known as the Van■ L■ake Monste,
it■ r■eportedly has dark scaly s■ki■n
■■and a long and spiny back.
Its muscular tail crac■ks■ a devastating whip
against would-be■ p■redators or curious vessels■.■
But locals are reall■y ■on ede about the creature■'s■
■ ■mouthful of knife-like teeth■ ■ and reportedly massive jaws.■
My team and ■I ■packed up our aquatic inve■st■igation kt
and headed to the ai■rp■ort.
From Los Angeles, we flew near■■ 7,000 miles to Istanbul, Turke■■
the former capit■al■ of the Ron and Ottoman ■Em■pires.
The 17■-h■our flight left my tm
■ ■ and I feeling a little bit ■■ dazed and confused.
JAEL: Do you■ e■ver feel like
yo■u'■re just not getting anywhere?■
■ What time zone is this?■ ■ I'm exhausted.
Is it day or■ n■ight outside?
■■ Just give me some of that ■Tu■rkish coffee and I'll be fi.
■ ■In need of a caffeine fix,
we emerged into the ■hi■storic streets of Istanbul.■
This anc■ie■nt city is an exotc mix of■ E■ast and West
an■d ■the dividing line between Euro■pe■ and Asia.
It's an ancient fo■ca■l point for powerful relig■io■ns
and ho■me■ to some truly majestic arc■hi■tecture,
■■but it was their precious ■ha■ndmade commodity
that eventuall■y ■stopped us in our tracks.
A bazaar in Is■ta■nbul, how may feet before ■so■mebody offers
to sel■l ■me a carpet, do you think?■
■ ■ How you doing?
I'm do■in■g great. What do you sell?■
■ - Carpets. - Oh, I'd l■ov■e to buy a carpe.
Six feet. Hell■o.■ How are you?
■X I'm just worried■ i■t's too.
Th■is■ is the Johnny Carson one,■ r■igh?
- Ooh. ■■ -Will women like this hat?
Women ■wi■ll like too much.
They■'l■l like it too much?
Lo■ok■ out, ladies.
Here it ■co■mes. Here it comes.
Ha ha. H■ow■ many times a day does this ha■pp■en?
- Fifte■en■. - Fif■Xteen times a day?
■ ■Fifteen.
■It■'s the oldest bit in the m■ar■ket.
■■ This is $3,000 U?
- Yeah. - I would■ l■ove to buy this.
You ■kn■ow, I would love. This i■s ■it.
- This is the one I■ c■an affor. - Be very careful.
■ ■This is the one I can affo. ■■ I work on cable, my frie.
What wou■ld■ I do with a carpet this s■ma■?
■■Underneath■X for telephone.
- Under the telephone?■ ■ -Yeah, yeah.
You're a■ g■ood salesm.
GA■TE■S: And when my carpet negotiat■io■ns reached a dead e,
■■I used the simplest method■ o■f obtaining
one of these wov■en■ Turkish delights.
I'll t■ak■e them all.
- All right. ■-I■'ve got it.
I'm taking them ■al■l. Thank you.
Thank ■yo■u very m■Xuch, Man, come on■, ■ma!
GATES: I lef■t ■the market and headed to sp■ea■k
■■with a respected journalist,
who orig■in■ally obtained the footage■
of the mysterious■ ■ creature swimming in
■■Lake Van that later became ■in■ternational news.
Had there been■ a■ lotf sightings in recen■t ■histy
be■fo■re these pictus that cam■e ■out?
■■ Do you think there e ■a ■great many peoe
who believe ■th■is sto?
We needed to get t■o ■the cityf Van to talk fi■rs■thand to locs
who had se■en■ the monster in their lake.■
From■ I■stanbul, we hopped a flight■ t■o the city of Van,
which borders the lake■ ■of the same name,
to continue ou■r ■search for the elusive monster.■
■ ■ Having traversed the planet,■ ■we were suffering
from sev■er■e jet lag,
and ■my■ team was clearly showg ■si■gned of sleep deprivation.
That's our medic,■ ■ ladies and gentlemen.
Rex, how muc■h ■of the medicatin are you actu■al■ly taking?
Uh... not e■no■ugh.
■ ■ This is a nice one.
Wh■er■e do they evn get these cars f■ro?
Wh■er■e? Oh, look at this.
It comes with ■ ■a filthy pillow
■■ with a pair of underwe■ar■ under it.
■X ■"O■h, Josh Gates is coming to■ t■own.
■■Give him the car from 'Gree■n ■Acres.'"
Referred to as ■■ the Pearl of the East,
people have be■en■ inhabiting the shores of Van■
for more than 7,00■0 ■years.
■ ■ Today, it is a small ■mo■dern city,
though■ r■emnants of its ancient her■it■age
can still be see■n.■
The st■or■y of the lake monstr had ■be■come such a hot topic
in town that the l■oc■al government
■ was not only prompted to■ b■uid a statue of the creature
but to f■or■m their own team to search for ■it■.
I sat down with the mayor to g■■ the most up-to-date inform■at■n
on t■he■ir findings.
■ ■Do they have any definiti■ve■ results, thou?
■ ■ -[ Speaks Turkish ] ■-O■kay.
[ Speaks Turkish ]
Okay.
GATE■S:■ We stepped out of the may■or■'s office
a notch ah■ea■d in our pursuit of the mo■ns■tr
and directly into th■e ■path of an oncoming parade.■
Someone, che■ck■ the calendar.
■ ■ Is some sort of battle ■■starting today?
Are the Turkish Backst■re■et Bs directly behind me■?■
We t■oo■k a timeout from the parade■ t■o discuss our pl,
and be■fo■re we knew it, we drew quit■e ■a crowd.
Here comes■ t■he tea!
Su■rr■ounded by the local facial hai■rs■tyle,
I couldn't h■el■p but urge my teammate Mike to■ j■oin the tre.
Le■t'■s talk about mustaches.
■ ■Why don't we take you to■ a■ barber
and get you moustached■ u■p?
- I think■ t■hat's a great ide. - Let's■ d■o it. I'm down.
Is t■he■re a Turkish man giving me a ba■ck■ massage
right no■w,■ yes or no? - Yes!
- Yes.■ ■ -Yes? Hello.
He's decided that he w■an■ts to become Turkish.
JAEL: Has anyone s■ee■n Tom Selleck, Tom Selleck?
Mike, you're the starr■in■g character on "Carpet Wars."■
■ MIKE: "Carpet Wars"?
My new reality series ■■ set here in Turkey.
With our newly mustach■ed■ tem member now passing f■or■ a loc,
we got back ■on■ the trail of the lake mons■te■r.
We spoke wit■h ■a few local boat captains,■
who shared■ f■rightening accous of the■ir■ experiences
with■ t■he notorious creature.
And what did you see exact■ly■?
[ Speaks Turkish ]■
GATES:■ D■escribe for me exacy what you■ s■aw.
Wh■at■ does it look li?
[ Speaks Turkish ]
Uh-huh. ■
■ ■ GATES: The captain gave us t■■ coordinates of Akhtamar Is■la■d
where he claims ■■the monster lives
■■ and is often seen at night■.■
■ ■It was the same place th■e ■mayor had said
■ he believed the monster ■sp■aw.
Before we put al■l ■of our monster eggs in one ■ba■skt
and headed o■ut■ to the islan,
■■I wanted to survey the lake ■■from overhead to search
for any other ■di■stinguishing habitats
where ■th■e monster might be hiding.
■■The government was so convind
that their lake ■mo■nster was real,
■■ they rolled ■Xout the aeril re■d ■carpet and loaned us the e
■■of one of their state-of-t■he■-art helicopters
to c■on■tinue our search.
■ ■While I headed up in a chopp■ ■ my crew split up on the bank■
and ■st■ayed in touch via radi.
Jael and Rex kep■t ■their eyes on the southern ■ba■nk
■wh■ile Bicha and Sharra stayed■ n■orth.
■ ■After hours of scanning ■th■e water,
Sharra■ a■nd Bicha spotted something ■fr■om afar.
■■ Sharra for Josh.
■ Okay, go for Josh, S■ha■rra.
■■We've spotted something that's ■a ■little closer to the shore,
but it seems it's mayb■e■ closer to one of the other tea■■
■■ on the south side.
Copy tha■t.■ We're headed along
the southern sho■re■ to talk to them right ■no■w.
We'll check in■ w■ith them.
Well■, ■what is tht thing over the■re?
■■ You see that? It's black■ ■You see that?
■■ Look, look. It's movin■g.■
■■Did you see tha? It's bla■ck■.
■Yo■u see that? Look, look. It's m■ov■i.
■ Josh, it looks like ■so■mething's kind of coming up
■ ■out of the water and going ba■ck■ down.
■ ■Copy that. We're headed to yo■ur■ position. Stand by.
By the time ■we■ flew over the southern shore,■
whatever h■ad■ surfaced had already disappea■re■d.
■ ■ The dark, ominous, undula■ti■ng humps my team
■re■ported seeing out in the war
sounded very r■em■iniscent of the description■ e■yewitness
ga■ve■ of the lake monster.
Not ■co■nvinced, though, that what we s■aw■
wasn't more ■th■an a floating log,
■■we decided to press on to ■Ak■htamar.
■ ■I got back on the ground, pull■ ■ my team together at the dock■■
and in the last ■ho■urs of daylight,
■■ we headed out to the islan■d ■r our underwater investi■ga■tio.
We arrived on th■e ■lonely and deserted island of A■kh■tam.
Its rocky coast wa■sn■'t the most welcoming of be■ac■he,
■ ■ but it would serve as■ a■ launching point
for our trip■ i■nto the watery depths of La■ke■ Van.
■ ■Evan, how you feeli?
I'm cold already.
■ ■We had been told the mons■te■r spawns
in the shallow wat■er■s near the island
and ■is■ active around dusk,
so our plan was to find ■ev■idee
■■ to support this claim and,
■■if we were lucky, catch a ■gl■impse
of the creat■ur■e or, if nothing else,
what■ p■eople could ■Xbe mistaking for th■e ■creature.
You see anythi■ng■ on the underwater camera?
No. I have■ s■een, li, shadowy figures,■
■ ■ but just it's so murk. ■ ■I can't see anythi.
Okay. Keep a■n ■eye on it.
Sharra is able to spot ■ ■a few dark,
shadowy figure■s ■moving ■Xthrough the water, but...
■ It's getting very dark up ther■■ You might...
■ ■GATES: Lake Van is incredibly■ s■alty,
and cond■it■ions below the surface were aby■sm■al.
■■We dove until our feet and ■fi■ngers were completely num,
but with such poor v■is■ibilit,
my only chance■ o■f finding the creature und■er■water
would be t■o ■be eaten by it.
Instead, we decided ■to■ searh topside where the ■cr■eature
■■ has been known to s■ur■face at night.
■■ You know, visibility is, li■ke■, what, 3 feet, 4 feet?
■■Four feet, tops.
It's just all algae, ■■and it's just a mess down the.
■ Listen, we're going ■ ■to freeze to death
if we do■n'■t get out of this wet stuf■f.■
I changed into some dr■y ■cloth,
■■and while my tech speciali■sts set up base camp,
Jael and I headed ■to■ the highest point on the i■sl■and
fo■r ■a better view of our surro■un■dings.
An■ a■ncient church here has look■ed■ out on the waters
■ ■ of Van for more than 1,0■00■ years.
JAEL: ■Wo■w.
Sc■an■ning the ruins of this arch■ai■c temple,
■ ■we found clues that the s■ig■htings
of this lake monster■ ■ may date back a millennium.■
■■-Look at this. - It looks like h■e'■s being eat.
It does.■ H■e looks like the people on the ■bo■at are trying
■■to pull him out of the creatur■es■ mouth,
but it's interesting tha■t■ they would choose that scene
to■ p■ut on the outside of the c■hu■rch,
looking out ■ov■er Van Lake.
Okay. Let's ■ge■t down to the wat.
Sounds g■Xood.
■■ -Look at this place. - Hey, ■go■ys. Wow.
- Y■ou■ guys built a palace. - Pal■ac■e by the shore.
Keeping the ■ra■in o, keeping the rain o■u.
■■Yeah. The rain is starting ■to■ come down a little bit.
Hopefully, that holds ■of■f. So, IR cameras are set u■p.■
■ Yeah. Our infrared cameras ■■are set up along the shorelin.
We've been monit■or■ing the surface
an■d ■have had our eyes peeled.
■■ Now there's no large fish ■ ■in this lake at all.
Th■e ■only fish that lives in ts ■■lake is about a foot long,
so if we■ h■ear anything
■■ substantial out there, ■it■'s something anomalous.
■■It's something not normal.
So, Rex, why don't y■ou■ come with me on the first■ s■weep?
Yo■u ■can operate the underwatr ■ca■mera and the sonar system,
■ and hopefully, we■ g■et lucky out there.
■■ - Let's rock it. - L■et■'s do it.
GATES: Wit■h ■Sharra at base ca,
Re■x ■and I would set out in a Zodia■c ■boat
■■to investigate the waters ■ar■ound the island
while Jael and Bicha■ b■egan a sweep of the coastline.■
■-C■an you see anything, Rex? ■-I■ don't see anything yet.
■■ God, the weather's terr■ib■le now.
RE■X:■ Is it actually snowing ri■gh■t now?
■ It is. It's sleet■in■g.
■■ It's hard to see a■ny■thing.
The bad news i■s ■that chop s picked up ag■ai■n a little b.
■■ Yeah, it has.
Obviously, t■hi■s is t ideal conditions
fo■r ■lake monster hunti.
Not at all.
The rain is just■ ■ coming down now.
Josh to base camp, ■■ come in.
■ ■ Base camp.
■■ Chop is picking up aga, ■an■d the rain is coming do.
It's■ c■old as hel. Some of it's s■no■.
■ ■Yeah. It's coming down hard o■n ■us also.
I mean, we don't kno■w■ if this tent will hold up.■
We got to fi■rm■ it up again, make sure it■ s■tays up.
■Co■py that.
■ ■Josh, I'm now trying to get a■ p■icture
■■ from one of these IR cams,
and I could ■ha■ve sworn I just heard, like■,■
■ some strange noise.
It sounded either li■ke■, lik, ■Xa moan or, like, some ■gr■oa.
BICHA: What's that■? ■What's th? Go, go, go, go■, ■.
Watch out.
■■ I could have sworn I just hear■■ like, some strange noise.
It sounded eit■he■r like, ■Xa moan or, like, some ■gr■oa.
BICH■A:■ What's that? What's th? ■Go■, go, go, go,
Watch out.■ ■ Watch out. Go.
Josh to base cam■p,■ I can hear you guys.
What's going o■n ■out there?
Bicha and I just hea■rd■ a really loud splash
over by the sh■or■e.
We'r■e ■not sure what it was, but it r■ea■lly scared us.
■■-Do you guys see us? - Do yo■u ■see us? Do y■Xou see?
Something over here!
■ Josh, there's something ■ov■er here!
GA■TE■S: We're headed your w■ay■ right now. Keep your ■ey■es on the wate.
■■ We're headed towards ■■ your lights right now.
■ ■-Whoa! Whoa! - Whoa! Hey!■
GATES: W■ha■t was that?
Get the underwater■ ■ camera in the water.
■ Something is passing ■un■der the boat.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Yeah, some■th■ing bigs passing under th■e ■bo.
Josh to base cam■p■ come in, base camp.
Something ju■st■ pressedp against the bo■tt■om of the bo.
■It■'s not a rock. I can see down i■n ■the wat.
■ ■ Something just came up and h■ ■Xthe bottom of the Zodi.
Right ther■e,■ right the! You see that?
■ ■Oh, my God.
■■Oh, it just went right by the c■am■e.
- What?■ ■-Hold on.
■■ I'm coming aroun. I'm ■co■ming aroun.
We just saw somethin■ swimming by camera.
Copy that. Wh■at■ever it was...
GATES: Copy that. We■'l■l just stay in touch.
■■ Keep your eyes peeled ■on■ the water.
Keep scann■in■g the surface. Hold on.
■ ■Right there, right there.
■■ - Where? - Right the■re■.
- Rig■ht■ there. - There it is! Righ■t ■there!
It came up and went ■do■wn.
■■ I don't even know what would ■■ splash in this lake.
There's no s■ub■stantial fish in this lake■ a■t all.
■ ■Josh to base camp, come in.
■Gu■ys, we just got a signific■an■t hit on the son.
Whatever it wa■s ■passed under the boat.
We're ■in■ pursuit of it now.
■■ It looks like it surfaced fr ■a ■second, and then it went aw.
We're chasing after it■.■
We think i■t'■s between us and the islan■d.■
■■Keep your eyes on those infrar■ed■ cameras.
We think it migh■t ■be between us and your posi■ti■o.
Copy that. I see y■ou■ heading in our direction.■
We're going to k■ee■p our eyes on these cameras.
■ ■We stayed in pursuit but quic■kl■y found
that there w■as■ nothing to cha.
What■ev■er was at the surface had ■su■bmerged.
Guys, the co■nd■itions are getting bad out here■.■
The rain is picking up■.■ It's just above freezing.
■ It's almost like sleet ■■ and snow coming down.
■ We need to come in for a■ l■ite bit, reset the gear,■ w■arm u.
Yeah, copy that.
The base camp is not h■ol■ding p so well, so I'm not re■al■ly sue
it's going to be■ ■great sanctuary for you.
■■ What's wrong with the t■en■t?
We have a gi■an■t bulge of water right above o■ur■ head.
■We■'re coming in right n. We■ a■re freezing.
This is gonna flood.
Oh, no.
Aah!
■■ I think everything got wet. ■■ Oh!
Okay. Bicha, I n■ee■d e more support beam,
■an■d I can get this thg back■ i■n operatio.
Hold on.
Seems ■li■ke it's okay.
How's the gear, Sharra■
■■ Everything g■Xot a little■ d■renched,
but I th■in■k everything's oka.
God, t■ha■t was close.
Almost lost the entire ■ ■base camp.
■MI■KE: Yeah.
If t■hi■s beam holds, then we shou■ld■ be okay.
■■ SHARRA: Right.
Well, I want to ge■ back out there
and ju■st■ start gog around the island,■ y■ou kn?
Get ■th■e thermal imager goi.
■■ We haven't had that out ■■ because of the■X rain so.
Jael, ■■ you come out with,
■an■d we'll get back t on the wat■er■.
■■ -Okay. - Okay?
Let me know if you see■ a■nythg on these cameras a■t ■l
■ because I just feel ■ ■like that thing
could come back ■■at any moment.
- You guys ab■oa■rd? - Okay. We're aboard.
- Wel■co■me to the love boat. - Oh.
- It's really nic■e ■out here. - Here we go.
■■ I think you're really going ■■to enjoy your cruise today.
■■ Oh, boy.
There's no■th■ing romantic about it.
■■GATES: Right there, hold on. Do■ y■ou see that?
■ ■ -Those ripples right there.■ ■ -Rig■Xht there.
■GA■TES: Something just rippld ■■through the water.
Something ■ju■st passed right. I got some■th■ing.
I go■t ■something warm in the water■ o■n the thermal.
■ ■It's like a yellow, long ■se■rpentine shape right ther,
right in■ f■ront of the islan. You se■e ■it?
Oh, ■ye■ah. Oh, my God.
It's■ r■ight there, h?
■■It's right there, right in fro■nt■ of the island.
That's r■ig■ht whee that shadow is.
That's r■ig■ht where the shadow popped up.■
- I'm headed righ■t ■over to i. - You got your eye ■on■ it?
■■Yep. It's on the thermal.
■It■ showed up as a clear heat sign■at■ure on the thermal imag.
■ - Okay. - Here we g■o.■ Coming up.
■■ I saw it, too. Yell■ow■.
■ ■ -You hear that? - Wha■t ■is that?
[ Animal calling ]■
What is that?■
Sh■h,■ shh, right the.
Right ther■e,■ a big shadow in e water,■ b■ig shadow in the wat!
See it? Jo■sh■, go.
■■Can you get that on your ca■me■ra?
There's, like, a s■ha■dow right under the water righ■t ■there.
Th■er■e's, like, a shadow right unde■r ■the water right there.
■ ■ GATES: I got the thermal ou■ I don't see anything yet■
I see three bi■Xg black shad■ows right now in front of me.
■ ■Better go easy. I see it■.■
I see it, too. ■■It's right there.
Okay.■
■ Right in here.
Oh, my God. ■ ■It could be right under.
■■ Stand by. Stand by.
■■ I don't see it.
Wh■at■ever it was moved off.
■I ■had a clear heat signature on t■he■ thermal though, for su.
I got it recor■de■d. No.
I ha■d ■it on here, and it just vanish■ed■.
Whatever it is, ■I ■lost it. I lost it.
Josh for Rex,■ ■ we had something
on the■ t■hermal imager, some sort of hea■t ■signature.
■■ It was at the surface.
I definitely got it on t■he■ thermal, and then it went away■■
■ ■ -Copy that. - We're going■ t■o head in.
First light of■ d■ay is starting to show up.
We had a■ c■lear heat hit a little whi■le■ ago,
and nothing has ■co■me back to the surface,
but more i■mp■ortantly, we're freezing to de■at■h,
so■ w■e're going ■Xto come in.
Copy that, Josh. That s■ou■nds good.
You guys■ b■e careful coming back in.■
GATES: W■e ■stayed in the area for the rest■ o■f the night
and qu■ie■tly observed the wat,
but the surface■ ■ remained unbroken,
■■ and no animal emerged.
As the sun bro■ke■ over the frigid waters of■ L■ake Va,
my tea■m ■and I were soaked to the bo■ne■
■Xand chilled to the■ c■ore.
We heade■d ■back to terra fira and wa■rm■ed up on a flight bak
to Los A■ng■eles, where we woud analyz■e ■our findings.
■ ■ Analysis of our thermal imag■ appeared to show something■
in exces■s ■of 20 feet in length in the■ w■ater.
■■ We scoured every frame of o■ur■ underwater footage
fo■r ■a more definitive view
■■ and, in th■Xe end, found that■,■
though somethi■ng■ appeared to move in front■ o■f our len,
we didn't ■ha■ve a clear enough picture
to confirm its ide■nt■ity.
■ ■These close encounters st■oo■d in sharp
■■contrast to the hard facts
that the lake is bi■ol■ogically fairly sparse
■■ and that logic dictates ■■ that a large creature
■■ would have trouble surv■iv■ing here.
■ ■BICHA: Wha■Xt's? What's that?■
Go, go■, ■go, go, Watch out.
■Bu■t since my entire team heard sp■la■shing,
■ ■ and since my boat was bumped■ ■ by something...
Whoa!
we wanted to expl■or■e every avenue.
■ We therefore took the or■ig■inl Van Lake footage
to Dr. Scott■ C■ooper,
a marine■ b■iologist at the University■ o■f Santa Barbara,
for ■ad■ditional scrutiny.
■■ The ■Xfirst thing we wt ■■to show you, Sco,
■■ is the amateur foote ■th■at sparked this whole sto,
■ so let's take a look■ a■t that.
■■ Yeah. One of my concer■ns■
is tha■t ■this looks like it's just some■th■ing rigid
■ ■ maybe being towed fr■om■ right to left.
They don't pan t■o ■the left, so you can't see■
if there's somethi■ng■ out in front of it.
And th■en■ we get to■Xs other bit of■ f■oota.
It doesn't look like ■■anything I know of,
■■ and if you look at■ t■he breathing,
there'■s ■no breathing in and o, in■ha■ling, exhaling.
It's just continuous■ b■ubbles as if there may be
an air hose or s■om■ething.
I mean, ■■ I will say this for.
At least in this cli■■ that looks biological to me.
Is there any pos■si■bily that we're looking
at som■et■hing biological here?
■■The only piece that puzzles me■ i■s the skin.
You know■, ■I don't know what that is.
■■It looks leathery.
■ It looks like tough skin, ■■but the other parts of it
doesn't look ■■credible to me.
■ ■Your gut instinct tells u ■ ■that we're probably lookg
■■ at a hoax here.
■ It does, yeah.
Having spent a f■ew■ ds at the lake,
■■ we had our own enco■un■tr
■ ■ where we saw somethig at■ t■he surface of the wat.
■■ You know, you can see a se■ris of either interconnected
or individual blac■k ■objes bobbing at the sur■fa■.
■Bu■t is there a possibili, do y■ou■ think,
that there c■ou■lde some large
unidenti■fi■ed anil living in Lake V■a?
One ■re■ason it's unlikely is tt this■ i■s a very salty lake,
an■d ■there's only one native fis■h ■species
■■ in this lake, the tare■k,■
and they only ■ge■t up
■ ■ ■Xto maximum length of a■bo■ut 8 inches.
So what do you■ t■hk maybe is going on here■
There could be a■ w■hole variety of phenomenon
th■at■ give the appearance of a monst■er■.
One is m■et■hane produced from bottom sedi■me■nts
that bubble to■ t■he surface in a line.
It c■ou■ld be schools of fish. Tarek oc■cu■r in schools.
■Fo■r me, the one thing that ts ■ ■story really has going fort
is a l■ot■ of eyewitness reports.
■■ Do you think we can leave ■ ■ door open at all to this sto■,
or■ d■o you think tt there's no■th■ing going on he?
■ ■ Scientists walk a tightr■op■e.
On o■ne■ hand, we don't want to say,
■ "Absolutely, there's noth■in■g there,"
because we may be ■pr■Xov■ed■ wrong.
On the other han■d,■ we can only interpret what we■ s■ee,
an■d ■from what I've seen,
there are probab■ly■ alternative explanations,
■■but the bottom line is, with a■ l■ake this big,
there's always po■ss■ibilities
■ ■that there's something there ■we■ don't know about.
GATES: Though it was■ ■ Dr. Cooper's opinion
that the o■Xri■gi■nal Van Lae footage may we■ll■ be a hoax,
we s■ti■ll have to contend with the■ f■act
that hundreds ■■ of local eyewitnesses
have come forward wi■th■ their own sightings.
■■ Our trip to the icy waters ■ ■of Van raised
■■as many questions as it an■sw■ered.
■■ The creature in the lake ■■has been called many things -
a ■my■th, a hoax and, as of late■, ■a monster.
■But with such an immense ■an■d impenetrable body
of water to invest■ig■ate,
■it■ can most certainly be cal■le■d one thing —
a mystery.