Original subtitles

KEVIN: The waves are so bad. The visibility is so bad.

We don't have much time left. If we have to bring in

a professional diver, so be it.

KEVIN: I need to be able to show Marty proof.

Let me know when you get to the bottom.

KEVIN: The stakes are really high.

-What is that? -There's another one.

-How many did you see total? -Four or five.

-KEVIN: Holy... -MARTY: Am I seeing

what I think I'm seeing here?

♪

KEVIN: It's gonna get cold out there.

-FRED: Yeah. -BRAD: Well, it's Michigan.

Pretty soon the lake's gonna freeze right over.

Yeah, you know, we don't have much time in this year left.

NARRATOR: In Muskegon, Michigan,

treasure hunter Kevin Dykstra,

his brother Al, along with history teacher

Brad Richards and researchers Jeff Zehr

and Frederick J. Monroe,

have gathered at Kevin's workshop

for an important meeting.

I mean, we got that footage on the bottom of the lake,

-and we can't get back to it. -BRAD: Well, it's Michigan.

-I mean, it's that time of year. -FRED: It's just treacherous.

-Yep, that's right. -Yeah.

KEVIN: Yeah, our days out there are definitely numbered.

You know, we've gotten kicked off the lake, but we've had

-some good successes. -Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.

BRIAN: Sonar's picking up a bunch of targets, guys.

KEVIN: If that boxcar came off on that car ferry,

it just broke apart,

-that's exactly what we'd look for. -BRIAN: Mm-hmm.

NARRATOR: Over the past several months, Kevin and his team,

aided by Oak Island treasure hunter Marty Lagina

and his son Alex,

have found compelling evidence of what could be the remains

of a 19th century boxcar on the bottom of Lake Michigan

believed to contain a reported $140 million

in stolen Confederate gold.

According to Kevin's research--

and a deathbed confession

made by a lighthouse keeper in the late 1800s--

as a portion of the gold was being transported

in a boxcar out West by millionaire Charles Hackley,

it was deliberately pushed off a ferryboat

and sent crashing to the bottom of Lake Michigan.

-Marty, how are you? -Hey, Kevin. How in the heck are you?

Just one week ago, Muskegon resident Kurt Hazard,

a direct descendant of one of the Union soldiers

possibly connected to the original theft of the gold

in 1865, presented to Kevin and Marty Lagina

physical proof that Confederate gold had indeed made its way

to Michigan after the Civil War.

Has it got friends at the bottom of Lake Michigan?

-It's definitely got some cousins down there. -Yeah.

-Get back out there. -KEVIN: When Marty

agrees to work on a project, he has to believe in it,

or he's not gonna be part of it.

It'd be very nice to have another thing put in my hand.

KEVIN: So to have Marty on board

pushes us even harder to get proof

that that gold is right there at the bottom of the lake

just waiting to be found.

That data from the sector scan

really pushed us a long ways.

You know, we've got the video footage

from the cameras; we did the metal detecting

down there; we got the sonar images from topside.

NARRATOR: Although Kevin and his team

are currently waiting for a permit

from the Army Corps of Engineers

to perform a more thorough search

for the boxcar in his target areas,

increasingly severe weather,

due to the oncoming fall season,

has prevented Kevin from obtaining

definitive proof that he has found the resting place

of the legendary boxcar.

And now time is running out

if he wants to prove that eight years of research

-is true. -KEVIN: Well, we've now received

a permit from the State of Michigan

for the dredging process.

Um, we're still waiting for the permit

from the Army Corps of Engineers before we can actually proceed.

The waves are so bad, the visibility is so bad,

Al and I are just not comfortable in those huge waves.

I mean, we're just not.

You know, we want to find that gold, but...

-you know... -JEFF: We know. I mean...

the-the lake is really hard to deal with.

As much as we want to find it and-and validate this,

it's not worth somebody getting hurt, so...

A fella reached out to me some time ago-- Mike Nelson.

This guy, he's not afraid

of any type of conditions out on the lake.

He told me, if-if we need help,

"Send me down first, I'll tell you what it's like out there."

You know, we're-we're all willing to go the extra mile

and do whatever it takes, but sometimes there's some wisdom

in bringing in a professional that's willing

to go in in any kind of conditions.

I think what we're gonna do is reach out to Mike,

get him on board and then continue the search.

-Yeah. Sure. -Great idea. I think that's a good idea.

I decided to bring in Mike Nelson.

He's a professional diver.

He's real accustomed to these types of waves.

Because right now the stakes have never been higher.

We're pushing weather. We've got bad weather

coming in-- we need to find

that gold on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Well, guys, we definitely got a plan.

Let's just make double sure

everything's ready for this dive.

Yeah. We will.

Gentlemen...

let's go find some gold.

KEVIN: So, you're good to dive?

MIKE: Yeah, we just got

to head out there, you show me where we're going.

NARRATOR: Two days after the team's meeting

in Muskegon, Kevin Dykstra has traveled some 120 miles north

to the city of Frankfort

to resume the team's investigation on Lake Michigan.

Joining him is professional diver Mike Nelson.

You know, Al and I always dive together,

but we're just not comfortable with getting

this late in the year and the waves

as large as they are. We tried last year

to get in when the waves were bad,

and I ended up on an ambulance.

-Oh, wow. -It's just...

it's just too risky for us.

Yeah, I mean, this time of year is notorious

for shipwrecks in Lake Michigan, from what I've learned.

About 5,000 plus.

-So totally makes sense. -And you're really comfortable

-with the rough seas, diving? -Oh, yeah.

I've dove all up and down the West Coast.

Oregon's pretty cold in the winter.

Alaska's gnarly, but...

Um, yeah, I'll be fine.

And I understand the waves here are a little different.

It's not sets, it's cross-chops, so your boat's...

-How is your captain? -Um, the captain is really good.

He's very good at keeping the boat into the wind.

Our biggest concern is, like I say, the waves, and...

on the flip side, if these waves are too big and you're not,

-then don't do it. -Definitely.

I'm pretty excited to go... go treasure hunting.

So you... do you still want to do the dive?

-You still want to go? -Oh, I'm on board. I'm all yours.

This sounds great.

KEVIN: You know, we would never be diving

this time of year, because the weather getsoo bad.

But to have Mike Nelson here, he kind of extends our season,

and we're very optimistic

about finding that gold.

-That's the boat? -Yeah, that's the boat

-right there. -Wow, that's a great setup.

And the sonar that's on it is unbelievable.

-Oh, really? -The pictures we get

-off of the bottom are so nice. -Nice. I'm excited to see.

KEVIN: Yeah, it does everything it needs to do.

MIKE: Nice.

The harbor looks calm, but I have a feeling

-once we get out there... -Yeah. We'll-we'll see

what it's really like when we get out there.

KEVIN: The conditions on Lake Michigan worsen

in the later part of the year.

The waves get bigger.

The frequency gets closer together.

It could easily wash somebody over the side of the boat.

-KEVIN: Hey, guys. -Hey. -Hey.

NARRATOR: Assisting in today's operation

are Kevin's brother Al,

Frederick J. Monroe,

who is also a certified divemaster,

and boat captain Luke Springstead.

Mike comes to us with a lot of experience.

He's dealt with these huge waves, and...

he can handle them a whole lot better than we can.

-You ready? -Oh, this is gonna be fun out there.

Yeah, we don't look at it as fun.

-But, um, it sure got cold. -Yeah. Yeah, it did.

Holy smokes!

-Winter is here. -MIKE: Yeah, definitely here.

I'm glad I have my dry suit, 'cause it's, uh,

probably gonna be in the 40s at depth.

So I'll be nice and toasty.

-KEVIN: Excellent, excellent. -Yeah.

All right, let's get underway.

♪

MIKE: So, what target area are we heading to right now?

Well, we had a real interesting target

-from Brian Abbott. -Okay.

NARRATOR: Over the past several months,

Kevin and his team, with the help

of underwater imaging expert Brian Abbott,

have utilized a sector scan sonar device

to create a detailed map of an area

more than a mile from shore.

Four weeks ago,

after identifying several potential target areas

for further investigation,

including a square man-made structure

as well as a large debris field to the north

containing numerous smaller and, curiously,

rectangular objects,

the team discovered what appeared to be

two sections of a large structure

within the debris field

matching the approximate dimensions

of a late 19th century boxcar.

BRIAN: We dhave a target over here.

I'm not sure what it is.

NARRATOR: It was in the same area,

one week earlier, that team members

Jeff Zehr and Darren Dykstra

made yet another astonishing discovery.

A rectangular-shaped object that Kevin believes

might be an actual bar of gold lying buried

under a layer of silt.

It looks like we might be able to get a dive in today.

Yeah, it looks pretty rough out, though. I mean, uh,

the waves are definitely closer together here,

I'm noticing, than you would have in the ocean,

so five-foot swell here or six-foot swell here is, like...

-That's deadly. -Yeah.

♪

KEVIN: When we start taking that boat away from the dock

and head out to the big lake,

that's when you start to see those waves.

And once they start crashing over that pier,

you really have to be on your A game,

because they can tear you up very quickly.

AL: Geez! Look at these things.

Look at the size of these things! Geez!

-I can't believe this is a lake. -Yeah.

Hang on, 'cause it's gonna rock us.

KEVIN: Over the last eight years,

Al and I and Fred, we've been working on Lake Michigan, and...

and you're at its mercy, there's no two ways about it.

So it doesn't matter what your excitement level is.

It doesn't matter how bad you want to get out onto that site.

The lake rules what you're gonna do.

And I'm totally worried we're running out of time.

AL: Holy moly!

KEVIN: All right, hang on, guys.

-We got some rollers coming in. -MIKE: Oh, boy.

It feels like a blender right now.

-Yeah. -Oh, yeah.

NARRATOR: Just off the coast of Frankfort, Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra and members of his team

are trying to navigate

the extremely rough waters of Lake Michigan

in an attempt to locate the remains of a sunken boxcar

and a reported $140 million

in stolen Confederate gold.

KEVIN: What we want to do, Luke,

is we're gonna turn right here.

You're gonna come right over the top

of that waypoint. That's where Brian Abbott

got that sector scan target

and what looks like those potential gold bars.

All right.

NARRATOR: Although the sector scans obtained

by Brian Abbott have provided Kevin and his team

a detailed map of their intended search area

within the debris field,

the seasonally rough waters are shifting

and altering the bottom of the lake on a daily basis.

This means that the GPS coordinates

of the mysterious objects below,

including the structure they discovered four weeks ago,

offer only an approximate guide

for the team to use in their attempt to locate them.

How far out are we?

-Oh, about a mile or so. -About a mile?

-Okay. That's not bad. -Yeah, so-so we got probably five,

-ten minutes to get out there. -Okay.

It is Kevin's hope that diver Mike Nelson

will be able to pinpoint the target areas

and precisely mark their exact location.

Well, we had a real interesting target from Brian Abbott

that we found with the sector scan.

-He said it was about 11 feet by seven feet. -By seven.

We felt that that could be a part of a boxcar.

-Oh, wow. -Looks like

-two pieces. -Oh, really?

-Yeah. -Yeah. Yeah.

Due to the fact that late 19th century railroad boxcars

measured 36 feet long by seven feet wide

and because the team has obtained sonar scans

of not just one large object

but also a debris field on the lake bottom,

it is Kevin's belief that the gold-heavy wooden structure

may have exploded upon impact when it was reportedly

pushed off a ferry over a century ago.

FRED: I think we should have the life jackets on.

KEVIN: Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

♪

You know, I'm very nervous at this point,

because this very well could be the dive that determines whether

we can find gold at the bottom of the lake.

So, if we have to push the envelope

on the weather conditions and the waves,

we're gonna do that.

Where are we at there, partner?

Well, we're pretty close.

We're... four seconds off of it north.

No, if you can get us to those numbers

that Brian gave you, then I think we throw

-a dive buoy out there. -Okay.

-I don't think we'll be able to anchor. -No.

I don't believe it for a minute.

How far away are we from it?

We're-we're right in the general area.

Can you get a buoy ready to throw?

-Yeah. -Be ready on a minute's notice

-to just launch it in. -All right.

All right.

Get us on the numbers, Mr. Luke, and...

we'll mark some gold bars.

-[laughs] -AL: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Although the lake waters are too rough

for Captain Luke Springstead to anchor the boat,

in order to accurately mark what is believed to be

the target position for diver Mike Nelson...

-You all set, Al? -Yep. I'm all set.

...the team will drop a dive buoy

tied to a 12-pound weight.

Say when.

Chuck it.

[grunts]

All right.

So, it looks like it was a successful deploy.

It didn't get tangled up or anything.

So, what are you thinking, Mike?

Well, I think I'm ready to suit up.

Is there anything else we should, uh, cover?

I really would like you to bring a camera down with you

to get some good clear video of it,

-if you're able to find it. -Oh, yeah. Totally.

The State of Michigan says we can film all day long,

but we may not touch anything.

Okay. Perfect.

So, we'll be looking for any kind of debris?

If you see any debris, film it.

Uh, make a mental note on how big it is.

Get good video of it.

That's all we can ask for.

So, I think, if Al's down there with the metal detector

and Mike's down there with the camera,

we're gonna find them gold bars.

Okay. I'll keep you updated. I'll-I'll make sure

to keep an open line of communication the whole time.

-Good with you, Fred? -Sounds perfect to me.

AL: Even though the weather is bad,

I get to join Mike on the dive.

I will be following right beside Mike with the metal detector.

He's gonna have the dive line and the camera,

and I will just be following him with a metal detector.

Well, I think I'm gonna get my wet suit on.

-All right. -MIKE: I'm glad I have my dry suit.

Definitely want to stay warm.

-Should we go get changed? -Let's do it, man.

NARRATOR: Because the temperature of the lake is currently

just above 50 degrees Fahrenheit,

Mike Nelson, who is prepared

to remain below longer if necessary,

will be diving in what is known as a dry suit.

This not only prevents water from touching his skin

but also allows him to wear a layer of insulating clothing

that will keep him warm and avoid

potentially deadly conditions such as hypothermia.

Mike, the minute you go in that water,

you report to me, talk to me,

and let me know when you get to the bottom.

During the operation,

Mike and Al will also wear full face masks,

allowing them to stay in constant communication

with team divemaster

Frederick J. Monroe.

You good?

I'm good, man.

All right. I'm concerned

that there's gonna be a pretty big surge.

You know, when the lake was this worked up,

the surges always follow.

So just keep your wits about you.

My advice to you is to surface and descend

as quickly as you can, safely.

-Got it? -Yep. -Sounds like a plan.

You guys ready to get in the water?

-I'm ready. -All right.

You know, every step of the way in this project,

nothing's been easy.

It's always a struggle.

No matter what you do, y-you're fighting equipment.

You're fighting the boat.

You're fighting the weather.

It's not enough of a struggle

to make us give up,

but am I ever glad that I brought Mike Nelson out here,

'cause he's comfortable in these conditions.

You feeling good, brother?

Yep.

This might be our only chance, Al.

It's getting rough.

So, you know, metal detect as much as you can,

as fast and effectively as you can.

All right, your comms are plugged in.

Soon as you get in the water,

make sure you got air in the vest.

Looks like you do. Um, I want a comms check

as soon as you get in.

We know there's gold out there,

so we're gonna exhaust every option to get out there

and find what's on the bottom of that lake.

Come hell or high water, we're gonna find that gold.

You good?

All right. Be safe, man.

Come on, Mike.

Let's get you in.

Your surface valve is closed, so you're gonna go right down.

Get over there to Al as fast as you can.

Give me a radio check.

Keep an eye on my brother, man.

Both divers are in.

Please confirm when you reach the bottom.

NARRATOR: Off the coast of Frankfort, Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra and members of his team,

along with professional diver Mike Nelson,

are searching for a mysterious structure,

along with a number of small rectangular objects,

which they believe could be the remains

of a 19th century boxcar reported to contain

$140 million in stolen Confederate gold.

How far is the visibility?

KEVIN: That's like searching in a closet.

Mm-hmm.

When the visibility is so short,

we could be right next to those gold bars

and not even see 'em.

NARRATOR: In order to ensure that they are performing

a thorough investigation of the lake bottom,

Mike and Al begin what is known as a circular search.

Securing themselves with rope,

which is connected to the buoy weight on the lake bottom,

Mike and Al will swim in a perfectly circular pattern

that becomes larger with each pass.

What do you see down there?

[filtered breathing]

Since they've been down already, the waves have picked up.

-They're a foot taller. -I'm thinking this is gonna be

the on dive we're gonna get in today.

Can I see that?

Mike, do you copy?

Do not go any further than 50 feet from that dive line.

This is just an educated guess,

but I'm gonna say to the north.

If you have to go anywhere, go north.

[steady beeping]

[rapid beeping]

-Yes. -Hit! He got a hit!

Oh, my God, we're going for it!

NARRATOR: Al Dykstra has just found

a non-ferrous object,

meaning that it contains no iron

and might be made of silver or possibly gold.

Follow the gold trail. Come on!

Talk to me!

What are you seeing?

[beeping]

Unfortunately,

the non-ferrous object that Al found

is nothing more than a so-called cannonball,

or lead weight, used by fishermen

to drag bait across the lake bottom.

That's nothing to get excited about unless it's gold!

Copy.

AL: It's very frustrating,

especially when, as I'm metal detecting,

I actually do get a non-ferrous hit.

But as I just hand-fanned it,

it turned out to be a cannonball.

It's lead, so it has

the exact same signature as gold.

FRED: Air check.

NARRATOR: What started out as an exciting dive operation

has become one of major frustration.

Let us know when you're going to ascend.

You've been sucking a lot of air,

and you've been down a while.

FRED: Copy that.

Well, evidently, we were in the wrong spot.

Or we could've been very close to it,

but we couldn't quite see it

because the visibility was about three feet.

KEVIN: It's a bitter pill, but the lake is in charge.

AL: The visibility was...

-So bad? -So bad. Like, three feet.

We were doing these humongous circle sweeps,

and the only thing I got was a cannonball.

I got a little excited.

That was a non-ferrous hit I was getting.

KEVIN: We heard you.

I don't know, guys.

These whitecaps are picking up. The wind is getting worse.

The small craft advisory is taking place

in less than an hour.

We're gonna have to get off the lake.

It's discouraging not hearing

Mike come across the radio saying,

"I have found gold bars,"

but it's not surprising.

We've been defeated on this lake many times,

but that doesn't mean that we're gonna stop.

We're gonna keep searching for this gold until we find it.

NARRATOR: Early the next morning...

KEVIN: So, you up for this?

...Kevin Dykstra and members of his team,

along with diver Mike Nelson and Captain Luke Springstead,

return to Lake Michigan

to resume their search operation.

KEVIN: You might have to do some circles around to find it,

but I'll do my best to get you right on top of it.

NARRATOR: Although current weather conditions

are calmer than the previous day,

the water temperature of the lake

has dropped more than ten degrees,

meaning it is just above freezing.

Because of this,

diver Mike Nelson

will be performing today's search operation

by himself.

You're gonna go to the dive ball,

go straight down the line

and then go to the west about 150 feet.

Boat to Mike. Talk to me, please.

Mike, are you on the bottom?

Copy that.

If he goes straight west 100 to 150 feet,

he stands a good chance of-of seeing it on his way over there.

Are you staying warm?

Any chills?

10-4. Thank you.

Now, Fred, he-he's got two tanks.

Those are two 100s,

-so he could be down there for a while. -Correct. Yes.

At the depth he's diving, he has a good hour.

Yeah.

FRED: Copy that.

[laughs]

I like your enthusiasm.

KEVIN: You know, I think the way these waves

have been worked up for the last few days,

that's probably why the visibility

-is so bad down there. -For sure it is. Yep.

When the waves get worked up, the visibility diminishes.

Yeah, you could be 20 feet away from your target

and never even know it.

Yep.

Are you having a hard time

keeping the boat in position, Luke?

-We're kind of doing a touch and go. -Back and forth?

-Yeah. -KEVIN: All right. Well, you're doing a good job so far,

-so keep it up, man. -LUKE: Thank you.

KEVIN: How long has he been down now, Fred?

FRED: He's been down 45 minutes now.

I would've thought he would've been on it by now.

He had to go 100 to 150 feet

before he could start searching, so...

-AL: Sure. -FRED: He's dealing

-with some serious currents. -KEVIN: Yeah.

NARRATOR: Although the team has the approximate GPS coordinates

for the mysterious structure and debris field,

strong currents and low visibility

can be disorienting and prevent even the most experienced diver

from finding objects in deep water.

Can you try to get him on the radio?

FRED: Boat to Mike. How are you doing?

FRED: Copy that. Thank you.

10-4. Thank you.

NARRATOR: Although Kevin and his team

believe they are in the general area

where they previously spotted possible gold bars,

low visibility is undermining Mike Nelson's search efforts.

He will now scan the area

by once again swimming in a circular pattern

in the hopes of locating evidence

of the boxcar and gold at the bottom of the lake.

FRED: He's been down one hour now.

Mike, what is your PSI pressure in your tank?

FRED: Copy that. You're getting low.

At 500, you've got to come up.

That's when I start getting nervous.

-Yeah. -KEVIN: When I get down to 1,500,

I feel like I got to constantly keep an eye on it.

Yep.

Copy that.

KEVIN: You know, these conditions

that we brought Mike in to dive are bad.

I was hoping that this isn't gonna be another defeat,

but it might be.

-Think it's getting windier. -KEVIN: Yeah.

Can you nose us into the waves?

-This is gonna kill us here. -Okay.

FRED: He's been down 70 minutes.

He needs to c-consider the decompression at this point.

Mike, I need to know your air pressure,

and do you realize you've been under over an hour?

[loud radio static]

Mike?

Boat to diver.

Boat to Mike?

Talk to me, please.

[radio static]

Mike, what are you seeing down there?

I think I found what you guys are looking for.

NARRATOR: It is an exciting moment

for Kevin Dykstra and his team...

...as professional diver Mike Nelson

has just made what could be an incredible discovery

at the bottom of Lake Michigan.

What are you seeing, Mike?

Oh.

Are you getting footage of what you're seeing?

NARRATOR: Although Mike is able to fan

the sand with his hands around the object,

as well as take video of it, without a permit,

he cannot pick up or even touch it.

What are you looking at?

[all laugh]

KEVIN: All right.

Copy that. We'll be here to pick you up.

You know, as I hear Mike on the comm

describe exactly what we've been looking for,

this is massive.

I wanted to suit up instantly

and get down there and see what he's found.

NARRATOR: After making several decompression stops

on his way to the surface,

diver Mike Nelson is ready to board the boat

for a much anticipated debriefing

with Kevin and the team.

AL: Oh, here he comes. Here he comes.

-KEVIN: Here he comes. -AL: Yep.

KEVIN: Al, jump back there and grab him.

Luke, you got to back up to him, man. Come on.

NARRATOR: It is becoming a tense situation

as the dangerously rough waters of the lake

are making it extremely difficult

for the team to get diver Mike Nelson

out of the water

and back on the deck of the boat.

KEVIN: All right, kill the prop.

LUKE: Prop killed.

AL: He's on the ladder.

KEVIN: Ooh, he's getting beat up down there.

-These waves are getting bad, Al. -AL: Yeah.

We need to get him in the boat

-and get out of here. -KEVIN: Hang on.

I'm very nervous at this point

because when that dive ladder is going up and down

four, five, six foot,

it's like trying to catch a freight train.

Well?

You guys are gonna want to see this.

I've never seen something like this before,

but it's what I think a-a gold bar

-would look like. You got to see this. -Seriously?

-KEVIN: Get that camera up here. -Oh, my gosh.

We got to go review this, man.

Hang on to that camera.

When you called me out here, I didn't expect this.

The visibility cleared up pretty good for us down there

-for that dive. -Did it?

Of course, right at the end of my tank.

KEVIN: How much air you got left?

We were about, I don't know, 250 after coming back up.

-Woah! Holy mackerel. -You're kinda cutting it way too close.

I cut it close, but I had to get those shots.

-What did it look like? -Like a gold brick.

I kept finding more and more, but I had to get up.

KEVIN: Let's grab that dive buoy.

I want to get back to watch that footage.

AL: Yeah, so do I.

Nice job, man.

♪

-AL: I'm excited. -KEVIN: Oh, man.

NARRATOR: Within hours of their exciting

dive operation in Lake Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra and the team gather

at the nearby Frankfort Fire Station

to review the footage obtained

by professional diver Mike Nelson.

I'm excited 'cause Mike's excited.

I think you guys are gonna be pretty interested

once you see this footage.

All right. Let me pull it up here.

AL: That is nice footage.

It is. It's clear.

Yeah, very clear.

-W-What is that coming up? -Oh, yeah. Look at there.

FRED: What is that?

AL: Holy crap.

-No freaking way. -MIKE: Mm-hmm.

-That looks like a gold bar to me. -Mm-hmm.

AL: That's crazy.

Holy crap!

KEVIN: When we reviewed that footage,

and I'd seen what looked like gold bars

on the bottom of the lake,

that's exactly what I had envisioned,

was gold bars, scattered about the bottom of the lake.

And that's what he's showing me.

I think Mike has found what we've been looking for.

Look at them all!

Yep, they're all over.

So h-how many did you see total?

I counted something, four or five.

About what you're seeing right there.

Holy cow.

AL: I can't believe it.

NARRATOR: Numerous gold bars?

Could Kevin and his team have finally found

some $140 million

in stolen Confederate gold that was reportedly dumped

into Lake Michigan more than a century ago?

KEVIN: I was kind of surprised

because the gold bar that we found last season

and the gold that we found this season

are not in the same area.

This just does not look familiar at all.

We're just fingers crossed that this is all gonna pay off.

Look at the sand ripples

and look at how that bar is right in the ripple.

-It's buried. -That's what I mean.

I think there's a lot more that we're not seeing.

-This is amazing. -AL: Yeah, I know.

Good job. Good job, Mike.

Thank you. I'm really excited about it.

We need to get this to Marty.

I think I'm gonna send this to Marty

-in an e-mail right now. -Okay.

-KEVIN: I think that's the best thing to do. -AL: Absolutely.

KEVIN: While I get this sent to Marty,

would you guys mind filling them tanks?

Getting them ready to go?

-Sure. We can do that. -Yeah, not a problem.

-Can go right now. -All right.

It's very exciting to know that eight years' worth of research

could be true right now.

To see gold on the bottom of Lake Michigan,

I'm really eager to get Marty's opinion.

[line ringing]

MARTY: Hello?

KEVIN: Hey, Marty.

Kevin, I got your e-mail. What am I looking at?

-Open that attachment. -Yeah.

KEVIN: Mike Nelson, a diver with us,

came back with this footage

from the bottom of the lake,

and, uh, we needed to get it to you right away.

Okay. Hang on a minute. It'll take a second.

ALEX: Here we go.

MARTY: Oh, man.

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing here?

KEVIN: This is very compelling footage.

MARTY: Unbelievable.

NARRATOR: In Frankfort, Michigan,

treasure hunter Kevin Dykstra, along with his brother Al,

have just sent video footage

to Marty and Alex Lagina

of what could be an incredible discovery.

They may have just found the resting place

of millions in lost Civil War gold

on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

MARTY: Wow.

Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing here?

I mean, it's amazing.

They look like bars, don't they?

They're the right shape.

Kevin, it's real exciting.

I mean, I need an explanation for all this.

Is this really what I think it is?

Well, it looks like gold bars

just laying on the bottom of the lake.

They damn sure do.

-Unbelievable. -[Alex chuckles]

-Right at the end of the year, too. -Yeah.

I mean, that is really cool footage.

What else could the bloody things be?

This footage is astounding.

I obviously got involved 'cause I thought

there was a possibility this might work.

But most ventures like this, in my experience,

you know, they're sort of high risk, high reward.

It's just the nature of the beast.

And then all of a sudden,

to see gold scattered on the seafloor,

which is what he pitched, you know,

it's-it's one of those "too good to be true" moments.

But I don't know what else to think,

but maybe they've done it.

It's amazing.

I take it you're going to send another diver down,

maybe with a metal detector.

Tell me what your plan is.

Try and go back to the scene?

What-what-what are we gonna do?

Hopefully, the weather will calm down just a bit

because it's really worked up,

but we're getting our tanks filled right now.

We're gonna get down there with a metal detector.

If we get non-ferrous hits on these bricks,

boy, that's gonna be a sure telltale sign

that we have found that gold.

MARTY: Actually, that kind of reminds me.

If we had all our permits,

and I thought we had the permit,

why didn't he pick them up?

What's the deal with that, Kevin?

You know, Marty, legally we can't touch them.

All we can do is get video of them.

We do not have the-the full permit in hand.

We are working forward on that.

We've got the permit from the State of Michigan,

but we're waiting on the one

from the Army Corps of Engineers,

and unfortunately, we have to have both permits

in hand, on the site

in order to do more investigation.

Yeah, I mean, this is, this is just maddening

to be that close and not be able to pick that thing up.

ALEX: Yeah. Yeah.

It feels amazing to know that the state has given me

their permission to dig in the bottom of Lake Michigan,

but it's very frustrating that we don't have the permit

from the Army Corps of Engineers.

We have never been as close to that gold

as we are right now.

I feel that gold is just within inches of our hands.

We just can't touch it.

Well, get a diver back down

with a metal detector. I mean, we need

to find this out before the weather closes in on us.

KEVIN: Yep. We're definitely fing the weather.

That lake out there is brutal.

Those waves kick up, and-and...

Al and I just feel like it's a little beyond our-our ability.

No, this is, this is...

-Bring in the guns? -Yep. [laughs]

AL: Yeah, the heavy hitters.

NARRATOR: John Chatterton is one

of the most renowned divers and treasure hunters in the world.

With over 40 years of experience searching

in the most extreme underwater environments,

from shipwrecks, such as the HMSTitanic,

to the 235-foot-deep borehole

on Oak Island, known as 10-X.

Last year, after Kevin was injured

while attempting a dive operation late in the season,

Marty arranged for John,

and his partner Howard Ehrenberg,

to help the team locate the debris field

and investigate what they believed

could be a portion of the legendary boxcar.

ALEX: I'll give them a call and see if they're available.

KEVIN: That's great news, Alex. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

We'll all be praying that they're available

and let us know as soon as you get ahold of them.

ALEX: Sounds good.

MARTY: John and Howard are very good,

but weather is clearly a risk factor at this point.

November, the fall, late part of the season

on Lake Michigan can be very nasty,

but you can't see the eagerness in Kevin's eyes

and how genuine he is and how enthused he is,

and not want him to succeed, of course I do.

I would pursue every avenue possible.

Get after it. This is really, really quite exciting.

I mean, like you say, it's almost

-too good to be true. -Yep.

Get back down there and, I mean,

do what's-- whatever's legal, let's do it.

I know we can metal detect, so let's do that.

And-and you should be able

to distinguish ferrous from non-ferrous.

I mean, you know, let's, let's get back to the bottom.

Why aren't you underwater yet?

[laughter]

KEVIN: All right, Marty.

-I'll be in touch, all right? -Yeah. Bye.

NARRATOR: For Kevin Dykstra and his team,

a legend about a boxcar of gold

at the bottom of Lake Michigan appears more than ever

to not only be a true story, but also connected

to one of the most shocking conspiracies

in American history.

Now, as their window of opportunity

to confirm an incredible discovery

is about to close for the year,

could millions in stolen Confederate gold

still be within their reach?

Or will they find that the forces

that have kept it hidden for more than 150 years

are far from letting it go?

Next time on The Curse of Civil War Gold...

-KEVIN: We're ready to go. -Let's go find the gold.

NARRATOR: ...a special season finale.

KEVIN: We're bringing in the best divers.

AL: Diver in the water.

You're right in the area where the gold bars are.

-So, no gold. -ALEX: We're not successful

in tracking them down.

We weren't in the right place.

KEVIN: This could be our very last chance

of finding that gold.

I told you there was gold down there!

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