Original subtitles

[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 Goddamn 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 8.0 in magnitude.

[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?