All language subtitles for The.Alaska.Triangle.S02E05.Ghosts.of.Independence.Mine.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP2.0.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[Drew] Alaska,
a vast remote wilderness

twice the size of Texas.

You could walk for a year
without seeing another person.

[Drew] In one of the most
mysterious corners

of the globe.

Everything in your being
is telling you

to get the hell out of there.

[Drew] This is a place
hundreds of times

more deadly
than the Bermuda Triangle.

Oh, my God.

[Drew]
Stories of alien abductions.

That was definitely something
not from this world.

[Drew] The paranormal,
vanishing airplanes,

and strange beasts.

Bigfoot could be
anywhere in Alaska hiding out.

[Drew] Have haunted
those who dare set foot here.

Who's that?

Now I feel like
something's after me.

[Drew] In the last
30 years, 16,000 people

have disappeared
without a trace.

In the vastness
of this country,

it's easy to be
swallowed up in it.

[Drew] Witnesses tell us

- their shocking stories.
- I was horrified.

[Drew] And we've gathered
some of the world's

leading experts
in their field.

[man] I wanted to go out
and get the evidence myself

and say this is real,

this stuff exists.

[Drew] To try and unlock

the mystery
of the Alaska Triangle.

[dramatic music playing]

[Drew] The extent
of paranormal activity

in the Alaska Triangle
is staggering.

Journey here
and you're bound to get

more than you bargained for.

[Andrew] Alaska is one
of the most haunted places

on the planet.

Apparitions come out
of nowhere

and then disappear again.

For centuries,
travelers have come here

only to meet
their untimely fate.

In Alaska, the dead continue
to haunt the living.

[Drew] The paranormal
activity here is nothing new.

It's bound up
in the history of Alaska.

[Jeff] The Alaska Triangle
does seem to have

a higher level
of spiritual activity

than other parts
of the country.

And I think in part
it's because

of the history of the space.

[Drew] And the history
of Alaska is one of mining.

There's a lot of people
who believe there are spirits

that are not at rest,

people who had died
in cave-ins

and their spirits
are still up here with us.

[Drew] Spirits
that are not only here

but are reaching out

ever ready to taunt
and terrify.

[John] What's your name?

- [Holliday speaking]
- [gasps] No.

What?

[Drew] Are these ghosts

the result of the triangle

biting back?

At the turn
of the last century,

settlers were lured to Alaska

by the riches of the land.

They came
with one thing in mind,

to make their fortune.

Back then,
Alaska was the last frontier.

The men were tough
and single-minded

and they set to work
tearing into the earth

in search
of its precious minerals.

A few did succeed
and became rich,

but many died in the process.

Today, these old mines
are alive with hauntings.

And the old mining towns
are now ghost towns.

The old copper mine
of Kennecott

is perched
high in the mountains

of Wrangell-St. Elias
National Park.

In 1916 alone,

this one mine produced
copper ore

worth over $30 million.

The wealth taken out
of Alaska at that time

was extraordinary
and by the 1930s,

the value of the minerals

that had been extracted

was over three-quarters
of a trillion dollars.

Now what's interesting
is that today,

the Alaska Triangle
is one of the most

haunted places
in the United States,

if not the entire world.

Something really odd
is going on here.

[Drew] The mine at Kennecott

is renowned for its ghosts.

But it's far from alone.

There are haunted mines
all over Alaska

and one of the most eerie
and spectacular is this,

Independence Mine.

High up in the mountains
of the Triangle,

nestled in Hatcher's Pass,

Independence Mine
wasn't a copper mine.

Here, they mined
for the ultimate prize,

gold.

Author and historian
Steve Levi

has written extensively
about gold mining in Alaska.

[Steve] The Independence Mine
is the largest goldmine

in South Central Alaska.

It was started in 1906
by Robert Lee Hatcher.

Hatcher was out hunting
rabbits with his dog,

fired at a rabbit,
and the buckshot

hit the side of a rock ledge
and it opened up

and he realized
there was gold there.

[Drew]
Once gold was discovered,

mining started straight away

and then the mine
grew and grew.

We're talking about
200 to 300 employees.

We are talking about
maybe 20 miles of tunnels.

It's a huge mine.

[Drew]
The miles of tunnels ripped

through the very fabric
of the land

and extracted millions
of dollars' worth of gold.

Now, it's totally deserted,

except, so it's said,
for ghosts.

[Steve] There have been a lot
of tales of ghosts

in the Independence Mine
and that's not unreasonable

considering the number of men

who probably died
in the tunnels.

These guys, they would go in
with picks and shovels,

and they would start
pounding away at a rock wall.

You'll think you're
digging out a little rock

and you pull it out
and all of a sudden,

you'll get a collapsing
of the tunnel.

You'll get rocks
falling on you,

broken bones are not unusual,

deaths are not unusual.

Mining is a very
dangerous enterprise.

[Drew] Independence Mine
is now open to visitors.

Kristi Short is a guide here.

She's lived in the area
her whole life.

Since she's been
working here,

Kristi has experienced
some strange goings-on

in the mine buildings.

Rumor has it
that the paranormal activity

is emanating from the top
floor of the bunkhouse.

[Kristi] Upstairs is creepy.

We don't go up there.

We... There's no reason
for us to go up there.

So when we do tours,
we come on the second floor

of the bunkhouse here,
show people around,

and then we head
to the next house.

So we just...

We just stay out of there.
That's not...

Not some place
you really wanna go.

[Drew] Stories
from the mine are now known

even beyond Alaska.

Jeff Richards is a paranormal
investigator from Canada

who's been researching
the history of the site.

[Jeff] At the top
of Independence Mine,

there's a room that not even
those who work there today

will go into.
It's out of bounds.

No one is permitted
entry into this room

because of the number
of experiences

that people have had
over the years

and how negative
that they are.

The last employee
to go into the room

has vowed to never return
because of the presence

that they felt in that space.

They felt
they were not alone at all.

And, I mean,
it happens with good reason

as the story goes in
the early years of the mine,

there was somebody
who actually hung himself

in that room.

Perhaps that spirit persists
and stays there even today.

[Drew]
The rooms above the mess hall

are also kept off limits
to the public.

[Andrew] Just recently,
a guide was upstairs

and heard footsteps
coming up the stairs,

he turned around
to investigate

and nobody was there.

But he saw that the old clock

which hadn't worked in years
was now ticking.

Even more strangely,
it was going backwards.

[clock ticking]

On another occasion,

a guide was checking out
the rooms.

Nobody had keys
except himself

and he was the last one
to have been there.

He noticed that on the table
were some cards

and he looked closer

and realized that
they spelled out two words,

"HELP ME."

[Drew] But even more haunted
than the mine buildings

are the tunnels themselves.

It's in the tunnels where
the men worked and died.

[Kristi] Here we go.

[Drew] For safety reasons,

the mine tunnels
are closed to the public.

In fact, even Kristi
and the other guides

rarely venture into them.

[Kristi] So do I think that
there are spirits down here?

Absolutely.

Absolutely.

There's definitely
something down here

that I can't explain.

I'm sure that the miners
that were here

left an impression
and I believe their energy

is still here for sure.

That's absolutely true.

[Drew] It's not uncommon
for hikers and visitors

to report the sound of mining
emanating from the shafts.

[Kaisa]
Those men are still up here,

they think they're still here
mining away.

[Drew] And there are
times when daring to go

into these tunnels has led
to not just an eerie feeling

- but pure terror.
- [woman screaming]

[dramatic music playing]

[Drew] Across Alaska,
there are mines

left over from the gold rush.

Men from many countries
died here

and stories of ghosts
are common.

[Andrew] Thousands of people
have gone missing here

and died.

This is where the spirits
of the dead roam free.

It has to be one of the most
dangerous places on earth.

[Drew] And nowhere
is more haunted

than Independence Mine
at Hatcher's Pass.

In fact, paranormal activity

seems to also plague
the surrounding area.

Historian and author
Steve Levi

has been looking into
a tragic story from 2019.

[Steve] To this day,
unusual things happen

around the Independence Mine.

There was someone
who was living in a hut

near the mine and one day
he simply vanished.

They really don't know
what happened to him,

he was just gone.

[Drew] The man was living
alone in an isolated valley

with no road access.

When communication stopped,

a flyby showed no sign
of life at the cabin.

[Andrew] A big search
was undertaken

for this missing man.

The hut,
it was in complete order

but there was no trace of him.

And he had just vanished,

never to be found again.

Now that's just over the hill

from the Independence Mine.

Strange occurrences like this
seem to be happening

a lot in this area.

[Drew] But it's the
ghostly sound of the miners

that's the most
commonly reported

paranormal experience here.

Kaisa Stenberg lives locally

and has hiked around the mine
many times.

She's heard for herself the
ghostly sound of the miners

coming from deep
within the mineshafts.

It literally was like

what you would hear
in a movie,

a pickaxe upon stone

trying to chip away
that rock to find gold.

Those men are still up here.

They think they're
still here mining away.

[Drew] On one occasion,
Kaisa was with her sister

and they both heard
the blasting of rocks

from deep underground.

At first, I thought
maybe there was an earthquake,

and I looked at my sister,

and we knew that
this is not an earthquake.

The type of rumble
we were hearing was like

the impact of something
that had exploded,

like someone used dynamite,

and it was very unnerving.

I'm pretty sure what we heard

was the lingering presence
of someone

who was exploding dynamite,

and that was pretty scary.

I just got
the very distinct feeling

that we should not be there.

[Drew] In fact, it seems
that strange occurrences

around the mine are becoming
ever more frequent.

[Kristi] So,
there has been an increased

number of hauntings
happening up here,

sightings, hearing things.

[Jeff] One of the most
disturbing stories

comes from a young woman
who was hiking in the region.

She stopped to rest,
just outside

of one of the shafts,
and began to hear

a strange noise coming
from somewhere in the area.

She realized quickly
that this was actually coming

from inside
of the mine shaft.

And she thought this was
somebody who is in distress,

somebody who had had
an accident.

[man crying]

So she went to go see
who was hurt.

[man crying]

[Kristi] And she got further
and further into the tunnel,

and it became
more and more intense.

[man screams]

[Kristi]
But there was nobody there.

- [woman screams]
- [man grunts]

There are spirits here.

[Drew] It's because
of stories like this

that Independence Mine
is now known

as one of the most
haunted places

in the Alaska Triangle.

And it's this reputation
that has attracted

the attention
of a local paranormal group

called Alaska Ghost Hunters.

The team have always wanted
to investigate here.

And now, for the first time,

they've gained access
to the old mine buildings.

It's here that they think

any spirits of the miners
would reside.

Lead investigator,
John Francis,

is convinced the buildings
are haunted

by souls
that are lingering on.

[John]
Well, there's a couple reasons

why spirits might linger.

One is they're afraid
of being judged.

They could have done
something in their life

where they don't wanna
answer to.

And another reason
is they died so quickly,

that they don't even realize
they passed away.

[Drew] John is being
joined on this investigation

by his ghost hunting
colleagues,

Sarah Godfrey
and Jamie Kokoszka.

Jamie's grown up with stories
about the haunted mines.

There are a lot of people

who have wandered
into this area,

and they never came back out.

There are people who died
very painful deaths,

or they're suffocated,
and basically died

before their time.

[Drew] In the old bunkrooms,

the team set up
low light video cameras

to capture any movement.

And they have
specialist electronic sensors

to detect unusual activity.

If they do manage
to communicate

with the spirits,
then they may be able

to ascertain the reason
behind their presence.

But even before they finish
setting up their equipment,

there's a sign
of some ghostly activity.

[Jamie]
The flashlight just turned on.

Hello.

[Drew]
With no one touching it,

the flashlight
turned itself on.

For ghost hunters,
this is a recognized way

for spirits to reach out.

[Jamie] Is there someone
in this room with us?

If there's anyone
in this room with us,

you can talk to us
through this box.

[Drew] This is a
especially designed device

called a spirit box,
that takes electronic signals

from the air, and passes them

through word recognition
software.

In this way,
the team believes

that the spirits are actually
able to talk to them.

What country are you from?

[Holliday speaks indistinctly]

[Drew] The noise
isn't clear, but slowly,

words become discernible.

[Holliday speaking]

What's your name?

[Holliday speaking]

[Jamie speaking]

[Drew] The words make no
sense to the ghost hunters,

but guide Kristi
has agreed to listen

to the team's recording.

And it's when she reviews

the ghost hunters'
low light video,

recorded in one
of the bunk rooms,

that the true significance
of these words

comes to light.

[Holliday speaking]

Teacher? Whoa.

[Holliday speaking]

[Kristi]
Oh, my God, I'm shaking. Oh.

[tense music playing]

[Drew] One of the most
haunted mines in Alaska

is Independence Mine
at Hatcher's Pass,

high in the mountains
of the Alaska Triangle.

An experienced
ghost hunting team

has been conducting
a thorough investigation,

trying to reach out
to the spirits.

[Jamie] We didn't seem
to find any unusual

electromagnetic activity.

However, the spirit box
seemed to be responding to us.

Normally, it makes a bunch
of gibberish sounds,

but there were some
distinct words

that did come out of the box.

It was just kind of difficult
to understand exactly

what it was trying to tell us.

[Drew] The clearest sounds

were recorded
on the audio track

of a low light camera
that they've set up

in an old bunkroom
at the mine.

We've sent this footage
to paranormal investigator,

Jeff Richards.

As a ghost hunter himself,
Jeff is well-practiced

in the use
of these spirit boxes.

In this clip,
we see an investigative team,

and they're using a device
that moves through

banks of words,
and draws them

based on
environmental readings

that are being taken,
electromagnetic frequency,

temperature, humidity,
different things,

the ideas that spirit
can manipulate the environment

to draw out certain words.

[Holliday] Teacher.

So we do hear
the word teacher.

[Holliday] Drunk.

Bottle.

And then, we hear words
that might be drunk,

possibly bottle.

[Holliday] Help.

[Jeff]
Yeah, that's very interesting.

I can clearly
make out the word help.

That's certainly
what it sounds like to me.

[Holliday] Help.

[Jeff] It's entirely possible
though that these words

are coming
from different spirits.

It's not uncommon to have
two or three spirits

try to communicate,
once that doorway

of communication
has been opened.

[Drew]
Back at Independence Mine,

guide Kristi Short
is preparing to view

the same footage
from the ghost hunting team.

With a good knowledge
of the mine's history,

if anyone can make sense
of the words

from the spirit box,
it will be her.

[Jamie]
Is there someone in the room?

Looks like
they're in the bunkhouse.

[Holliday] Teacher.

[Kristi] Teacher? Whoa.

- [Holliday] Lake.
- [Kristi] Lake?

[Holliday] Out.

- [Jamie] Out?
- Out?

[Holliday] Net.

Net. I heard net.

[Holliday] Send more help.

[Kristi] Send more help.

[Holliday] Wine, drunk.

[Kristi] Okay. So,
what I've heard so far

is teacher, outside, net,

send more help, wine, drunk.

The hair on my head
is standing up right now.

This is so crazy.
So I'm sitting literally

in the teacher's desk.

There were two teachers
that taught here

when the mine was open.

There is Mr. Brown.

And Mr. Brown,

his demise is really sad.

He actually,
during the summertime,

went to a fish trap,

and he died.

And there was the second
teacher that was here,

and his name was Mr. Dickey.

And Mr. Dickey,

he got caught under some ice,

and drowned.

So, both teachers

that were teaching here
at the mine died.

I'm a little freaked out
right now.

Oh, my God, I'm shaking. Oh.

[Jeff] The spirit box,
I do believe

that they give us a direct way
to communicate with the dead.

We can hear their voices
coming through

in a very direct way,
and the Alaska Triangle

can be the draw for a spirit
from the other side.

[Drew] Kristi's been
shaken by what appears

to be references
to the two teachers,

but nothing has prepared her
for what comes next.

[Holliday speaking]

- Help.
- [John] Help.

What's your name?

[Holliday speaking]

- [gasps]
- [Jamie] Holliday?

- No.
- [Jamie] Holliday?

What?

Oh, my God.

Just to hear it, wow.

[tense music playing]

[Drew] At Independence Mine,

deep within
the Alaska Triangle,

guide Kristi Short
is reviewing a video

filmed by a local
ghost hunting team.

The words spoken
by the team's spirit box

are having a striking impact.

[Holliday speaking]

[Jamie speaking]

[John] What's your name?

- [Holliday speaking]
- [gasps]

- [Jamie] Holliday?
- No.

What?

Oh, my God.

Just to hear it, wow.

Actually, hearing that,

uh, we have to go upstairs.

We have to go upstairs.
[chuckling]

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

This is crazy.

Right here on the wall,

it says Holliday.

He died July 1st, 1941.

That's...

That's really intense
actually.

Why am I crying?

So, um, yeah,

I don't know anything else
about, uh, Mr. Holliday.

But I know that this is here.

[Drew] The writing
on the wall reads

Holliday, July 1st, 1941.

Died in the bullpen.

[Kristi]
Like, I'm shaking, and, like,

the hair keeps standing up
on my head

and on my arms,
and I know I'm not cold.

I'm wearing like
two pairs of pants,

and three shirts. [laughing]

That's just bizarre.

[Drew] It's thought
that Mr. Holliday died

in this very room,
known as the bullpen,

possibly after sustaining
an injury.

The inscription on the wall
was written

by his fellow miners
as a memorial to him.

Ugh, that's crazy.

That is crazy.

Oh, my God.

[Andrew]
It sounds far-fetched,

and obviously,
it's impossible to prove,

but some of the results

of these spirit boxes
are extraordinary.

This is Alaska for you.

This is where the paranormal
comes alive.

And Independence Mine
just epitomizes

the weirdness that goes on

in the Alaska Triangle.

[Jeff] There does seem to be
a heightened level

of activity
within the Alaska Triangle.

Spirits do seem
to be almost alive,

more so in Alaska, than other
parts of the world.

It is a state that was based
on a high degree of hope.

We have numerous individuals
who came to Alaska

because it was
this amazing frontier,

where they were trying

to make a better life
for themselves.

Sometimes,
that didn't work out,

sometimes there were
tragedies attached,

and sometimes
those aspirations

were met with disappointment.

All of these things

do tend to bring about

a stronger connection
for the spirit

to the physical world.

[Drew] And there's
nowhere where this connection

is stronger
than at Independence Mine

at Hatcher's Pass.

For Kristi, life at the mine
will never be the same.

[Kristi] I am blown away.

I cannot... I cannot
believe what I'm hearing.

Genuinely,

that was freaky. That...

That was freaky.

[Drew] The ghosts of
Independence Mine are here,

and here to stay.

But the paranormal activity
of the Alaska Triangle

isn't limited to ghosts.

Strange creatures are said
to roam the wilderness,

and one of the largest
and most terrifying

is reputed to live
in the treacherous,

snowcapped mountains
that stretch menacingly

across the state.

Evidence is building
that Alaska is home

to its very own
abominable snowman,

- the Alaskan Yeti.
- [yeti roars]

[upbeat music playing]

[Drew]
The Alaska Triangle is alive

with stories of strange
monstrous creatures.

In the dark interior,

Bigfoot is said
to roam freely,

blending in and out
of the forests,

and wreaking terror.

But the snowy peaks
may also be home

- to another ape-like beast.
- [yeti growls]

[Drew] The white Bigfoot.

[Chuke] So we are getting
some reports,

of people sighting
these Bigfoot-type creatures

that actually have
white-colored fur.

[Andrew] A giant ape
with white fur

in the snowy mountains
of Alaska?

Surely this is the yeti.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Drew] Strange sightings
from high in the mountains

of the Alaska Triangle
are now beginning

to come to light,
of a large creature

that can only be described
as an abominable snowman.

Alaska's very own yeti.

[Chuke] These creatures
that are sighted,

these humanoid,
ape-like creatures,

they're very tall,
very shaggy.

They've got extremely
long limbs.

Obviously,
they're very strong.

I think they're more than
capable of surviving

in this harsh landscape.

[Andrew]
They're similar to Bigfoot,

but more prone to attack.

Many investigators believe
that the Bigfoot

is more closely related
to humans,

while the abominable snowman
or yeti

is more of a violent
ape creature,

and reports of this creature
have been coming in

from the Alaska Triangle.

[Drew] As an expert
hunter and tracker,

Chuke Rowley has been looking
into some of these reports,

and one from the '80s
jumps out at him,

as it comes from none other
than the commander

of the US Military
Special Forces Team.

[Chuke] So I have
a report here from 1988

about a military team
of special forces in Alaska

that had a sighting.

This team went out
for a training exercise,

they had cross-country skis,

a lot of equipment,
and snow shoes.

[Drew] The team were high
up in the Alaska Triangle,

just north
of the Brooks Mountain Range.

They had been flown
by helicopter

to a remote location
for cold weather training.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Chuke] Now, very quickly,
on their march,

they see these tracks.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Chuke]
The snow is two feet deep,

and they're finding
these tracks

with a five-foot stride.

I mean, they could barely get

one and one half feet stride,

walking in this deep snow.

It's a bipedal animal.

So the tracks are huge.

[Drew]
From the impact on the snow,

the team was able
to calculate

that this mysterious beast
was in the region

of an incredible 600 pounds.

From that, they estimated
a staggering height

of nine feet.

[Chuke] After a while
of following these tracks,

they hear
a blood-curdling howl.

[yeti howling]

[Chuke] A low-pitched scream

coming from the woods,

directed at them.

[yeti howling]

[Chuke] The whole team felt
it was a warning,

and it was at that point
that the captain decided

to pull the plug
on the mission,

and head back
to the helicopter.

[yeti howling]

[Chuke] The way it's written,

the details given
about the gear

and the landscape,

I tend to feel that this is
a credible report.

[Drew] Cliff Barackman
is an expert cryptozoologist

with a deep knowledge
of natural habitats.

He sees a clear link
between the yeti of Alaska,

and the more famous
Himalayan yeti.

[Cliff]
A lot of the habitat in Alaska

actually resembles that
of the Himalayas.

High altitudes,

cold temperatures,
deep valleys.

So if an animal like the yeti
could live in the Himalayas,

something like that
can certainly live in Alaska.

[Drew] And there is
remarkable evidence

from the Himalayas,

that the yeti
does exist there.

[Andrew] Look at this.

It's one of the first photos
of a yeti footprint.

It was taken by
British explorer Eric Shipton,

high up at 19,000 feet
in the Himalayas.

He's put his axe next
to it for scale,

the footprint measures
13 inches.

It clearly looks like
the footprint of a giant ape.

[Drew] In 1986, while
trekking in the Himalayas,

renowned mountaineer
Reinhold Messner,

saw an upright
ape-like creature,

about seven feet tall,
hurtling between the trees.

[yeti growls]

[Drew] And in 1973,

an American
scientificexpedition

reported mysterious
footprints in the snow

that resembled those
of a mountain gorilla.

But there are no gorillas
in the Himalayas,

or any other known
large apes.

The expedition zoologist,
Jeffrey McNeely, said,

"It seems quite clear
that the tracks belong

to an animal which is still
unknown to science."

A plaster cast
of the footprint

found on this expedition
was made at the site.

And the size
of this footprint,

together with the one
in the icepick photo,

is a good match
for the footprints

seen in Northern Alaska
by the Special Forces team.

[Chuke] I would say
that the legends

of the yeti
of the Himalayans,

the abominable snowman,

is extremely similar
to our legend here in Alaska,

it's really amazing.

To me,
it just makes a lot of sense

that they could be
a distant cousin,

or somehow, a creature
may have traveled over here.

[Drew] A common ancestor
could easily

have crossed over
the Bering land bridge,

the extended ice cap

that used to connect
Asia and America.

[Cliff] You look at
the woolly mammoth,

you look at horses, bears,

all of these animals
have origins in Asia.

How did they get here?
The Bering land bridge.

[Drew] Once it arrived
in the snowy,

rugged terrain of Alaska,

this ancient creature
could easily disappear

into the vastness
of the landscape.

While Cliff explores
below the snow line,

Chuke heads up
into the mountains

to see for himself
the natural habitat

of this awe-inspiring
creature.

If the yeti does exist
in Alaska,

it's landscape like this
that will be its home,

perilous
and seemingly endless.

We're in the Alaska Triangle.

This land will swallow you up.

[Drew]
Much of the Alaska Triangle

is isolated wilderness.

The snow-capped
mountain ranges

are dangerous terrain
for climbers and hikers.

But there could be
a more sinister reason

for people disappearing here.

[Andrew] I do believe
that there is a mysterious,

dangerous, ape-like creature

that inhabits
the snowy mountains

of the Alaska Triangle.

There have been too many
sightings not to believe it.

[Drew] But it's not just
in the mountains.

In the southwest of Alaska,

below the high peaks,
lies Lake Iliamna.

For generations, locals here
have been talking

of a creature known
as the Big Man.

Peducia Andrews has lived
in the area her whole life.

She's grown up
hearing these stories.

It's just different things
that people have experienced,

weird noises,
and thrashing of the trees,

and we just feel like

something is right there,
watching us.

[Drew] One day,
in mid-winter,

Peducia watched as one
of her neighbors set off

into the woods
on a hunting trip.

He never came back.

[Peducia]
He did not make it home,

and that night, it started
snowing and snowing,

pretty soon, we have
about three, four feet.

And the next day,
a bunch of guys

on snow machines
went to look for him.

They saw where he made a fire
under a tree,

and then, it's like he got
real scared of something.

[yeti growls]

[Drew] The men searching
for the missing hunter

could see that something
had spooked him.

From the side of the fire,

footsteps ran off
into the trees.

[Peducia] He took off,
running on the ice,

in the deep snow,

and pretty soon,
there was no more tracks,

and we don't know why.

[yeti growls]

[Drew] The footsteps
suddenly stopped,

but there was no sign
of the man.

It's as if he disappeared
into thin air.

It's a big mystery.

[tense music playing]

[Drew] Cliff Barackman
has been exploring the area

around Lake Iliamna,

and he's unearthed
an intriguing report,

centered upon
the local airfield

that may provide a clue.

Back in 1978, a flight
controller was leaving work,

when he noticed
a strange shape

over by the radio tower.

At first, he thought it was
a large bear of some sort,

but it soon became
very obvious that it wasn't.

Well, the guy was scared,
so he shot at the thing,

and he is certain that
he hit it dead in the chest.

[gunshot]

[Cliff] The creature
backed up a few steps,

turned, ran across
the snow-covered tundra,

and off into the hills.

[Drew] The man was shaken

by this violent
confrontation,

but wanted to know
what the creature was.

So he gathered together
a small group of men

to go in pursuit.

Armed to the teeth,
they set off,

pausing at the spot

where the creature
had been seen.

They found blood in the snow,

and huge 18-inch footprints

running off into the hills.

[Drew] The size of the
footprints was so shocking,

that they gave up the chase,

turn back,
and headed to safety.

It's a disturbing story,
but it's the high mountains

that are said to be
the true home of the yeti.

And now, expert hunter
and tracker Chuke Rowley

has hiked above the snow line
to experience for himself

the creature's
natural habitat.

If the Alaskan yeti
is out there,

it would most likely be

on isolated mountainsides
like this.

We are almost at 2,000 feet

in the mountains.

So this is the type of habitat

that a Sasquatch

or a Bigfoot-type yeti
creature

would live in.

It's pretty rough terrain.

You gotta be strong,
have long legs,

and warm insulation.

I think it's well-suited
for a yeti-like creature,

I really do.

[tense music playing]

[Drew] The landscape
looks quite barren,

but there's plenty of game,

and it's not just meat

that's on offer
to a prime predator.

[Chuke] Already,
I have found berries

that get covered by snow,

that are frozen
and are preserved.

There are what we call
crowberries,

little blackberries,
and low bush cranberries.

And there's one right here.

It's still good.

This whole mountainside...

And that's actually sweet.

It's not even fermented.

This whole mountainside
is covered in berries.

This is a big-time
food source.

[Drew]
It's prime yeti habitat.

But Chuke has to get off
the mountain

before the weather sets in.

[Chuke]
Something is going on here.

There are people disappearing,

and if you're not careful,

you could disappear, too.

[Andrew] It's out there,
but like Bigfoot,

it's an elusive creature.

We've just got to watch out,
and tread carefully.

[dramatic music playing]

It's the Alaska Triangle.

It's a mystery.

[Drew] Whether it's spirits
from the beyond,

or legendary creatures
coming to life,

the secrets
of the Alaska Triangle

are deep and impenetrable.

The frozen landscape
is a source of wonder,

but it's here
that the paranormal thrives.