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WILLIAM SHATNER:
A transnational flight
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vanishes into thin air.
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A legendary explorer
is lost in the Amazon jungle
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and is never seen again.
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And a notorious area
in the north Atlantic,
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where entire airplanes...
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disappear.
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When we find out
that someone is lost,
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we like to think
that their disappearance
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has a rational explanation
and that, at some point,
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they'll return.
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Hopefully safe and sound.
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But what happens
when people don't return
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and the circumstances
of their disappearance
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defy explanation?
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Well...
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that is what
we'll try and find out.
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♪ ♪
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SHATNER:
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370
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prepares to depart from Kuala
Lumpur International Airport
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en route to Beijing.
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On board are 227 passengers
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and a flight crew of 12.
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JOHN NANCE:
Malaysia 370 was a commercial flight.
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Malaysia Airlines
was a routine procedure,
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a routine flight, as we say.
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The flight path was
more or less a straight line
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aimed from Kuala Lumpur
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out over the water
in, uh, the South China Sea
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to the main landfall of China.
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As far as everybody
was concerned,
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it took off normally,
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was flying its route north
towards China.
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TUTTLE:
Then, all of a sudden, it turned off its communications
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and basically went dark.
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SHATNER:
At about 1:20 a.m.,
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as the plane was flying
over the South China Sea,
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ground control lost
all contact with the plane.
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One second,
the 240-ton Boeing aircraft
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was emitting
a clear transponder signal
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to air traffic control,
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and then, mere moments later,
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there was nothing.
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The fact that
the signal disappeared--
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that was the unusual element.
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The fact that that transponder,
which was chirping back
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every time it was hit
by the radar beam
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from air traffic control,
went silent.
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MICHIO KAKU:
Flight controllers frantically tried
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to communicate
with the airplane.
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Nothing. What happened?
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How can you lose a jetliner?
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How can it vanish in thin air?
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SHATNER:
Although the aircraft was lost on civilian radar screens,
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unbeknownst to ground control,
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military radar was able to track
the plane for another hour.
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And what it detected
was baffling.
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At that point,
when the radios were turned off,
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the flight path did
a 90-degree turn to the left,
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basically on
a southwestern heading,
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and disappeared
into the vastness
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of the Indian Ocean.
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We don't know the motivation
for doing this.
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We just-- we don't know.
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SHATNER:
Around 2:20 a.m., radar contact with the plane
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was lost for good.
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By 7:20 a.m., one hour after
it was scheduled to land,
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authorities in Beijing realized
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that flight MH370 was not going
to reach its destination.
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A search and rescue operation
was immediately launched,
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and it quickly became
the most expensive and difficult
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in aviation history.
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The initial search
was basically, uh,
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aircraft searching
for the immediate wreck,
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looking for any survivors
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or telltale wreckage
on the sea surface.
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Unfortunately, after a while,
things sink.
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Survivors aren't there,
and you go from
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a search and rescue mission to
a search and recovery mission.
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SHATNER:
When the wreckage did not turn up,
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officials were eventually
forced to admit
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that all 239 people
on board the flight...
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had perished.
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We were clueless as to what
could have caused this tragedy
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right under our noses
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in an era when we have
the Internet, satellite,
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radar communication,
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it just disappears
off the radar screen.
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SHATNER:
The wreckage of the plane,
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despite the efforts of the
world's top aviation experts,
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had seemingly vanished
without a trace.
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But then,
after months of searching,
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investigators finally
uncovered an important clue.
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Boeing had included
a maintenance reporting thing
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that goes by satellite.
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It was called an ACAR system,
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and Boeing
had installed the system
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to report
maintenance information
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about the engines
in the airplane every hour.
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In this particular case,
it was still pinging away.
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It was saying essentially
to the satellite,
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"Hey, I'm here.
You want any information?"
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SHATNER:
The information revealed by the ACAR system was shocking.
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It showed that
the plane did not crash
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anywhere near
where it was last detected.
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It actually changed course
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and kept on flying.
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GREG LIEFER: It was flown
for another six hours
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after it made the initial
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diversion from
its intended flight plan,
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and it was flown, uh,
to a very remote area.
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SHATNER:
Based on this data,
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aviation experts believe that
the plane most likely crashed
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somewhere in the southern
portion of the Indian Ocean
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after running out of fuel.
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It seems that the aircraft flew
in the wrong direction
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for thousands of miles
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to a distant part of the ocean
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where there was
no possible place to land.
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But how could
that have happened?
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Initially, the theory that was
proposed by a lot of the media
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was that the pilot in command
committed suicide.
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But, in fact,
the accident report
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clearly stated that...
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the pilot had no history of
emotional or physical problems
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that would preclude suicide,
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and family, friends
and coworkers said
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he had no abnormal behavior
before the flight.
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KAKU:
Other people say,
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no, it was some kind
of mechanical failure.
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If it were to catch on fire,
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the plane could
rapidly depressurize,
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meaning that people
would suffocate very rapidly.
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And I think that
what happened then was
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you had a ghost airplane.
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Everyone was
either dead or dying.
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It was randomly going
back and forth until it finally
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ran out of fuel and crashed
into the Indian Ocean.
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You had theories of, uh,
oxygen, uh, malfunction
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that incapacitated the pilots,
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but I don't think that makes
sense because the aircraft
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certainly appeared to me
like it was being flown manually
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for up to, uh,
at least 30 minutes,
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if not up to an hour, after
it made that hard left turn.
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The thing that
makes the most sense to me
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was some type of hijacking.
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The abrupt maneuvers
that it was making,
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the changes in altitude
and air speed and heading,
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all that indicates to me
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that it was a deliberate,
uh, manipulation
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by other people that took
control of the aircraft.
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But then that poses
the question,
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well, why did they
hijack the aircraft?
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What was the motive?
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And why fly
to the southern Indian Ocean?
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SHATNER:
While the theory that the plane was hijacked may sound logical,
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authorities thoroughly
checked the background
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of all the passengers and crew,
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and none of them
fit the profile of a hijacker.
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The truth is that, while several
of the explanations
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that have been put forth
seem to have merit,
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we simply don't have
enough information
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to verify any of them.
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We have no way of knowing
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because the cockpit voice
recorder is at the bottom
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of the Indian Ocean someplace.
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But the other
and the most important thing
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to keep in mind is we found
a piece of that airplane.
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A piece of the wing
was found and verified.
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It was washed up on, I believe,
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the shores of Madagascar
or close to it,
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and it was definitively
from this particular airplane,
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so we knew then categorically
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that that airplane
had gone into the Indian Ocean.
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And in this case, this
particular piece of the plane
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had taken about
a year and a half to float
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all the way
across the Indian Ocean.
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LIEFER:
It was one of 27 pieces that were eventually recovered.
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And it was one of
three pieces out of the 27
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that was positively identified
as coming from the aircraft.
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The aircraft wasn't found,
occupants weren't found,
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but yet 17 months later,
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they find these pieces of debris
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thousands of miles away,
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and that's what makes
this mystery, I think,
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probably the biggest mystery
of all the aviation mysteries.
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SHATNER:
Unfortunately, a few scattered pieces of wreckage
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are all that remain
of flight MH370,
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its passengers and crew.
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Is the story
a frustrating reminder that,
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in modern times,
the truth can still be elusive
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in spite of all the knowledge
and technology at our disposal?
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For those of us who learned
about this disappearance
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in the news,
that seems to be the case.
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But how much more maddening
would it be to try
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and understand the disappearance
of someone you know?
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Perhaps the answer
can be found by examining
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the case of two
United States congressmen
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who went missing
nearly 50 years ago
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and whose families
are still searching for answers.
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SHATNER: A Cessna airplane
taxis into position
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and prepares for departure.
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On board the small plane
are four people:
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the pilot and three passengers.
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Two of the passengers
are United States congressmen.
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House Majority Leader
Hale Boggs of Louisiana,
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and Alaskan
Congressman Nick Begich.
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My dad had a habit
of bringing, uh,
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his colleagues, uh, to Alaska.
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And-and the reason he did is
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he wanted people to see
the vastness of it
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and the richness of the state.
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You can talk about a place,
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but until you're in it,
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00:11:01,620 --> 00:11:04,586
you really have no concept
of-of any of it.
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00:11:04,689 --> 00:11:09,482
And Alaska-- it's like 20%
of the landmass of the country.
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00:11:09,586 --> 00:11:12,517
And my dad, uh,
used small planes often
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00:11:12,620 --> 00:11:14,379
because you could take
the side trips,
219
00:11:14,482 --> 00:11:16,137
and he wanted to show
people things.
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00:11:17,379 --> 00:11:20,482
SHATNER:
At 9:00 a.m., the plane took off into the foggy morning sky
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and headed for Juneau.
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00:11:22,103 --> 00:11:24,310
They were scheduled
to land there
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00:11:24,379 --> 00:11:27,103
sometime between 12:00
and 1:00 p.m.
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00:11:28,137 --> 00:11:30,413
The pilot did not file
a flight plan
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00:11:30,482 --> 00:11:32,620
until ten minutes
after he took off,
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00:11:32,689 --> 00:11:34,551
which was, uh,
completely uncharacteristic.
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He filed the flight plan
by radio transmissions,
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00:11:38,172 --> 00:11:40,793
and the route of flight
he intended to take
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was across
Prince William Sound to Yakutat
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and then from Yakutat to Juneau.
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00:11:47,758 --> 00:11:49,827
We know the airplane,
in this particular case,
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00:11:49,931 --> 00:11:52,448
had six hours of fuel,
and it was only about
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00:11:52,517 --> 00:11:54,137
a three-and-a-half-hour flight.
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00:11:54,206 --> 00:11:56,275
And you could get
almost there and turn around
235
00:11:56,344 --> 00:11:58,965
and come back with the fuel
that you had in it,
236
00:11:59,034 --> 00:12:01,931
but they never
made it to Juneau.
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00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,413
SHATNER:
At about 1:15 p.m., Air Force officials
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00:12:04,517 --> 00:12:08,586
were informed that the flight
was overdue to land at Juneau.
239
00:12:08,689 --> 00:12:11,758
When efforts to communicate
with the plane failed,
240
00:12:11,827 --> 00:12:14,413
both the local authorities
and several branches
241
00:12:14,517 --> 00:12:16,413
of the United States military
242
00:12:16,482 --> 00:12:20,344
launched a massive, coordinated
search for the missing Cessna
243
00:12:20,413 --> 00:12:22,793
and the two congressmen aboard.
244
00:12:24,241 --> 00:12:27,068
Throughout the search, there was
30 to 40 aircraft involved
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00:12:27,172 --> 00:12:29,896
every single day,
and those included assets
246
00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:33,931
from the U.S. Air Force,
the U.S. Army, Civil Air Patrol.
247
00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:36,896
And there was a sea search
that was conducted by ships
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00:12:37,000 --> 00:12:40,241
from the U.S. Coast Guard
as well.
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00:12:41,862 --> 00:12:44,793
SHATNER:
After 39 days of searching,
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00:12:44,862 --> 00:12:48,586
authorities announced that
the plane could not found.
251
00:12:48,689 --> 00:12:51,551
All flight members
were declared dead.
252
00:12:51,620 --> 00:12:55,172
What started as
an adventurous aerial tour
253
00:12:55,241 --> 00:12:58,379
of the Alaskan wilderness
in a small plane
254
00:12:58,482 --> 00:13:00,448
while on the way to Juneau
255
00:13:00,517 --> 00:13:03,724
somehow went horribly wrong.
256
00:13:05,034 --> 00:13:07,965
BEGICH:
My dad was a totally energetic person.
257
00:13:08,034 --> 00:13:10,413
He was 40 years old
when he was lost.
258
00:13:10,482 --> 00:13:14,172
You never think someone's
going to die at-at that age
259
00:13:14,275 --> 00:13:18,068
and in the circumstances, uh,
that this happened.
260
00:13:18,137 --> 00:13:20,482
SHATNER:
On the day of the flight, the weather was reported
261
00:13:20,551 --> 00:13:25,206
"marginal," meaning that flying
conditions were less than ideal.
262
00:13:25,275 --> 00:13:28,034
But not everyone is convinced
that the weather is to blame,
263
00:13:28,103 --> 00:13:31,034
in part because no wreckage
of the crashed plane
264
00:13:31,103 --> 00:13:32,620
was ever found.
265
00:13:32,689 --> 00:13:34,551
And by all accounts,
266
00:13:34,620 --> 00:13:38,000
it should have been found.
267
00:13:38,068 --> 00:13:41,482
LIEFER:
During the search, every possible area was covered.
268
00:13:41,551 --> 00:13:44,827
They said there was
a 97% probability
269
00:13:44,931 --> 00:13:47,862
it would have been found.
Nothing was ever found.
270
00:13:49,206 --> 00:13:52,034
BEGICH:
They did this massive search on every level
271
00:13:52,137 --> 00:13:55,482
to come up with
absolutely nothing.
272
00:13:55,586 --> 00:13:57,793
And that was it at the time.
273
00:13:57,862 --> 00:14:00,793
That was all we knew
at the time. The search ended.
274
00:14:02,413 --> 00:14:04,965
SHATNER:
The families of the two congressmen had no choice
275
00:14:05,068 --> 00:14:08,724
but to accept
that both men had died
276
00:14:08,827 --> 00:14:12,310
and that the full story
behind their disappearance
277
00:14:12,379 --> 00:14:13,931
might never be known.
278
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,068
But then, two decades later,
279
00:14:17,137 --> 00:14:19,206
the family of Congressman Begich
280
00:14:19,310 --> 00:14:23,206
received some startling
new information.
281
00:14:23,310 --> 00:14:24,827
BEGICH:
Years later,
282
00:14:24,931 --> 00:14:27,000
a couple of boxes
of archives showed up
283
00:14:27,068 --> 00:14:29,172
on one of
my brother's doorsteps.
284
00:14:30,172 --> 00:14:33,206
And the files were from the FBI,
285
00:14:33,275 --> 00:14:36,724
and they said that people
had come into the FBI's office,
286
00:14:36,793 --> 00:14:38,241
they said they had
located the plane,
287
00:14:38,344 --> 00:14:39,793
and then said
there were two people
288
00:14:39,862 --> 00:14:41,413
still alive at the crash site.
289
00:14:41,517 --> 00:14:43,103
And so what the FBI had to do
290
00:14:43,172 --> 00:14:45,172
is verify
that the source was valid,
291
00:14:45,241 --> 00:14:48,310
that they really were who they
said they were, and they did.
292
00:14:49,482 --> 00:14:53,655
So you have an agency
confirming the authenticity
293
00:14:53,724 --> 00:14:56,758
of the people
that located the plane,
294
00:14:56,862 --> 00:14:59,379
and two people were
supposed to be alive then.
295
00:14:59,448 --> 00:15:02,068
And that was a shock
because we'd never heard this,
296
00:15:02,172 --> 00:15:05,172
and we had been in touch
with the FBI at the time.
297
00:15:05,241 --> 00:15:09,896
It was traumatic because you
had this unended open question
298
00:15:10,000 --> 00:15:12,310
that never received
a conclusion.
299
00:15:12,379 --> 00:15:14,931
When they were pursuing every
other thing and let us know
300
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,379
about every other thing,
why not this?
301
00:15:17,482 --> 00:15:20,241
SHATNER:
In the years since the FBI documents revealed
302
00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:24,172
that their father may have
survived the initial crash,
303
00:15:24,275 --> 00:15:26,827
the Begich family
has reexamined the case
304
00:15:26,931 --> 00:15:29,896
by requesting additional
documents and photographs
305
00:15:29,965 --> 00:15:32,068
related to the search
for the plane.
306
00:15:32,137 --> 00:15:35,551
But, on some occasions,
the government seems
307
00:15:35,620 --> 00:15:38,620
to have not fully cooperated
with their requests.
308
00:15:38,724 --> 00:15:41,689
For instance,
when they requested copies
309
00:15:41,793 --> 00:15:44,000
of aerial photographs
taken by the military
310
00:15:44,103 --> 00:15:47,931
SR-71 reconnaissance airplanes
that flew over the search area,
311
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,103
they got an unexpected answer.
312
00:15:51,172 --> 00:15:55,137
When we asked for the records,
they told us there were none--
313
00:15:55,206 --> 00:15:58,862
that they had gotten rid of
all those SR-71 overflights,
314
00:15:58,965 --> 00:16:01,310
all of this material
was no longer available.
315
00:16:01,379 --> 00:16:02,965
Which is a lie.
316
00:16:03,034 --> 00:16:05,482
It's a lie because
the government never gets rid of
317
00:16:05,551 --> 00:16:07,137
those SR-71 overflights.
318
00:16:07,206 --> 00:16:09,137
They're too valuable,
they cost too much money,
319
00:16:09,206 --> 00:16:11,068
and they don't get rid of them.
320
00:16:11,172 --> 00:16:13,517
So, for some reason, they didn't
want us to have the data.
321
00:16:14,724 --> 00:16:16,620
SHATNER:
Did the government deliberately withhold
322
00:16:16,689 --> 00:16:19,862
aerial photographs
from the search for the plane?
323
00:16:19,931 --> 00:16:22,000
And, if so, were officials
324
00:16:22,068 --> 00:16:24,551
trying to cover up the
possibility that the pictures
325
00:16:24,655 --> 00:16:28,310
might reveal not only
where the plane crashed
326
00:16:28,379 --> 00:16:32,034
but also that two survivors
could have been rescued?
327
00:16:33,413 --> 00:16:35,793
I think all of the people
that engaged in the search
328
00:16:35,862 --> 00:16:38,241
sincerely looked at everything
329
00:16:38,310 --> 00:16:40,931
and continued
to follow up leads,
330
00:16:41,034 --> 00:16:44,896
but I question the honesty
of our government at that time.
331
00:16:44,965 --> 00:16:46,862
There was things
missing in this,
332
00:16:46,965 --> 00:16:49,758
and we don't have the truth
to this day, I'm sure.
333
00:16:49,862 --> 00:16:52,000
So it remains unresolved
334
00:16:52,068 --> 00:16:54,724
until, someday, uh, we can see
335
00:16:54,793 --> 00:16:57,034
the full body of-of the record.
336
00:16:58,379 --> 00:17:01,310
SHATNER:
Nearly 50 years after the disappearance
337
00:17:01,413 --> 00:17:04,689
of Congressmen Hale Boggs
and Nick Begich,
338
00:17:04,758 --> 00:17:07,620
the questions and possibilities
339
00:17:07,724 --> 00:17:09,448
seem endless.
340
00:17:09,517 --> 00:17:12,931
While there are many theories
as to what took place,
341
00:17:13,034 --> 00:17:15,344
the truth about
what happened to these two men
342
00:17:15,448 --> 00:17:17,034
remains unknown.
343
00:17:18,103 --> 00:17:21,000
Just like the fate
of another figure who,
344
00:17:21,103 --> 00:17:23,655
after taking
an adventurous risk,
345
00:17:23,758 --> 00:17:25,275
never returned.
346
00:17:25,344 --> 00:17:28,586
An explorer who was
so bold, so daring,
347
00:17:28,655 --> 00:17:31,275
that he may have gotten lost
348
00:17:31,379 --> 00:17:33,586
because he didn't
want to be found.
349
00:17:44,551 --> 00:17:47,241
SHATNER:
Three Englishmen, accompanied by two Brazilian locals,
350
00:17:47,310 --> 00:17:50,172
make their way
through the dense foliage.
351
00:17:51,206 --> 00:17:53,931
The men are searching
for an ancient lost city
352
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:55,862
that has been rumored
to be hidden deep
353
00:17:55,931 --> 00:17:57,517
within the rain forest.
354
00:17:57,586 --> 00:17:59,517
The leader of their quest
355
00:17:59,586 --> 00:18:02,931
is an ambitious explorer
who feels that he is on the cusp
356
00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,551
of a remarkable discovery.
357
00:18:05,655 --> 00:18:07,482
Colonel Percy Fawcett.
358
00:18:07,551 --> 00:18:10,551
Colonel Percy Fawcett
is a very interesting
359
00:18:10,655 --> 00:18:12,103
historical character.
360
00:18:12,172 --> 00:18:14,793
He was a geographer,
an explorer,
361
00:18:14,896 --> 00:18:17,551
a member of
the World Geographic Society,
362
00:18:17,655 --> 00:18:20,275
and also a military man
for most of his career.
363
00:18:20,344 --> 00:18:22,931
So a very capable individual,
364
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,034
and he was responsible
for exploring and mapping
365
00:18:26,137 --> 00:18:30,034
a lot of the unknown regions
of South America.
366
00:18:30,137 --> 00:18:32,103
So, uh, Colonel Fawcett
makes an interesting
367
00:18:32,206 --> 00:18:34,034
and rather dashing figure.
368
00:18:35,482 --> 00:18:38,448
SHATNER:
After decades spent trekking through South America,
369
00:18:38,517 --> 00:18:42,482
Fawcett became convinced
that a massive civilization
370
00:18:42,586 --> 00:18:47,379
had once existed somewhere
in the Amazon Jungle.
371
00:18:47,448 --> 00:18:50,655
DEYERMENJIAN: Fawcett came upon
this particular manuscript
372
00:18:50,758 --> 00:18:54,965
that was supposed to have been
written by um bandeirante,
373
00:18:55,068 --> 00:18:57,655
a Portuguese fortune seeker
374
00:18:57,758 --> 00:19:00,103
back in the 1700s.
375
00:19:01,448 --> 00:19:04,103
And it looks to be describing
376
00:19:04,172 --> 00:19:06,103
a particular city there
377
00:19:06,206 --> 00:19:08,379
in the Brazilian Amazon.
378
00:19:08,448 --> 00:19:11,620
LYNNE McNEILL:
That manuscript describes
379
00:19:11,724 --> 00:19:14,965
not just a lost city of ruins
380
00:19:15,068 --> 00:19:18,724
but a lost city
of epic proportions.
381
00:19:19,931 --> 00:19:22,586
A lost city of riches,
a city of gold,
382
00:19:22,655 --> 00:19:26,379
and architectural marvels,
technologically developed,
383
00:19:26,448 --> 00:19:30,172
things that you would
absolutely not expect to find
384
00:19:30,241 --> 00:19:32,724
in the middle
of the South American jungle.
385
00:19:33,931 --> 00:19:36,241
SHATNER:
In time, Fawcett's fascination
386
00:19:36,344 --> 00:19:40,241
with a lost city in the Amazon
turned to obsession.
387
00:19:41,689 --> 00:19:45,482
He even came up with a name for
the place he was searching for.
388
00:19:45,586 --> 00:19:49,103
He called it
"the Lost City of Z."
389
00:19:50,206 --> 00:19:53,310
Armed with clues
from the Portuguese manuscript,
390
00:19:53,413 --> 00:19:56,206
he plunged into
the wilderness once more,
391
00:19:56,275 --> 00:19:59,344
determined to solve the mystery.
392
00:20:00,275 --> 00:20:03,344
His companions were his son Jack
393
00:20:03,448 --> 00:20:06,413
and his son's friend
Raleigh Rimmel.
394
00:20:06,482 --> 00:20:08,965
The geographical challenges
along the routes
395
00:20:09,034 --> 00:20:12,413
that Fawcett
and his party would face
396
00:20:12,517 --> 00:20:16,448
included things like rivers
that were extremely swift
397
00:20:16,551 --> 00:20:19,517
that one could easily have their
feet knocked from under them,
398
00:20:19,620 --> 00:20:21,724
and there would have been
piranha as well
399
00:20:21,827 --> 00:20:23,965
in these areas of Brazil.
400
00:20:24,034 --> 00:20:27,137
And the swamps, the marshes,
401
00:20:27,241 --> 00:20:31,206
were particularly virulent
as far as disease, insects
402
00:20:31,275 --> 00:20:33,517
and geographical difficulties.
403
00:20:35,103 --> 00:20:38,620
SHATNER:
As Fawcett moved deeper into the heart of the Amazon,
404
00:20:38,724 --> 00:20:40,206
he wrote about his progress
405
00:20:40,310 --> 00:20:42,517
and gave his notes
to native guides
406
00:20:42,620 --> 00:20:44,965
who carried them
back to civilization.
407
00:20:45,068 --> 00:20:47,965
The newspapers eagerly
published the details
408
00:20:48,068 --> 00:20:51,034
of his latest exploits,
portraying the explorer
409
00:20:51,137 --> 00:20:55,448
as an international hero
on the verge of making history.
410
00:20:55,517 --> 00:20:59,034
DEYERMENJIAN:
Colonel Fawcett was a world-known celebrity.
411
00:20:59,103 --> 00:21:01,724
His exploits were
followed in the press
412
00:21:01,793 --> 00:21:04,413
and, uh, were quite popular
and quite well known.
413
00:21:07,172 --> 00:21:09,862
We know what we know
of Colonel Percy Fawcett
414
00:21:09,931 --> 00:21:12,586
largely from his own writings,
415
00:21:12,655 --> 00:21:16,275
stories about
encounters that he had
416
00:21:16,344 --> 00:21:19,517
with native peoples in Brazil,
417
00:21:19,586 --> 00:21:23,310
stories of having arrows
drawn on him threateningly.
418
00:21:23,379 --> 00:21:27,586
He tells the story
of a 62-foot anaconda
419
00:21:27,689 --> 00:21:30,758
that he shot
in the spine and killed
420
00:21:30,862 --> 00:21:34,793
as he was canoeing through
the waters down the Amazon.
421
00:21:36,827 --> 00:21:40,413
LAYNE: He writes a letter
to his wife and says,
422
00:21:40,482 --> 00:21:42,310
"There's no fear of failure."
423
00:21:42,379 --> 00:21:45,241
He apparently thinks
he's right on top of it,
424
00:21:45,344 --> 00:21:47,482
that he's going to find it,
425
00:21:47,551 --> 00:21:49,827
this lost city,
426
00:21:49,931 --> 00:21:51,448
and then he vanishes.
427
00:21:53,172 --> 00:21:55,241
SHATNER:
Six weeks after the expedition started,
428
00:21:55,344 --> 00:21:57,896
Fawcett's letters
stopped coming,
429
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,310
and people around the world
began to fear
430
00:22:00,379 --> 00:22:03,551
that something terrible
had happened to the explorer
431
00:22:03,620 --> 00:22:05,620
and his team.
432
00:22:05,724 --> 00:22:09,172
After weeks, months
and eventually years of waiting
433
00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:11,517
with no word from him,
434
00:22:11,620 --> 00:22:14,482
it became clear that
Colonel Percy Fawcett,
435
00:22:14,586 --> 00:22:17,965
his son Jack,
and friend Raleigh Rimmel
436
00:22:18,034 --> 00:22:20,620
would never return
from the jungle.
437
00:22:23,586 --> 00:22:26,137
TOK THOMPSON:
There was a great interest in what could have happened.
438
00:22:26,241 --> 00:22:28,068
Some people thought
he might have been murdered
439
00:22:28,172 --> 00:22:30,413
by the local indigenous groups.
440
00:22:30,482 --> 00:22:32,724
Other people thought that
maybe some, uh, bandits
441
00:22:32,793 --> 00:22:35,448
that were operating in this
area, uh, might have killed him.
442
00:22:35,517 --> 00:22:38,206
Some people even said that,
look, maybe he found it.
443
00:22:38,310 --> 00:22:40,551
Maybe he found
his Lost City of Z
444
00:22:40,655 --> 00:22:43,379
and just decided to stay there
the rest of his life.
445
00:22:44,413 --> 00:22:46,931
SHATNER:
The Lost City of Z
446
00:22:47,000 --> 00:22:48,931
found at last?
447
00:22:49,034 --> 00:22:51,862
Is it possible
that Fawcett's dream
448
00:22:51,931 --> 00:22:54,241
actually became a reality?
449
00:22:54,310 --> 00:22:57,413
Brian Fawcett,
uh, his youngest son,
450
00:22:57,482 --> 00:23:00,482
reported that
there's a distinct possibility
451
00:23:00,551 --> 00:23:04,275
that Percy Fawcett
did not intend to return.
452
00:23:04,379 --> 00:23:06,586
That, for him,
if he did find it,
453
00:23:06,655 --> 00:23:10,206
it being the capstone
to what he was looking for,
454
00:23:10,275 --> 00:23:12,206
he might not have intended
455
00:23:12,275 --> 00:23:14,896
to ever leave the jungle.
456
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:17,620
LAYNE:
If you have dedicated your life now
457
00:23:17,689 --> 00:23:22,068
to finding this lost city
of treasure and gold,
458
00:23:22,137 --> 00:23:24,655
and you actually find it,
459
00:23:24,758 --> 00:23:28,137
maybe you don't want to reveal
it to the rest of the world.
460
00:23:28,241 --> 00:23:31,448
Maybe it's perfection,
it's paradise,
461
00:23:31,517 --> 00:23:34,413
maybe you can
make the choice to stay.
462
00:23:37,827 --> 00:23:40,620
Was the treacherous jungle,
463
00:23:40,689 --> 00:23:42,724
insufferable heat
464
00:23:42,793 --> 00:23:44,931
and a face-off
with a giant anaconda
465
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:49,103
all too much for Colonel
Percy Fawcett and his team?
466
00:23:49,206 --> 00:23:52,586
Or, as some people suggest,
467
00:23:52,655 --> 00:23:55,379
did Fawcett make
such an incredible
468
00:23:55,482 --> 00:23:58,137
archaeological discovery
469
00:23:58,206 --> 00:24:01,448
that he chose to never leave it?
470
00:24:01,517 --> 00:24:04,758
Perhaps further clues about
the nature of obsessions
471
00:24:04,862 --> 00:24:07,379
and their consequences
472
00:24:07,482 --> 00:24:09,793
can be found by examining
the life of an author
473
00:24:09,896 --> 00:24:13,241
who helped to pioneer
the science fiction genre
474
00:24:13,344 --> 00:24:15,793
and whose greatest story
may have been...
475
00:24:17,241 --> 00:24:19,310
...his own disappearance.
476
00:24:30,241 --> 00:24:32,275
SHATNER:
While serving in the Union Army,
477
00:24:32,379 --> 00:24:35,413
22-year-old
Lieutenant Ambrose Bierce
478
00:24:35,482 --> 00:24:38,172
is shot in the head by a sniper.
479
00:24:40,103 --> 00:24:42,793
The bullet goes
into his left temple
480
00:24:42,896 --> 00:24:45,827
and lodges behind his left ear.
481
00:24:45,931 --> 00:24:48,482
And it's too deep, at that time,
482
00:24:48,551 --> 00:24:51,413
for them to do some kind
of operation to remove.
483
00:24:51,517 --> 00:24:54,793
So he lives the rest of his life
484
00:24:54,862 --> 00:24:57,344
with a bullet in his head.
485
00:24:57,448 --> 00:25:00,206
LAYNE:
Some of the people who knew Bierce say that
486
00:25:00,310 --> 00:25:04,827
this brain injury
caused him to become strange.
487
00:25:04,896 --> 00:25:09,241
It caused him to start seeing
the world in a more morbid way.
488
00:25:09,344 --> 00:25:13,103
And after his experience
in the Civil War,
489
00:25:13,172 --> 00:25:16,517
he wrote
very memorable short stories
490
00:25:16,620 --> 00:25:19,379
that were filled
with the supernatural.
491
00:25:20,448 --> 00:25:22,137
SHATNER:
Ambrose Bierce is best known
492
00:25:22,206 --> 00:25:24,344
for writing short stories
that involve
493
00:25:24,448 --> 00:25:28,000
paranormal incidents
and strange disappearances.
494
00:25:28,103 --> 00:25:29,931
One intriguing story
495
00:25:30,000 --> 00:25:34,551
that he wrote for the
San Francisco Examinerin 1888
496
00:25:34,655 --> 00:25:38,241
was titled "The Difficulty
of Crossing a Field."
497
00:25:40,517 --> 00:25:42,482
HAWKES:
"The Difficulty of Crossing a Field"
498
00:25:42,551 --> 00:25:44,517
was about an Alabama farmer
who one day
499
00:25:44,620 --> 00:25:46,724
was taking a walk
across the field...
500
00:25:48,310 --> 00:25:49,965
...when he just disappeared.
501
00:25:50,034 --> 00:25:51,862
He was gone.
502
00:25:51,931 --> 00:25:54,448
And years later, his wife
would say that she could hear
503
00:25:54,551 --> 00:25:56,172
his voice from time to time,
504
00:25:56,241 --> 00:25:58,517
but he wasn't there.
505
00:25:58,620 --> 00:26:01,827
In the story, Ambrose Bierce
was trying to show us
506
00:26:01,896 --> 00:26:04,758
that this man traveled
interdimensionally
507
00:26:04,827 --> 00:26:06,758
to another place.
508
00:26:06,862 --> 00:26:09,896
SHATNER:
Bierce's stories hinted at alternate worlds
509
00:26:09,965 --> 00:26:12,000
and parallel dimensions
510
00:26:12,068 --> 00:26:14,724
and helped to pioneer
the science fiction genre.
511
00:26:14,793 --> 00:26:18,655
But in December of 1913,
Bierce, who by then
512
00:26:18,724 --> 00:26:21,793
was one of America's most
prominent literary figures,
513
00:26:21,896 --> 00:26:23,862
left the country.
514
00:26:26,482 --> 00:26:28,689
He headed south of the border
515
00:26:28,758 --> 00:26:31,482
because he wanted to witness
the Mexican Revolution
516
00:26:31,586 --> 00:26:33,379
taking place at the time.
517
00:26:33,448 --> 00:26:36,206
LAYNE:
He's 71 years old
518
00:26:36,275 --> 00:26:38,379
when he crosses the border
519
00:26:38,482 --> 00:26:41,241
to supposedly join Pancho Villa,
520
00:26:41,344 --> 00:26:44,724
the great
revolutionary of Mexico.
521
00:26:44,793 --> 00:26:47,413
He writes
one letter in particular
522
00:26:47,517 --> 00:26:50,448
to his niece Laura, and he says,
523
00:26:50,551 --> 00:26:54,000
"Goodbye. If you hear
of my being stood up
524
00:26:54,068 --> 00:26:57,965
against a Mexican stone wall
and shot to rags..."
525
00:26:58,068 --> 00:26:59,965
- MAN: Fire!
- [gunshots]
526
00:27:00,034 --> 00:27:02,827
"...please know that I think
it's a pretty good way
527
00:27:02,931 --> 00:27:06,068
"to depart this life.
528
00:27:06,172 --> 00:27:09,000
Affectionately yours, Ambrose."
529
00:27:09,965 --> 00:27:12,620
SHATNER:
While in the city of Juárez,
530
00:27:12,724 --> 00:27:16,344
Bierce joined Pancho Villa's
army as an observer.
531
00:27:16,448 --> 00:27:18,586
He then followed the army south
532
00:27:18,689 --> 00:27:20,862
as far as the city of Chihuahua.
533
00:27:20,931 --> 00:27:23,655
On December 26, 1913,
534
00:27:23,724 --> 00:27:25,655
Bierce sent
a letter to a friend,
535
00:27:25,758 --> 00:27:27,965
which he ended cryptically
by saying:
536
00:27:28,034 --> 00:27:31,034
"As for me, I leave tomorrow
537
00:27:31,137 --> 00:27:33,517
for an unknown destination."
538
00:27:36,655 --> 00:27:40,241
The eccentric author
was never heard from again.
539
00:27:40,344 --> 00:27:42,931
After writing about
people who disappear,
540
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,551
Bierce himself disappeared
541
00:27:45,620 --> 00:27:49,103
like a character
in one of his own stories.
542
00:27:50,862 --> 00:27:54,655
There are eyewitness reports
of Ambrose Bierce dying
543
00:27:54,724 --> 00:27:58,517
all over Mexico
at different times
544
00:27:58,620 --> 00:28:01,103
separated by years.
545
00:28:01,206 --> 00:28:04,448
McNEILL:
We have a plethora of different stories
546
00:28:04,551 --> 00:28:06,827
of people reporting
that he was executed,
547
00:28:06,896 --> 00:28:09,034
of people reporting that
he died of illness,
548
00:28:09,103 --> 00:28:11,586
of people reporting where
and when they last saw him
549
00:28:11,689 --> 00:28:13,137
and who he was with.
550
00:28:13,241 --> 00:28:16,931
All we know is that he was gone.
551
00:28:18,206 --> 00:28:20,068
SHATNER:
Reports of Bierce's death
552
00:28:20,137 --> 00:28:24,724
would continue to surface for
years after his disappearance.
553
00:28:24,827 --> 00:28:27,655
But for many, these stories
are not as convincing
554
00:28:27,758 --> 00:28:31,103
as the idea
that Bierce traveled south
555
00:28:31,206 --> 00:28:33,448
not to join in a civil war
556
00:28:33,517 --> 00:28:37,068
but rather
to visit a remote location
557
00:28:37,137 --> 00:28:40,896
that had captured
his dark imagination.
558
00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:43,103
An area known as
559
00:28:43,172 --> 00:28:45,931
the Zone of Silence.
560
00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,275
One of the more popular theories
about his disappearance
561
00:28:50,379 --> 00:28:54,517
is that he follows Pancho Villa
into this mysterious area
562
00:28:54,586 --> 00:28:56,758
called the Zone of Silence,
which was locally known
563
00:28:56,827 --> 00:28:59,275
as a place where people vanish,
564
00:28:59,379 --> 00:29:01,931
where there are odd occurrences.
565
00:29:03,103 --> 00:29:05,896
GANDER:
When Bierce takes that trip to Mexico,
566
00:29:05,965 --> 00:29:08,793
if he wasn't killed
along the way,
567
00:29:08,862 --> 00:29:11,172
he would have passed through
the Zona del Silencio.
568
00:29:12,275 --> 00:29:15,551
The Zona del Silencio--
it's known as a place
569
00:29:15,655 --> 00:29:17,689
that's full of meteorites.
570
00:29:17,758 --> 00:29:21,310
There's a lot of magnetite
in the rock around,
571
00:29:21,379 --> 00:29:24,034
which people say
makes it certain
572
00:29:24,137 --> 00:29:27,241
that radio waves
don't travel out of there.
573
00:29:27,310 --> 00:29:30,103
The modern ranchers and
cattlemen that live in the area
574
00:29:30,206 --> 00:29:33,206
have lots of stories to tell
about strange lights in the sky,
575
00:29:33,310 --> 00:29:38,206
even strange encounters
with individuals in the desert,
576
00:29:38,275 --> 00:29:40,586
and it is indeed mysterious.
577
00:29:40,655 --> 00:29:42,655
SHATNER:
Curiously, if you trace the route
578
00:29:42,758 --> 00:29:45,344
that Bierce traveled
with the Mexican army,
579
00:29:45,413 --> 00:29:47,724
it appears that
he was headed directly
580
00:29:47,827 --> 00:29:50,724
for the center
of the Zone of Silence.
581
00:29:50,827 --> 00:29:54,827
But what was he hoping to find?
582
00:29:54,896 --> 00:29:57,689
HAWKES:
We don't really know what happened to Ambrose Bierce.
583
00:29:57,793 --> 00:30:01,551
The theory is that Bierce,
within the Zone of Silence,
584
00:30:01,655 --> 00:30:04,344
may have discovered or mastered
585
00:30:04,448 --> 00:30:06,413
supernatural methods
of traveling
586
00:30:06,517 --> 00:30:08,000
from one place to another
587
00:30:08,068 --> 00:30:11,724
and may have transported,
as in his stories,
588
00:30:11,793 --> 00:30:13,862
to an interdimensional space,
589
00:30:13,931 --> 00:30:17,000
never to be heard from again.
590
00:30:19,103 --> 00:30:21,827
Is Ambrose Bierce
591
00:30:21,896 --> 00:30:24,724
buried in some unmarked grave
south of the border?
592
00:30:24,827 --> 00:30:26,896
Or, perhaps more intriguingly,
593
00:30:26,965 --> 00:30:30,931
did Ambrose Bierce
even die at all?
594
00:30:32,310 --> 00:30:33,862
There are some who even suggest
595
00:30:33,965 --> 00:30:36,310
that he was
accidently transported
596
00:30:36,379 --> 00:30:38,413
into another dimension.
597
00:30:38,482 --> 00:30:40,275
Sounds preposterous, huh?
598
00:30:41,689 --> 00:30:45,379
Well, for those who are familiar
with the Bermuda Triangle,
599
00:30:45,448 --> 00:30:49,000
it's a question
that is not as crazy
600
00:30:49,103 --> 00:30:50,758
as it may seem.
601
00:31:01,413 --> 00:31:04,241
SHATNER:
A squadron of Navy torpedo bombers,
602
00:31:04,310 --> 00:31:06,758
collectively known as Flight 19,
603
00:31:06,827 --> 00:31:10,103
takes off for what is supposed
to be a routine training mission
604
00:31:10,172 --> 00:31:11,758
over the Atlantic Ocean.
605
00:31:14,689 --> 00:31:18,379
LIEFER: It was five
U.S. Navy TBM patrol bombers
606
00:31:18,448 --> 00:31:20,724
that were flying on basically
607
00:31:20,827 --> 00:31:23,689
a, uh, practice
navigation mission.
608
00:31:24,655 --> 00:31:27,482
It was the last flight
609
00:31:27,586 --> 00:31:30,862
that was required by the cadets
before graduation.
610
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:35,103
The flight leader said that
both of his compasses
611
00:31:35,172 --> 00:31:37,379
on board his aircraft
weren't operable.
612
00:31:37,448 --> 00:31:39,965
[alarm buzzing]
613
00:31:40,034 --> 00:31:43,586
Well, the chances
of both compasses going bad
614
00:31:43,655 --> 00:31:46,068
at the same time
is just extremely remote.
615
00:31:46,137 --> 00:31:48,068
And there was also confusion
616
00:31:48,137 --> 00:31:51,724
between the flight leader
and the student pilots
617
00:31:51,793 --> 00:31:53,896
about which way
they should be going.
618
00:31:53,965 --> 00:31:57,655
SHATNER:
All five planes experienced equipment malfunctions,
619
00:31:57,724 --> 00:32:01,793
and then all five
disappeared from radar.
620
00:32:01,862 --> 00:32:04,310
Their last communication
consisted of
621
00:32:04,413 --> 00:32:07,689
nothing but eerie static.
622
00:32:10,275 --> 00:32:12,034
KAKU:
This is unprecedented.
623
00:32:12,137 --> 00:32:13,965
Navy crewmen in airplanes
624
00:32:14,034 --> 00:32:16,896
simply disappear
off the face of the Earth.
625
00:32:16,965 --> 00:32:20,413
Now, of course, hundreds
of theories have been proposed.
626
00:32:20,482 --> 00:32:22,448
The most logical theory
is the weather.
627
00:32:22,517 --> 00:32:24,827
Perhaps there was
a sudden hurricane
628
00:32:24,896 --> 00:32:26,655
that came out of nowhere,
629
00:32:26,758 --> 00:32:28,965
and people got confused.
630
00:32:29,068 --> 00:32:32,137
And, as a consequence,
they dove right into the water.
631
00:32:33,448 --> 00:32:35,827
But the record
and the data is sparse,
632
00:32:35,931 --> 00:32:39,310
and that's because
our technology, our sensors,
633
00:32:39,379 --> 00:32:41,551
were very primitive back then.
634
00:32:41,620 --> 00:32:44,620
So there is a chance
that 100 years from now,
635
00:32:44,724 --> 00:32:47,344
we'll still be debating
what happened.
636
00:32:47,448 --> 00:32:49,793
SHATNER:
The disappearance of Flight 19
637
00:32:49,862 --> 00:32:52,586
is just one of the many
mysterious vanishings
638
00:32:52,689 --> 00:32:56,551
that have taken place in
that part of the Atlantic Ocean.
639
00:32:56,620 --> 00:33:00,000
An area that is now known as
640
00:33:00,103 --> 00:33:02,137
the Bermuda Triangle.
641
00:33:04,206 --> 00:33:07,103
Airplanes, boats and people
have just disappeared
642
00:33:07,172 --> 00:33:09,655
for as long as we've been
keeping records of travel
643
00:33:09,724 --> 00:33:10,965
through that area.
644
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:14,689
And it's been
very much a mystery of:
645
00:33:14,793 --> 00:33:16,724
"Is there something
special about it?"
646
00:33:16,793 --> 00:33:19,586
Do the characteristics
of the Bermuda Triangle
647
00:33:19,655 --> 00:33:24,103
make it a unique or, uh,
individual body of water?
648
00:33:24,172 --> 00:33:25,586
In-in some ways, yes.
649
00:33:25,655 --> 00:33:27,655
You go from Bermuda,
650
00:33:27,724 --> 00:33:31,586
1,000 miles southwest
to Florida,
651
00:33:31,655 --> 00:33:34,965
you go about 1,000 miles
over to Puerto Rico,
652
00:33:35,034 --> 00:33:37,931
and then you go back 1,000 miles
north to Bermuda.
653
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:41,275
That is almost
a perfect isosceles triangle.
654
00:33:43,827 --> 00:33:45,586
DENNIN:
The Bermuda Triangle area,
655
00:33:45,689 --> 00:33:47,827
because you're right near
the jet stream...
656
00:33:49,896 --> 00:33:52,862
...you do have extremes
of weather and ocean conditions.
657
00:33:56,241 --> 00:33:57,827
All of these will interact
658
00:33:57,931 --> 00:33:59,862
with the electromagnetic
field of the Earth.
659
00:34:01,482 --> 00:34:03,862
And so it's
definitely a possibility
660
00:34:03,931 --> 00:34:07,931
that you have
some sort of magnetic anomaly.
661
00:34:08,034 --> 00:34:11,724
When you think about
possible reasons that people
662
00:34:11,793 --> 00:34:14,310
have weird experiences
in the Bermuda Triangle,
663
00:34:14,379 --> 00:34:16,275
that could be a potential cause.
664
00:34:17,379 --> 00:34:21,206
SHATNER:
When Flight 19 disappeared in 1945,
665
00:34:21,275 --> 00:34:22,758
there were many theories,
666
00:34:22,862 --> 00:34:24,931
but none of them
could completely explain
667
00:34:25,034 --> 00:34:28,310
the strange incidents
that continued to occur
668
00:34:28,379 --> 00:34:30,137
in this mysterious area.
669
00:34:32,103 --> 00:34:34,482
Then, in 1970,
670
00:34:34,551 --> 00:34:38,034
a young aviator happened to fly
through the Bermuda Triangle
671
00:34:38,137 --> 00:34:40,931
and had no choice
672
00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:43,827
but to face
the forces that exist there.
673
00:34:43,931 --> 00:34:48,034
But this time, the pilot
lived to tell the tale.
674
00:34:52,620 --> 00:34:56,103
Pilot Bruce Gernon
is flying his small plane
675
00:34:56,172 --> 00:34:58,344
100 miles
off the coast of Miami.
676
00:34:59,517 --> 00:35:02,344
I've made
several hundred flights
677
00:35:02,413 --> 00:35:05,379
flying in the area
of the Bermuda Triangle.
678
00:35:06,620 --> 00:35:09,206
But this time,
I found myself surrounded
679
00:35:09,310 --> 00:35:11,000
by this strange storm.
680
00:35:13,103 --> 00:35:16,379
There was only one exit
that I could find,
681
00:35:16,448 --> 00:35:18,793
and I call it a tunnel vortex
682
00:35:18,862 --> 00:35:21,896
because these small
puffs of clouds formed
683
00:35:21,965 --> 00:35:24,000
around the walls of the tunnel,
684
00:35:24,068 --> 00:35:26,862
and it was rotating
slowly counterclockwise,
685
00:35:26,965 --> 00:35:31,827
and it was probably
700 feet wide when I entered it.
686
00:35:34,965 --> 00:35:38,137
I didn't want to do it, because
I've been taught not to fly
687
00:35:38,241 --> 00:35:41,931
through horizontal tunnels
between storms.
688
00:35:42,000 --> 00:35:44,931
But it was so critical
that I decided
689
00:35:45,034 --> 00:35:48,000
that I would go ahead and do it.
690
00:35:49,137 --> 00:35:51,103
SHATNER:
Bruce experienced some terrifying moments,
691
00:35:51,206 --> 00:35:53,724
but, fortunately,
he was able to make it
692
00:35:53,827 --> 00:35:56,000
out of the tunnel alive.
693
00:35:58,103 --> 00:36:00,793
But when he looked
at his flight readings,
694
00:36:00,862 --> 00:36:03,620
he realized that his escape
695
00:36:03,689 --> 00:36:06,551
was even more incredible
than he thought.
696
00:36:07,827 --> 00:36:09,793
GERNON:
When I entered the tunnel vortex,
697
00:36:09,896 --> 00:36:13,379
my navigational instruments said
that I was 100 miles
698
00:36:13,482 --> 00:36:15,344
east of Miami.
699
00:36:16,551 --> 00:36:20,517
I was in the tunnel for
three minutes and 20 seconds.
700
00:36:20,620 --> 00:36:22,586
And when I reached
the other end,
701
00:36:22,655 --> 00:36:25,758
I ended up
right over Miami Beach.
702
00:36:25,827 --> 00:36:29,862
So it only took
three minutes and 20 seconds
703
00:36:29,931 --> 00:36:31,965
to fly 100 miles.
704
00:36:32,034 --> 00:36:35,172
So I realized,
right at that point,
705
00:36:35,241 --> 00:36:37,793
that something unexplainable
had just happened.
706
00:36:37,862 --> 00:36:40,000
SHATNER:
100 miles?
707
00:36:40,103 --> 00:36:42,379
In only three minutes
and 20 seconds?
708
00:36:42,448 --> 00:36:44,689
Bruce's plane would have
to have been traveling
709
00:36:44,793 --> 00:36:47,068
1,800 miles per hour
710
00:36:47,137 --> 00:36:49,896
to cross that distance
in such a short amount of time,
711
00:36:49,965 --> 00:36:51,724
a speed that his small plane
712
00:36:51,793 --> 00:36:54,862
was not even remotely
capable of.
713
00:36:54,965 --> 00:36:58,379
Does Bruce's flight suggest
that the disappearances
714
00:36:58,448 --> 00:37:00,827
that take place within
the Bermuda Triangle
715
00:37:00,931 --> 00:37:06,000
are the result of time
and space being somehow altered?
716
00:37:06,103 --> 00:37:10,275
I believe that Flight 19
experienced the same type
717
00:37:10,344 --> 00:37:13,586
of phenomenon
of the tunnel vortex
718
00:37:13,655 --> 00:37:15,517
that I experienced.
719
00:37:15,586 --> 00:37:17,655
They didn't know their position,
720
00:37:17,724 --> 00:37:19,482
and so you get totally confused
721
00:37:19,551 --> 00:37:24,000
and end up in a graveyard spiral
and crash into the sea.
722
00:37:24,103 --> 00:37:28,000
I was just fortunate
because I didn't get confused.
723
00:37:29,448 --> 00:37:32,379
If someone doesn't believe
what I experienced,
724
00:37:32,448 --> 00:37:33,862
I like to say to them
725
00:37:33,931 --> 00:37:36,413
the only way to discover
726
00:37:36,517 --> 00:37:38,827
the limits of the possible
727
00:37:38,931 --> 00:37:42,482
is to go beyond them
into the impossible.
728
00:37:42,551 --> 00:37:44,000
And that's what I did.
729
00:37:45,413 --> 00:37:47,206
SHATNER:
Are the strange occurrences
730
00:37:47,275 --> 00:37:49,310
that take place
within the Bermuda Triangle
731
00:37:49,379 --> 00:37:52,586
proof that we don't
understand our planet
732
00:37:52,655 --> 00:37:54,620
as well as we think?
733
00:37:54,724 --> 00:37:56,758
It's an intriguing possibility.
734
00:37:56,827 --> 00:38:00,551
But if there are
locations on Earth
735
00:38:00,655 --> 00:38:03,517
that cause bizarre vanishings,
736
00:38:03,586 --> 00:38:06,379
should we try
to investigate those places?
737
00:38:06,448 --> 00:38:10,379
Or are we better off
avoiding them
738
00:38:10,482 --> 00:38:14,448
at all costs?
739
00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,206
SHATNER:
Photographer Charles McCullar
740
00:38:25,275 --> 00:38:28,965
hikes around the rim of
this picturesque body of water.
741
00:38:30,103 --> 00:38:33,620
But what starts out as
a simple walk through nature...
742
00:38:33,689 --> 00:38:36,275
quickly turns tragic.
743
00:38:37,724 --> 00:38:40,241
ERATO:
Charles planned a two-day excursion to Crater Lake
744
00:38:40,310 --> 00:38:42,379
to snap winter photography.
745
00:38:42,448 --> 00:38:45,000
But he trudged out
through the park entrance
746
00:38:45,068 --> 00:38:46,551
and was never seen again.
747
00:38:47,862 --> 00:38:51,931
SHATNER:
Authorities tried for months to find Charles with no luck.
748
00:38:52,000 --> 00:38:53,862
It wasn't until
nearly two years later
749
00:38:53,965 --> 00:38:56,103
that they got
a break in the case
750
00:38:56,172 --> 00:38:59,965
when his body was found
in a remote part of the park.
751
00:39:02,344 --> 00:39:04,655
The most baffling aspect
of the Charles McCullar case,
752
00:39:04,724 --> 00:39:07,206
besides the way that
the remains were found,
753
00:39:07,275 --> 00:39:09,241
was where
the remains were found.
754
00:39:09,344 --> 00:39:12,344
It's about 14 miles
from the park entrance,
755
00:39:12,413 --> 00:39:14,689
so he would have
had to trudge over
756
00:39:14,758 --> 00:39:16,482
105 inches of new snow,
757
00:39:16,586 --> 00:39:19,482
with some areas
having 20-foot snowdrifts,
758
00:39:19,586 --> 00:39:22,931
14 miles
to a remote part of the park.
759
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:25,965
So how did Charles
get that far into the park?
760
00:39:27,344 --> 00:39:31,448
LAYNE:
The weird part that lingers with his story is:
761
00:39:31,517 --> 00:39:36,206
how did his human remains
end up so far away
762
00:39:36,310 --> 00:39:40,241
from where he was,
and why were they found
763
00:39:40,310 --> 00:39:43,793
so long after the fact
of his disappearance?
764
00:39:43,862 --> 00:39:46,034
Search teams
had been looking for him
765
00:39:46,137 --> 00:39:48,000
from the week he disappeared.
766
00:39:49,482 --> 00:39:53,068
SHATNER:
The idea that someone could hike 14 miles
767
00:39:53,137 --> 00:39:55,034
in eight feet of snow
768
00:39:55,103 --> 00:39:57,275
is a little hard to imagine.
769
00:39:58,482 --> 00:40:01,206
But, on the other hand,
Crater Lake has been the site
770
00:40:01,310 --> 00:40:06,275
of similarly inexplicable
occurrences for centuries.
771
00:40:07,241 --> 00:40:08,931
ERATO:
Crater Lake is a hotbed
772
00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:10,965
for stories
about paranormal activity
773
00:40:11,034 --> 00:40:14,000
and just
supernatural occurrences.
774
00:40:14,068 --> 00:40:16,413
There are stories
of people vanishing,
775
00:40:16,482 --> 00:40:19,482
and it ties back
to local native tribes
776
00:40:19,551 --> 00:40:22,551
that have lived in the area
thinking that it was
777
00:40:22,620 --> 00:40:25,482
basically the location for
the devil on the planet Earth.
778
00:40:26,758 --> 00:40:29,586
SHATNER:
Is it possible for a place like Crater Lake
779
00:40:29,655 --> 00:40:33,206
to be imbued
with some kind of dark power?
780
00:40:35,862 --> 00:40:38,206
The native people of that area
781
00:40:38,275 --> 00:40:40,724
had a largely sacred
understanding
782
00:40:40,793 --> 00:40:42,517
of that particular
body of water.
783
00:40:42,586 --> 00:40:46,586
And when we have a place,
a geographic location,
784
00:40:46,655 --> 00:40:49,379
that's recognized as powerful,
785
00:40:49,448 --> 00:40:54,724
when individuals approach
that area, unknowing--
786
00:40:54,827 --> 00:40:57,172
or disrespectful,
perhaps, even--
787
00:40:57,241 --> 00:40:59,517
of the power that's there,
788
00:40:59,586 --> 00:41:02,344
the story never ends well.
789
00:41:03,517 --> 00:41:05,655
ERATO:
When someone vanishes in the wilderness,
790
00:41:05,724 --> 00:41:08,172
we have a lot of modern-day
technology that's used
791
00:41:08,241 --> 00:41:10,103
in the recovery
to go find people,
792
00:41:10,172 --> 00:41:11,931
and it works most of the time,
793
00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,068
but what drives
public fascination about
794
00:41:14,137 --> 00:41:17,068
a lot of these mysteries
are the vanishings
795
00:41:17,137 --> 00:41:19,482
where none of that technology
seems to work.
796
00:41:19,551 --> 00:41:22,517
We have all this stuff
at our disposal,
797
00:41:22,620 --> 00:41:24,137
and it turns up nothing.
798
00:41:24,206 --> 00:41:26,413
And nobody can explain why.
799
00:41:29,758 --> 00:41:33,517
So what do you think about
these bizarre vanishings?
800
00:41:33,586 --> 00:41:36,482
Could they all be the result
of tragic accidents?
801
00:41:36,586 --> 00:41:38,172
Foul play?
802
00:41:38,241 --> 00:41:43,241
Or might extra-dimensional
forces be at work?
803
00:41:43,310 --> 00:41:45,655
Well, in any case,
it's safe to say that
804
00:41:45,724 --> 00:41:48,655
these mysterious disappearances
805
00:41:48,724 --> 00:41:51,965
force us to challenge
our preconceived notions
806
00:41:52,034 --> 00:41:55,551
about what we believe is fact,
807
00:41:55,620 --> 00:41:57,793
what we believe is fiction
808
00:41:57,862 --> 00:42:02,172
and what we're willing
to accept as being simply...
809
00:42:02,241 --> 00:42:04,206
unexplained.
810
00:42:04,275 --> 00:42:06,482
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