Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Entire civilizations

mysteriously vanish from the face of the Earth.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: Cultures, towns, and villages

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: Cultures, towns, and villages have disappeared in Earth history.

have disappeared in Earth history.

Nobody has come back.

NARRATOR: Massive objects

erased without explanation.

NICK REDFERN: These aircraft and ships

are just gone,

totally vanished.

Possibly they've been sucked

Possibly they've been sucked into some form of wormhole.

into some form of wormhole.

NARRATOR: And individuals

who are suddenly gone without a trace.

GEORGE NOORY: Hundreds of thousands of people

on planet Earth disappear every year--

and nobody knows where they are.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that unexplained disappearances

are in some way connected to alien abductions?

WHITLEY STRIEBER: The room was filled

with these willowy figures with big black eyes.

Kept trying to wake up, and I couldn't.

NARRATOR: There is a doorway

in the universe.

Beyond it is the promise of truth.

It demands we question everything

we have ever been taught.

we have ever been taught. The evidence is all around us.

The evidence is all around us.

The future is right before our eyes.

The future is right before our eyes. We are not alone.

We are not alone.

We have never been alone.

Nunavut Territory, Canada.

Located at the northernmost point of the country

and stretching across most of the Canadian Arctic,

the Nunavut Territory

is among the most sparsely populated regions on Earth.

(dogs barking)

Yet Inuit tribes

have continuously inhabited the region

for at least 4,000 years.

Because of its remoteness,

most people had not heard of the region until 1930,

when it first made headlines

when it first made headlines across North American newspapers

across North American newspapers

across North American newspapers with the report

with the report

of the mysterious disappearance

of an entire Inuit tribe.

A fur trapper by the name of Joe Labelle,

comes upon a small village, and it's empty.

There are tents. There are shelters.

There's a fire.

There's a fire. There's stew in a pot on the fire.

There's stew in a pot on the fire.

But there's nobody around.

HOWE: There were graves

in this village

where every top of every grave had been lifted off,

and every dead person was gone.

NARRATOR: There was no sign

of violence or disturbance in the Anjikuni village

to explain how an estimated 25 men, women, and children

would have vanished.

After the disappearance was first publicized,

other details began to emerge.

When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police got to the village

and they went around and talked with locals,

they were hearing all about strange things in the sky.

The Mounties themselves saw blue lights

twinkling and hovering and moving around on the horizon

as if being watched by something in the sky.

One thing that makes the Anjikuni case

really stand out

is the fact that the entire village was just gone.

And that is something that we don't see too often,

And that is something that we don't see too often, but we do see it now and again,

but we do see it now and again,

but we do see it now and again, and possibly that demonstrates

and possibly that demonstrates

a very disturbing aspect of the UFO phenomenon.

NARRATOR: Could it be

that the Anjikuni tribe

actually disappeared from the face of the Earth?

Some ancient astronaut theorists

claim that accounts of mass disappearances

can be traced back thousands of years

to some of our earliest civilizations.

HOWE: What is happening

on all of the mass disappearances?

Nobody knows.

In the mass disappearances where cultures or towns or villages

have disappeared in Earth history,

have disappeared in Earth history, nobody has come back.

nobody has come back.

DAVID CHILDRESS: Throughout ancient history,

there are various reports

of large amounts of people

just completely disappearing from the Earth

and going to some unknown place.

We don't know, but it's possible

that this is connected, in fact, to extraterrestrials.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that there is a common thread

linking mass disappearances throughout history?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and suggest further clues can be found

by examining the story of 100,000 people

by examining the story of 100,000 people who completely vanished.

who completely vanished.

Russian painter, philosopher, and archaeologist

Nicholas Roerich

embarks on an unprecedented expedition

into the uncharted territory of the Tibetan plateau

on a quest to find the lost kingdom of Shambhala,

a so-called hidden realm of the gods

that is found in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Shambhala is a very important role in the Tibetan culture.

And we believe it exists in this role.

And we believe it exists in this role. CHILDRESS: Shambhala is ruled by kings

CHILDRESS: Shambhala is ruled by kings

who live for hundreds of years.

They are all-knowing,

and they particularly are guiding the planet,

and they particularly are guiding the planet, very much as we often think

very much as we often think

that extraterrestrials are doing.

They have wonderful technology.

There's electricity. There's airships.

So what is going on in Shambhala?

Is it some mystical city of the masters

where extraterrestrials and humans

are living and working together?

I mean, that's what many people believe.

NARRATOR: On August 5, 1927,

Roerich notes a strange object in the skies

while traveling through the mountains

along the northeastern border of Tibet.

Roerich writes that they were looking up at the sky

watching an eagle fly around

watching an eagle fly around and then suddenly they saw

and then suddenly they saw

a sort of oval-shaped object moving from north to south

at very fast speeds pass over them.

HUGH NEWMAN: At one of his later lectures in 1935,

Nicholas Roerich described his sighting

as a spacecraft or an aerial vehicle

that must have come from Shambhala itself.

NARRATOR: Did Nicholas Roerich

witness an alien craft in Tibet

witness an alien craft in Tibet nearly a century ago,

nearly a century ago,

decades before the era of modern UFO sightings began?

And if so, is it possible that the traditions

that have endured here for centuries

reflect not only a profound spirituality,

but are tied to an otherworldly presence?

Perhaps further clues can be found

by examining an early Buddhist civilization

that suddenly and mysteriously disappeared.

Ngari Prefecture, Tibet. 2020.

Towering at over 12,000 feet,

these ancient ruins are all that is left

of the mysterious Buddhist kingdom of Guge.

Established in the tenth century,

this civilization flourished for 700 years.

But then, according to local legend,

its inhabitants vanished.

The ruins of this early city are truly amazing.

They're in the southwest corner of Tibet,

and there are thousands of what were temples and palaces,

mostly gone now.

This was a kingdom of great influence in its time.

This magnificent capitol had artwork over all the walls,

images of the Buddha, sacred carvings,

images of the Buddha, sacred carvings, and images of all kind.

and images of all kind.

It had power, it had glory, and now it is nothing.

WILLIAM HENRY: Guge was in continuous operation

until it mysteriously virtually disappeared.

Nobody knows exactly what happened there

or why people stopped living there

or why they-- where they went.

NARRATOR: Guge was brought under the rule

of the central Tibetan government in 1680

but remained largely isolated and independent

for more than 200 years.

Then, in the early 20th century, the Tibetan government decided

to finally start taxing the residents of Guge,

to finally start taxing the residents of Guge, but when soldiers arrived to collect,

but when soldiers arrived to collect,

they were shocked to find that the entire population,

an estimated 100,000 people, had disappeared.

Where they went remains a complete mystery,

and many Tibetans believe the reason why

is because the people of Guge traveled deep underground.

CHILDRESS: The fortress of Guge

had all kinds of tunnels and hidden staircases

that went underground and went inside this mountain.

So even though it was ruins already,

So even though it was ruins already, when archaeologists went there,

when archaeologists went there,

they were astounded

that this city of Guge apparently led inside the Earth.

What people seemed to believe

was that if you were to follow these tunnels

far enough into the Earth,

you would eventually come

to that hidden city of Shambhala,

an active city full of light and power.

NARRATOR: Did the people

NARRATOR: Did the people of this civilization

of this civilization

flee underground on an epic pilgrimage

to the mythic city of Shambala?

But if so, why haven't remnants

of the hidden kingdom or the thousands of people

who allegedly made the journey there

been discovered?

Some ancient astronaut theorists suggest

there may be a supernatural

or perhaps even extraterrestrial element

at play.

And for further clues, they point to evidence

left behind by a mysterious civilization

that abruptly abandoned its home on Easter Island.

NARRATOR: The Southeast Pacific Ocean.

Rapa Nui, or Easter Island, as it has become known,

is one of the most remote places on the planet.

The nearest inhabited island is 1,100 miles to the west,

and its nearest continental country, Chile,

is over 2,000 miles away.

Scattered around the perimeter of the island,

most with their backs to the sea,

stand nearly 300 massive stone figures known as the moai.

Most are between 15 to 20 feet tall,

but the tallest stands over 70 feet,

and the heaviest weighs up to 165 tons.

Why did these people go to such great effort

Why did these people go to such great effort to build these giant statues?

to build these giant statues?

No one else in Polynesia was doing that.

When you talk to the people of Easter Island today,

the Rapa Nui people, they say that they were doing them

to honor certain important ancestral Ariki, or rulers.

These moais are images of great ancestors.

NARRATOR: Some ancient astronaut theorists

have suggested that the moai

may have been erected by a lost race of giants

that once inhabited the island.

Interestingly, C.F. Behrens,

a member of the Dutch expedition team

that first discovered the island in 1722,

described some of the priestly class of inhabitants

as Goliaths.

BARNHART: C.F. Behrens reported

BARNHART: C.F. Behrens reported that he saw giant people.

that he saw giant people.

Someone had rowed up to their boat

that was some 15 foot tall.

He really made a big deal of these giants on the island.

He really made a big deal of these giants on the island. CHILDRESS: When the first explorers

CHILDRESS: When the first explorers

CHILDRESS: When the first explorers landed on Easter Island,

landed on Easter Island,

what they found was that there were

what they found was that there were two types of people there.

two types of people there.

There were the Short Ears and the Long Ears.

And the Long Ears were often described as giants,

and they were a different race from the Short Ears.

Presumably, they had these very, very long ears

and earlobes.

And they were the priestly caste.

They were directing the creation and the movement

of these statues around the island.

NEWMAN: They were said to be so tall

that each of the crew could walk under the legs of these giants.

The sheer size of the megaliths on Easter Island

The sheer size of the megaliths on Easter Island do suggest they were made by giants.

do suggest they were made by giants.

There are legends all around the world

There are legends all around the world linked with megalithic sites,

linked with megalithic sites,

which may give some clarity on who

and how they actually built these sites.

NARRATOR: Francis Mazi�re,

a French ethnologist

who conducted research on the island in 1963,

recorded local legends

that the first men to live on the island

were of very large stature.

In his book The Mysteries of Easter Island,

In his book The Mysteries of Easter Island, Francis Mazi�re talks about

Francis Mazi�re talks about

that the first islanders of Easter Island

allegedly were these tall, giant people.

HOWE: There were inhabitants there

that were eight to ten,

maybe even 12 feet high.

And what do you automatically think of?

Genesis in the Bible

talks about how something that was nonhuman,

perhaps angelic, perhaps extraterrestrial,

saw the fair maidens of humans, had intercourse,

and from that came the hybrids known as the giants of old.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the accounts of giants on Earth

are in fact true

as ancient astronaut theorists suggest?

Did the remnants of this lost race

continue to exist on Easter Island?

And if so, just what happened to these beings?

Up to 15,000 people lived on Easter Island

prior to its Western discovery.

But only 52 years later,

explorer James Cook described a sight of mass devastation...

...with nearly all of the moai statues toppled over

and only about 700 inhabitants left on the island

and only about 700 inhabitants left on the island and no mention of giants.

and no mention of giants.

Something seems to have happened at Easter Island

that decreased the population seriously.

And it seems that a number of people

either died off, left, or something happened to them.

NARRATOR: Some ancient astronaut theorists

propose that evidence left at the site

may point to a more intriguing theory

regarding their disappearance.

Archaeologists found unfinished moai left at the quarry

and tools scattered around

as if the work had been suddenly abandoned.

CHILDRESS: We don't know why

they would have stopped this

and even what happened exactly

to the priestly caste of giants

who was overseeing all of this work.

Suddenly these people just vanished.

All the work stopped.

HOWE: The issue

that keeps coming up about Easter Island--

was this a genetic experiment

was this a genetic experiment where nonhumans would use

where nonhumans would use

islands, high mountains, peninsulas

so that there would not be interference with

or contamination of their experiments?

Maybe that's why they were transferred out.

NARRATOR: Could it be

NARRATOR: Could it be that an entire tribe

that an entire tribe

was physically removed from Earth

shortly after their discovery on Easter Sunday?

And if so, could mass disappearances

be part of an extraterrestrial experiment on Earth?

Perhaps evidence of such a connection

can be found in the jungles of Central America

can be found in the jungles of Central America with a civilization

with a civilization

that seems to have strategically abandoned

all of their sacred sites

and vanished without a trace.

NARRATOR: Tikal National Park, Guatemala.

Here, deep in the northern jungles of South America,

lie the ruins of one of the largest cities

lie the ruins of one of the largest cities of the Classic Maya.

of the Classic Maya.

Starting around 800 AD,

their sacred sites were abandoned

one after the other.

Palenque...

Cop�n...

Naranjo...

...and then finally Tikal.

Tikal was perhaps the largest city

of the entire Classic Maya period.

It really was the signature city of the Maya.

It was also one of the last cities to be walked away from.

So you get the impression that whatever happened

that compelled people to walk away from the cities,

Tikal was the last one to do it.

NARRATOR: Scholars believe

that at its height,

the Classic Maya population

may have been as large as 20 million.

But after the collapse,

up to 95% of the Maya were unaccounted for.

We still do not know why they left their cities.

Because all of a sudden, they disappeared.

And it was not a war

because you find no traces of a war,

no traces of destruction.

They left. We don't know why and where they have gone.

The question remains, why?

Where did they go,

and why did they leave their cities?

Of course, there's a lot of practical reasons

that have been brought forth--

possibly overpopulation,

quite possibly drought, deforestation,

a lack of water, and so forth and so forth.

But nonetheless it remains quite interesting

to think that so many people disappeared

all at about the same time.

NARRATOR: Historians have noted

that the disappearance of the Classic Maya

seems to correspond with the end of one of their calendar cycles.

But the priestly class

seemed to have made a new calendar

called the Long Count.

We're still not really sure why they created this calendar,

but I do note that its timing

seems to time with major events.

The Maya are leading their lives

based on this Long Count calendar.

NARRATOR: The Maya constructed

the Long Count calendar

the Long Count calendar to count down 5,125 years,

to count down 5,125 years,

or one Great Cycle.

The calendar was further divided into 13 units

of approximately 400 years each called baktuns.

At the end of each baktun,

the Maya held a major celebration.

But curiously,

on the tenth baktun, they did not.

Their Maya calendar has this very important juncture

called a baktun.

called a baktun. It's a 400-year period

It's a 400-year period

that comes up in 830 AD.

And they should have celebrated it,

but it's odd.

We know at Tikal, for example,

that there was no celebration of that tenth baktun.

HAWKES: The Maya were the best

HAWKES: The Maya were the best timekeepers possibly

timekeepers possibly

of any civilization of all time.

So if they know so much about time

and they knew when to do things,

was their disappearance from their cities

really planned according to their calendar?

Now, the Maya of today that have survived

talk about how their ancestors went home.

Where is home?

NARRATOR: Is it possible

NARRATOR: Is it possible the Long Count calendar

the Long Count calendar

was actually counting down to a preordained date

when the Maya knew they would disappear?

And if so, could further evidence of this be found

by examining the clues left behind in Tikal?

Archeoastronomers have noted

that the seven most important pyramids in the Grand Plaza

form the same geometric patterns

as the seven stars comprising the Pleiades constellation,

a star cluster revered

by many ancient cultures across the globe.

Many of the Mayan monuments

have undeniable celestial alignments

with the Pleiades star cluster.

Is it possible that these people

originally came from the Pleiades

and that's why they encoded the Pleiades

and that's why they encoded the Pleiades in their monuments so many times

in their monuments so many times

and then eventually they returned home?

REDFERN: Today, in abduction lore,

REDFERN: Today, in abduction lore, many people report

many people report

that their abductors come from the Pleiades.

That's what they tell the people who have been taken away.

So we seem to have a situation, potentially,

where entities from the Pleiades have visited the Earth,

have interacted with humans

for literally thousands of years.

HOWE: Those Mayans

HOWE: Those Mayans didn't leave because of drought.

didn't leave because of drought.

They left because it was some kind of harvest.

It was an experiment.

The Mayans reached some place,

and somebody took them from here.

It was the end of a calendar cycle

and the beginning of another calendar cycle

that means a lot to some intelligence out there.

NARRATOR: Could it be that the collapse

of the Classic Maya society

was due to a mass abduction

as some ancient astronaut theorists suggest?

Was this an event

Was this an event that the elite priests and rulers

that the elite priests and rulers

that the elite priests and rulers were counting down to?

were counting down to?

Perhaps answers can be found 2,300 miles north

with the disappearance of another tribe

intricately connected to the Pleiades.

(bird screeches)

(bird screeches) NARRATOR: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

NARRATOR: Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.

2014.

In the desolate high desert of the American Southwest,

In the desolate high desert of the American Southwest, mysterious ruins stand as a testament

mysterious ruins stand as a testament

to a great civilization that once flourished here...

...the Ancient Pueblo Peoples, or Anasazi.

With a population estimated at well over 100,000,

the Anasazi settled nearly 50,000 square miles

of the Four Corners region

of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico.

of Arizona, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico. The highly sophisticated culture

The highly sophisticated culture

built hundreds of miles of ancient roads,

many converging from all directions

to Chaco Canyon,

to Chaco Canyon, a ceremonial site

a ceremonial site

believed to be one of their most important.

ROGER MOORE: People that built this site

somehow came onto the engineering principles

to be able to build multistory buildings

such as Pueblo Bonito behind me here.

They developed a culture here

that integrated the alignments of the buildings

with celestial objects and events

such as the rising of the Pleiades.

The Anasazi were a very successful civilization

up until about the 12th century,

up until about the 12th century, and something very strange happened,

and something very strange happened,

and there's a great deal of argument

as to what that event may have been.

NARRATOR: According to archaeologists,

NARRATOR: According to archaeologists, sometime around 1130 AD,

sometime around 1130 AD,

all construction ceased at Chaco.

The buildings were sealed,

and the roofs of the ceremonial structures, called kivas,

were burned.

It's fair to say

that there were groups that did move,

migrate to other areas.

Those then became the Pueblos and the Hopis.

What is confusing is what happened

to the central part of the civilization...

the ones that were the astronomers

the ones that were the astronomers that built the observatories.

that built the observatories.

Where did they go?

It appears as though they simply disappeared.

NARRATOR: Some ancient astronaut theorists,

NARRATOR: Some ancient astronaut theorists, like author David Childress,

like author David Childress,

like author David Childress, propose that there is, in fact,

propose that there is, in fact,

more to the disappearance of the Anasazi elders

than a simple migration.

And they claim clues can be found

And they claim clues can be found throughout the ancient site.

throughout the ancient site.

On this cliff behind me here at Chaco Canyon,

we have about a dozen unusual spirals

we have about a dozen unusual spirals carved into the cliff.

carved into the cliff.

Archeologists believe that they represent the sun.

But some of these spirals are very unusual.

One even has little spirals coming off of it.

One even has little spirals coming off of it. So you have to ask yourself,

So you have to ask yourself,

are these spirals in fact

representations of some kind of portal,

some door to another dimension?

Both the Hopi and the Zuni Indians

say they came from the stars...

...that their knowledge came from the star people,

...that their knowledge came from the star people, the star ancestors.

the star ancestors.

the star ancestors. And the Hopi say portals are marked

And the Hopi say portals are marked

with the spiral petroglyph,

portals to a different dimension,

portals to a different dimension, portals to another world.

portals to another world.

There are some that believe

that that may represent the portals

by which the Anasazi and other Southwestern cultures

crossed from this world into their point of origin.

I think there's a possibility at least

that there is a connection

between the alignments of certain celestial events

and the opening and closings of these portals.

Is it possible that the Anasazi themselves

vanished en masse from this site,

and did they go into another dimension?

NARRATOR: Could it be that the spiral-shaped petroglyphs

left behind by the Anasazi

left behind by the Anasazi actually represent portals?

actually represent portals?

If so, did the Anasazi have knowledge

of when and how to access these other worlds?

Ancient astronaut theorists say yes

and believe further evidence of an otherworldly connection

can be found in the oral stories about this lost civilization

that have survived through other tribes.

The Anasazi is actually not a name

The Anasazi is actually not a name that they gave themselves.

that they gave themselves.

It was a name that was given to them by the Navajo.

HOWE: The Anasazi,

the name meant "stranger from afar"

the name meant "stranger from afar" or "strange enemy."

or "strange enemy."

Something that was separate, apart.

It is possible that the Anasazi are in another dimension,

another timeline, another planet.

All of these various disappearances

All of these various disappearances of people over time,

of people over time,

whether it is the Mayans,

whether it is the Anasazi,

whether it is the Anasazi, you can look through history,

you can look through history,

and you can begin to see these rhythms.

Advanced intelligences that are behind all of this

are using the planet like a laboratory.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that the Anasazi elders

that the Anasazi elders were an alien hybrid race,

were an alien hybrid race,

were an alien hybrid race, as their Navajo name would imply?

as their Navajo name would imply?

And could extraterrestrials have used ancient portals

to remove entire groups of people off the planet?

As far-fetched as the notion may seem,

modern science suggests

that such portals, or wormholes,

may in fact exist.

NARRATOR: Princeton, New Jersey.

July 1935.

While collaborating

at the Institute for Advanced Study,

physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen

physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen publish a groundbreaking idea.

publish a groundbreaking idea.

They come to the conclusion that the Theory of Relativity

actually allows for shortcuts across the space-time continuum.

These paths, called Einstein-Rosen bridges,

more commonly known as wormholes,

more commonly known as wormholes, connect two distant locations,

connect two distant locations,

making travel to the most remote stars in the universe

a possibility.

DENNIN: What you're talking about

DENNIN: What you're talking about is a structure in space

is a structure in space

that involves very, very strong bending of space

and the connecting of two different parts of space.

So if you think of a piece of paper curved around

So if you think of a piece of paper curved around and then punched out

and then punched out

and connected from one place to the other,

that's your basic wormhole.

REDFERN: If we look at the distance

from our planet to the nearest star system,

it's 4.2 light-years away.

That means you would have to travel for 4.2 years

at the speed of light, which is 186,000 miles a second,

just to get there.

The only way, really, to do that

would be by something like a wormhole.

NARRATOR: While the idea

NARRATOR: While the idea of wormhole travel

of wormhole travel

offers incredible possibilities,

realizing this technology poses immense challenges.

Scientists estimate

that creating a traversable wormhole

would require a far greater amount of energy

than anything we can produce today.

But there is a theory

But there is a theory that so-called exotic matter

that so-called exotic matter

may provide the key to unlocking wormhole travel.

DENNIN: What you need is matter with negative mass,

and we're only aware of matter with positive mass,

so we call this exotic matter.

Not that it couldn't exist. We're just not aware of it yet.

Not that it couldn't exist. We're just not aware of it yet. The bottom line is it takes

The bottom line is it takes

huge amounts of energy to create these.

Imagine taking all of Jupiter now,

its entire mass,

and converting that to energy.

You know, you're talking

millions and millions of times more energy

than you have in a nuclear bomb.

NARRATOR: Although most scientists say

that we're a long way from developing the technology

that we're a long way from developing the technology to create wormholes,

to create wormholes,

if such a thing is even possible at all,

there are those who believe

these celestial shortcuts already exist.

In 1991,

scientists at Vanderbilt University

proposed that the chaos of the Big Bang

not only created the universe,

but also may have caused the formation of mini wormholes

billions of years ago.

ROBERT H. FRISBEE: During the Big Bang,

space-time itself was being mashed together,

expanded, contracted.

And one theory says that if you had something

like the size of the Himalayan mountains,

the space-time around it

the space-time around it could have been so badly stressed

could have been so badly stressed

that it would mash this matter inside its own event horizon.

In the same way,

you can imagine space-time being mashed together

and forming a mini wormhole.

NARRATOR: The possible result,

NARRATOR: The possible result, according to researchers,

according to researchers,

would be a wormhole about the size of an atom.

Once located,

these mini wormholes could possibly be stretched

to create a traversable wormhole.

DENNIN: One of the things we know

is that since the Big Bang,

the universe has been expanding,

which means space-time overall has been stretching.

So if when the universe is quite small

you make a teeny, little wormhole,

as that whole structure stretches,

that whole wormhole stretches and grows big as well.

So you could end up with a very large wormhole now.

NARRATOR: If wormholes were created

in the earliest stages of the universe,

is it possible, as some ancient astronaut theorists suggest,

that celestial beings have already used them

to travel to Earth in the distant past?

JASON MARTELL: It's very possible that wormholes

or stargates opening

and beings coming through them

are a way to explain how man was interacting

are a way to explain how man was interacting with ancient gods.

with ancient gods.

NARRATOR: Chihuahua, Mexico.

Just 125 miles from the Texas border.

This vast archaeological site

This vast archaeological site situated near the base

situated near the base

of the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain range

dates back to 1200 A.D.

Known as both Paquim� and Casas Grandes,

only part of the extensive remains,

estimated to contain more than 2,000 clay rooms,

have been excavated,

revealing a well-planned city

containing plazas, stores, workshops,

and multistory residential buildings

with an advanced water and sewage system.

BARNHART: Paquim�, or Casas Grandes,

is larger than any other site

for hundreds of miles in any direction.

And there's an interesting melding of different cultures.

In some aspects, it's a very Mesoamerican or Aztec city.

In other regards,

it's a very Pueblo or Southwest-culture city.

NARRATOR: At its height,

Paquim� is believed to have had a population

of more than 10,000.

But this thriving pre-Columbian civilization declined

and mysteriously disappeared by the 16th century.

While no one knows exactly

who the inhabitants of Paquim� were,

it is believed that their descendants

may be the indigenous people of the region,

known as the Tarahumara.

The Tarahumara now live

high up in the canyons of the Sierra Madre,

high up in the canyons of the Sierra Madre, and much of what is known

and much of what is known

about the ancient city of Paquim�

comes from the stories passed down to them

from their ancestors.

According to their legends,

Paquim� is a sacred place

where star people have appeared for centuries.

Described as light, tall, and blond,

the Tarahumara say these mysterious beings

emerged from doorways in the ruins.

HAWKES: The Tarahumara truly believe

that the star people exist, still, today

in the Chihuahuan Desert.

They believe that these tall, blond people

represent, maybe, the heirs of the star people

that first brought them to this world.

They believe that there is a portal

and that these star people use this portal today

to transport to various places

on the Earth and off-world as well.

NARRATOR: Throughout the architecture

NARRATOR: Throughout the architecture of Paquim� are hundreds

of Paquim� are hundreds

of uniquely T-shaped openings,

openings that closely resemble an ancient doorway

more than 4,000 miles away in southern Peru.

Here, perched high in the Andes Mountains,

this shallow T-shaped opening

called the Doorway of Amaru Muru

is surrounded by many legends

describing it as an active portal

that transports beings both into and out of this world.

ANDREW COLLINS: This could be a coincidence

if it weren't for the fact

that at Paquim� there are strange stories

of the appearance of these Caucasian-like beings.

And there are very similar stories

to do with this gate of the gods in Peru.

It's possible that this does represent a stargate location

in which extraterrestrial humans

are seen as coming and going

during certain opportune points in the year

when the stargate becomes active.

NARRATOR: Considering the similar doorways

and legends of otherworldly beings

at Paquim� and Amaru Muru,

is it possible that extraterrestrials

once accessed these ancient sites

through stargates?

Some ancient astronaut theorists

say that not only were stargates present

at places like Paquim� and Amaru Muru

in the distant past,

but that there may be functioning stargates

here on Earth even today.

NARRATOR: The Sargasso Sea.

Stretching 700 miles wide and 2,000 miles long,

this strange body of water

is completely isolated

in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean.

It is a sea without shores

surrounded by some

of the strongest currents in the world,

of the strongest currents in the world, and due to a number of unexplained incidents

and due to a number of unexplained incidents

that have occurred here,

it has earned the nicknames Sea of Lost Ships,

The Calms of Death,

and The Sea of Fear.

And curiously,

although the waters around it are violent,

although the waters around it are violent, the Sargasso Sea itself is calm.

the Sargasso Sea itself is calm.

The water is unusually blue,

mysterious, as if the currents don't affect this one area.

As if the winds stop or as if time stands still.

Back in the time of sailing ships,

if sailing ships went into this area,

they could not necessarily get out,

and they were seen as sort of being trapped

by the Sargasso Sea.

TSOUKALOS: Boats will be found

perfectly intact there,

but the crew will have disappeared

without a trace.

without a trace. Now, why would that be?

Now, why would that be?

Because it's strange

since the Sargasso Sea is known for its calm waters.

NARRATOR: Perhaps the oldest known

and most famous disappearance

reported from the Sargasso Sea

occurred in August 1840

when a merchant ship called the Rosalie

was traveling from Germany to Cuba.

According to the London Times,

when it was discovered drifting aimlessly,

the vessel was completely abandoned

although perfectly intact with the sails still set.

What happened to the Rosalie remains a mystery,

but similar occurrences

have continued to plague the Sargasso Sea

for centuries.

BARA: In 1881,

a ship by the name of the Ellen Austin

found a derelict schooner in the Sargasso Sea.

They put a crew aboard it

and sailed in tandem back towards London

for several days.

About two days later,

the schooner was found to be sailing erratically,

and when it was boarded again,

that crew had also disappeared absolutely into thin air.

It was as if the people were simply beamed out of it.

It is also interesting to note that the Sargasso Sea

is directly in contact with the area

we call the Bermuda Triangle.

There may be some type

of stargate or portal activation in this area.

NARRATOR: Could the reports

NARRATOR: Could the reports of strange disappearances

of strange disappearances

occurring in the Sargasso Sea

and also in the Bermuda Triangle that overlaps this body of water

be explained by the presence of a stargate?

Ancient astronaut theorists

believe further evidence can be found

deep within one of North America's largest lakes.

Lake Michigan.

Stretching across

this 22,300 square mile body of water

from Manitowoc, Wisconsin,

to Ludington and Benton Harbor, Michigan,

is another mysterious area known as the Michigan Triangle.

Like the Sargasso Sea,

this portion of the massive freshwater lake

has been associated with bizarre and puzzling disappearances.

BARA: In 1937, there was a freighter named the McFarland,

which passed through the Michigan Triangle.

The captain of the ship

went to his cabin to get some sleep,

told his second mate to come and awaken him

at a specific time.

When the second mate knocked on the door,

there was no answer.

The door was locked from the inside.

They broke in, and the captain had simply disappeared.

None of the portholes were open. None of the windows were open.

There was no way for the captain to have gotten out of the ship.

NOORY: They never could find the guy.

Did he jump off the ship? Who knows?

But the ship was exactly in this triangle

But the ship was exactly in this triangle in Lake Michigan.

in Lake Michigan.

NARRATOR: But ships aren't the only crafts

affected by this area of Lake Michigan.

There are accounts of as many as 40 planes

that have disappeared in the Michigan Triangle.

In 1950,

13 years after the captain of the McFarland went missing,

13 years after the captain of the McFarland went missing, Northwest Airlines Flight 2501,

Northwest Airlines Flight 2501,

carrying 55 passengers and three crew,

disappeared as it passed over the Michigan Triangle.

The wreckage has never been discovered,

The wreckage has never been discovered, and investigations continue to this day.

and investigations continue to this day.

BARA: No wreckage was ever found.

The families have been despondent over it.

They continue to look for the wreckage.

There's a monument to them on the shores of Lake Michigan,

but not a trace--

not a belt buckle, not a wallet, not a chair,

nothing from the aircraft has ever been found,

and the area was searched for six days afterwards.

It's been searched extensively by salvagers

in the decades since,

and no one has ever found a thing.

Ships have been there. They've disappeared.

Airplanes have flown into the region.

Airplanes have flown into the region. They've disappeared.

They've disappeared.

They've disappeared. REDFERN: These aircraft and ships

REDFERN: These aircraft and ships

are just gone.

Now, for me,

the very fact that they are totally vanished,

that makes me think that possibly

they've been sucked into some form of wormhole

and unfortunately get trapped on the other side.

NARRATOR: Could the murky waters

of Lake Michigan

actually be hiding the entrance to a wormhole

as some researchers suggest?

Might that explain why there has been

such peculiar phenomenon here,

including countless sightings

of strange unidentified flying objects

both overhead

and coming from below the surface?

BARA: There have been witnesses

that have actually seen green glowing disks

fly up out of the lake.

They've seen blue spherical objects

fly into the lake.

Gateways through space and time will have a luminous quality.

They will appear as spherical formations of plasma.

It seems that certain areas

are often where these portals are naturally forming.

It's possible that extraterrestrials

may have been accessing that area,

and, in fact, it may still be active today,

thus accounting for these UFO sightings

and all the bizarre disappearances.

HENRY: It's possible that there's

HENRY: It's possible that there's a network of portals

a network of portals

spread throughout the world.

These portals could be accessed

by extraterrestrial beings

who use them to come and go from the stars.

NARRATOR: Could there be portals

to other worlds that exist on Earth,

ones that continue to function even today?

If so, might they not only serve

as gateways for extraterrestrial visitors

but also help explain cases of missing people

that have vanished without a trace?

Perhaps further clues can be found by exploring the mystery

of the Brown Mountain lights and disappearances.

NARRATOR: Burke County, North Carolina.

For at least a century,

a strange phenomenon has been witnessed regularly

by thousands of people

in the foothills of the Brown Mountains.

Unidentified lights

moving erratically just below the horizon

have been photographed

and even recorded on video.

and even recorded on video. MAN: There it is. There it is. Ooh!

MAN: There it is. There it is. Ooh!

Ooh, look at that! Look at that!

Brown Mountain in North Carolina

is an area that has for centuries been associated

with mysterious lights and disappearances.

And for decades, these lights have been studied,

and no one is sure exactly what causes these lights.

There are many theories about them.

There are tales of people

who have gone out into those foothills

or onto the mountain

or onto the mountain and never come back.

and never come back.

WILCOCK: There is a long-standing tradition

of disappearances that happened in this area.

In 1850, we have a case of a plantation owner

who wanders off into the mountains

who wanders off into the mountains and disappears completely.

and disappears completely.

And then a whole group of his slaves, carrying lanterns,

go out trying to find him, and they cannot find him,

go out trying to find him, and they cannot find him, and then they also disappeared.

and then they also disappeared.

In another case,

In another case, a woman went missing on Brown Mountain

a woman went missing on Brown Mountain

a woman went missing on Brown Mountain and a whole team of people

and a whole team of people

who were dispatched to search for her

who were dispatched to search for her did not return.

did not return.

There have been mysterious disappearances

of people who have gone up on the mountain

and never come back.

And in each instance,

there's always this reference to mysterious lights,

there's always this reference to mysterious lights, as if these lights somehow function

as if these lights somehow function

as perhaps a portal or a gateway

though which these people disappear into.

NARRATOR: Could it be that there are

NARRATOR: Could it be that there are actually places on Earth

actually places on Earth

where entire groups of people could disappear

where entire groups of people could disappear through some sort of portal?

through some sort of portal?

If so, is it possible

that the Brown Mountain lights and disappearances

are part of a larger agenda?

In the United States alone,

over 600,000 people are reported missing each year,

and up to one percent are never located.

And paranormal researchers have noticed a disturbing trend

of unexplainable disappearances associated with remote areas.

Hundreds of thousands of people on planet Earth

disappear every year-- every year--

disappear every year-- every year-- and nobody knows where they are.

and nobody knows where they are.

National forests, parks.

There have been stories of people

talking to other people.

They turn around and they're gone.

NARRATOR: Holland, Michigan.

February 18, 1978.

Steven Kubacki, a student at Hope College,

tells his roommates he's going out cross-country skiing.

When Steven doesn't return by nightfall,

his roommates contact the police,

and a massive search and rescue operation is launched.

DAVID PAULIDES: Two days later,

they find Steven's backpack and his skis

sitting on the beach to the Great Lakes,

and they walk out and they search the area

and they walk out and they search the area and they find tracks in the snow

and they find tracks in the snow

leading out onto the ice towards the lake.

The tracks appeared to stop in the middle of the lake.

There was no hole. There was nothing.

That was just where they stopped.

He completely disappeared.

NARRATOR: A little over a year later,

Steven Kubacki awakens in a field

some 700 miles from where he disappeared,

certain it was the same day as the one when he went missing.

He had no memory of where he had been

or how he had traveled across the country.

PAULIDES: Where he was for that one year and two months

is a complete black hole.

NARRATOR: After months of investigation,

there was no credible evidence that Steven Kubacki

had staged or faked his disappearance.

So how was it that a 23-year-old skier

suddenly vanished without a trace

only to return just over a year later

and with no memory of where he had gone

or for how long?

These are the questions currently being answered

These are the questions currently being answered by former police detective

by former police detective

turned missing persons investigator

Dave Paulides.

(phone rings)

This is Dave.

NARRATOR: For the past nine years,

he has been investigating

the world's most baffling missing persons cases

and has concluded that there are certain places on Earth

where unexplained disappearances occur

in astonishingly high numbers.

I know a lot of people throughout the world

have heard of the Bermuda Triangle,

missing ships and planes over water.

I don't think many people have heard

about the disappearances of people on land

that fit this exact profile that we've established.

Certain profile points replicate themselves

time after time after time.

When they bring in search dogs, bloodhounds,

When they bring in search dogs, bloodhounds, they can't pick up a scent.

they can't pick up a scent.

They bring in professional trackers.

They bring in professional trackers. They can't track point to point.

They can't track point to point.

Many, many times, there's a weather event

in relationship to the disappearance.

Other times, the person disappears near a body of water

Other times, the person disappears near a body of water or is found near a body of water.

or is found near a body of water.

Other instances, if the person is found,

they're found in a location

that has been previously searched not just once,

that has been previously searched not just once, maybe dozens of times.

maybe dozens of times.

They leave the searchers scratching their head.

NARRATOR: After examining

thousands of missing persons incidents,

Dave Paulides has identified 59 so-called hot spots

Dave Paulides has identified 59 so-called hot spots in the United States alone,

in the United States alone,

places where more people appear to vanish,

and without any signs of foul play,

than anywhere else in the country.

than anywhere else in the country. PAULIDES: In the work we do,

PAULIDES: In the work we do,

it's a rare event

that you find somebody who's alive,

but in those instances,

the vast, vast majority of times,

the victim doesn't remember what happened.

They don't know why they got lost.

They don't know where they went.

They don't know where they've been.

I've been very fortunate

I've been very fortunate to meet some of the smartest people

to meet some of the smartest people

in the world of theoretical physicists,

and during those conversations,

many times it's gone towards portals.

And the response coming back from the physicists was,

"These portals can be directed and targeted."

Is it possible that when people go

Is it possible that when people go through these time-tunnel portals

through these time-tunnel portals

and they have no memory of what went on,

it's because there's nothing for them to have a memory of

because for them it was just an instantaneous thing?

because for them it was just an instantaneous thing? PAULIDES: So, I'm one of these people,

PAULIDES: So, I'm one of these people,

as an investigator,

that lives in the world of facts.

I don't hypothesize, I don't theorize,

and I'm very careful about where I tread

and who I talk to about these things.

And when you hear from a scientist who's credible

saying these things could be occurring,

saying these things could be occurring, it makes you uncomfortable,

it makes you uncomfortable,

and it makes you wonder, really, what might be going on.

NARRATOR: After years of conducting

hundreds of missing person investigations,

Paulides has become convinced

that some disappearances

are the result of strange phenomena

tied to the locations at which they occur.

And for him, nowhere is this more evident

than at northern California's most mysterious site:

Mt. Shasta.

NARRATOR: Rising to an elevation

of 14,179 feet,

of 14,179 feet, Mt. Shasta in northern California

Mt. Shasta in northern California

lies at an intriguing crossroads

of folklore, geology and the paranormal.

This majestic peak,

which is also a dormant volcano,

features breathtaking waterfalls,

pristine lakes, and spectacular alpine vistas

that attract more than 26,000 visitors each year.

But the Native Americans who are indigenous to this area

warn that Mt. Shasta

is as dangerous as it is beautiful

and for very unnatural reasons.

For centuries, the mountain has been known

as a place where people report strange events in the sky,

encounter terrifying creatures,

and sometimes have even vanished without a trace.

NICK POPE: Mt. Shasta is a location

where there are multiple strange events taking place.

UFO sightings,

paranormal events,

paranormal events, strange disappearances...

strange disappearances...

strange disappearances... that go back throughout history,

that go back throughout history,

and indeed one can look

to certain Native American legends, for example,

to certain Native American legends, for example, to say that Mt. Shasta

to say that Mt. Shasta

has always been associated with strange goings-on.

There's things around in this mountain here

that people are really unaware of.

Some people don't even want to believe it.

But I believe it 'cause I've seen it.

I've witnessed it.

NARRATOR: Local Native American tribes

such as the Shasta, Wintu, Modoc and Karuk

have inhabited the area

have inhabited the area dating back as much as 12 centuries.

dating back as much as 12 centuries.

Each revere Mt. Shasta

as a place that possesses mystical powers.

I was told by my grandmother and grandfather

that, you know, that we didn't go above the tree line,

that that belongs to Grandfather up there.

So I try to stay as far away as I can.

Yeah, Siskiyou County is the location

that Carl disappeared in.

NARRATOR: Since 2009,

former police detective Dave Paulides

has been applying

his professional investigative training,

attempting to solve mysterious missing persons cases

attempting to solve mysterious missing persons cases all around the country.

all around the country.

In ten-plus years,

I've looked at over 5,000 search and rescue cases,

and in those, 1,200 are unexplained.

And I mean that cases of possible animal predation

have been vetted out.

Incidents of mental health, suicide, were vetted out.

And what you're left with

is a complete void of rational explanation.

The area around Mt. Shasta has many unusual disappearances.

NARRATOR: One of the most

baffling disappearances

that Dave has been focusing on

was reported on Mt. Shasta in 1999.

On May 25, three experienced hikers--

Carl Landers, Milt Gaines and Barry Gilmore--

set off from Mt. Shasta's Bunny Flat trailhead

towards the summit.

The guys got up to a place called 50/50.

It was a place where hikers that wanted to summit

would either camp there or at the next stop,

called Lake Helen, for the night.

The next morning, they get up. The wind's howling.

The guys were putting the tent together

and were stashing it for their climb,

and they saw that Carl was looking cold.

And so they said, "Hey, why don't you go to Lake Helen

and we'll meet you there."

And Carl took off walking.

NARRATOR: Shortly after Carl left

the 50/50 campsite,

Milt and Barry followed.

But when they arrived at Lake Helen,

just 650 feet away,

Carl was nowhere to be found.

PAULIDES: Milt Gaines, Carl's partner,

got there, and he didn't see Carl.

And now he's confused.

Because there's no place

between 50/50 and Lake Helen to disappear.

There's no obstructions. You're above timberline.

There's no big, huge boulders

that are gonna get in your way,

and it's a solid snow field with no crevasses.

That started a week-long search and rescue

that would rival any anyone knew about.

Now, one of the things that was done on the Landers case

is that they checked with U.S. Geological Survey

for seismic activity on the mountain.

for seismic activity on the mountain. The reason they did that

The reason they did that

is that sometimes there's an avalanche of rock

and maybe the climber was covered by the rock

and maybe the climber was covered by the rock and you wouldn't find him.

and you wouldn't find him.

And during the time that Carl was gone,

there was no seismic activity,

so they know that Carl wasn't covered by rocks.

NARRATOR: Remarkably,

in the more than 20 years

since Carl's disappearance,

since Carl's disappearance, no one has found any clues

no one has found any clues

that could explain what happened to him.

MILT GAINES: I don't know how many people

have been up Avalanche Gulch,

but, uh, nothing has been found.

No metal ice axe. No metal crampons.

No colorful nylon pack or coat

or black pants or plastic boots.

Nothing.

PAULIDES: The search and rescue

coordinator on this event

was an individual named Grizz Adams.

Grizz had been doing this for 30-plus years.

Grizz said, "Dave, I guarantee Carl isn't on that mountain.

He either went up or he went in, but he isn't on."

Those were his words.

I think that the comment tells you

that there were few options for a rational explanation.

NARRATOR: Another very unusual disappearance

that Dave Paulides investigated near Mt. Shasta

occurred on September 2, 2011.

PAULIDES: A three-year-old boy

disappeared on a camping trip.

And he was later found by search and rescue

at one of the first places they would have looked.

Right next to a trail.

One of the first things search and rescue people do is,

as they're walking down a trail,

they're calling the boy's name.

- MAN: Tommy! - MAN 2: Hey, Tommy.

Hey, Tommy, where are you?

Now, if he was near the trail and he heard that,

chances are he's gonna come and get help.

'Cause he'd been out there overnight.

So, to think that he was next to that trail the whole time

is really hard to understand.

Another unusual aspect to that story

is that this boy told a story of, after going missing,

he was down in some kind of underground cave...

...and a woman-- but he thought was a robot--

was there asking him if he was okay and comfortable.

Was all a very strange story,

Was all a very strange story, something I've never heard before.

something I've never heard before.

NARRATOR: While the story may sound

like the product of a child's imagination,

the search and rescue team could provide no explanation

for how the boy went missing for five hours

only to suddenly turn up right next to the trail.

Many people say these disappearances

Many people say these disappearances are just accidents,

are just accidents,

but the idea that somebody disappears

in a location where there are UFO sightings

and sometimes reports of entities

mirrors the idea, perhaps, of the alien abduction.

NARRATOR: Is it possible

that in some cases

there's an extraterrestrial connection

to mysterious disappearances?

Ancient astronaut theorists suggest evidence of such a link

can be found in the firsthand accounts

of people who have vanished and then returned.

NARRATOR: New York's Hudson Valley.

December 26, 1985.

Author Whitley Strieber has an experience

that becomes the basis of his blockbuster book Communion.

STRIEBER: My wife and I had bought a cabin,

and in October of 1985,

strange experiences began to happen there

that were memorable but not understandable.

And then on December the 26,

I felt myself in motion

and woke up in the middle of the night,

and the room was filled

with these willowy figures with big black eyes

and dark blue short figures moving around.

and dark blue short figures moving around. I assumed it was a nightmare,

I assumed it was a nightmare,

and I kept trying to wake up from the dream,

and I couldn't.

Then I began to hear a voice repeating--

Then I began to hear a voice repeating-- very gentle voice

very gentle voice

but it was like a mechanical voice--

"What can we do to help you stop screaming?"

And I thought, "I'm screaming?" And I was screaming.

That was the beginning of it,

and that's when the rest of my life began.

COLLINS: And to this day,

he still doesn't know exactly who they were,

where they came from.

Were they aliens?

Were they interdimensional visitors?

He cannot say.

NARRATOR: Unbeknownst to him at the time,

Strieber's abduction

was actually witnessed by a neighbor.

STRIEBER: After I published Communion,

one neighbor shamefully admitted

that he had seen what happened to me that night.

He and his wife had been driving home

from a party at about 2:00 in the morning,

and they had seen

what they thought was the Goodyear blimp

landed in a field near our houses.

And suddenly lights came on all over it.

He heard someone screaming inside.

He heard someone screaming inside. His wife panicked and he drove away.

His wife panicked and he drove away.

And a year later he said to me,

And a year later he said to me, "Whitley, I'm so ashamed to tell you.

"Whitley, I'm so ashamed to tell you.

"I know it was you in there.

It was a man screaming. It had to have been you."

NARRATOR: Communion became a massive bestseller

and ignited a cultural shift

in people's attitudes towards the subject of alien abduction.

STRIEBER: When I published it,

I thought there were, like, maybe 30 or 40 people

who had had the experience, not millions.

who had had the experience, not millions. But it was millions.

But it was millions.

NARRATOR: But for UFO researchers

and ancient astronaut theorists alike,

and ancient astronaut theorists alike, of particular significance

of particular significance

is where Strieber's encounter occurred.

The Hudson Valley stretches northward 150 miles

The Hudson Valley stretches northward 150 miles from New York City up to Albany.

from New York City up to Albany.

STRIEBER: This occurred

right at the western border of the Hudson Valley.

The area is full of this type of thing,

and after I published Communion,

people from the neighborhood would come forward,

one after another, to tell me their own stories.

NARRATOR: Kent, New York.

New Year's Eve, 1982.

New Year's Eve, 1982. (noisemaker blaring)

(noisemaker blaring)

Just a few miles from the Hudson River,

New Year's Eve revelers spot a gigantic V-shaped craft

throbbing with red, white and green lights.

As they watch in amazement, the colors vanish,

replaced by white lights so bright

replaced by white lights so bright they illuminate the ground.

they illuminate the ground.

Over the next months,

authorities are bombarded

with hundreds of similar reports.

PHILIP IMBROGNO: Usually, UFOs just appear

to a small number of people

and they disappear.

In this case,

people were stopped on the highways.

People were running out of their houses

watching this enormous object pass over

the size of a football field.

BILL BIRNES: They were so large

that people standing between trees

couldn't see the ends of the flying triangles

'cause they were so big.

That's how large they were.

NARRATOR: The sightings continued

NARRATOR: The sightings continued for more than six years

for more than six years

and became the most widely reported in American history.

CHILDRESS: The Hudson Valley UFO sightings

continued well up to 1988.

It's estimated that as many as 5,000 people

called in and made reports

called in and made reports of this very large, lit-up UFO.

of this very large, lit-up UFO.

NEWMAN: Other accounts, uh,

of people seeing these strange balls of light,

which move around in erratic and unusual ways.

IMBROGNO: UFOs were being seen

all over the place.

Pilots were seeing them.

Police officers were chasing them.

It was like something out of a movie.

NARRATOR: But why were so many

NARRATOR: But why were so many UFO sightings reported

UFO sightings reported

in this one particular area?

Could there be a connection

to Whitley Strieber's abduction experience?

The thinking is that when you have

The thinking is that when you have so much UFO activity in one place,

so much UFO activity in one place,

that place is going to be significant.

There's something about that area, it seems,

There's something about that area, it seems, that is attracting the UFOs.

that is attracting the UFOs.

They want something in that location.

There is a connection with something in that location.

Some have suggested the reason why these sightings

have happened at the Hudson Valley

is because they are on top of a vortex.

Now, what's a vortex?

Well, there are varying opinions of what that is.

Some have suggested that they are magnetic points

that are part of the Earth's magnetic grid.

Others have suggested

that vortexes are sort of these portals.

COLLINS: What we call portals

are locations where paranormal phenomena

and supernatural events occur

on an extremely regular basis

and have done for many decades,

if not hundreds of years.

NARRATOR: Some argue

that New York's Hudson Valley

and the adjoining region of New England--

America's northeast--

America's northeast-- may be just such a vortex.

may be just such a vortex.

STRIEBER: It is definitely

STRIEBER: It is definitely an extraordinary place of power,

an extraordinary place of power,

the Hudson Valley.

the Hudson Valley. If you want to call it a vortex,

If you want to call it a vortex,

then sure, it's a vortex.

I'd have to be completely nuts to say anything else,

because I experienced it directly for years there.

NARRATOR: Whitley Strieber's

NARRATOR: Whitley Strieber's alien abduction case

alien abduction case

is considered among the most compelling

in the history of the modern phenomenon.

in the history of the modern phenomenon. But according to researchers,

But according to researchers,

But according to researchers, his is just one of hundreds of cases

his is just one of hundreds of cases

reported every year.

Harvard University. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1991.

Dr. John E. Mack,

a Harvard professor and renowned psychiatrist

a Harvard professor and renowned psychiatrist working with trauma patients,

working with trauma patients,

is convinced by a colleague

to examine those who claim to have been abducted

by extraterrestrials.

He started, according to him,

He started, according to him, having his clients tell him

having his clients tell him

having his clients tell him these very, very detailed

these very, very detailed

and traumatizing, in many cases, accounts

of beings coming and taking them

of beings coming and taking them and doing experimentation,

and doing experimentation,

and even this discussion of alien hybrids

that were produced from experimentation.

And in the beginning,

he talks about how he had a lot of trouble

considering this to be even close to being

in the realm of possibility.

You know? He's an ardent academic.

And his job is to find the rational approach

to what's really going on here,

and of course, he started trying to analyze

what's the state of mind of these people.

Are there any connections between the type of people

that are recounting these stories?

You know, so that way he can develop

You know, so that way he can develop a psychological profile.

a psychological profile.

But what he found was that that's not the case.

These stories were coming from a wide demographic of people,

people from all over the world.

TSOUKALOS: John Mack was a skeptic.

At first, he didn't believe a single thing,

but after five or six encounters with experiencers,

but after five or six encounters with experiencers, he changed his tune.

he changed his tune.

he changed his tune. So for a skeptic to all of a sudden

So for a skeptic to all of a sudden

change 180 degrees,

that's amazing,

that's amazing, because John Mack applied

because John Mack applied

all of his clinical knowledge on those experiencers,

all of his clinical knowledge on those experiencers, and due to that, because it is a science,

and due to that, because it is a science,

and due to that, because it is a science, he had to conclude

he had to conclude

that extraterrestrial visitations

are not a likelihood but a certainty.

He also said the abduction phenomenon

is not a modern-day occurrence only.

NOORY: He was convinced

beyond a shadow of a doubt

that people were being abducted by extraterrestrials.

He was ridiculed, scorned by his colleagues,

laughed at,

but he did not stop.

He continued to try to get these answers

as to what was happening to these people.

REDFERN: During the course

of his research,

of his research, Dr. John Mack came to realize

Dr. John Mack came to realize

that the alien abduction phenomenon

that the alien abduction phenomenon wasn't one of scarcity.

wasn't one of scarcity.

wasn't one of scarcity. It was essentially an epidemic.

It was essentially an epidemic.

Reports were coming from all across the planet.

But more importantly, there were people who had

had vague dreams and memories of something going on

but clearly didn't realize they'd been abducted,

but clearly didn't realize they'd been abducted, and this suggested to John Mack

and this suggested to John Mack

that there were what we could call silent abductees.

NOORY: Most people

who are being abducted don't even know it.

They don't think about it. They don't dream about it.

They're unaware of it

because, I believe, the extraterrestrials

have somehow washed their memory.

However, in hypnosis, when you regress somebody,

you may be able to pick up things

where they do recollect what has happened.

It happened in the original case of Barney and Betty Hill,

where the psychiatrist Dr. Benjamin Simon

put them under via hypnosis,

and that's when they started talking

about the things that had happened.

about the things that had happened. You cannot erase the mind permanently,

You cannot erase the mind permanently,

and the E.T.s know that,

but in terms of just full consciousness,

they're able to knock it out.

There are people who are going to bed tonight

who have no idea

that they may be abducted by extraterrestrials.

They won't remember it and they won't recall it

They won't remember it and they won't recall it and they won't even know.

and they won't even know.

The big question is why?

We can only speculate

about why the intelligence behind UFO abduction

behaves the way that it does,

but it certainly stands to reason

that if they need to operate clandestinely,

if they're trying to keep what they're doing hidden away,

that might not be possible in our culture today.

It's possible that what we're seeing here

is the same phenomenon

but the means have changed over time.

That long ago, entire cultures would vanish

That long ago, entire cultures would vanish and now, for whatever reason,

and now, for whatever reason,

it's happening on a much, much smaller scale.

NARRATOR: Are modern-day disappearances

a continuation of a much older phenomenon?

But if entire groups of people are being taken off the planet,

could it be part of a larger agenda?

Ancient astronaut theorists believe answers may be found

by exploring clues seen on board an alien spaceship.

NARRATOR: 1999.

The International Community for Alien Research

begins conducting the largest and most in-depth study

into the specific characteristics of abductees.

JOE MONTALDO: The International Community for Alien Research

was founded by about a half a dozen ufologists

was founded by about a half a dozen ufologists who were not satisfied

who were not satisfied

what was going on in the field at the time.

There wasn't new legitimate abduction research being done.

There wasn't new legitimate abduction research being done. Started with the questionnaire,

Started with the questionnaire,

which is now going on about 13 years now.

I believe about 18,000 contactees have taken the study.

What this has told us is it's showed us similarities

in all of these abductions.

We've learned that abductions start pre-birth

and it starts in family lines.

NARRATOR: The findings of the study

also showed a greater percentage

of individuals with hazel or green eyes

are being abducted,

as well as those having Rh negative blood types.

The Rh factor refers to the presence

of specific proteins or antigens in the blood.

Most humans have these antigens and are considered Rh positive.

MONTALDO: About 25 to 35,000 years ago,

out of the blue-- no scientist today understands why--

Rh negative emerged on the scene.

Most people don't realize,

but man was just positive blood until then.

There was no Rh negative.

Really what's funny about this is,

is why would Mother Nature create Rh negative?

What's odd about both the Rh negative

and the green eyes is they're mutations.

They're both rare.

They're both rare. Rh negative is only 15% of world population.

Rh negative is only 15% of world population.

Green-eyed people, I think, make up two or three percent

of the world's population,

but almost 50% of contactees

have hazel or green eyes.

We don't think the color, per se,

has anything to do with it.

It's the fact that it's a mutation,

and for some reason, the extraterrestrials

either created it or if they didn't create it,

they seem to have an extreme interest in it.

NARRATOR: Could there really be

a genetic component at play

in the alien abduction phenomenon?

And might these lineages trace back

to the ancient accounts of otherworldly encounters?

If so, does this provide insight into strange disappearances

of entire groups of people throughout history?

Perhaps further clues can be found

by exploring a curious encounter

that took place aboard an extraterrestrial craft.

Houston, Texas. December 1992.

Eight members of the Houston UFO Network

separately report being abducted

in one of the strangest mass abduction cases in history.

Derrel Sims, a former U.S. intelligence operative,

conducts the preliminary investigation.

All these people independent of each other,

and to my shock and amazement,

they all came back with the exact same story.

The same craft. The same entities.

They identified each other in great detail.

Some of them didn't even know each other very well.

All of these people described being taken

by a small craft and a small entity,

and the entity took them to a much larger craft.

NARRATOR: After researching

numerous UFO sightings

that were reported the night of the incident,

Sims makes a shocking discovery.

Someone in Japan had filmed the moon during this time

Someone in Japan had filmed the moon during this time and filmed a massive craft

and filmed a massive craft

that left a shadow across the moon

as it crossed the moon's surface

during the same time as the mass abduction.

So there was the corroboration that we needed.

NARRATOR: UFO researchers following the case

believe collective details gathered from the event

may shed new light on the abduction phenomena

may shed new light on the abduction phenomena and perhaps clues

and perhaps clues

to understanding the extraterrestrial agenda.

One of the people taken saw a map-like thing on the wall.

The map that this individual saw that was on the wall

indicated approximately 6,000 years

of the aliens involvement with mankind.

We were down to the last small section of that map,

which was about 100 years left.

What we deduced from the information

from the abductee

was simply that this experiment, whatever it is,

is almost over.

NARRATOR: After viewing the map, one of the abductees

was led through a massive hallway

to another part of the craft.

SIMS: It was a huge room of enormous size.

I said, "What did you see?"

He said, "It looked like a collection, like--

almost like a museum of things that had been collected.

They seem to have collected species, animals, people,

They seem to have collected species, animals, people, all kinds of things."

all kinds of things."

And I said,

"And what was significant about that?"

And he said, "I don't think they were dead.

I think they were all suspended animation."

This may explain the reason why some people disappear

and don't come back from an abduction event.

NARRATOR: Could there be cases of missing persons,

whether it be entire vanished civilizations

or individuals,

that have an extraterrestrial connection?

Have these people been abducted off the planet

or perhaps unwittingly stepped

into other worlds, dimensions or points in time?

If so, in our search

to find out just where they have gone,

might we not only discover the answer

but also find ourselves reunited

with our alien ancestors?

with our alien ancestors? CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY A+E NETWORKS

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