The Curse of Civil War Gold (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 2 - Tunnel Visions - full transcript

Sonar's picking up
a bunch of targets.

We're right there, the gold bar.
I want to get down there.

BRIAN:
Okay, diver in the water!

There were secret tunnels

underneath
Charles Hackley's house.

You're saying there
was a tunnel from his house

-to the train depot?
-Correct.

BRAD: The only reason
you'd need a tunnel

is if you were
hiding something,

had to move something
in secret.

-All right.
-You're saying
there was a third vault.



STEVE: Yep, that's when
they pulled the bags out.

-Bags of what?
-Gold.

Bags of gold?

♪

AL: Are you excited
to get back to Frankfort?

I am so excited
to get back to Frankfort.

-So am I.
-$140 million worth of gold,

-just waiting for us to find it.
-[chuckles]

NARRATOR:
In the northern, lakeside town

of Frankfort, Michigan,

researcher and treasure hunter
Kevin Dykstra,

along with
his younger brother Al,

believe they could be
just days, if not hours,

from making
a history-changing discovery.



I think we're right there,

where that gold
is buried under the surface.

-I know we're in the right area.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR:
They are hoping to confirm

the precise location

of a sunken railway boxcar

containing a fortune
in lost Civil War gold.

I can't wait to see
how the sector scan sonar works

-that Dr. Holley is bringing.
-Yeah, me, too.

I personally would love
to be able to show

-that our theory was right...
-Yeah.

...and here's the proof of it.

-Absolutely.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR: According
to Kevin Dykstra's research,

when Confederate president
Jefferson Davis was arrested

in 1865,

six wagons filled with gold,
silver and jewels

taken from the Confederate
treasury were found with him.

The stolen cargo
was then confiscated

by Lieutenant Colonel
Benjamin Pritchard

who, acting under orders,

later arranged for it
to be transferred by railroad

north to Muskegon, Michigan
and into the waiting hands

of lumber tycoon-turned-banker
Charles Hackley,

who began laundering it,

first through
the local banking system

and then through a number
of his gold mines out west.

According to
a deathbed confession

made by a lighthouse keeper
more than 100 years ago,

one of Hackley's
secret shipments

was deliberately pushed off
a ferry and into Lake Michigan

somewhere near the city
of Frankfort,

where it remains to this day.

KEVIN: Yeah, I can't wait
to get this started.

-AL: Me, too.
-This is gonna be fun.

-Yeah?
-Yep, got it.

-Gentlemen.
-Hey, guys.

-How are you?
-BRIAN: Good.

-Hey, guys.
-Hey, what's happening?

-How are you?
-Good, good.

KEVIN: Holy smokes.
Look at all this stuff.

Guys, this is, uh, Brian Abbott.

-Brian, nice to meet you.
-Nice to meet you.

Brian. You gonna help us
find that gold?

[chuckles]
Well, we'll see about that one.

[laughter]

-Brian actually helped us
a lot on Oak Island.
-Oh, wow.

-Hopefully, it works out
for us today, right?
-Yeah.

Here we go. Yep.

NARRATOR:
For the past six years,

underwater imaging expert
Brian Abbott

has been helping brothers
Rick and Marty Lagina...

-Look at that.
-...in their quest

to solve the 223-year-old
treasure mystery

on Oak Island, in Nova Scotia.

He has also played
a key role in a number

of high-profile
sonar operations,

including the first
complete mapping

of the RMSTitanic in 2010.

What this is,
is this is a scanning sonar.

I think it's a really nice tool
to give you some information

and data that will be useful
for you to help build

an understanding
of what's going on down there.

I'm chomping at the bit
to get this thing in the water.

So let's get this stuff
loaded on the boat.

-Sounds good, let's go.
-Absolutely.
-All right.

NARRATOR: Today, Brian will be
using sonar technology

to help Kevin and the team
map the underwater structure

they discovered last week,

along with the nearby
debris field,

where they may have spotted
a gold bar last year.

MARK: So, what our plans
for today, guys,

are why don't we go out
to the square structure

that we dove on last time,
and then we'll move on

to the debris field and spend
the rest of our time

imaging and mapping that.

NARRATOR: Last week,
Kevin and the team found

what they believe to be a
section of a possible boxcar.

Using a metal detector,

they also obtained indications
of non-ferrous

or possibly precious
metal objects.

If Kevin and the team
can verify his findings,

he can then apply
for the permits he needs

from the State of Michigan
to excavate the area.

So these images that we get,

will that help us
in the permitting process?

MARK:
Absolutely, that's gonna be

the very first thing
the state asks for,

is they're gonna want to see
a survey of that entire area.

-KEVIN: Okay.
-So let's get to the site.

Get this thing underway.

NARRATOR:
Using side-scan sonar

and the GPS coordinates
obtained last week...

You're right on line...

NARRATOR:
...Dr. Mark Holley

guides the team
to the location

of the potential remains
of the boxcar.

MARK:
On our GPS, we're 60 feet,

so we're coming right up on it,

and right there it is
on the sonar.

There it is right there.

Slow her down,
right there, stop.

As soon as we have anchor down,
we can set up the tripod.

Well, let's get the tripod out.

NARRATOR:
To map today's target areas,

Brian Abbott will be using
a sector scanning sonar device

called the MS1000.

Using a steel tripod, the
MS1000 will be able to stand

on the lake bottomo generate
a three-dimensional map

of the surrounding environment, and any near-surface

buried objects not visible
to the naked eye.

Once the team has finished
mapping a series

of different areas around
the possible boxcar remains,

as well as the nearby
debris field,

these individual sonar images
will be joined together

to form what is called
a mosaic.

Tip it back this way.

KEVIN:
Brian wants to do enough scans

to build
this nice, large mosaic.

Okay, we're clear.

KEVIN: When he puts that all together,

it's gonna show the bottom,

it's gonna show all
of the features on the bottom.

We'll go off this side.

KEVIN: And then you just have
that much more data

to give the state and help
our chances to get the permit.

We can get it in the water now.

And let it go.

AL:
There she goes.

BRIAN:
We just slowly start

lowering cable out
until we hit bottom.

-What's your depth, skipper?
-49 feet.

BRIAN:
So, let's go to, like, 60 feet.

-We're on bottom.
-Okay, roger that.

Okay, there it is, there.

We got the structure here.

Oh.

So are you able
to measure that?

BRIAN: Sure. I'm going to drop
this down to a lesser range,

so we can get some better
resolution on this target.

So what I'll do is I'll grab
my, uh, measurement tool.

-Pick a corner right there...
-Mm-hmm.

and drag it all the way across
and I'll mark it right there,

and I'll measure from this
corner all the way across.

So our dimensions that we have
we could say that it's roughly

16 feet long,
14 and a half feet wide.

NARRATOR: Because late-19th
century railroad boxcars

were designed to be 36 feet
long by seven feet wide,

is it possible that what Kevin
and the team have found

is not a complete boxcar,
but instead a portion of one?

Perhaps a piece that broke off

when the gold-heavy
wooden structure

hit the bottom of the lake.

KEVIN:
If you look at the scan,

there's a definite-- I'm gonna
call it a header piece

across the north side,
but the south side is wide open,

like there was something else
attached to it.

AL:
Something broke off from it.

KEVIN:
So, this could be the boxcar

laid like this,
and then somehow broke in half

as it come off
from the car ferry.

-I wouldn't rule it out.
-Yeah, neither would I.

NARRATOR: If Kevin and his team
have in fact

located a portion of the
missing 19th-century boxcar...

Let Alex come up here.

...does this mean they are
close to returning

to the area where they think
they may have discovered

a debris field last year,
the one where Kevin believes

he and the team
photographed evidence

of one of the missing
Confederate gold bars?

I think we've got the data
that we need for this location.

-Right.
-With the wind picking up

and the sea kind of picking up,

I think we need
to get to that debris field.

-Yeah.
-BRIAN: Yeah.

BRIAN:
So let's pull the tripod,

and we'll move
to the debris field.

ALEX:
Watch this side scan there.

And then just walk it back
this way, guys.

It's inside the frame,
then we're good.

Let me set our navigation, then.

[engine starts]

LARRY:
Right away, getting on it.

Spin the nose around.

Turning around to the west now.

STEVEN: I was told that there
More to the northwest.

KEVIN:
We're 55 feet from the target,

so we should be able
to see something.

Yeah.

NARRATOR:
After mapping the location

of what they think could be
a portion of a boxcar

on the bottom of Lake Michigan,

Kevin Dykstra and the team
are now searching for an area

where, last year...

-KEVIN: Right there.
-MARTY: Hmm.

...he believes they discovered

a debris field and a possible bar of stolen Confederate gold.

KEVIN:
Have you spotted it yet?

AL:
There it is. There it is.

-MARK: Stop right there.
-KEVIN: Stop right here,

and get it down there.

NARRATOR: Using the sector scan
sonar device,

underwater imaging expert
Brian Abbott will attempt

to get a three-dimensional
image of the area.

-On bottom.
-MARK: Okay, we should
be clear, Brian.

BRIAN:
Roger that.

-What do you see?
-BRIAN: Sonar's picking up

a bunch of targets, guys.

KEVIN: We are definitely in
the debris field as we speak.

I bet there's 15 targets
right here.

This is amazing.

You know, if that boxcar
came off of that car ferry

-and just broke apart,
that's what we'd look for.
-Mm-hmm.

-KEVIN: That's exactly what
we'd look for.
-AL: Mm-hmm.

All right, I'm pretty happy
with the data.

Well, we'll do a couple more
drops and-and build a better

-picture, is that what
you're thinking?
-BRIAN: Yeah, absolutely.

We're ready to move.

-AL: Start pulling it up?
-Pull her up.

NARRATOR: Although the team
has already collected

a large amount of data
from the debris field...

...the more drops
they perform with

the sector scanning device
will help Brian Abbott

build a more comprehensive
mosaic of the area.

It may also help Kevin
obtain permission

from the state of Michigan
to dredge portions of the site

and hopefully retrieve
artifacts

and possibly gold
from the lake bed.

60 foot will be the diameter
of our circle.

KEVIN: I'm trying to get
as much data as I can.

Look at that.

KEVIN:
The map is much more thorough

with the more places
he sets the sector scan

and he can build
a lot better picture.

KEVIN:
Let's call it good right here.

I think we're far enough back,
we're gonna get more data

at this location.

-Are we ready to set
that down, Dr. Holley?
-MARK: Yeah.

AL:
He's lowering it.

Boy, I wish these waves
would calm down.

Hang on guys,
we've got some big ones coming.

NARRATOR: With weather
conditions on the lake

rapidly deteriorating,

Kevin and his team
must now work both quickly

and carefully.

Okay, we're on bottom.

Roger that; on bottom.

When we set that sector scan
on the bottom,

it has to stay in that position

until it's done
recording its data.

If the wind blows us
out of position,

we have to start all over.

We're totally at the mercy
of Lake Michigan.

BRIAN:
Check it out.

That's a real interesting
target right there.

See how that's curved?

KEVIN:
If that is a piece

-of cable, we're right there.
-BRIAN: Mm-hmm.

KEVIN:
When we talk about the cable,

it's significant because

in the footage of what
we believe is a gold bar

from the dive last year,
we clearly see cable.

KEVIN:
I know where we were

when we got that footage
of what we think is a gold bar,

-And this is where we're at.
-AL: Yep.

You always said,
"Find the cable, find the gold."

[chuckles]

NARRATOR: While Kevin continues
to supervise the mapping

of the debris field area,

120 miles south
in Muskegon, Michigan,

his friends
and research partners

Brad Richards and Jeff Zehr
have arrived at the home

of Steve Habetler.

-Pretty excited,
though, to meet this guy.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR: Steve claims to have
information that could help

verify Kevin's theory
that Confederate gold

made its way to Michigan
after the Civil War.

BRAD:
Any time you're talking about

-a conspiracy like this...
-JEFF: Yeah.

...and then you get someone
to reach out and say,

-"Hey, I've got something...
-Mm-hmm.

-...that you might
want to hear."
-Right.

BRIAN:
Having people reach out to us,

it gives us
a really big opportunity.

There's an unexplained story
about Confederate gold

that I really believe
we're gonna explain.

STEVE:
Hey, there.

-BRAD: Steve?
-I'm Steve.

-Hi, I'm Jeff Zehr.
-Jeff, glad to meet you.

-Brad Richards.
-Brad.

-Glad to meet you, come on in.
-Thank you. Thank you so much

-for having us over.
-STEVE: Not a problem.

NARRATOR: After learning
of Kevin's incredible theory,

Steve Habetler has offered
to share a story

that he's kept secret
for more than 50 years.

It concerns a job
he once held at a local ba

founded in the early 1900s

by associates of the late
Charles Hackley,

the man who Kevin
believes conspired

to launder millions
in stolen Confederate gold.

So, Steve, when you reached out
to Kevin and I

and said you had something
interesting to tell us

because you worked at
Hackley Union National Bank?

Well, I related my story
about being

a vault boy for Hackley Bank.

-"Vault boy"?
-STEVE: Vault boy.

When, this was back in the '60s,
the early '60s,

they gave me a key
to the vault and told me that

was only one of three keys
and I...

-Thevault?
-The vault.

Turns out, there was more
than one vault.

-How many vaults?
-Well...

two official
and one not official.

Uh, "not official."

Because we've been
in two of the vaults.

-Oh, lookee here.
-Look at that.

-There's hundreds of them.
-Nice.

NARRATOR: Last year,
after hearing rumors

that Confederate gold
was once kept hidden

at the Hackley Union
National Bank,

Kevin and the team gained
access to a number of

abandoned safe-deposit boxes
in a basement vault.

Oh. No.

Oh, watch out.

NARRATOR: Although his search
turned up no sign

-of the legendary treasure...
-Get away, get away, get away!

NARRATOR:
...Kevin did find evidence

of a secret tunnel.

There's wood, I can feel nails.

It feels like a latch
back in there.

There's something back there.

You're saying
there's a third vault?

A third vault, yep.

-Oh, okay.
-I was in the mail room

and he said, "Now follow me,"

so I followed him
down a hallway.

I asked the vice president,

"Why's that steel plate
on the wall?"

And as I said it, I noticed
there was something like

a doorknob, and he said
"That's not a steel plate;

-that's another vault."
-Oh, wow.

And that's when
they pulled the bags out.

Bags of what?

-Gold.
-Bags of gold?

-Correct.
-Gold or gold coins?

-Or, what...
-I... My...

My memory is they were
small go-gold bars.

Did the bars have any
identifiers on them?

I didn't see any.
I can't remember if

it was stamped with anything.

And this was
the mysterious vault

-that no one knew about?
-Correct.

NARRATOR:
A secret vault?

Containing gold bars at the
Hackley Union National Bank?

Could this have been
part of the remains

of the Confederate Treasury

that Kevin believes
was smuggled

to Muskegon by Charles Hackley?

If so, does it mean
the gold that was once kept

in the Hackley Union
National Bank

is connected to the gold

that Kevin is now searching for at the bottom of Lake Michigan?

You've been keeping this
quiet for 50 years.

I guess I was instructed,
keep this to yourself.

Do you ever hear--
Remember hearing of any tunnels

-at Hackley National Bank?
-Yep.

-Have you?
-Sure did.

Remember I told you
about the steel door?

-Mm-hmm.
-Right? And then I was told

that there was a tunnel

leaving Hackley Bank,
going across the street.

And I was told it ran underneath
a whole bunch of buildings.

And then I was told
that there was a tunnel

leaving Hackley mansion,
going across the street.

NARRATOR:
Tunnels...

connected to the Hackley
Union National Bank,

as well as the home
of Charles Hackley?

If so, where do they lead?

And what might they contain?

Could you show us where
you're talking about, exactly?

Do you want me to drive,
or you want to drive?

-Um, I'll drive.
-Okay.

NARRATOR: While Brad Richards,
Jeff Zehr and Steve Habetler

head out to investigate
a possible secret tunnel

in Muskegon...

back on Lake Michigan,
just outside of Frankfort,

Kevin Dykstra, Alex Lagina and other members of their team

continue with their sector scan
survey of the debris field.

If you look
at this shadow right here,

this is kind of rectangular.

Geez!

BRIAN:
About three feet long,

this one individual target.

We've always believed
that that gold

was contained in something.

They wouldn't
just take gold bars

and stick 'em in a boxcar.

They would put them
in something.

I don't think doing any more
sonar work is gonna help us.

-I think we need
to get in the water.
-Yep.

I want to get down there
and see these targets.

I agree.

KEVIN:
The seas are getting rough.

AL:
You doing all right, Doc Holley?

You feeling
a little nauseous at all?

MARK:
Oh, yeah. I'm gonna hurl soon.

-Are you?
-Yeah.

-Really?
-I'm doing okay,
but I'll give you some space.

Do you think you're
in a position to dive, or no?

No, I'm definitely
not diving today.

Well, Al, looks like it's
just you and I, like old times.

FRED: The waves are
just getting too rough.

The wind's coming out
of the west.

It's coming way too heavy.

If I had a choice,
I'd call the day.

STEVE:
This is the Hackley home.It t

out on the waters
of Lake Michigan,

as Kevin Dykstra
is trying to decide

if he and his brother Al

can make
a critically important dive...

one that could verify
if what they saw last year

is, in fact, a debris field

containing bars
of Civil War gold.

Unfortunately,
the water on the lake

has taken a turn for the worse.

We need to see
what's down there.

BRIAN: We can do that, but if
you want to get in the water,

having been a diver myself
for many years,

I think it's a very, uh...

dangerous situation
to put a diver in.

It's rough.

It's coming way too heavy.

We've only had one incident
where you got hurt,

and that's because we went in
when we shouldn't have.

NARRATOR:
Last year,

while Kevin and the team
were attempting a dive

to locate the boxcar
in this very area,

high winds and rough waters led

to a near-disastrous accident.

[grunts]

ALEX: I think, in the name of
safety, we should probably wait

for a little calmer weather.

It just doesn't
make sense to me.

AL: I mean,
you can see the whitecaps.

We typically won't dive
with whitecaps.

-It's just too hard.
-ALEX: No, I mean,
you can get in just fine,

but getting back on the boat's
where you run into problems.

Right, yeah, you have
the boat hit you in the head,

and you're done.

ALEX:
I think we have time

in the schedule
to wait for calmer weather,

whether that's later today
or tomorrow.

NARRATOR:
For Kevin,

the situation represents
an agonizing dilemma.

He has come so close
to what he thinks

could be the discovery
of a lifetime,

only to be unable to find out

whether all his efforts
to locate the missing gold

have paid off.

KEVIN: It's a bitter pill
when somebody tells you,

you can't dive,

or you shouldn't dive,
when we really want to.

Yeah.

Why don't we head back in?

-All right.
-Yeah.

But, then,
common sense comes in.

It just wasn't safe.

I'm agreeing with you.

I think what we need to do
is get this equipment

back up, and, uh,
give it a couple hours

and see if the lake calms down

-a little bit.
-Mm-hmm. Yeah.

-That sounds right.
-I agree.

I think it's a good move.

KEVIN:
I think it just goes to show

that no matter what technology,

what resources you throw at it,

the lake will always win.

NARRATOR: While Kevin and the
team reluctantly return to
shore

to wait for calmer weather,

back in downtown Muskegon...

BRAD: Let's go down towards
Terrace Street, right?

Yeah, that's right.

NARRATOR: ...history teacher
Brad Richards

and team researcher Jeff Zehr,
along with local resident

and former bank employee
Steve Habetler,

are traveling to a house which
they believe contains

a secret, underground tunnel.

A tunnel that supposedly leads
directly into the basement

of Charles Hackley's
former home.

BRAD:
Steve,

you said you knew
about some-some tunnels?

STEVE:
Correct.

The rumors that I had heard,

had them spiderwebbing out
all over this town.

There's a house
near the Hackley house,

that was a starting point
for the tunnels

-that I had heard about.
-No kidding.

Yes. There it is.

See? Now this is
the Hackley home right here.

BRAD:
Yup, there's the Hackley home.

Can you point out which house
you think had the tunnel

going underneath the street
to Hackley's mansion?

Yup, that house right there.

That belonged to another one
of the millionaires.

This house connected
to the Hackley house

underneath the street
by a tunnel.

NARRATOR:
In 1897,

Muskegon, Michigan's
most prominent citizen,

Charles Hackley,

built a three-story,
Victorian-style mansion.

Having already established
great wealth

as a lumber baron
before the Civil War,

afterward, Hackley's wealth
grew exponentially

as he entered both the railroad

and banking industries.

At the time
of his death in 1905,

Charles Hackley
had a declared net worth

of just over $3 million.

However, he left
an estimated $12 million

to local charities.

Could the disparity
between Hackley's great wealth

and all he left behind

be due to his
involvement in a plot

to steal a portion
of the Confederate treasury,

as Kevin Dykstra believes?

So, Steve,
you're saying this house here

has a tunnel, all the way
underneath the street,

-over to the Hackley mansion?
-That's correct.

To the livery stable.

BRAD:
To the Hackley house

-livery stable.
-STEVE: Livery stable.

And then, according to rumor,

that tunnel then continued on
down to the south,

underneath the street,

heading down the hill
towards downtown,

and, eventually,
to Charles Hackley's office

and also the train depot.

-JEFF: Wow.
-Wow. [chuckles]

I was just gonna say.
I was just gonna say that.

You're saying there was a tunnel

from his house
to the train depot?

-Correct. Mm-hmm.
-Wow.

NARRATOR:
A tunnel system?

According
to Kevin Dykstra's theory,

in the late 1860s,

Charles Hackley
built a private rail line

from Ferrysburg, Michigan,
to Muskegon,

where it literally came
to an end

outside his downtown office.

If, in fact, a tunnel exists

connecting Hackley's home
to his office,

it is more than possible
he used that tunnel

to secretly transport
the stolen gold.

We could research and find out

who owns that now and see
if we can get in the basement

-and check it out.
-STEVE: Yeah. I'm sure if you

contacted somebody,

-they could let you walk
through there.
-Yeah.

BRAD: If there's a tunnel
between those two houses,

it says a lot
could have been going on here

that was covered up.

The only reason
you'd need a tunnel

is if you were hiding something,
had to move something in secret,

or you just wanted
to move in secret.

I feel like we have to try
to find this tunnel,

so we have to try to get a peek inside this house.

It all adds up to
there was more to this town

-than a lot of people realize.
-[laughs] A lot more.

-[chuckles]
-STEVE: And I'm sure

that those tunnels
will find their start

-at Hackley Bank.
-Yeah.

STEVE: I'm getting more
and more excited

about the potential
of the mystery being solved.

BRAD:
That gold went somewhere.

Okay, two divers in the water!,

as Kevin Dykstra and his team

are about to attempt another
dive into Lake Michigan.

If successful,
they will be able to explore

a debris field
that Kevin believes

contains some $140 million

in lost Civil War gold.

These are definitely
the seas we're looking for.

-It's a lot better.
-KEVIN: These are nice.

Brian, can we start getting
this thing ready to deploy?

Yeah, absolutely.

KEVIN:
You got that.

NARRATOR:
Mark Holley and Alex Lagina

lower the sector scan
sonar device

back into the water to guide

the three divers
to potential targets

that merit inspection.

MARK:
We're on bottom. 43.

BRIAN:
Roger that. On bottom.

We have the debris field
right in here,

and you've got another debris
field another 20 feet out here.

KEVIN: So, really, if we do
a radius around the tripod

of about 20 feet, we're gonna
see all of those targets.

-Yes, you should.
-All right,
let's get our gear on.

-I want to get down there.
-AL: Yeah, let's do it.

Okay. Diver in the water!

NARRATOR:
While Kevin

and Dr. Holley will be equipped with underwater cameras,

Al Dykstra will be using
a metal detector

able to discriminate
ferrous metals, such as iron,

from non-ferrous metals

such as silver or gold.

Third diver on the surface!

ALEX:
I'm really excited

that the guys
are gonna head down.

Comm check, Mark?

ALEX: With the sector scan
to locate the targets

and the metal detectors
to investigate them,

yeah, this could be a dive
that-that finds us

some gold, honestly.

Copy.

All right.

What do you see?

[beeping]

You think
it'd be more non-ferrous?

ALEX: I don't know.
If it is non-ferrous,

there's only a few things
it could be.

-[beeping]
-NARRATOR: In order to confirm

that the hit is a high-pitched, non-ferrous signal,

Kevin Dykstra listens for
himself with Al's headphones.

[beeping]

NARRATOR: Even though
it's possible Kevin and Al

have located something
that could be made

of precious metal
buried beneath the sand,

they currently do not have a legal permit that allows them

to dig or even retrieve
artifacts on the lake bottom.

I already got it.

Brian marked the spot.

We have it on the sonar.

NARRATOR: Brian Abbott
has pinpointed the location

of the debris field.

The team can now use
this information

in their application

to the State of Michigan
for a salvaging permit.

FRED:
Copy that.

Keep looking and get excited.

I want to know
about the gold, boys.

Copy that.

NARRATOR: In order to make it
back safely to the boat,

Kevin, Al, and Dr. Holley

can only stay on the lake
bottom until their tanks

are down to 500 pounds of air.

KEVIN:
In the footage

of what we believe is a gold
bar, we clearly see cable.

Al and I have always said,
"Find the cable, find the gold."

And we were on top
of that cable.

near the city of Frankfort,

brothers Kevin and Al Dykstra,

along with underwater
archaeologist

Dr. Mark Holley,
may have just made

an incredible discovery.

They have located
what they believe

to be the debris field
where, last year,

Kevin photographed
what he thinks

could have been
one of the missing gold bars.

[filtered breathing over comms]

[rapid beeping]

Divers, I would
like you to stop.

I want you to give me
an air check.

You're breathing awful heavy.

Come on up. Your time is up.

-W-We marked it.
-We marked the spot.

Brian marked the spot.
We have it on the sonar.

Come on up.

Al was getting high-pitched hits
on the metal detector,

no different
than what happened last year.

See, there might be gold bars

laying all over
the bottom down there,

but we just can't
get to it yet.

NARRATOR: Unfortunately
for Kevin, Al and Dr. Holley,

after more than a half hour
on the lake bottom,

their air supplies
are running too low

to continue
their investigation...

at least for now.

Time for de-co, come on up.

Have you left the bottom yet?

Copy that, thank you.

NARRATOR:
Decompression sickness,

also known as the bends,

could pose a serious threat
to the divers.

It occurs when gases
like nitrogen

become highly compressed
in the body

when a diver is underwater.

When they rise to the surface,

they must do so
in short stages,

allowing their body
to decompress.

Failing to do so can cause
the gases to expand

and form bubbles
in the bloodstream.

This, in turn, leads to intense joint pain, vertigo, seizures

and, in some cases, death.

Your two minutes are up.
You can surface.

KEVIN:
When you're diving, you have

to keep track
of your air pressure.

You just don't have that luxury
of taking your time.

I-It's really hard to explain,
because it's not like

you can just sit down there.

Okay, diver on surface.

NARRATOR: Despite having
to return to the surface,

the dive operation
has been successful.

The team has not only located
the place where, last year,

Kevin obtained footage
of a possible gold bar,

they also mapped the area with
a sector scan sonar device.

-BRIAN: Divers are well?
-We're good.

You're good? Okay.

-KEVIN: We're good.
-Did you hear
that non-ferrous hit?

-Oh, I did.
-[chuckles]

ALEX:
We heard you screaming about it.

I was gonna say, maybe you got
a little excited down there.

KEVIN: When we saw
that cable right there,

we were right back
exactly there.

Yeah, and the metal detector
was going... [imitates beeping]

KEVIN:
Yep, yep, yep.

-That was fun.
-Now, that's a dive.

Yep.

To see that debris field, to see

the objects on the bottom
of the lake, it's huge for us,

and everything's lining up.

So we are very hopeful that
we'll see that gold very soon.

You think you saw any evidence
of the potential gold bar,

-or no?
-I didn't.

You know, I wanted
to get right into that gravel

and move it out but I heard him
chirping in my ear.

"Can't touch nothing,"
so we just fanned above it,

-I didn't touch nothing.
-That's the right way to do it.

I mean, nothing.
We left every stone unturned.

I'm gonna say that is our spot.

-Yes.
-That's where we were.

Thanks to the sector scan,
we have GPS coordinates.

-Awesome.
-Seriously? We got it?

-So we're right there.
-Oh!

BRIAN:
I think I can build you

a photomosaic of your area,
where you've been,

to, you know,
show you the areas where

you've covered with your
metal detector and everything.

I can't wait to see that mosaic

that Brian puts together
with all that data,

so we can take that to the state
of Michigan and help

our chances
to excavate this site.

ALEX:
We did great today.

We did about as well
as we could have today, I think,

and there's a lot more to do,
but I got to get back

-to Oak Island.
-No.

We're-we're pretty shorthanded
out there right now, so...

Tell your dad.
Tell him you need to be here.

Honestly, when I talk to my dad,
nothing but good things.

But when we get the permit,
I'm back.

Fair-fair enough.
It's-it's great having you here.

-There's no doubt about it.
-Mm-hmm.

I appreciate the opportunity
to be here.

Hey, Larry, can you, uh,
get us back to shore?

Sure. No problem.

-It was a good day.
-Yeah.

ALEX:
Yup.

NARRATOR: Two days after a sonar
and diving operation

which produced potential
evidence of some $140 million

at the bottom
of Lake Michigan...

Let's get Marty and Alex
on the phone.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin Dykstra
and his team gather

in his Muskegon workshop
for a video conference

with Marty and Alex Lagina.

-BRAD: Here they are.
-Hey.

-KEVIN: Hey, guys. How are you?
-There you are.

-MARTY: Hey, guys!
-JEFF: Hello!

-BRAD: Hey, Marty and Alex.
-Hi, Marty!

-Howdy, howdy.
-Hey.

I see you made it back
to the island, Alex?

Did-did you have
a good trip back?

I did, yeah.
It was a lengthy one.

I got delayed a couple times,
but I made it eventually.

KEVIN:
I'm glad to hear that.

What's going on
on the island?

Is there anything
you can share from up there?

Well, Kevin, I got to be
a little circumspect about that.

I would say, stay tuned.

[laughter]

What we are is thirsty for news.

KEVIN:
Well, we investigated

two different sites.
One of them

is where we saw
what looked like a boxcar.

-Oh, yes.
-We got

great images of-of that target.

Then we went over
to the area where

we believe
we filmed that gold bar.

Okay.

KEVIN: We were getting signals
from the metal detector,

which could be gold or silver.

Wow. That's pretty cool.

-We're pretty excited
about this, guys.
-It must be

exciting and frustrating,
I imagine, 'cause you know

legally,
you-you probably want to

just at least dig
with your foot, I'll bet.

-[Al laughs]
-Yeah.

You know, what you said Marty,
times ten.

-All right, good.
-[laughing]

Literally,
we could be an inch away

from millions of dollars'
worth of gold,

but legally, we can't do it.

Okay, well,
that's as good as you can do.

I mean,
until you can move some dirt,

you probably are about
as far as you can get, right?

I mean,
isn't that a fair statement?

-Yeah, exactly right.
-Yeah.

MARTY:
Okay, well, do you happen

to know what the criteria are
to get a permit?

You know, honestly,
we're hoping that,

you know, with Brian Abbott's
help and his expertise

in putting a mosaic diagram
together

of the bottom of the lake,
that it'll be compelling enough

to go to the state
and possibly get that permit,

and that's really
where we're at right now.

Understood,
but who gets the gold bar?

[laughter]

-Hopefully, we do.
-[laughter]

KEVIN:
Marty really feels like I do--

that we're moving this search
forward,

but it's hard.

It's hard to look and not touch,

'cause we don't want to be
in trouble with the state.

We need to secure that permit
from the state of Michigan.

You know, you-you got this going
with the state. That's great.

That's the obvious next step,
but in the interim,

what are you gonna
be working on?

You know what, guys?
You're gonna be excited by this.

We have an older fella
with firsthand experience

in a secret vault in the bottom
of Hackley National Bank.

So, wait a minute.
This guy's talking about

-a secret vault in the bank?
-That's right, and

in addition to that,

he says there were
secret tunnels in Muskegon,

-underneath
Charles Hackley's house.
-MARTY: Wow.

Oh, I-I... I'm gonna just,
you know, make a wild guess.

You're gonna go find
that tunnel. Is that right?

[laughs]
That's the plan.

-You gonna be able
to get access?
-Well, that's what

-we're working on right now.
-Do it!

[laughter]

Guys, you're doing great,
and, uh, you know,

we obviously wish you
a ton of luck.

Get down in that tunnel,
get those permits,

and let's talk again soon.

Any-any idea
when we can get Alex back?

I will be back there as soon
as I can, Kevin, trust me.

All right. Look-Looking forward
to it. Thanks, guys.

See you guys.
Thanks for the call.

-See ya.
-See you guys.

-AL: See you guys.
-FRED: Bye-bye now.

KEVIN:
I know you heard Marty.

Let's get back to work.

NARRATOR: For the past
eight years, Kevin Dykstra

has been following an incredible trail of clues...

a trail that may soon lead
to not only millions

in stolen Civil War gold,

but also the truth
behind a carefully-constructed

conspiracy
that could rewrite history.

But will Kevin and his team

make their next
breakthrough discovery

deep down in the frigid waters of a lake?

Or will it be in a tunnel

beneath
a millionaire's mansion,

where secrets could be hiding

that are more shocking
and disturbing

than anyone could imagine?

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

-Wow.
-That's something right there
about nine foot down.

We're walking
right on top of the tunnel.

Do you feel that's a man-made

structure on the bottom
of the lake?

-Oh, yeah.
-Go get the permit.

BRAD: Charles Hackley had
secrets to keep,

-no doubt in my mind.
-So, you like secrets, huh?

-What kind of secrets?
-I'm gonna show you something

-in the basement.
-Oh, look at there!

-[drill whirring]
-Yeah, you're through it.

-Look at it.
-Oh, wow.

JEFF: This could lead right
to Hackley's side door!

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk