The Curse of Civil War Gold (2018–…): Season 2, Episode 3 - A Void At All Cost - full transcript

-Wow.
-There's something right there,
about 90 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.

-MARTY: 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?

DEBBIE: I'm gonna show you
something in the basement.

Oh, look at there.

-AL: Yeah, you're through it.
-KEVIN: Look at it. Oh, wow.

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



♪

NARRATOR:
In Muskegon, Michigan...

Let me, uh, pull up a few things
here and I will get going.

NARRATOR: ...treasure hunters
Kevin and Al Dykstra,

along with researchers
Jeff Zehr, Brad Richards

and Frederick J. Monroe,

have gathered for an important
meeting in Kevin's workshop.

Joining them is

underwater visualization expert
Brian Abbott.

Were the images as clear as what

-they showed on the computer?
-Yeah.

We've got good short-range scans
I was able to mosaic together.

Because if you remember,
when I was on the boat,

I started with long-range scans
and walked it in.



NARRATOR:
Last week, Kevin invited

Brian Abbott to make
a series of sonar scans

out on Lake Michigan,
off the coast of Frankfort.

He is hoping the scans
will help him pinpoint

the remains
of a sunken boxcar

that Kevin believes
contained an estimated

$140 million
in Confederate gold.

Gold that, according to Kevin,

was stolen by Union officers

and brought to Michigan
in 1870,

where it was then laundered
by Charles Hackley

a prominent lumber tycoon
turned banker

who used the gold to build
an enormous empire.

Okay, it's coming in now.

We can see the outline
of the structure.

This could be the boxcar
laid like this...

Yeah.

It's a possibility.

NARRATOR: Using data collected
from the various scans,

Brian has created larger maps,
or mosaics,

of two key search areas.

It is Kevin's hope
that these mosaics

will be enough evidence to
convince the state of Michigan

to grant him a permit
to dig at these sites.

If we don't have
enough evidence to bring

to the state of Michigan, we're
never gonna get that permit.

We'll never be able
to find out what exactly

is under the bottom of the lake.

So this area that we're
about to see is what area?

It's next to the
big stone pile in the area

where you identified
that you'd found a boxcar.

So, this is what we would want
to bring to the state?

Yeah; everything's laid out,
gridded out.

Referenced everything
i-in there

that we took the time out in
the field to collect the data.

Now I've been able to put it
together and we're able

to take a look at it
and see what we got for you.

-All right.
-Excellent.

So, um, I've got
a target down there,

it's interesting to look at.

So I-I'll kind of
leave that up to you guys

to decide what you think
it is down there.

Now, towards the top of that
target right there,

-we see that dark area...
-Right here?

-Is that a shadow?
-Yes, that's
an acoustic shadow.

It's just like shining
a light on something

or the sunlight hitting a tree,
casting a shadow

during the daytime, same thing
that happens acoustically

-to the sonar.
-Can you tell how high up

-that target is? Off the bottom?
-BRIAN: Yeah, well, I mean,

it-it's about two and a half to

2.8 feet off bottom.

-So it's, you know...
-KEVIN: Okay.

BRIAN: So... high up
and so forth, so...

BRAD:
That's impressive detail.

What do you think
of that, Brian?

BRIAN:
Well, I'm not sure.

You know, the dimensions
are kind of big for a boxcar,

I would think.
I don't know that for sure.

But, you know, we've got it

13 and a half
by 14 and a half roughly.

It's a wooden structure
of some sort.

-Yeah.
-KEVIN: But regardless,

you feel that's
a man-made structure for sure?

Oh, yes.

I would definitely call this
a man-made structure

that needs a lot
of further investigation.

Excellent.

-KEVIN: That was an
exciting find right there.
-Yeah, for sure it was.

I've got one more for you here.

Let me, uh, turn this
for a second.

So what area did you guys
end up diving at?

Well, what he's gonna show us
next is a debris field.

And this debris field
is where we believe

we got that footage
of the gold bar.

So we're right back
to that spot.

I'm gonna be looking for,
for bars.

-That's what I'm gonna
be looking for.
-[laughter]

NARRATOR: It was in the same
debris field last year...

KEVIN:
Boom. Right there.

NARRATOR:
...that Kevin and his team

obtained what they believe
to be video evidence

of one of the stolen gold bars, part of a large cargo

that was deliberately pushed
off a ferryboat

while en route across the lake
and out west to Utah.

MARTY:
That does look like

a metal bar, doesn't it?

So, let me blow this up
a little bit more.

These are areas
where you were looking.

Right next to the sonar.

And we've got this location

on the opposite side of the
sonar, about 180 degrees away.

So I was able to mark
those locations for you.

-BRAD: And the metal
detector hits.
-And the non-ferrous hits.

So, we'd be able
to get right back

to those areas
whenever we want to.

Absolutely; we've got
the GPS positioning and stuff.

Uh, that is huge.

NARRATOR: Could the wooden
structure and debris field

actually be the remains
of the missing boxcar?

Constructed primarily of wood,

boxcars made during
the late 19th century

were reinforced
with metal frames

that were held together
by steel rivets.

If, as Kevin Dykstra's
research indicates,

a boxcar, containing some
$140 million in gold,

was in fact deliberately pushed off the back of a ferryboat

and into the lake,

the full force of its weight,

plus approximately
two and a half tons of gold,

would have likely shattered
the boxcar walls

as it struck the lake bottom.

Do you think that we have enough
to go to the state?

You know,
I'm not an archeologist,

but I think you've created
a really good baseline survey.

I think it may be a good idea
to go and talk to the state,

to show them what you've done

and-and present
the information to them.

Yeah, good.

It's really exciting for us
to be at this point.

We've never been
to this point before.

We've never had the advantage

that Brian brought to the table with the sector scan.

And I think with the data
that he provides,

our chances of getting a permit just went through the roof.

I think it's really gonna show
Marty and Alex

that we're pulling out
all the stops.

We're getting as much data
as we possibly can get.

We got great video, um, we've
got the side-scan sonar images.

We've got a nice pile
to put together.

We can't thank you enough for,
for your effort.

I'm always ready to go out

and drop a sonar down,
see what's down there.

-Thank you very much, Brian.
-You're welcome. Thank you.

KEVIN: Can't wait
to share this with Marty.

NARRATOR:
Later that day...

FRED:
Cool. We've arrived.

-Looks like a nice house.
-BRAD: Yeah.

NARRATOR: While Kevin prepares
the team's permit application,

Brad Richards
and Frederick J. Monroe

head over to a house
in Muskegon

which Brad believes might be
one of the places

where banker Charles Hackley
hid the gold

during the years after
the Civil War.

BRAD:
So here's Terrace Street.

NARRATOR:
Last week,

Brad and Jeff Zehr
met with local resident

Steve Habetler, who shared with them an incredible secret.

STEVE: There's a house
near the Hackley house

that was a starting point
for the tunnels

that I had heard about.

BRAD: Can you point out which
house you think had the tunnel?

That house, right there.

This house connected
to the Hackley house

underneath the street
by a tunnel.

NARRATOR:
Meeting Brad and Frederick

at the currently vacant house
is property manager

Debbie Oklad-Vanlue.

-Hi.
-Hey, Frederick Monroe.

-How do you do?
-Nice meeting you.

-Nice to meet you.
-Good to see you.

-Good to see you, welcome.
-Thank you.
-Thank you.

Well, Deb, I can't tell you
how excited I am

to finally get inside this house
and take a peek around.

There's a lot of history here.

-BRAD: Yeah.
-A lot of history.

BRAD:
So, I've heard all kinds of

things that really are
interesting to us,

that will hopefully help us,
uh, develop this story.

Well, you're really lucky
because right now,

-I'm in between tenants...
-BRAD: All right.

...so it's a perfect time to be
able to see it. Come on.

-I-I'll give you a tour.
-All righty.

BRAD: This house is
directly across the street

from Charles Hackley.

I'd love nothing better

than to find an important piece
of the puzzle

that helps our research
get to the next level.

-Come on, let's go upstairs.
-All right.

BRAD: I mean, it's one thing
to sit in the basement

of a library for hours on end,
and to be researching

on the Internet
for countless hours,

but it's another thing to
actually be at the location.

BRAD:
Wow.

This is old-school stuff here.

When was this house built?

We have proof
that there was something

on this property
in the 1860s.

-Right during
the Civil War Era. Yeah.
-Yeah.

-Look how big that window is.
My goodness.
-Yes. Yes.

You can see the mansion
right from here.

A lot of people also don't know

that this was
Mr. Thomas Hume's home.

-What?
-Yeah. Mr. Hume lived

-in this home...
-The Hume home is

on the other side
of the Hackley mansion.

But before he built
the Hume home on the other side

of the Hackley home,
he lived in this home.

-You're kidding.
-No. 1887. He...

he lived here, yes.

NARRATOR:
Shortly after emigrating

from Ireland in 1870,

Thomas Hume got a job
working as a bookkeeper

in Charles Hackley's
lumber mill.

After seeing
great promise in him,

Hackley took Hume
under his wing as his protégé

and eventually made him
a full partner

in numerous business ventures.

Like Hackley, Thomas Hume became a 32nd-degree Freemason,

and also reached
the highest level

as one of the organization's
Knights Templar.

What particularly intrigues
Brad Richards, however,

is the fact that both men
built enormous houses

directly across the street
from each other--

houses that Brad has been told
may have been connected

by means of a secret
underground tunnel.

But if so, why?

Hume was Hackley's
trusted business partner.

Hackley was a shrewd,
sharp businessman

who did everything himself, but
as they got later on in years,

Hackley sent Thomas Hume
everywhere for him.

To buy land, to buy timber,

-out to the...
-He had a very small circle

-of trusted people.
-Yeah.

Charles Hackley
had secrets to keep.

There's no doubt in my mind.

-DEBBIE: All right. Come on.
-BRAD: Thank you.

BRAD: And I believe he
finally found the right person

to pass on this monumental
secret about Confederate gold.

Well, you know,
Hackley needed someone

who could keep a secret,

and if you go to the cemetery,
you'll see that

Thomas Hume, Knights Templar,

and keeping secrets, like,
top of the list for those guys.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

So, you like secrets, huh?

What kind of secrets
do you know about?

Well, you know,
there'd always been a rumor

that there was a tunnel here.

Do we have enough
to get that permit?

And the tunnel went from here
into the Hackley home.

-The tunnel.
-Exactly. Yes.

NARRATOR:
In Muskegon, Michigan,

Brad Richards and fellow
researcher Frederick J. Monroe

are investigating rumors
concerning

a 19th-century house,

one that could be connected
to millions

in stolen Confederate gold.

As far as I knew,
it had always been a rumor,

until I had someone ask me
to actually look downstairs

in the basement and, uh,
I'm gonna show you something,

it'll be real obvious
just by the first look.

-I'd love it.
-Come on.

Let's go check it out.

NARRATOR:
If Brad's research is correct,

there could be a tunnel
connecting this house

to one owned by Muskegon
lumber tycoon-turned-banker

Charles Hackley--

a tunnel which Brad believes
may have been instrumental

as a secret means
of transporting

and then laundering
the stolen gold.

Every piece of property
that Charles Hackley developed,

there's rumors of tunnels.

So to actually get a chance
to see, possibly,

one of those tunnels?

I mean,
I'm super excited about it.

I can't believe we're finally
gonna get to see a tunnel here.

Wow.

DEBBIE: You can see
the patina on the brick

that's on the rest
of the basement.

-BRAD: Really old-looking.
-Right. And then...

-It's been here
for a hundred years or more.
-...you look over here

where they've put shelves
in front of it,

BRAD:
Oh, look at there.

And the bricks
are obviously different.

-Much newer bricks.
-Much newer bricks,

but if you also look out
that window,

that window is what's gonna
face directly towards

-the Hackley home.
-Oh, my goodness.

BRAD:
There's Hackley's mansion.

DEBBIE: You've got to have
a passion for history,

and this definitely needs
to be investigated.

BRAD: Would you be willing to
contact the owner and, uh, see

if we could take this a little
farther and maybe investigate

behind this wall?

You know, I think
they'd be happy to let you.

-They're big history buffs.
-Really?

-Yeah.
-Because who knows
what could be in this tunnel?

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

BRAD: As I'm looking
at this wall, patched over,

possibly the tunnel
to go to Hackley's mansion,

I'm blown away.

-This is an incredible find.
-Very much so. Yeah.

BRAD: The next step is to try
to figure out the logistics

of how we can
get behind that wall

and see what's behind it.

-Thank you so much.
Really appreciate it.
-Yep. You're welcome.

-FRED: Appreciate
all your expertise.
-You're welcome.

All right.
I'll just head the way out here?

This is awesome.

FRED: I want to dig a hole
and get the gold.

NARRATOR:
Back at his workshop,

Kevin Dykstra prepares
to contact his friend

and financial partner
Marty Lagina

to share exciting news
about his team's progress.

-Hey, guys.
-MARTY: Kevin.

NARRATOR: And joining Marty
on the call is his son Alex,

who, in addition
to his duties on Oak Island,

has been working closely
with Kevin in recent weeks.

Did you get those images
that I sent over?

Yep. I'll pull them out here.

Hang on.

Quite impressive, aren't they?

Is it what you hoped
to see? I mean...

What specifically
are you seeing?

I don't see a boxcar-looking
shape or anything.

Walk me through this.

Do you see the-the image there
that has

the parallel timbers
running side-by-side?

MARTY:
Yes. That one I see now, yes.

KEVIN:
Those images look exactly like

what Al and I have seen
on the bottom of the lake.

Big, heavy timbers.

Looks like it was made
to carry a lot of weight.

-MARTY: Yep.
-There was some thought

that possibly what we're looking
at is the side of a boxcar

and possibly the roof
still connected together.

Okay. So what else
on these pictures, you know,

what... where's your targets
to dive on?

KEVIN:
Right. The other mosaic

that Brian put together,

it was four different drops
that he did.

MARTY:
I see. All those things

that are sticking up
from the bottom,

basically, unidentified.

KEVIN:
Right. And that's what we see

when we're down there, guys.

We see those
targets down there.

Not being able to dig
and see what they are

is a severe handicap for us.

Okay, these are clearly
accurate images, Kevin.

What are we gonna do with them?
What's the next step?

This is all evidence.

This is all data
we can bring to the state,

and hopefully, this will be
enough to convince them

to give us a permit to actually
dig into the sand

on the bottom of the lake.

Okay, well, our part is easy.

Alex and I both say,
go get the permit, Kevin.

-Yep.
-KEVIN [chuckles]: We're trying.

We're trying, guys.

MARTY:
I have to agree with the guy.

Nothing he's come up with
hurts his theory

and everything he's come up with
helps his theory somewhat,

so let's go,
let's finish this up.

[Kevin laughs]

Good, Alex.

[laughter]

NARRATOR:
The next day...

Keep going. Exit 95.

...Kevin and Al travel
to the city of Lansing,

where they have a scheduled
meeting with state officials.

They are hoping
to obtain permission

to excavate the areas
at the bottom of Lake Michigan

where they believe millions
in Confederate gold

could lie buried beneath
several feet of sand and silt.

AL: What do you think
this meeting is gonna be like?

I have anticipation that they're
really gonna want to know

exactly what we're looking to do
with that data.

Do we have enough
to get that permit?

We'll know after this meeting

-if we had enough.
-Mm-hmm.

I think when the state
sees that video

of that potential gold bar,

you know, I-I think they're
gonna sit back in their chair

like we did the first time
that we saw it.

I mean, to me, it very clearly
looks like a gold bar.

It looks like it to me, too.
It's pretty compelling.

Or we could get shot down.

You know, this-this really
could go either way.

Well, here it is.

[sighs]

I am getting
a little nervous now.

[laughs]:
I am, too, really.

[exhales]

-Well, here we go.
-Yeah.

KEVIN: I'm just curious
what they have to say.

AL:
I am, too.

-BRAD: Here we are.
-JEFF: Yeah, I'm excited to see

what we're gonna learn here.

BRAD: Yeah.
You're gonna be impressed.

NARRATOR: While Kevin Dykstra
and his brother Al

are meeting with state
officials in Lansing...

A lot of money
was spent on this,

during the same time period that
we're researching right now.

...Brad Richards, along with
team researchers Jeff Zehr

and Frederick J. Monroe,
arrive at the Ryerson wing

of the Grand Rapids
Public Library.

They are hoping
to find solid evidence

that the gold Kevin believes is at the bottom of Lake Michigan

is, in fact,
gold that was once part

of the Confederate treasury.

BRAD:
So this is the Civil War room.

What we're trying to do
is connect the dots between

the gold and the capture site
of Jefferson Davis,

all the way back here
to Michigan.

JEFF:
Mm-hmm.

We're gonna really go
all out today

and I'm going to try
and sift through those books

and, uh, see if we can't find
some interesting accounts.

You're like a kid
in a candy store.

-[laughs]: I know.
-Let's get after
that money trail.

All right. Let's do it.

NARRATOR: According
to Kevin Dykstra's research,

during the arrest
of Confederate president

Jefferson Davis on the morning
of May 10, 1865,

Union officer Lieutenant
Colonel Benjamin Prichard

of the 4th Michigan Cavalry,

acting on orders
from his superior officer

Colonel Robert H.G. Minty,

took possession of six wagons
filled with gold,

silver and jewels.

The gold was then buried
for five years,

until a special railroad track
could be built

which would literally transport the gold directly

to the Muskegon offices
of lumber tycoon-turned-banker

Charles Hackley.

For the next two decades,
Hackley and his associates

laundered the gold and silver
through local banks

as well as at a number
of Hackley-owned gold mines

in Utah.

-What do you got there?
-JEFF: Well, this 13th census

of the United States 1910,
this shows Minty in Muskegon.

Oh, really?

JEFF: It also has his son
and his insurance business.

And remember this: General
Minty's son ends up working

in the Hackley National Bank
building in Muskegon, Michigan.

You know, that's a tight
connection, when your son's

working with Charles Hackley.

If Minty gave the orders
to Pritchard...

-That's right.
-And Minty also knew Hackley,

we have the major connection,

and that's how the gold
ended up in Muskegon.

-That's right.
-Yep.

Somebody h

NARRATOR: While searching
the Civil War archives

at the Grand Rapids
Public Library,

Brad Richards, Jeff Zehr
and Frederick J. Monroe

have just made
an important discovery,

one that directly connects area businessman Charles Hackley

to two of the men involved
in the arrest

of Confederate president
Jefferson Davis

at the end of the Civil War.

'Cause Minty was Pritchard's
superior officer,

Minty knew Hackley,

and his son worked
in the Hackley National Bank.

I mean, there's a direct
connection there.

And that's how the gold
ended up in Muskegon.

BRAD:
That's right.

This isn't recorded
in history books,

but I think this is
the connection between

Jefferson Davis' capture and the gold that was with him,

and Charles Hackley
moving the gold up north.

Well, next I think we need
to find more information

on how to connect
Pritchard to Hackley.

-Keep reading.
-I'm gonna.

-FRED: Get after it.
-[chuckles]

This is old.

This one has every
telegraph, you know,

ever sent during the Civil War.

Well, now, wait a minute.

Here-- here, General Pritchard's
writing a telegraph.

It's the account

from the time period of
the capture of Jefferson Davis.

FRED:
All right.

"To Captain T.W. Scott:

"Sir, I have the honor to report

"that of daylight yesterday
at Irwinville,

"I surprised and captured
Jefferson Davis and family

together with his wife's
sister and brother..."

Um, a few other names here.

Um, wait a minute.

"I returned to this point
last night."

Pritchard says he returns to the
point of the capture last night.

-Why would he do that?
-Why would he do that?

He knows where the gold is.

NARRATOR:
Could Brad Richards have just

found an account,
in Pritchard's own words,

secretly referring to the theft of the Confederate treasury?

How far back did he have to go
to get to that point?

BRAD:
At the first daylight,

he would've gone about 20 miles.

Point being, it took a lot
of effort to go back.

It wasn't, like, just,
"Oh, hey, I forgot my boots."

He was hiding that gold.

And we know that after the war

in 1870, he opens up
a national bank.

What kind of a coincidence
is that?

This is great stuff.

[phone camera clicks]

NARRATOR:
In 1870,

five years after
Jefferson Davis' arrest,

Benjamin Pritchard,

a schoolteacher
and young attorney

prior to the Civil War,

established
the First National Bank

of Allegan in Michigan,

but how did
a simple schoolteacher

get wealthy enough
to become a prominent banker?

Is it possible that he did so
with the help

of stolen Confederate gold?

So Pritchard captures
Jefferson Davis

and ends up with
a national bank in Allegan.

Charles Hackley ends up with
a national bank in Muskegon

where the gold ends up being.

It's possible to think

that this could have been
a huge conspiracy.

Well, the connection
between Pritchard and Hackley

sounds like a carbon copy.

Two banks. Same time.

Out of nowhere.
Somebody has some extra money.

-Yeah.
-JEFF: I'm hearing banks.

I'm hearing gold.

-Mm-hmm.
-So, you know, there may not

only be gold in Muskegon
and where we've been looking,

but Allegan, too.

Well, guys, let's not waste any
more time. Let's keep looking.

JEFF: Yeah. We're finding
some good stuff.

NARRATOR:
Later that day,

after finishing
their presentation

to Michigan state officials...

Let's see what they got to say.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin and Al
Dykstra have arranged to meet

with the rest of their team
at a local restaurant.

Hey, guys.

-Hey, man.
-Hey.

That was productive.

-The state?
-Yup.

-Aw, man.
-Pretty cool?

Yeah, it went great.

JEFF:
I can't wait to hear.

Yeah it was a it was, uh,

it was, it was a great meeting.

You know, we had three people
pretty high up in the state

meeting with us,
very cordial, very nice people,

but you could tell
that these people hold

the bottomlands
of Lake Michigan in their hands.

We basically walked through
all of the data that we had.

You know, Brian Abbott's sector
scan images seemed to really go

-a long ways with them.
-Yeah.

You know, it-it kind of
just launched right into

what we're looking to do.

What-what permit
would work the best,

but the other thing
they informed us,

regardless of whatever permit

they suggested,
this all has to go through

the Army Corps of Engineers
as well.

-Yep.
-Yeah.

NARRATOR: Because
the Army Corps of Engineers

is a federal agency,
it means that,

even with the State
of Michigan's blessing,

Kevin could still be denied
permission to dredge

what he believes
to be a key target area.

KEVIN: I hope that it's enough
to pursue this permit,

but I'm sure that if it isn't,
they're gonna give us

some guidance on what else
we could do

to help our chances
to get a permit.

They want to protect our--
the site.

They don't want anybody else
knowing about it.

Well, you've been completely
aboveboard this whole process.

We've tried to. We-we tried
to be as forthcoming

as we can,
but at the end of the day,

not feeling like the door
was shut in our face,

but that this could go
to the next step

and possibly get a permit?
That was huge,

-that was exciting to me.
-That was extremely exciting.

Any idea on timeline? Like, did
they give you any clue at all?

They made it clear
they have to be very thorough

when issuing a permit.

It felt like it was
gonna take a while.

I feel like the state
is rooting for us to find it.

-JEFF: Do you really?
-Yeah.

Wow.

How did your day go?
What did you guys d-discover?

So Benjamin Pritchard, after
the capture of Jefferson Davis,

sent a telegraph.

In fact, I took a picture of it
and I'd like to read it to you.

"Sir, I have the honor
to report at daylight,

yesterday, Irwinville,
I surprised and captured

Jeff Davis and family."

Here's what we found
super interesting.

"I returned to this point
last night."

It makes us think we should
look into Pritchard

a little bit more.

I've always felt somebody had to
go back and deal with the gold.

Yeah.

KEVIN: So here we got
Benjamin Pritchard,

a significant player
in this game.

He opens up a bank with gold.

Charles Hackley opens up
a bank with gold.

Hackley opened up
his bank in 1870.

So Hackley and Pritchard
both opened up banks

-in the same year?
-The same year.

KEVIN:
There's more going on here.

We definitely need to research

much more on Benjamin Pritchard.

Way too many questions
with this guy.

It's all hollow back here.he,

Kevin Dykstra,

along with his brother Al,
Brad Richards, Jeff Zehr,

and Frederick J. Monroe,

are excited by the prospect

of investigating
the former home

of Charles Hackley's
business partner, Thomas Hume.

-Hey, guys.
-Hey, guys.

NARRATOR:
If they can find evidence

of an underground tunnel,

one which connects
to Charles Hackley's home

directly across the street,

then they might have found
an important piece of evidence

linking Thomas Hume
to an elaborate conspiracy

to steal a large portion
of the Confederate treasury

after the Civil War.

-Good. You are?
-I'm Joe.

NARRATOR: Assisting the team
in their efforts today

is ground penetrating
radar expert Joe Glidden.

So this lady reached out
and said we've heard about

the research
with Hackley and the gold,

and the house right across
the street from Charles Hackley

had a tunnel going to it,
to Charles Hackley's house.

-So Joe here says if there's
a tunnel, he can find it.
-Yeah?

He was just explaining
that to us.

Well, it looks like he's got
the equipment to do it with.

What do you got here?

It's a Leica DS2000.

It's a ground penetrating radar.

NARRATOR: The Leica DS2000 ground penetrating radar device

works by sending
electromagnetic pulses

into the ground.

These pulses reflect off
objects, including voids,

creating two-dimensional images

of their locations
as well as their size.

Have you ever found
a tunnel before?

-I've found a few.
-Really?
-All right.

-Yeah. Yeah.
-He has.

KEVIN:
All right, guys. Let's go.

With the resources that Marty

and Alex have brought, like
the ground penetrating radar,

it's gonna make this project
a lot easier to see

if that tunnel exists,
where it exists,

and possibly what state
the tunnel currently is.

I think what I want
to do is, um...

Al and Brad, why don't you

go with me into the basement,
and then

Jeff and Fred and Joe,
you can start doing

-the searching out here.
-All right.

What would you think about
kind of coming around

the perimeter of the house
and see if you can localize

-a spot right off the bat?
-That sounds like a great plan.

Grab that stuff, Jeff,
and let's get in the basement.

Is that going with you?

NARRATOR: While Jeff and Fred
assist Joe Glidden,

Kevin, Brad and Al head inside
to investigate

the brick wall located
in the basement.

Oh, boy. Oh, yeah.
There it is, right there.

Ah, yes.

Look at this.

Yeah, you can definitely see the
new, uh, the new brick in there.

-Yup.
-Oh, yeah.

Yeah, and there's-there's
the old, right there.

-That's old. Yup.
-Right there.

-Let's get started.
-Okay.

NARRATOR:
Could there actually be

a secret entrance
behind the wall leading

to Charles Hackley's mansion?
And if so,

could it contain
important evidence?

So we're just gonna
take this one out.

-Here you go, Brad.
-Yeah.

-You got it?
-Yup.

It's all hollow back here,
this whole area.

-I-I totally hear it.
-This one out right here.

We're just gonna have to go
right through the brick,

just bust the brick out.

-All right, ready?
-Yup. Go ahead.

NARRATOR:
While Kevin, Al and Brad

begin jackhammering
the brick wall,

Jeff, Fred
and GPR expert Joe Glidden

scan the property for signs
of other possible

tunnels or secret chambers.

Got something right there,
about nine foot down.

Hey. Nice shot.

Learned from the pros.

JOE:
Looks kind of hollow down there.

-Those bright spots?
-Oh. Yeah.

JEFF: The bright spots
indicate that it's hollow?

Could be.
Could be hollow.

JOE:
The white and black is just

a positive or
a negative reflection.

Either the presence of more

coming back, or the absence.

-JEFF: Mm-hmm. So, the contrast.
-JOE: Yeah.

These lines right here,
underneath the magnifying glass,

and then this right here.

Well, it's coming right off
the front door right now.

Did you mark that, Fred?

-Yep.
-Yup. Perfect.

So, can you get an idea

of how wide that is then?

JOE:
Maybe.

NARRATOR:
A void?

Has Joe Glidden
just found evidence

that rumors of secret tunnels

underneath Thomas Hume's
property are true?

Let me-- let me back up
a little bit

and I'll recalibrate
this on here.

Fred, let's do what we did
on the other side.

Get two flags,
and see if we can get an idea

of the width of that.

NARRATOR:
While Joe, Jeff and Fred

scan the property outside,

Kevin, Al and Brad continue
their search for a tunnel

that directly connects to
the home of Charles Hackley.

AL:
A little bit more.

That's a thick brick, ain't it?

KEVIN: When the homeowner
allowed to go

through that brick wall
to get to the other side,

I promised her that
I wouldn't do anything

that would structurally
damage the house.

We've got to get
through this layer,

and then the layer behind it.

KEVIN: I didn't go wider with the hole because I didn't want

to compromise the integrity
of that wall.

AL: Yeah, that'll pop
right out, Kev.

KEVIN: So as I start
to penetrate that wall

with the jackhammer,
I'm anticipating seeing

-one of two things.
-Grab it.

I'm either going
to just see dirt,

or I'm going to see dirt
and wood.

If I see wood on the other side
of that wall,

that's going to indicate to me

that there's most likely
a tunnel.

[Kevin chuckles]

AL:
Yeah, you're through it.

I can't see.

KEVIN:
There's wood right there, guys.

BRAD:
Sweet!

KEVIN:
Wood right there, look at it.

BRAD:
All right.

NARRATOR: ...Kevin Dykstra, his
th brother Al and Brad Richards

may have just made
an incredible discovery.

-KEVIN: Look at that.
-BRAD: Look at that. Nice.

NARRATOR: They believe
they have found evidence

of a secret tunnel running
between the 19th-century homes

of Charles Hackley and his
business partner Thomas Hume--

a tunnel which Kevin believes
was used to hide

and transport
millions of dollars

in stolen Confederate gold.

It is old and it's rotted.

AL:
Oh, wow, look at that.

BRAD:
That's old wood.

KEVIN:
That would have been 1870.

Yeah.
150-year-old wood right there.

Yep.

-KEVIN: You can see more of it.
-AL: Oh, yeah.

-KEVIN: It's really just
fibers left.
-BRAD: Yup.

KEVIN: When they built
a basement, back in the day,

the stone masons would've
laid up all that stone.

There really is no reason to
have any wood at that level.

It's all stone and mortar.

-You can see the pieces
coming out, so...
-AL: Yep.

Hand me that camera
right back there, will you?

NARRATOR: Because the wall
may be structurally weak,

Kevin will now use a small
fiber optic camera

in an attempt to see what could be located behind the bricks.

BRAD: Well, it's definitely
a space back in there.

AL:
Yeah.

BRAD: It's not compacted
against the house, like normal.

KEVIN:
See the wood right there?

AL:
Yup. Yup.

KEVIN: For there to be wood on
the back side of that wall,

there had to be a door
or a tunnel.

-They just closed it off.
-That was a door.

Well, we were told
there was a tunnel right here,

from this house
to Hackley's mansion.

KEVIN: Once we started pulling
big pieces of wood

from the other side of that
wall, it told me we were

more than likely in the entrance
of a tunnel that had collapsed.

It would be nice to be able to
punch through it, wouldn't it?

KEVIN: I believe
if we get through that, that

that tunnel is just going to be
totally collapsed.

I think the only way
we're going to see that tunnel

-is with the GPR.
-Okay.

Let's go tell the other guys
what we found.

All right.

-Yeah. Number eight.
-Nice.

NARRATOR:
Outside the house...

Eight's next.

NARRATOR: ...GPR expert Joe
Glidden, along with Jeff Zehr

and Frederick J. Monroe, are
now scanning the direct path

between the Hume house

and the former mansion
of Charles Hackley.

JEFF: Oh, hey. You guys had to
come up for air?

-Yeah.
-Whew!

JEFF:
Well...

FRED:
Kind of dusty down there?

KEVIN:
It's a little bit dusty.

We got through the bricks
in that basement wall,

and pulled out wood, so I know

there's wood
on the other side of that wall.

Yeah, this wall?
You were right out--

You were right, like, there?

Yeah, right outside this wall.

We reached through the wall
and pulled out pieces of wood,

so I know there was a door
or something right there.

I'm seeing stuff that points
to that direction, too.

-All right.
-Yep.

JOE: You can also see here,
this got a little bit bold here.

KEVIN:
Yeah. What is that?

That's when you get, uh,
into a void pocket.

KEVIN:
If that tunnel was there

and the-the timber rotted
and collapsed,

is that what you would
expect to see?

I mean, I don't know if
it'd necessarily be collapsed,

because the layers
are still somewhat there.

Otherwise, you'd see
a big old sink in there.

So, you might actually have
a tunnel down there.

-That you can walk through.
-Sounds like it.

There very well could be
a tunnel down there.

We need to see if we can
get inside that tunnel.

I think we're gonna see
if we can open it up

-on that end and send Al in it.
-Oh. All right, Al.

Well, why not?
I've lived long enough.

[laughs]

KEVIN: All right, guys.
Let's get back to work.

to go much wider.

I want to take this one out and
part of this one for right now.

NARRATOR:
After using GPR to confirm

that a tunnel most likely
exists between the homes

of Charles Hackley and his
business partner Thomas Hume,

Kevin Dykstra and his team make yet another attempt to find out

what might lie on the other
side of the basement wall.

Definitely in.

I still can see
some remnants of wood.

Look back there, to the left.

AL:
Oh, yeah, I see it. Yep.

-BRAD: You hitting a cavity?
-AL: Yup.

-It's air space back there.
-BRAD: All right!

KEVIN: I'd like to get,
I'd like to get that camera.

AL:
I'll go grab it.

That's a long ways in there.

KEVIN: We're definitely
into an area here.

And I can see part
of it's open back there.

-AL: Yup.
-But right in here,
it's collapsed in.

My arm won't go any more.

NARRATOR:
Kevin has come to a troubling

and frustrating realization.

Any further dismantling
of the wall could risk causing

a major collapse in the foundation of the house.

KEVIN:
There was a definite void

on the other side of the wall,
and I really wanted

to get inside
the tunnel myself,

but I couldn't open that
wall up any more and be safe.

Let's go see what they've come
across out on the street.

Yeah.

[grunts]

-JOE: I got a pattern.
-JEFF: What, three?

FRED:
Three?

JOE:
About there.

JEFF: Joe starts showing us anomalies

that start to look
like what he called, like,

-a caved-in tunnel...
-JOE: About there.

JEFF: ...and all of a sudden, I'm looking and I'm realizing,

this looks like it could lead
to Hackley's side door.

Oh, man. Look at that.

-Look at that.
-[laughs]

It does go from porch to porch.

JEFF:
You guys see something

that looks a little compelling?

-[laughter]
-Yeah. You can see it.

-Yeah.
-I see a connection
between Hackley and Hume.

-Yeah.
-KEVIN: We're walking
right on top of the tunnel.

-Yeah, we are. Yeah.
-JEFF: Yeah.

AL: It's wide enough
to get a cart down.

Look at this.

Right on this crack.

-Yeah?
-Crack in the street.

-You can see there's a...
-Wow.

-[Brad laughs]
-AL: Oh, it's a weak spot.

JOE: It looks like
a weak spot, probably.

KEVIN:
How deep is it, do you think?

JOE:
Eight, eight and a half.

-See it, there?
-AL: There was a collapse.

-This thing, this collapsed.
-KEVIN: Yeah.

KEVIN: Doesn't it look
like it's coming this way,

and it's coming right up,
right up to the porch, there?

-Doesn't it?
-JEFF: Yep. Right to the door.
-BRAD: Yeah. Porch to porch.

KEVIN:
Wow.

BRAD: To have Joe and Fred
and Jeff up there

with empirical evidence
showing that there was a--

clearly, an anomaly going
the same direction that

we found the tunnel, I mean,
what more scientific evidence

do you need that, yes,
there was a tunnel here?

KEVIN:
There's only one reason you go

underground with stuff,
is you don't want to see it

-above ground.
-JEFF: Yep.
-BRAD: That's right.

-That's right.
-BRAD: It's also a way

that you can move things,
like gold,

any time of the day or night,
24 hours a day, and not be seen.

I agree. Totally agree.

So to have two houses,
one owned by Charles Hackley,

one owned by Thom Hume,

connected
by a tunnel underground

is very significant to me.

If we were moving gold
from one home to another,

underground is the way to do it.

Sometimes, on a journey of many
years, you have that big moment,

-and this has been one of those.
-This was huge.

-Yeah.
-Joe.
-All right, man.

-Thank you.
-Thank you so much.

NARRATOR: Although, for now,
Kevin Dykstra must abandon

his search for a secret tunnel linking the home of Thomas Hume

to that of Charles Hackley,

he and his team are convinced

that the information given
to them was correct.

A tunnel did exist.

But now another question:
could there have been more?

And if so,
where did they lead?

Because as much progress
as Kevin Dykstra has made

after eight years
of investigation,

he is more convinced than ever
that his search

for the lost Confederate
treasury has only just begun.

KEVIN:
Get 'em!

A search...

KEVIN: This is where
it all happened, guys.

-...that has, so far...
-BRIAN: Diver on surface.

...taken him and his team
underwater...

...in the air...

...and underground.

AL:
It's air space back there.

BRAD:
All right!

A search which Kevin believes

could lead to a treasure
much more valuable

and more dangerous...

-[gunshot]
-...than mere gold.

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

I have heard rumor
of Confederate gold

-underneath the Pritchard house.
-Oh.

It's not every day you get
to search the property

-of a Civil War general.
-BRAD: Hey, hey, hey!
It's a coin!

-Oh, man!
-Pritchard didn't come home
empty-handed.

KEVIN: Could what you see
on the screen there

-possibly be a tunnel?
-It is possible.

-You just got wood.
-You're kidding.

It could be part of a vault.

-[beeping]
-What is it? Bring it up.

AL:
That's it!

Subtitled by Diego Moraes
www.oakisland.tk