The Curse of Oak Island (2014) s03e13 Episode Script

1
Tonight on the curse of Oak Island
go find a some after decades of planning
whoa three years up testing predates the
money pit by at least 150 years and one
year up digging the wait to find out
what really lies at the bottom of 10x is
over our brothers Rick and Marty lagina
about to solve the Oak Island mystery
and will the answers they have worked so
hard to get
simply serve as a gateway
standby
leading them through even more
incredible discoveries
there is an island in the North Atlantic
where people have been looking for an
incredible treasure for more than 200
years so far they have found bits of
gold chain a stone slab with strange
symbols carved into it even a 17th
century Spanish coin to date six men
have died trying to solve the mystery
And according to legend
one more will have to die
before the treasure can found
not so bad everybody is like mouth open
animes it is one of the most important
days in the history of Oak Island
copy that hose and pressure are both
good
as brothers Rick and Marty lagina and
Craig tester along with their partners
are just moments away from finding out
what lies at the bottom of the infamous
man-made borehole known as 10x
after months of clearing the shaft of
obstructions and an exhaustive search
for someone who could manage the
difficult and dangerous final descent
through a narrow 27-inch Whitehall
world-renowned diner John Chatterton is
now in a mysterious underwater chamber
235 feet below ground
if he does find something it blows the
whole thing wide open
he comes up even with a piece of wood
from a post that he says is 14 by 14 or
12 by 12 and it's from floor to ceiling
yeah I just sit back and you I told just
alright fine I'd be happy for you to do
this
can you see anything yeah grounded in
Michigan due to the threat of a possible
hurricane Marty and Craig tester are not
able to be on the island in person for
this exciting day nevertheless they have
arranged to witness the dive
via videoconference
he's been 25 minutes in the water since
veteran treasure hunter dan Blankenship
dug 10x in the 1970s only a handful of
men have successfully made it to the
bottom and none of them including dan
has been able to prove his claim that a
wooden post man-made tunnels treasure
chests and even human remains really do
lie inside the chamber
rattle a metal object protruding from
the floor of the chamber yes sir we can
see it copy that it's standing up about
six foot off the bottom it's still no
post
so could that be the object that penny
found earlier this year after running
scanning sonar in the bottom of 10x
underwater imaging expert Brian Abbott
believed there were not one but two
large vertical posts possibly made of
wood located in the chamber percent
confidence ninety percent good John
Chatterton had just discovered that one
of the post light objects is actually a
metal drill pipe when John describes
what he's feeling down there about the
drill bar this six-foot tall piece of
pipe with the gap in between I'm shaking
my head like what I can't beat
very step like we saw in this owner yeah
what what is that done
clay affirmative
the bottom is clay all of those sending
the human diver down to the bottom of
10-x has proven to be both expensive and
extremely dangerous
the laginas and their partners believe
that only human intelligence can verify
if the underground chamber is man-made
they are also eager to know if it
contains tunnels or passageways that
could prove to be a shortcut into the
original Oak Island money pit yeah yeah
I think we can kind of see it
all stop
the silk covered bottom of 10-x has
suddenly become disturbed by John
chatter dance movements this ability is
now virtually at zero
what are you doing down John
according to VOC Islands legend when the
mummy pit was dug several hundred years
ago a slave was left behind to die so
that his spirit would guard the treasure
could John Chatterton be close to
proving that the legend was true
sink holes at the bottom of 10-x
could this be an indication that below
the layers of silt lies an entrance to
another even bluer chamber
copy that John you're saying there's
moving water in there
all I'd really like to reiterate to John
that the importance of the tunnel Rick
would really like for you to be able to
verify the tunnels existence and you
know whether or not they're natural or
silted in or whatever you know I'm
saying
John did you say you were in the tunnel
you
I was looking at the monitor with my
brother on it and he sat up like what
top rectangular and you feel anything is
shaped or carved or nothing feels shaped
or carp does it feel natural to you or
does it feel like it could be possibly
man-made you had to crawl in or could
you walk into it
but Angela was great but the grumbly
thing over time wouldn't Ian hydrate if
you you know take away the traces of
human pickaxe much rode it like crazy
right is there anything else you want to
do already anything else you want to
bring them up after months of
back-breaking work and frustrating
setbacks Rick Marty and their partners
are about to realize this year's most
important goal
to find out once and for all if 10x
really is an underground treasure
chamber there will be no more guessing
we'll get first-hand account from
someone who was in that room what he
believes is in that room or not in them
okay here we are for the big debrief
yes we're all ears and you know we're
really glad to see John there in the
flesh that's very heartwarming pass we
would not have left him gone hole no
matter what he had to say okay well
here's the thing guys I think we all
know why we're here and that is you know
to get some feedback I think I can put a
lot of this into context drawing makes
it a lot easier yeah once you setup like
you know how do you trust in transition
don't know if we're talking here's the
27-inch hole comes out the ceiling is
pretty much solid rock but it's somewhat
irregular but the six inch drill pipe
stops there directly below it we've got
four inch and the four inch goes goes
kind of down into the bottom like that
how is it from floor to ceiling this is
six foot in height from the bottom if I
stood with my feet on either side of
this which leads me to believe we're
talking 1012 feet of elevation from the
top of the mound to the underside of the
overhead Rock are you a hundred percent
certain that the only post white object
in that chamber is that four inch pipe
sticking up
absolutely like when John describes what
he's feeling down there about the drill
bar this six-foot tall piece of pipe and
the big question is where's the post the
mythical post the post that was always
there in the sonar imagery where is it
I'm looking at David these puzzles so
that's not the drill rod so I have no
idea wearing that that game from before
engineer right right
when treasure hunter dan Blankenship
don't to the bottom of 10x in the 1970s
he was convinced he saw what appeared to
be a large square wooden post running
straight up to the ceiling from the
floor of the underground chamber over
the decades various underwater cameras
and even sonar data collected earlier
this year by underwater imaging expert
Brian Abbott have verified the presence
of at least one and possibly two large
vertical posts yes we were able to
definitively find two posts that are
here is it possible that because of the
challenging dive conditions and poor
visibility John Chatterton simply missed
finding two large wooden posts
one of the things that that you guys
were definitely interested in was was
the box yes right about here I had a
rock that I would estimate was 10 inches
to 12 inches
it was very angular had at least one 90
degree angle on it I picked it up I
moved it it was it was heavy if you look
at the Brian Abbot drawing and I look at
where I found that stone to me that was
what gave you the sonar signal of the
box when Brian did his sonar survey this
was the area right here where he had the
shadow the possible human form right now
if I'm probing here it just created a
little sinkhole and some of the
surrounding stuff started going down
that be consistent with the scour you
know it's a sunken part would look like
a darker spot of shadow it could look
like a body Bennis on our image
is it correct I don't know you don't
again no we don't have eyes on target
he's he's feeling with his feet with his
hands John here's the ultimate question
odds from your exploration of that being
man-made I think
it looks like a natural formation
what do you think what are you dropping
all this pretty sobering you know huh I
don't know when we put an X in 10x and
move on to other places on that island
not right now they need to go over the
data okay the only way to get definitive
answers at the bottom of 10x is to drain
it but I've long held that opinion if
there's any kind of confusion after this
we need to go down there and the dry
from what I've seen you did everything
you promised it more honest to god I
mean I'm impressed no question about it
fun project thanks for having us yeah
thanks for having another pair is fun
for Rick Marty and the Oak Island team
John Chatterton's report has proven to
be something of a double-edged sword
take care on the one hand it contradicts
the accounts of dan Blankenship
who spent most of his life and fortune
trying to prove that 10x was a gateway
into the money pit
on the other it offers some badly needed
answers at a time when the laginas and
their partners have been trying to
choose between putting more money into
10x
or instead focusing their resources over
at the money pit or they have recently
made an incredible discovery
you
one day after John Chatterton's historic
dive to the bottom of 10x Rick and Marty
lagina are welcoming three special
guests to Oak Island welcome oh thank
you thank you so much
sisters Joan gene and joints McGinnis
are direct descendants of Daniel
McGinnis
one of the three teenage boys who first
discovered the money pit back in 1795
after learning of the recent activities
on Oak Island they contacted Rick lagina
in hopes of sharing what they believe is
some important information
what is your impression so far of coming
back to Oak Island Oh me I'm amazed
this is magic all the stories and things
that to me were fairy tales
nothing real the real genius
as this is their first visit to Oak
Island the McGinnis sisters are being
treated by Rick lagina to a special tour
by local historian and fellow treasure
hunter Charles Barkhouse
this isn't the money pit where your
ancestors were standing probably right
in this area right here
it's a special place there's so much
activity that went on here
by so many different groups
after finding what they believed to be a
hiding place for pirate treasure under
an old oak tree Daniel McGinnis and his
two friends John Smith and Anthony
Vaughn spent the next several months
digging in the place that would later be
known as the Oak Island money pit
10-foot intervals they found what
appeared to be man-made workings
including Oak timber platforms and
carefully fashioned layers of clay and
slate
eventually each young man purchased
property on the island in order to
secure their claim and in 1803 formed a
partnership with businessman Simeon
Lin's
so they could finance what was rapidly
becoming a full-time operation in 1804
after successfully excavating the pit to
a depth of 90 feet McGinnis and his
partners unearthed a large stone slab
with strange carved markings on it
but when they later removed it the hole
filled with seawater as if some sort of
booby trap had been sprung
so where's the oak tree unfortunately
many many years ago the oak tree was cut
down it is interesting to what you just
asked it's the tree still here people do
come with that sense of it that it's
almost like this little area time has
Stood Still and all is as it once was
maybe in some way you said it maybe in
some ways it is 220 years ago Daniel was
walking on that very ground they know
that story intimately and they were
meshed in it they were living it in that
moment and you could see their minds
rolling and I think that was really
really wonderful
Wow Wow
right up here of course is the McGinnis
foundation yes this is where they lived
right here Wow Wow
this would have been the root cellar
this would have been the entrance down
into it so you're standing where your
family walked 220 years ago I just got
his shiver shiver in the 1970s there
were two workers here when the province
was doing the tours and they reached in
to the foundation and they pulled out a
bull chain a gold chain found at the
site of the McGinnis foundation could it
be possible evidence that Daniel
McGinnis found something of value on Oak
Island after all
there's more questions and answers on
Oak Island and obviously with with your
family there's there's a lot of
questions too that you don't have the
answers to part of the history perhaps
they will have recollections perhaps
they will have remembrances I mean
they've indicated to us that they grew
up with stories of Oak Island and maybe
there's some import that they bring back
well here we are at the Oak Island is
etre Center do you have any questions at
all I would like to thank you for
inviting us here and for everything
you've done and I believe we
collectively thank you now we have
something to show you
the reason why we're here is you ladies
may take a unique offer that you had
brought something to Oak Island brought
something back which we're always
fascinated with and we're anticipating
that greatly I couldn't sleep last night
and I was wondering what it is you're
gonna bring to the table literally well
it's my pleasure to show you while
visiting Oak Island sisters Joan gene
and Joyce McGinnis the direct
descendants of the young man who first
discovered the money pit back in 1795
are about to share something incredible
with Rick Marty and the Oak Island team
see everyone start leaning in I'm
sitting there thinking well could it be
this could it be that isn't a story is
it an artifact it what is it was like
Christmas morning
just the Box is very nice if it ends up
about what they brought help solve the
whole thing then you have the deal they
used to say right men will write songs
of this day
you know the McGinnis sisters come back
after 220 years and they bring the
object that breaks the whole mystery
into pieces you know starts with a
McGinnis fittingly it might end with the
McGinnis this is one of the stories we
were told as children grandpa Daniel
five generations ago he noticed the
marks on the tree and being from a
family of carpenters and Mason's he
recognized the marks as the marks made
by a pulley system and he noticed the
depression in the ground so he and his
two friends started digging they found
some planks they kept digging now I've
been told they found three treasure
chests
three treasure chests found by Daniel
McGinnis and his two friends John Smith
and Anthony Vaughn Walt digging in the
money pit more than 200 years ago Daniel
took one Smith took one and Vaughn took
one and what is in this box
is one of the things that came from that
chest really the one that McGinnis -
let's have a work
my goodness
that is quite extraordinary a gold cross
found in the original money pit in 1795
Daniel McGinnis finds this in the money
pit I mean that's singularly impressive
there's never been a find associated
with the money pit there are there's
stories of the little link of three
links of gold chain can me up from with
the pod augur but we're holding this in
our hand and it's been passed down
through multi-generationally I mean it
it's incredible when you think about it
so I got about a million questions that
were to come from I mean who had it who
gave it to who do you know how it passed
down through 220 years it passed down to
the McGinnis men they passed it down to
their sons and so my father had it and
when my brother James was fifteen my
father passed it on to him and my
brother of the night before he died he
said never let this out of your sight
Wow that was open your hand
Wow that is extraordinary I mean have
you tried to date it to analyze it find
out where it's from is anybody has any
experts have any experts looked at it I
have taken it to several jewelers and
I'm told that it could be as old as five
hundred years old
doesn't 500 years ago fit within our
carbon dating that even be earlier than
some of those things we'd seen so yeah
that would definitely fit into any kind
of theory if it's 500 or earlier mm-hmm
if we can demonstrate that that came
from Oak Island that's probably the most
what is it is the most valuable thing to
ever turn up out of this island right I
mean that might be a huge clue I think
so yeah I truly believe my grandma would
say the treasure don't worry about the
treasure the treasure will take care of
itself
but it will never be found until a
McGinnis is back on the island for the
laginas and their partners the gold
cross represents what could very well be
the first tangible evidence that objects
of great value were buried at the money
pit but more the three wooden treasure
chests all that existed or were they
placed there to discourage would-be
treasure hunters digging I just want to
say on behalf of all of us that we want
to thank you for coming to Oak Island
and for me personally you know it's not
what you brought it's the fact that a
piece of this storied history of Oak
Island I'll come back the McGinnis
family we started all this so from our
hearts were very very grateful and it
was wonderful to meet we appreciate it
greatly
put it this way this is energizing and
it makes me want to keep going I mean
we've had a bit of a dry spell here
haven't we have yeah so thank you let's
go let's go forth and conquer
you
maybe just park over here and then he
can go in shortly after their incredible
meeting with the three McGinnis sisters
and seen the antique gold cross that was
reportedly found by their ancestor more
than 200 years ago Rick lagina along
with Dave Blankenship and Charles
Barkhouse returned to the money pit site
if anything Rick is more convinced than
ever that he and the team are finally on
the verge of a major breakthrough it's
that far hold one last week while
drilling just north of the area where
they had found evidence of a mysterious
wooden vault Rick lagina
Charles Barkhouse and well driller
Jordan Rogers discovered an incredible
21 foot tall void deep beneath
twenty-one feet
while using an evacuation system to pump
sediments out of the recently discovered
boy jack begley found a mysterious
albeit tiny metal object see the sheen
there and and then there's very true
because the presence of a 21-foot deep
void is unusual even by oak island
standards Rick lagina has hired pipe
inspection specialist Glen Cornell to
conduct a more thorough investigation of
the hole that's what 200 192 is the
bottom okay
Glenn is using the P 340 flex a probe a
camera specifically designed for use in
pipe inspection with a maneuverable head
the probe will be able to see in every
direction
#NOME?
structures such as a vault lie in the
large void below Glenn has also
fashioned a died light to the camera
head in order to maximize visibility
perfect tech here we go
soon they said this yeah that's nice
let's see what it looks like in the
water
yeah we're just a boat in the water here
let's see what we got here
it's looking pretty milky Wow that just
not look good
that's just a yeah whenever you're
running equipment like that you know you
run a visual camera sonar device
anything what you're hoping for every
time is that wow look at that
it's a doubloon or it's a you know at
the aha moment yeah it's definitely
clear right now if there's not clear
enough to see my gold bar though there's
a shiny gold by approaching 50 meters
right now okay that's a cavity right
there I'm thinking I mean a cavity
they're not six feet in suddenly Rick
and the team discovers something strange
embedded in the wall of the underground
cavern what's that
that curve thing not the casing visit
that right there yeah looks like it
might be what is that a shiny metallic
object embedded in the wall of a void
171 feet deep below the ground there's
another piece
it's your gold colors you'd almost see a
little bit of gold you know that
shouldn't be in the United could rake in
the team really be looking at a piece of
treasure inside the actual money pit
here's my thought he confirms in my mind
several things one is there is indeed a
cavity there and it's 21 feet of open
hole I mean there's something going on
down there
we did get the other piece of metal over
here too which is extremely curious you
know the metal thing the shiny thing
we'll call it yeah that's curious
there's no other way to describe it
because we don't know what it is but
it's definitely there
having now discovered compelling
evidence that something of great value
really could be buried deep inside the
money pit Rick lagina knows there is
only one way to be sure
he and his partners will have to dig an
enormous hole some 18 stories
underground but such a project will
present both an engineering challenge
and a financial one costing in the
millions of dollars
okay well here's the thing there's no
way we can walk away from this now we've
got the little piece of metal we've got
this strange and mysterious object we
cannot write this hole off there's no
way to put an X in this hole no no I
mean at this point I think we're all
puzzling what to do next
it's an engineer's dilemma is really
what it is it's not that simple thank
you but as much as we're gonna see
although Rick lagina must soon leave Oak
Island due to the certainty of another
harsh North Atlantic winter he has found
the evidence he needs to justify a major
excavation in the money pit but now
another question still remains
will he be able to persuade his brother
Marty and their partners to agree with
him
you
after an incredible year that has been
full of both setbacks and breakthroughs
Rick Marty and their partners have
gathered to meet in the war room before
they must head back home
to wait out another Oak Island winter
okay guys let's talk about this year
let's talk about what we did where we're
going how everybody feels about the
quest we're all here we were energized
by the cross and the McGinnis sisters
come in here that was really kind of
cool you know seeing an item pulled from
the money pit
it's exciting it's invigorating the
cross was just fantastic that's really
cool and it's been in the family all
these years yeah there's something kind
of epic and Shakespearean and destiny
about them coming back here 220 years
later and bringing the only significant
thing of value perhaps that was I guess
volunteer so where do we go next
what do you think about the money put no
question about it I want to continue
period we now have access to new
information and I want to find out
definitively
is there something in there not in
theirs discovery processes that remain
to be done well and also to have a
success and know once and for all there
is man-made stuff down there it kind of
comes down to us proving it and really
do the archeological thick and go foot
by foot uncover what the money pit holds
so we can solve the mystery for gate
okay I don't hear a lot of enthusiasm
for quitting from that sector no not at
all
okay what else for me a big disappoint
was John Chatterton not being able to
find anything in the cavity I'm not
writing it off though because you know
there's still two or three feet of silt
on quite a bit of the cavity that you
know he can't just dig his arms in there
and find you know a shovel a chest or
whatever so I think we next year we got
to come back and clean that cavity out
well you know I'm all for 10x now it's
time to get down there in the drive so
let's pump it out and we'll get down
there and we can see what's there David
we did make progress it's not the
progress that I will hope for it's not
the progress I have anticipated but it
is progress
it has taken 220 years to get to this
point but it's been a good year because
there is a year to come
it'll be the 221st year well said you
know what comes down to a vote
it's the Fellowship of the dig everyone
has a singular vote and I'd like to see
hands in the air do we continue or do we
not
I vote yes
yes yes I gotta say an aye vote yes that
leaves you I vote yes
we move forward Big Brother
let's go cron time crime time is right
another search for answers on Oak Island
has come to a temporary end
after a year that saw a series of
incredible discoveries amazing we have
found it the formation of strategic
partnerships welcome to the team and
several important questions being asked
is this accomplishment is it doable and
answered but it looks metallic your gold
colors yeah that's definitely there
Rick Marty and their partners realized
they have come too close and gone too
far to stop now
if anything they are leaving the island
with a greater commitment to return than
ever before
it's perseverance but often solve
something like this
it's perseverance that often carries the
day and all kinds of human endeavors
it's like Edison said when they asked
him if he thought he'd failed he said no
it's not failed I've found 462 things
that don't work and he's right that that
matters
here will come the Sun will rise spring
will arrive and we'll be back and oh God
you know we'll finish what we set out to
do
if it's gonna be done I put odds on him
we're not giving up together
who else you gonna bet on go ahead try
will persevere on this and we'll find
out what this island has to say you