1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,500 On this episode of Expedition X. 2 00:00:03,500 --> 00:00:07,000 Oh God, this is a graveyard. 3 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:10,000 Jess and Phil journey to America's heartland. 4 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:12,000 Oh check this out, job on. 5 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:13,500 There's gold, another one. 6 00:00:13,500 --> 00:00:16,000 To investigate reports of a winged creature 7 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,500 that began terrorizing the area over a century ago. 8 00:00:20,500 --> 00:00:23,000 He actually fires at the creature. 9 00:00:23,000 --> 00:00:28,000 Now residents around Van Meter, Iowa are claiming the beast is real 10 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:30,500 and it's back. 11 00:00:30,500 --> 00:00:33,500 It was flying, had a real strange long body 12 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:36,500 and a face that looked more like a reptile. 13 00:00:36,500 --> 00:00:38,500 It looked directly at us. 14 00:00:40,500 --> 00:00:42,500 Shhh, did you hear all that rustling? 15 00:00:42,500 --> 00:00:43,500 Right over there. 16 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:45,500 Oh, look at that camera. 17 00:00:45,500 --> 00:00:47,500 Oh, holy sh**. 18 00:00:47,500 --> 00:00:50,500 And when the evidence leads underground. 19 00:00:50,500 --> 00:00:51,500 Oh boy. 20 00:00:51,500 --> 00:00:53,500 Oh, look at that. 21 00:00:53,500 --> 00:00:55,500 The team digs for the truth behind. 22 00:00:55,500 --> 00:00:58,500 Get the cameras in, get the cameras in. 23 00:00:58,500 --> 00:01:00,500 The Van Meter monster. 24 00:01:00,500 --> 00:01:03,500 My name is Josh Gates. 25 00:01:03,500 --> 00:01:07,500 In my travels I've experienced strange things that defy logic 26 00:01:07,500 --> 00:01:10,500 and made me question everything. 27 00:01:10,500 --> 00:01:11,500 Oh my God. 28 00:01:11,500 --> 00:01:17,500 Now I've put together a team to investigate the stranger side of the unknown. 29 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:18,500 Let's go. 30 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:23,500 Phil Torres is a scientist who hunts for rational explanations. 31 00:01:23,500 --> 00:01:27,500 This is the criminal who actually found the stationery. 32 00:01:27,500 --> 00:01:31,500 Jessica Chobot's paranormal research has made her a true believer. 33 00:01:31,500 --> 00:01:33,500 Sorry about that. I heard about it. Let's go. 34 00:01:33,500 --> 00:01:36,500 Together we're searching for answers. 35 00:01:36,500 --> 00:01:37,500 What is that? 36 00:01:37,500 --> 00:01:41,500 To the world's most extraordinary mysteries. 37 00:01:41,500 --> 00:01:44,500 This is Expedition X. 38 00:01:48,500 --> 00:01:52,500 When I say the name Van Meter, Iowa, what do you think of? 39 00:01:53,500 --> 00:01:55,500 I have nothing. 40 00:01:55,500 --> 00:01:56,500 Nothing. 41 00:01:56,500 --> 00:01:57,500 What? 42 00:01:57,500 --> 00:02:01,500 Not even you with your encyclopedic knowledge of weirdness? 43 00:02:01,500 --> 00:02:02,500 Knows about this story? 44 00:02:02,500 --> 00:02:07,500 This is like one of the most vivid and corroborated cryptid sightings of all time. 45 00:02:07,500 --> 00:02:11,500 First of all, Josh, Jess and I clearly study very different encyclopedias. 46 00:02:11,500 --> 00:02:13,500 But secondly, what are we talking about? 47 00:02:13,500 --> 00:02:15,500 We're talking about a flying creature. 48 00:02:15,500 --> 00:02:17,500 And the origin story for this is a doozy. 49 00:02:17,500 --> 00:02:19,500 It started with this mass sighting. 50 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:24,500 When practically the entire town of Van Meter had a very close encounter 51 00:02:24,500 --> 00:02:26,500 with something that they couldn't explain. 52 00:02:26,500 --> 00:02:29,500 Something that has become known as the Van Meter Monster. 53 00:02:33,500 --> 00:02:36,500 1903 Van Meter, Iowa. 54 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:38,500 Sitting along the idyllic Raccoon River, 55 00:02:38,500 --> 00:02:42,500 this small coal mining town becomes the battleground 56 00:02:42,500 --> 00:02:48,500 for a war between its residents and something that to this day remains unexplained. 57 00:02:49,500 --> 00:02:54,500 Local newspapers report that Van Meter becomes besieged for nearly a week 58 00:02:54,500 --> 00:02:58,500 by a giant flying bat-like creature. 59 00:02:58,500 --> 00:03:04,500 Night after night, it is said to terrorize the town folk with its deafening screech. 60 00:03:04,500 --> 00:03:09,500 The community rallies together to bring the monster down. 61 00:03:09,500 --> 00:03:14,500 But their bullets seem to have no effect on the beast. 62 00:03:14,500 --> 00:03:19,500 The days that follow, several of the town's most prominent citizens, including a banker, 63 00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:24,500 a doctor and several business owners, all put their reputations on the line 64 00:03:24,500 --> 00:03:29,500 by going on record with their extraordinary experiences. 65 00:03:29,500 --> 00:03:36,500 On the final night of the ordeal, the creature reportedly retreats into a nearby abandoned coal mine. 66 00:03:36,500 --> 00:03:42,500 The posse quickly seals the entrance, trapping it inside. 67 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:49,500 Despite the story becoming national news, in time it fades to legend. 68 00:03:49,500 --> 00:03:55,500 Now, nearly 120 years after that week of terror, recent sightings in and around Van Meter 69 00:03:55,500 --> 00:04:02,500 are terrifying a new generation of witnesses, who all describe seeing something large and black 70 00:04:02,500 --> 00:04:08,500 with bat-like wings, triggering a groundswell of interest in the original case. 71 00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:16,500 What really happened in 1903 and are the recent sightings the key to solving the mystery of the Van Meter monster? 72 00:04:16,500 --> 00:04:18,500 This is so up your alley, Jess. 73 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:20,500 I can't believe I've never heard of this before. 74 00:04:20,500 --> 00:04:21,500 It's amazing, right? 75 00:04:21,500 --> 00:04:26,500 It's pretty cool. I mean, the fact that this whole town saw this thing, I mean, 76 00:04:26,500 --> 00:04:31,500 mass sightings are incredibly rare, and now that we're getting more reports in modern day 77 00:04:31,500 --> 00:04:34,500 that match up with the previous reports, that's kind of next level. 78 00:04:34,500 --> 00:04:35,500 Phil? 79 00:04:35,500 --> 00:04:38,500 I just... it's so hard for me. 80 00:04:38,500 --> 00:04:43,500 It's night time. Something like a bat flies at you. You get scared. 81 00:04:43,500 --> 00:04:47,500 A bat? Phil, did you zone out during the package that I just prepared? 82 00:04:47,500 --> 00:04:53,500 The bottom line is we need to focus on what real animal people could have been seeing 83 00:04:53,500 --> 00:04:55,500 and still seeing today from the known natural world. 84 00:04:55,500 --> 00:04:59,500 Exactly. The known natural world. It expands all the time. 85 00:04:59,500 --> 00:05:02,500 Biologists are constantly finding new animals out there. 86 00:05:02,500 --> 00:05:04,500 Not 10 foot tall once. 87 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:07,500 Okay, all right, I don't want this to come to blows. We're not going to settle this here. 88 00:05:07,500 --> 00:05:11,500 Your mission is to go to Iowa. Talk to these eyewitnesses. 89 00:05:11,500 --> 00:05:13,500 Figure out what they actually saw. 90 00:05:13,500 --> 00:05:16,500 Is this some sort of misidentification, Phil? 91 00:05:16,500 --> 00:05:19,500 Or is this some sort of unknown species, Jess? 92 00:05:19,500 --> 00:05:21,500 That's what you've got to figure out. 93 00:05:21,500 --> 00:05:25,500 And I think you have to investigate the original 1903 sighting. 94 00:05:25,500 --> 00:05:27,500 Separate fact from fiction. 95 00:05:27,500 --> 00:05:30,500 If you can do that, you might just be able to solve the entire case. 96 00:05:30,500 --> 00:05:31,500 Okay. 97 00:05:31,500 --> 00:05:32,500 All right. 98 00:05:32,500 --> 00:05:34,500 We've even got a cab waiting to take you to the airport. 99 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:35,500 Really? 100 00:05:35,500 --> 00:05:36,500 Yeah. Right now. 101 00:05:36,500 --> 00:05:37,500 Right now? Yeah. 102 00:05:37,500 --> 00:05:39,500 The van meter is running. 103 00:05:39,500 --> 00:05:40,500 What? 104 00:05:40,500 --> 00:05:41,500 Oh my gosh! 105 00:05:41,500 --> 00:05:42,500 I'm sorry. I'm sorry. 106 00:05:42,500 --> 00:05:43,500 There's no cab. 107 00:05:43,500 --> 00:05:45,500 Wait, you didn't get us the cab? 108 00:05:45,500 --> 00:05:46,500 No, it's just for the joke. 109 00:05:46,500 --> 00:05:48,500 Have a good trip. 110 00:05:48,500 --> 00:05:54,500 Phil and Jess fly from New York City to Iowa's capital, Des Moines. 111 00:05:54,500 --> 00:05:59,500 Then they drive east toward Iowa City. 112 00:06:03,500 --> 00:06:04,500 All right. 113 00:06:04,500 --> 00:06:06,500 So what you know about Iowa? 114 00:06:06,500 --> 00:06:09,500 That for every person there are eight pigs. 115 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:10,500 What? 116 00:06:10,500 --> 00:06:12,500 Eight to one ratio of pigs to people? 117 00:06:12,500 --> 00:06:13,500 Eight to one. 118 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:16,500 This is the pig and corn capital of the United States. 119 00:06:16,500 --> 00:06:17,500 There you go. 120 00:06:17,500 --> 00:06:18,500 I hope you like bacon. 121 00:06:18,500 --> 00:06:19,500 I do like bacon. 122 00:06:19,500 --> 00:06:20,500 I love bacon. 123 00:06:20,500 --> 00:06:22,500 Iowa's got a lot going for it, in my opinion. 124 00:06:22,500 --> 00:06:27,500 Well, we got farm to the right, farm to the left, but I'm not seeing... 125 00:06:27,500 --> 00:06:28,500 What? 126 00:06:28,500 --> 00:06:32,500 Any giant winged creatures flying around. 127 00:06:32,500 --> 00:06:36,500 Well, we're about to meet some people who have. 128 00:06:36,500 --> 00:06:42,500 We arrive at Terry Trueblood Park, where Josh has arranged for us to meet Joey Perales 129 00:06:42,500 --> 00:06:44,500 and Tia Stoffer. 130 00:06:44,500 --> 00:06:48,500 They say they would have never believed in something like the van meter monster 131 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:54,500 until their terrifying encounter with a large winged creature. 132 00:06:54,500 --> 00:06:57,500 We saw it right here, but the grass was a lot taller. 133 00:06:57,500 --> 00:06:59,500 And how close were you to where it was standing? 134 00:06:59,500 --> 00:07:00,500 Right on the path. 135 00:07:00,500 --> 00:07:01,500 You guys were close. 136 00:07:01,500 --> 00:07:02,500 Very close. 137 00:07:02,500 --> 00:07:03,500 Very close. 138 00:07:04,500 --> 00:07:08,500 We were coming down to watch the stars on a clear night. 139 00:07:08,500 --> 00:07:10,500 We were walking down this path. 140 00:07:10,500 --> 00:07:12,500 There was no one out here. 141 00:07:12,500 --> 00:07:15,500 We heard rustling in the grass. 142 00:07:15,500 --> 00:07:19,500 Then it got progressively louder. 143 00:07:19,500 --> 00:07:23,500 And that's when we saw it. 144 00:07:23,500 --> 00:07:25,500 Bat-like, but gigantic. 145 00:07:25,500 --> 00:07:26,500 Bat-like wings. 146 00:07:26,500 --> 00:07:28,500 It looked directly at us. 147 00:07:28,500 --> 00:07:30,500 So we started running. 148 00:07:30,500 --> 00:07:33,500 It was parallel with us. 149 00:07:33,500 --> 00:07:34,500 We made it to the car. 150 00:07:34,500 --> 00:07:37,500 We looked back in a second time, and it was gone. 151 00:07:37,500 --> 00:07:42,500 I know you guys were ready to ditch, but were you able to glean any kind of details from it? 152 00:07:42,500 --> 00:07:45,500 It was tall, like seven... 153 00:07:45,500 --> 00:07:47,500 Significantly taller than that. 154 00:07:47,500 --> 00:07:48,500 Significantly. 155 00:07:48,500 --> 00:07:49,500 We were looking at that. 156 00:07:49,500 --> 00:07:50,500 It had like tucked in wings. 157 00:07:50,500 --> 00:07:54,500 Aside from the rustling around in the grass, did it make any other noises? 158 00:07:54,500 --> 00:07:55,500 Besides the grass, no. 159 00:07:55,500 --> 00:07:56,500 Any color? 160 00:07:56,500 --> 00:07:57,500 Black. 161 00:07:57,500 --> 00:08:01,500 The head was almost like a bird head, like a longer beak-snout kind of thing. 162 00:08:01,500 --> 00:08:06,500 I have to say, if you see a beak-snout bird-like head, wasn't a bird? 163 00:08:06,500 --> 00:08:08,500 Biggest bird I've ever seen. 164 00:08:08,500 --> 00:08:11,500 I don't think I know a bird with a head that size. 165 00:08:11,500 --> 00:08:13,500 I mean, I've worked at a zoo. 166 00:08:13,500 --> 00:08:16,500 I've done a lot of like biology research, too, and there's no... 167 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:18,500 I can't think of an animal this thing looks like. 168 00:08:18,500 --> 00:08:19,500 You said you worked at a zoo? 169 00:08:19,500 --> 00:08:20,500 Mm-hmm. 170 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:22,500 So you've been around all sorts of exotic animals? 171 00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:23,500 All sorts. 172 00:08:23,500 --> 00:08:25,500 I've done lots of animal observation. 173 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:30,500 I've had to create all sorts of fact sheets on animal biology, and it just... 174 00:08:30,500 --> 00:08:34,500 I can't say I've ever seen anything that's even close to what I saw. 175 00:08:34,500 --> 00:08:36,500 I'm just trying to picture this thing. 176 00:08:36,500 --> 00:08:37,500 You can show them. 177 00:08:37,500 --> 00:08:38,500 I have the tattoo. 178 00:08:38,500 --> 00:08:39,500 You've got a tattoo of it. 179 00:08:39,500 --> 00:08:41,500 Yes, I've got a tattoo of it. 180 00:08:41,500 --> 00:08:44,500 So bird-like head, big pointy shoulders. 181 00:08:44,500 --> 00:08:46,500 They were that pointy, that tall? 182 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:47,500 Yeah. 183 00:08:47,500 --> 00:08:49,500 And did the wings look leathery like a bat like that? 184 00:08:49,500 --> 00:08:50,500 Yeah. 185 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:52,500 I just wanted to like recount my experience. 186 00:08:52,500 --> 00:08:53,500 Never forget it. 187 00:08:53,500 --> 00:08:54,500 Never forget. 188 00:08:54,500 --> 00:08:55,500 Never forget. 189 00:08:57,500 --> 00:09:01,500 Whatever Tia and Joey saw, it made a lasting impression on both of them. 190 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:08,500 And their encounter was not far from Van Meter, the birthplace of the legend. 191 00:09:09,500 --> 00:09:10,500 Look at this place. 192 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:13,500 Oh, it's so quaint and small and awesome. 193 00:09:13,500 --> 00:09:15,500 It's like we've just gone back in time. 194 00:09:16,500 --> 00:09:20,500 The town of Van Meter dates back to 1869. 195 00:09:20,500 --> 00:09:22,500 And not much has changed. 196 00:09:22,500 --> 00:09:30,500 There's one main street, and nearby lie the remnants of Van Meter's coal mining and brick manufacturing past. 197 00:09:30,500 --> 00:09:33,500 I've arranged for Phil and Jess to meet Chad Lewis. 198 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:38,500 Chad is a researcher who studies the relationship between people's fears and beliefs. 199 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:39,500 Hi. 200 00:09:39,500 --> 00:09:40,500 Good to see you. 201 00:09:40,500 --> 00:09:46,500 I've written several books, including an in-depth examination of what happened here in the fall of 1903. 202 00:09:46,500 --> 00:09:49,500 So Chad, what got you interested in this mystery? 203 00:09:49,500 --> 00:09:55,500 I had done several books on odd newspaper stories from the 1800s, came down here. 204 00:09:55,500 --> 00:09:58,500 And originally I thought it was going to be very quick stop. 205 00:09:58,500 --> 00:09:59,500 Had to be a hoax. 206 00:09:59,500 --> 00:10:03,500 And the beauty of this town is it hasn't changed in a hundred and some years. 207 00:10:03,500 --> 00:10:06,500 This right here is the spot of the week of terror. 208 00:10:06,500 --> 00:10:11,500 First night a local implement dealer was coming back about 1 a.m. 209 00:10:11,500 --> 00:10:16,500 Something flew across the street and then disappears. 210 00:10:16,500 --> 00:10:18,500 And what happened night two? 211 00:10:18,500 --> 00:10:21,500 A local doctor was sleeping behind his office. 212 00:10:21,500 --> 00:10:24,500 Something or someone woke him up. 213 00:10:24,500 --> 00:10:30,500 So he grabs his weapon and he starts looking out the window and he sees this great form of some monster or creature. 214 00:10:30,500 --> 00:10:33,500 But he can't make out the details, but it's huge. 215 00:10:33,500 --> 00:10:38,500 He actually fires at the creature, but it has no effect. 216 00:10:38,500 --> 00:10:46,500 According to newspaper reports, two nights later the town's hardware store owner also shoots at the beast. 217 00:10:46,500 --> 00:10:49,500 But it doesn't seem to make any impact. 218 00:10:49,500 --> 00:10:52,500 Well now the town's on high alert. 219 00:10:52,500 --> 00:10:56,500 And out at the Brick and Tile factory right next to the abandoned coal mine, 220 00:10:56,500 --> 00:10:59,500 the plant manager's been hearing weird noises for several nights. 221 00:10:59,500 --> 00:11:06,500 He finally gets the courage to walk over about 200 yards to the old abandoned coal mine. 222 00:11:06,500 --> 00:11:10,500 And he sees this creature descending into the old abandoned coal mine. 223 00:11:10,500 --> 00:11:12,500 And the town quickly boarded it up. 224 00:11:12,500 --> 00:11:14,500 That's where the story ends. 225 00:11:14,500 --> 00:11:17,500 Nobody's ever gone out there to try and dig it up. 226 00:11:17,500 --> 00:11:20,500 It's been boarded up since the last sighting. 227 00:11:20,500 --> 00:11:21,500 Nobody's touched it. 228 00:11:21,500 --> 00:11:24,500 The coal mine today you wouldn't know you were on top of it. 229 00:11:24,500 --> 00:11:32,500 If the 1903 story is true and the town's people trapped whatever this thing was inside that mine by blocking the entrance, 230 00:11:32,500 --> 00:11:36,500 then it's possible there are physical remains left behind. 231 00:11:36,500 --> 00:11:38,500 And what about the recent sightings? 232 00:11:38,500 --> 00:11:44,500 Chad tells us that just like back in 1903, there have been several reported encounters around the abandoned brick factory. 233 00:11:44,500 --> 00:11:49,500 Well tell you what, we would love to be able to check out the old brick factory. 234 00:11:49,500 --> 00:11:50,500 Yeah, I know the owner. 235 00:11:50,500 --> 00:11:51,500 You mind giving your friend a call? 236 00:11:51,500 --> 00:11:53,500 Yeah, I'll do that right now. 237 00:11:54,500 --> 00:12:00,500 As the sun begins to set, we get word the property owner has given us permission to check out the old factory. 238 00:12:00,500 --> 00:12:07,500 This abandoned complex, next to a thick forest and a stream, would make a great hidden shelter for a large creature. 239 00:12:11,500 --> 00:12:16,500 Most of the alleged sightings happened at night, so this is the best time to investigate. 240 00:12:16,500 --> 00:12:19,500 This whole thing's collapsed. 241 00:12:20,500 --> 00:12:25,500 I can't really tell if we're on the outside of a building or on the old inside of a building. 242 00:12:25,500 --> 00:12:28,500 Perfect place to hide, and nobody would see you. 243 00:12:28,500 --> 00:12:35,500 First, we want to search the old factory's main office building, or at least what's left of it. 244 00:12:35,500 --> 00:12:36,500 We'll check this out. 245 00:12:36,500 --> 00:12:43,500 That's where, in 1903, the manager of the brickyard said he heard strange noises coming from the nearby coal mine. 246 00:12:44,500 --> 00:12:45,500 Here we go. 247 00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:55,500 This is full of barnswallows. 248 00:13:02,500 --> 00:13:03,500 Oh, Jesus! 249 00:13:08,500 --> 00:13:10,500 This is full of barnswallows. 250 00:13:13,500 --> 00:13:14,500 Oh, Jesus! 251 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:16,500 Fat! 252 00:13:17,500 --> 00:13:19,500 These are the calmest ones out on the whole. 253 00:13:19,500 --> 00:13:20,500 Definitely is. 254 00:13:21,500 --> 00:13:23,500 Oh, hey, look, there's an upstairs. 255 00:13:29,500 --> 00:13:31,500 Looks like the floor is somewhat intact. 256 00:13:31,500 --> 00:13:35,500 It's all covered in hay, so I can't really tell if there's holes in the wood or not. 257 00:13:37,500 --> 00:13:39,500 Oh, yeah, look at that right there. 258 00:13:47,500 --> 00:13:49,500 Careful, where's stepping? 259 00:13:49,500 --> 00:13:50,500 Yeah. 260 00:13:50,500 --> 00:13:53,500 Oh, what is that pile back there? 261 00:13:54,500 --> 00:13:56,500 We got one here, another one there. 262 00:13:56,500 --> 00:14:01,500 So what do you think that this, whatever's living up here, is using this as like a nest home? 263 00:14:01,500 --> 00:14:02,500 Something like that. 264 00:14:02,500 --> 00:14:06,500 It's clearly eating up here and dropping up here. 265 00:14:06,500 --> 00:14:09,500 There's tens of pounds of feces up here. 266 00:14:09,500 --> 00:14:12,500 Yeah, this doesn't look like bird poo to me. 267 00:14:12,500 --> 00:14:13,500 This is big scat. 268 00:14:13,500 --> 00:14:14,500 That's gotta be a big animal. 269 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:15,500 Could it be coyote? 270 00:14:15,500 --> 00:14:18,500 This doesn't really look like coyote poo, but it's usually more tapered. 271 00:14:18,500 --> 00:14:23,500 And I just don't see how a coyote can take the stairs every single day to get up here. 272 00:14:25,500 --> 00:14:27,500 That's gotta be a decent pot of snow. 273 00:14:33,500 --> 00:14:35,500 Oh, dead animal. 274 00:14:35,500 --> 00:14:38,500 Why are there so many dead things up here? 275 00:14:38,500 --> 00:14:40,500 Dead animals? Something was eating up here? 276 00:14:40,500 --> 00:14:44,500 We definitely know this thing is getting used heavily by some things. 277 00:14:45,500 --> 00:14:50,500 Whatever is using this space is big enough to carry prey the size of rabbits and possums. 278 00:14:50,500 --> 00:14:53,500 Yeah. Why don't we bust out the trail cat? 279 00:14:53,500 --> 00:14:58,500 Do you want to try putting it right there so that it covers the stairs and kind of just anything that might come up here? 280 00:14:58,500 --> 00:15:01,500 That's a good idea, because if something's crawling up here, it has to take the stairs. 281 00:15:01,500 --> 00:15:04,500 If something's flying in here, it will catch a flying ant. 282 00:15:04,500 --> 00:15:05,500 One of these will be out. 283 00:15:08,500 --> 00:15:11,500 Alright, Jeff, let's get out of here. 284 00:15:15,500 --> 00:15:17,500 The factory building? 285 00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:20,500 I think that thing was huge. There's just so many walls that fell down. 286 00:15:20,500 --> 00:15:22,500 It's all crumbled. 287 00:15:24,500 --> 00:15:28,500 We also set up multiple cameras around the perimeter of the brickyard. 288 00:15:28,500 --> 00:15:31,500 You want to put one right here so it's facing the main entrance? 289 00:15:31,500 --> 00:15:32,500 Alright. 290 00:15:36,500 --> 00:15:38,500 If something crosses, I'll get a notification on my phone. 291 00:15:38,500 --> 00:15:39,500 I thought. 292 00:15:44,500 --> 00:15:47,500 We decide to cover more ground by splitting up. 293 00:15:47,500 --> 00:15:53,500 Any animal out here is going to need water to drink, so I head toward the large stream at the edge of the lot. 294 00:15:57,500 --> 00:15:59,500 I got water. 295 00:16:02,500 --> 00:16:05,500 Right here, it gets pretty thick forest. 296 00:16:05,500 --> 00:16:10,500 So I'm going to get out the flare camera so we can pick up on any heat signatures of anything moving in here. 297 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:25,500 Look at this. There's something in the tree up there. 298 00:16:26,500 --> 00:16:28,500 There's definitely a hot spot right there. 299 00:16:30,500 --> 00:16:31,500 Seems like it's moving. 300 00:16:31,500 --> 00:16:35,500 That is not a small animal. 301 00:16:39,500 --> 00:16:41,500 I lost it. I don't see it. 302 00:16:45,500 --> 00:16:48,500 Ever picked up up here, steps and moved on. 303 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:50,500 So I'm going to try to set up a camera trap. 304 00:16:50,500 --> 00:16:54,500 I think we have a really high chance of picking up a wild life coming off this tree. 305 00:17:01,500 --> 00:17:06,500 While Phil checks out the stream, I focus on the area around the abandoned buildings. 306 00:17:06,500 --> 00:17:11,500 I'm searching for any evidence that might help identify what creature is living here. 307 00:17:12,500 --> 00:17:16,500 Whoa, just wires, storage, some more nests. 308 00:17:19,500 --> 00:17:21,500 Let's check the back. 309 00:17:23,500 --> 00:17:25,500 Oh, look at this. Come here, come here, come here. 310 00:17:25,500 --> 00:17:30,500 Look, you can tell it got ripped out because all the hairs on the bottom half, like the roots still attached to it. 311 00:17:31,500 --> 00:17:34,500 Could be anything, cow, coyote, monster. 312 00:17:35,500 --> 00:17:37,500 Let me take a picture of this for Phil. 313 00:17:39,500 --> 00:17:42,500 And then I'll also collect a sample so we can test any DNA. 314 00:17:44,500 --> 00:17:46,500 He saw something up in the tree. 315 00:17:46,500 --> 00:17:48,500 Is that a person out there? 316 00:17:48,500 --> 00:17:54,500 Witnesses have described a bat-like creature, so I brought along some bat tech that would even impress Bruce Wayne. 317 00:17:56,500 --> 00:18:00,500 Bats navigate by echolocation, which means they vocalize a high-pitched noise, 318 00:18:00,500 --> 00:18:05,500 then pick up the sound waves as they bounce back off objects in the environment. 319 00:18:05,500 --> 00:18:08,500 Those sounds are beyond the range of the human ear, 320 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:16,500 but the Echo Meter Touch 2 Pro is designed to record those bat sounds and identify the specific species all in real time. 321 00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:26,500 I just got my first bat in. It was a horny bat. 322 00:18:28,500 --> 00:18:32,500 We're getting hits on the bats, but the wingspan is probably only about this big. 323 00:18:34,500 --> 00:18:37,500 The only action I'm getting here are relatively small bats. 324 00:18:39,500 --> 00:18:40,500 That's a matter. 325 00:18:41,500 --> 00:18:46,500 I'm not entirely ruling out bats, but I'm also thinking there could be large raptors in this spot, 326 00:18:46,500 --> 00:18:48,500 like vultures, eagles, or owls. 327 00:18:48,500 --> 00:18:56,500 But eagles and vultures aren't nocturnal, and owls have round, flat faces that don't match the descriptions we've heard of the creature. 328 00:18:56,500 --> 00:18:58,500 So far, nothing really adds up. 329 00:19:02,500 --> 00:19:04,500 Let me see if I can zoom in a little bit more. 330 00:19:05,500 --> 00:19:07,500 I just got a hit on one of the cams. 331 00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:09,500 It's a cam by the brickyard. 332 00:19:09,500 --> 00:19:10,500 I'll meet you over there. 333 00:19:10,500 --> 00:19:11,500 Let's go. 334 00:19:14,500 --> 00:19:16,500 Check it out. Check it out. 335 00:19:16,500 --> 00:19:17,500 Look at this. 336 00:19:19,500 --> 00:19:20,500 Look at that. 337 00:19:20,500 --> 00:19:22,500 See, it's dropping, and it's kind of flying away. 338 00:19:22,500 --> 00:19:23,500 What the hell is that? 339 00:19:23,500 --> 00:19:26,500 There's all the bricks, so that's that camera over there, that first building that we went to. 340 00:19:26,500 --> 00:19:27,500 Let's go. 341 00:19:29,500 --> 00:19:30,500 You see the camera? 342 00:19:30,500 --> 00:19:32,500 That camera's right there. It looks okay. 343 00:19:32,500 --> 00:19:37,500 We got cameras here in the barn down by the river. 344 00:19:39,500 --> 00:19:41,500 Did you hear all that rustling? 345 00:19:43,500 --> 00:19:44,500 Right over there. 346 00:19:44,500 --> 00:19:47,500 It sounds like it's on the other side of this wall. 347 00:19:52,500 --> 00:19:54,500 Be careful, because that's all loose. 348 00:19:57,500 --> 00:19:58,500 Oh, God. 349 00:19:59,500 --> 00:20:00,500 What, what, what? 350 00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:01,500 Dead animal. Another one. 351 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:02,500 Is that another one? 352 00:20:02,500 --> 00:20:03,500 Maybe two. 353 00:20:03,500 --> 00:20:05,500 Looks like a dead box or something. 354 00:20:05,500 --> 00:20:07,500 Something's been eaten up here. 355 00:20:07,500 --> 00:20:09,500 I'm going to try to get it closer. 356 00:20:11,500 --> 00:20:12,500 Careful, cover cover. 357 00:20:18,500 --> 00:20:20,500 Looks like something's been eaten up here. 358 00:20:21,500 --> 00:20:23,500 I'm going to try to get it closer. 359 00:20:25,500 --> 00:20:26,500 Careful, cover cover. 360 00:20:28,500 --> 00:20:29,500 Oh, holy s***. 361 00:20:31,500 --> 00:20:35,500 While climbing over the crumbling wall, our cameraman, Ryan, falls onto his shoulder. 362 00:20:37,500 --> 00:20:38,500 He's shoulder s*** up. 363 00:20:39,500 --> 00:20:40,500 A little bit. Let me see. 364 00:20:41,500 --> 00:20:42,500 I feel it. 365 00:20:42,500 --> 00:20:43,500 Look at that. 366 00:20:43,500 --> 00:20:44,500 You've grabbed your shoulder? 367 00:20:45,500 --> 00:20:46,500 Oh, s***. 368 00:20:47,500 --> 00:20:49,500 Seems like it's a little dislocated right now. 369 00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:50,500 Do you want to try to pull it back? 370 00:20:50,500 --> 00:20:51,500 What? 371 00:20:51,500 --> 00:20:52,500 Put it back in? 372 00:20:52,500 --> 00:20:54,500 Have you done that for somebody before? 373 00:20:54,500 --> 00:20:56,500 I've seen it done for somebody before. 374 00:20:56,500 --> 00:20:57,500 Well, I've seen it done too on Karate Kid, 375 00:20:57,500 --> 00:20:59,500 but I'm not going to f***ing do it to somebody. 376 00:20:59,500 --> 00:21:00,500 Okay, let's pull it back in. 377 00:21:00,500 --> 00:21:01,500 Hold this. Lay down. 378 00:21:01,500 --> 00:21:02,500 You can keep it. 379 00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:03,500 Lay down. 380 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:08,500 Okay, you ready? 381 00:21:08,500 --> 00:21:09,500 Yep. 382 00:21:09,500 --> 00:21:11,500 One, two, three. 383 00:21:12,500 --> 00:21:13,500 No! 384 00:21:21,500 --> 00:21:22,500 How's it feeling? 385 00:21:22,500 --> 00:21:23,500 I feel better. 386 00:21:26,500 --> 00:21:31,500 Ryan says he's okay, but he shouldn't lug around that heavy camera rig on his shoulder. 387 00:21:31,500 --> 00:21:35,500 Plus, all this commotion is likely scared off any wildlife in the area. 388 00:21:35,500 --> 00:21:37,500 It's time to call it a night. 389 00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:40,500 There's definitely something preying on animals here. 390 00:21:40,500 --> 00:21:44,500 We'll leave our trail cams running so we can capture a shot of whatever it is. 391 00:21:47,500 --> 00:21:53,500 According to historical records, the Brick Factory is just a stone's throw away from the old coal mineware. 392 00:21:53,500 --> 00:21:58,500 Back in 1903, the townsfolk supposedly trapped and then buried the van meter monster. 393 00:21:59,500 --> 00:22:04,500 Now the current landowner has given us permission to be the first to access the mine. 394 00:22:04,500 --> 00:22:09,500 If we can find it hidden under more than a century of dirt, we're going to need some help. 395 00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:11,500 Hey guys! 396 00:22:11,500 --> 00:22:12,500 Hey Josh! 397 00:22:12,500 --> 00:22:13,500 Josh, how you doing? 398 00:22:13,500 --> 00:22:16,500 I'm good. Have you figured out what's terrorizing the skies over Iowa? 399 00:22:16,500 --> 00:22:22,500 Not yet, but oh my God, the story of the van meter monster is next level. 400 00:22:22,500 --> 00:22:26,500 Yeah, that 1903 encounter is an insane story. 401 00:22:26,500 --> 00:22:28,500 So what's happening there now? 402 00:22:28,500 --> 00:22:33,500 Well, we did investigate the old Brick Factory and we actually found a lot of stuff. 403 00:22:33,500 --> 00:22:37,500 We found scat, found dead animals everywhere, chunks of fur. 404 00:22:37,500 --> 00:22:41,500 And then we ended up setting up some trail cams and we actually got a hit. 405 00:22:41,500 --> 00:22:43,500 It looks kind of like, I don't know, like a wing. 406 00:22:43,500 --> 00:22:44,500 Wing-ish. 407 00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:48,500 Wow, okay, well send it all to me. The fur, the all of it. 408 00:22:48,500 --> 00:22:50,500 I'll make sure it gets analyzed. 409 00:22:50,500 --> 00:22:54,500 In the meantime, what's going on with that mine? Any luck with getting in there? 410 00:22:54,500 --> 00:22:58,500 Yes, we got permission from the owner to come on his property and look for it. 411 00:22:58,500 --> 00:23:03,500 The problem is we don't know where it is and it's probably all covered up according to the history 412 00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:04,500 and who knows what's in there. 413 00:23:04,500 --> 00:23:05,500 Yeah. 414 00:23:05,500 --> 00:23:08,500 Alright, it sounds like the first challenge is just finding this place 415 00:23:08,500 --> 00:23:11,500 and then excavating old mines is no joke. 416 00:23:11,500 --> 00:23:15,500 I mean, real risks of cave-ins, collapses, toxic gases, you name it. 417 00:23:15,500 --> 00:23:18,500 So I know a geologist in Des Moines. 418 00:23:18,500 --> 00:23:19,500 Let me call him. 419 00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:23,500 Maybe he can help you pinpoint this place and then hopefully help you explore it safely. 420 00:23:23,500 --> 00:23:24,500 Cool. 421 00:23:24,500 --> 00:23:25,500 Works for me. 422 00:23:25,500 --> 00:23:28,500 Oh, and I've got another new lead for you as well. 423 00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:34,500 I was able to track down a recent eyewitness who had an experience in a place called Colfax, Iowa, 424 00:23:34,500 --> 00:23:36,500 which is less than 40 miles from Van Meter. 425 00:23:36,500 --> 00:23:38,500 Awesome, okay, well I'll go talk to him. 426 00:23:38,500 --> 00:23:41,500 Alright, good luck and don't get eaten by a flying monster. 427 00:23:41,500 --> 00:23:42,500 See you, Josh. 428 00:23:42,500 --> 00:23:43,500 Bye. 429 00:23:47,500 --> 00:23:50,500 While Jess heads out to talk with her new eyewitness, 430 00:23:50,500 --> 00:23:54,500 I meet up with John Youngman, the third-generation owner of the property 431 00:23:54,500 --> 00:23:57,500 that housed a coal mining operation in the late 1800s. 432 00:23:57,500 --> 00:24:02,500 That mine is now supposedly the unmarked grave of the Van Meter monster. 433 00:24:02,500 --> 00:24:08,500 For the first time ever, he's allowing an excavation operation to search for the entrance to the mine. 434 00:24:08,500 --> 00:24:10,500 I would say it's in this area right here. 435 00:24:10,500 --> 00:24:12,500 Hopefully we can find it. 436 00:24:12,500 --> 00:24:14,500 There he is right now. 437 00:24:14,500 --> 00:24:17,500 Josh's geologist contact is Ryan Clark. 438 00:24:17,500 --> 00:24:23,500 He works with the Iowa Geological Survey and has spent years studying the state's coal mining past. 439 00:24:23,500 --> 00:24:24,500 Thanks for coming out. 440 00:24:24,500 --> 00:24:25,500 Alright, thanks for having me. 441 00:24:25,500 --> 00:24:30,500 He can help us pinpoint where to dig, so we don't make Swiss cheese out of John's land. 442 00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:34,500 Do you have an idea of how wide the entrance would have been? 443 00:24:34,500 --> 00:24:36,500 Probably 10 feet by 10 feet. 444 00:24:36,500 --> 00:24:39,500 So that doesn't exactly narrow it down in this area. 445 00:24:39,500 --> 00:24:43,500 Yeah, but luckily I brought along some maps that we can take a look at. 446 00:24:43,500 --> 00:24:44,500 What you got for us? 447 00:24:44,500 --> 00:24:50,500 What we've got here is this is a map that shows you really high resolution land surface elevation. 448 00:24:50,500 --> 00:24:57,500 Your property sits right in this area here, and these green symbols are mine locations. 449 00:24:57,500 --> 00:25:01,500 So this structure here, that's the abandoned brick factory. 450 00:25:01,500 --> 00:25:05,500 Yup, hill's right, kind of back behind us there. 451 00:25:05,500 --> 00:25:09,500 Ryan's maps indicate that the mine opening is close to where we're standing, 452 00:25:09,500 --> 00:25:15,500 but there's no sign of it from the surface, so we're going to need some heavy-duty equipment to locate it. 453 00:25:15,500 --> 00:25:20,500 John, are you sure we can make a giant hole in your property? You're okay with this? 454 00:25:20,500 --> 00:25:21,500 Let's give it a go. 455 00:25:21,500 --> 00:25:22,500 Let's give it a go! 456 00:25:22,500 --> 00:25:23,500 Alright. 457 00:25:23,500 --> 00:25:27,500 While Phil digs in, I'm driving to the nearby town of Colfax. 458 00:25:27,500 --> 00:25:28,500 Hey Mike! 459 00:25:28,500 --> 00:25:29,500 Hey, how are you? 460 00:25:29,500 --> 00:25:34,500 Local minister and avid bird watcher Mike Evans grew up in Iowa. 461 00:25:34,500 --> 00:25:40,500 He says what he saw in the sky a few weeks ago was unlike any wildlife he's ever seen here. 462 00:25:40,500 --> 00:25:45,500 I'm hoping this new sighting will give us a clue about where the creature is now. 463 00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:47,500 Tell me what happened that night. 464 00:25:47,500 --> 00:25:54,500 I was driving down the road and looked off into the distance and I could see the top of the hill was flying. 465 00:25:54,500 --> 00:25:55,500 What did this thing look like? 466 00:25:55,500 --> 00:26:01,500 It had a real strange long body with a tail and a face that looked more like a reptile. 467 00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:03,500 Like more pointed in the... 468 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:04,500 Yeah, more pointed with the snout. 469 00:26:04,500 --> 00:26:05,500 Okay. 470 00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:08,500 It was probably six to eight foot and bat-like wings. 471 00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:10,500 I grew up doing bird watching, hunting. 472 00:26:10,500 --> 00:26:14,500 You know what to look for around here versus what is something that is out of place. 473 00:26:14,500 --> 00:26:15,500 Yes, I grew up here. 474 00:26:15,500 --> 00:26:17,500 This wasn't something normal. 475 00:26:17,500 --> 00:26:19,500 So what direction was it flying in? 476 00:26:19,500 --> 00:26:22,500 I was flying southeast, maybe towards like Red Rock. 477 00:26:22,500 --> 00:26:23,500 There's a river with some bluffs. 478 00:26:23,500 --> 00:26:27,500 There's a lot of marshy area that something like this could hide in. 479 00:26:27,500 --> 00:26:30,500 Okay, well thank you so much for sharing your story with me. 480 00:26:30,500 --> 00:26:31,500 This was super informative. 481 00:26:31,500 --> 00:26:33,500 A little bit more, a little more. 482 00:26:33,500 --> 00:26:35,500 Let's get digging. 483 00:26:42,500 --> 00:26:44,500 Look who it is. 484 00:26:45,500 --> 00:26:47,500 What are you doing? 485 00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:48,500 We're digging a hole. 486 00:26:48,500 --> 00:26:49,500 Do you want to go gear up? 487 00:26:49,500 --> 00:26:50,500 Yeah, I will. 488 00:26:53,500 --> 00:26:54,500 Okay, we're going right there. 489 00:26:56,500 --> 00:26:59,500 Hey Ryan, do you mind taking a look at this? 490 00:26:59,500 --> 00:27:00,500 What do you got? 491 00:27:00,500 --> 00:27:04,500 So why is this dirt so much darker than everything else? 492 00:27:04,500 --> 00:27:06,500 Is that coal next in? 493 00:27:06,500 --> 00:27:08,500 Yeah, this looks like it could be coal. 494 00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:09,500 We found coal already? 495 00:27:09,500 --> 00:27:13,500 Yeah, I mean if you think about it, mining coal is kind of a dirty business. 496 00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:16,500 And they didn't grab every single little grain and gram of it. 497 00:27:16,500 --> 00:27:18,500 So there would have been coal scattered all over the place. 498 00:27:18,500 --> 00:27:22,500 We got this brick layer on top, which happened after the coal mine. 499 00:27:22,500 --> 00:27:25,500 This is evidence that they're filling this in with whatever they had laying around. 500 00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:30,500 One of the pieces of evidence that we're looking for if this is a mine shaft that's been filled in 501 00:27:30,500 --> 00:27:32,500 is we don't want to see normal soil. 502 00:27:32,500 --> 00:27:36,500 We want to see evidence of junk that shouldn't naturally be there. 503 00:27:36,500 --> 00:27:37,500 Yeah. 504 00:27:37,500 --> 00:27:39,500 So we're onto something. Let's keep digging. 505 00:27:48,500 --> 00:27:50,500 We are getting deep now. 506 00:27:50,500 --> 00:27:52,500 Did you hear that scrape? 507 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:54,500 Oh boy. Look at that. 508 00:27:54,500 --> 00:27:57,500 Get the cameras in! Get the cameras in! 509 00:28:02,500 --> 00:28:03,500 Holy crap! 510 00:28:06,500 --> 00:28:08,500 Look at that plank over here! 511 00:28:08,500 --> 00:28:10,500 Holy s***! 512 00:28:10,500 --> 00:28:12,500 Look at that right angle. 513 00:28:12,500 --> 00:28:15,500 That is absolutely cut! 514 00:28:15,500 --> 00:28:18,500 The beam is intact, but soft and crumbling, 515 00:28:18,500 --> 00:28:22,500 meaning it has likely been deteriorating underground for a long time. 516 00:28:22,500 --> 00:28:25,500 Could have been part of the framework that supported the mine. 517 00:28:25,500 --> 00:28:28,500 So that timber came out of there and then it would have come out. 518 00:28:28,500 --> 00:28:31,500 This could have been the entrance, right on this side. 519 00:28:31,500 --> 00:28:33,500 That's what it looks like to me. 520 00:28:33,500 --> 00:28:35,500 And then he's been pulling up really big slab. 521 00:28:35,500 --> 00:28:36,500 Oh yeah. 522 00:28:36,500 --> 00:28:40,500 That tells me they really didn't want somebody going through there. 523 00:28:40,500 --> 00:28:42,500 We're coming out. 524 00:28:42,500 --> 00:28:43,500 We're coming out. 525 00:28:43,500 --> 00:28:46,500 That's an awful lot of work just to cover up a hole. 526 00:28:46,500 --> 00:28:48,500 Let's keep digging. 527 00:28:49,500 --> 00:28:52,500 I'll admit that what we're finding is compelling, 528 00:28:52,500 --> 00:28:56,500 but I'm not seeing any evidence of a creature buried here. 529 00:28:57,500 --> 00:28:59,500 We're still getting brick down here. 530 00:29:04,500 --> 00:29:06,500 That looks like a lot of fill. 531 00:29:06,500 --> 00:29:08,500 Who knows how far we'd have to dig to get anywhere here. 532 00:29:08,500 --> 00:29:09,500 That's true. 533 00:29:09,500 --> 00:29:11,500 Probably not going to see much more. 534 00:29:11,500 --> 00:29:15,500 Judging by the moisture in the soil and the deterioration of the wood beams, 535 00:29:15,500 --> 00:29:18,500 it's possible that after 100 plus years, 536 00:29:18,500 --> 00:29:23,500 any physical remains like animal bones would have completely disintegrated, 537 00:29:23,500 --> 00:29:26,500 leaving nothing but a questionable legend behind. 538 00:29:26,500 --> 00:29:29,500 This is all still just junk fill that was dumped in here. 539 00:29:29,500 --> 00:29:34,500 We now know that at least one part of the van meter monster origin story is true. 540 00:29:34,500 --> 00:29:38,500 There was an old mine shaft next to the brick factory and it was closed up. 541 00:29:38,500 --> 00:29:42,500 As for the rest of the legend, we've hit a historical dead end, 542 00:29:42,500 --> 00:29:45,500 but there are still recent sightings to be investigated. 543 00:29:45,500 --> 00:29:47,500 So we say goodbye to Ryan and John. 544 00:29:47,500 --> 00:29:48,500 Thank you. 545 00:29:48,500 --> 00:29:49,500 See you. 546 00:29:49,500 --> 00:29:52,500 And while there's still daylight, we head towards Lake Red Rock. 547 00:29:52,500 --> 00:29:55,500 In the direction that our new witness said the creature flew. 548 00:29:55,500 --> 00:30:01,500 This lake is not only the largest in all of Iowa, it's a massive wildlife habitat. 549 00:30:02,500 --> 00:30:07,500 Looking at a map, it sits in between the recent sightings and the town of Van Meter. 550 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:11,500 I'm thinking my original instinct about this case is correct. 551 00:30:11,500 --> 00:30:15,500 That the eyewitnesses are misidentifying flying wildlife. 552 00:30:15,500 --> 00:30:17,500 Look at the size of this lake. 553 00:30:17,500 --> 00:30:18,500 This is where we're going. 554 00:30:18,500 --> 00:30:21,500 This is where we're going, but first we got a little stop to make, Jess. 555 00:30:21,500 --> 00:30:26,500 I've been hung up on trying to figure out who our prime suspects are around here 556 00:30:26,500 --> 00:30:28,500 as far as native wildlife. 557 00:30:28,500 --> 00:30:31,500 So I got a guy. 558 00:30:31,500 --> 00:30:32,500 You got a guy. 559 00:30:32,500 --> 00:30:33,500 I got a guy. 560 00:30:33,500 --> 00:30:34,500 Who's your guy? 561 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:36,500 Let's just say he's slightly obsessed with bats. 562 00:30:36,500 --> 00:30:38,500 Ooh, so he's a batman. 563 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:39,500 He's a batman. 564 00:30:39,500 --> 00:30:40,500 We're going to meet Batman, Jess. 565 00:30:40,500 --> 00:30:42,500 Does he talk like this? 566 00:30:42,500 --> 00:30:43,500 Oh, yeah. 567 00:30:43,500 --> 00:30:47,500 Look at that license plate. 568 00:30:47,500 --> 00:30:49,500 That's our Russ. 569 00:30:49,500 --> 00:30:50,500 I think we found him. 570 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:57,500 Russ Benedict is a biologist with more than 25 years of experience 571 00:30:57,500 --> 00:31:00,500 exploring the prairies and woods of the Midwest. 572 00:31:00,500 --> 00:31:02,500 So we're looking for the Van Meter monster. 573 00:31:02,500 --> 00:31:06,500 And essentially what people were reporting is this seven, eight foot creature 574 00:31:06,500 --> 00:31:09,500 with leathery bat-like wings. 575 00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:13,500 So the biggest bat that we have around here has a wingspan of about 18 inches. 576 00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:17,500 So small, but yet play huge role in ecosystems. 577 00:31:17,500 --> 00:31:19,500 I'd love to see one up close. 578 00:31:19,500 --> 00:31:20,500 Is that possible? 579 00:31:20,500 --> 00:31:24,500 We have 40 to 60 bats up in the roof of above us. 580 00:31:24,500 --> 00:31:25,500 Right up here? 581 00:31:25,500 --> 00:31:26,500 They're there now. 582 00:31:26,500 --> 00:31:29,500 They're hidden within the spaces up above us. 583 00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:33,500 So what we're going to do is we'll string up a couple of what are called mist nets. 584 00:31:33,500 --> 00:31:37,500 Once it gets dark, they'll start flying around and we'll see if we can catch them. 585 00:31:37,500 --> 00:31:40,500 We set up these soft nylon nets in front of the window. 586 00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:46,500 We don't have long to wait until dusk when the bats wake up and start flying in search of their bug breakfast. 587 00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:53,500 I got one. 588 00:31:54,500 --> 00:31:57,500 They're all over the place up there. 589 00:31:57,500 --> 00:31:58,500 The bats just... 590 00:31:59,500 --> 00:32:00,500 There's one, there's one. 591 00:32:00,500 --> 00:32:02,500 Oh boy. 592 00:32:06,500 --> 00:32:08,500 Look at how pretty she is. 593 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:10,500 Look at that fur. 594 00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:12,500 That's a big brown bat. 595 00:32:12,500 --> 00:32:14,500 The second biggest bat in Iowa. 596 00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:18,500 I don't see how anyone could confuse this with a flying monster. 597 00:32:18,500 --> 00:32:21,500 The wingspan is impressive, but that body is so tiny. 598 00:32:21,500 --> 00:32:22,500 Oh, tiny. 599 00:32:22,500 --> 00:32:23,500 Oh my gosh. 600 00:32:23,500 --> 00:32:25,500 So when you light her up... 601 00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:27,500 That shadow is huge. 602 00:32:27,500 --> 00:32:29,500 Wow. 603 00:32:29,500 --> 00:32:37,500 The shadow of the bat cast against the wall of the barn makes me think that maybe back in 1903, this is what people saw. 604 00:32:38,500 --> 00:32:43,500 That looks like it could potentially be a seven foot creature with bat wings. 605 00:32:43,500 --> 00:32:48,500 During that time, they had just brought electricity and street lamps into the town. 606 00:32:48,500 --> 00:32:49,500 Okay. 607 00:32:49,500 --> 00:32:52,500 So potentially they weren't used to seeing shadows that strong. 608 00:32:52,500 --> 00:32:57,500 It would also explain why the bullets the townspeople fired had no effect on the monster. 609 00:32:57,500 --> 00:32:59,500 They were firing at a shadow. 610 00:33:00,500 --> 00:33:03,500 But I don't think witnesses today would be confused by a bat shadow. 611 00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:07,500 I think they're seeing a bigger winged animal, a large species of bird. 612 00:33:07,500 --> 00:33:12,500 Walter, I think we can, thanks to you, cross bats off the suspect list. 613 00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:13,500 Yeah. 614 00:33:13,500 --> 00:33:14,500 Excellent. 615 00:33:14,500 --> 00:33:18,500 Now that it's night, we continue on our mission to check out Lake Rue. 616 00:33:18,500 --> 00:33:25,500 It seems like a perfect home for a giant flying monster with plenty of water, shelter and prey. 617 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:26,500 Going in. 618 00:33:26,500 --> 00:33:27,500 All right. 619 00:33:27,500 --> 00:33:28,500 Woo hoo. 620 00:33:30,500 --> 00:33:32,500 This lake is a massive habitat. 621 00:33:32,500 --> 00:33:38,500 Several large predatory birds nest here like eagles, herons and even cranes that migrate through the area. 622 00:33:38,500 --> 00:33:41,500 See how close the force gets to the rock formations here? 623 00:33:41,500 --> 00:33:42,500 Yeah. 624 00:33:42,500 --> 00:33:48,500 So that's the type of place where the bird that feeds on the lake by day would have rused at night. 625 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:50,500 I think we need to get up there, Jess. 626 00:33:50,500 --> 00:33:52,500 Okay, another gear. 627 00:33:52,500 --> 00:33:53,500 Thank you. 628 00:33:53,500 --> 00:33:56,500 All right, everybody, let's be real kind of ready to go. 629 00:33:56,500 --> 00:33:57,500 Okay. 630 00:33:57,500 --> 00:33:58,500 All right. 631 00:33:58,500 --> 00:33:59,500 All right. 632 00:33:59,500 --> 00:34:00,500 All right. 633 00:34:00,500 --> 00:34:01,500 All right. 634 00:34:01,500 --> 00:34:02,500 All right. 635 00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:03,500 All right. 636 00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:04,500 All right. 637 00:34:04,500 --> 00:34:05,500 All right. 638 00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:09,500 All right, everybody, let's be real careful on this edge. 639 00:34:09,500 --> 00:34:10,500 Oh, whoa. 640 00:34:10,500 --> 00:34:11,500 You're not kidding. 641 00:34:11,500 --> 00:34:12,500 Oh, no. 642 00:34:12,500 --> 00:34:14,500 Oh, check this out. 643 00:34:14,500 --> 00:34:15,500 Jaw bone. 644 00:34:15,500 --> 00:34:16,500 Oh. 645 00:34:16,500 --> 00:34:19,500 Teeth are flat like an herbivore. 646 00:34:19,500 --> 00:34:21,500 Maybe a deer. 647 00:34:21,500 --> 00:34:23,500 Oh, I remember one right here. 648 00:34:23,500 --> 00:34:28,500 So a lot of birds of prey will have an area that they take their food to and then eat it, 649 00:34:28,500 --> 00:34:32,500 perched up high so that they can keep an eye on anything else coming to steal their food. 650 00:34:32,500 --> 00:34:34,500 They're feeding grounds. 651 00:34:34,500 --> 00:34:36,500 Is that another bone? 652 00:34:36,500 --> 00:34:38,500 This is a graveyard out here. 653 00:34:38,500 --> 00:34:43,500 This is the most bones I think I've ever found in a single place on the planet. 654 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,500 Another skull. 655 00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:49,500 So we've got beaver, deer, and fox. 656 00:34:49,500 --> 00:34:56,500 It would have to be a big bird to be able to carry something the size of these all the way up here to feed. 657 00:34:56,500 --> 00:35:02,500 Why don't you take the fox pro, see what you can blast out, and then I'll go take the fleer over in that area, 658 00:35:02,500 --> 00:35:04,500 and I'll scan to see what you might bring in. 659 00:35:04,500 --> 00:35:05,500 Okay. 660 00:35:05,500 --> 00:35:06,500 Cool? 661 00:35:06,500 --> 00:35:08,500 Let me know if you get attacked. 662 00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:09,500 You got it. 663 00:35:09,500 --> 00:35:17,500 While Jess searches the tree line along the cliff, I'm going to try drawing out whatever may have been snacking on parts of some big animals. 664 00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:20,500 The fox pro mimics the mating calls of wildlife. 665 00:35:20,500 --> 00:35:25,500 Let's just hope whatever the van meter monster really is, it's feeling a little frisky tonight. 666 00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:28,500 I've got some of the birds on it up on here. 667 00:35:28,500 --> 00:35:31,500 Alright Jess, I'm about to call out a great blue heron. 668 00:35:31,500 --> 00:35:38,500 Great blue herons are huge birds, up to four and a half feet tall with wingspans up to six and a half feet. 669 00:35:38,500 --> 00:35:41,500 They fish and sometimes small mammals as well. 670 00:35:41,500 --> 00:35:43,500 You ready? 671 00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:48,500 Yeah, I'm ready. I think we're in a good spot. 672 00:35:48,500 --> 00:35:50,500 Alright, stand by. 673 00:35:50,500 --> 00:36:00,500 I'm not getting anything. 674 00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:03,500 Anyone try it again? 675 00:36:03,500 --> 00:36:07,500 Alright Jess, next up is turkey vulture. 676 00:36:16,500 --> 00:36:18,500 It's going this way. 677 00:36:20,500 --> 00:36:22,500 Jess, you heard that? 678 00:36:22,500 --> 00:36:24,500 Yeah, I hear that. 679 00:36:24,500 --> 00:36:26,500 Can you pick it up on your flashlight? 680 00:36:26,500 --> 00:36:36,500 I'm looking, but it's flying by. 681 00:36:36,500 --> 00:36:40,500 Whatever flew by us, I think scared the crap out of me. 682 00:36:40,500 --> 00:36:42,500 At night, if you weren't a... 683 00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:43,500 Oh! 684 00:36:50,500 --> 00:36:54,500 It's a little bit similar to a prehistoric pterodactyl. 685 00:36:54,500 --> 00:37:00,500 But since they went extinct about 66 million years ago, they probably aren't making a comeback. 686 00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:02,500 Or are they? 687 00:37:02,500 --> 00:37:06,500 Present-day birds are living descendants of dinosaurs. 688 00:37:06,500 --> 00:37:14,500 And some scientists believe it may be possible to manipulate poultry DNA to turn back the evolutionary clock. 689 00:37:14,500 --> 00:37:22,500 Inside an egg, an unborn chick could theoretically be engineered to grow teeth, a long tail, and a prehistoric beak. 690 00:37:22,500 --> 00:37:26,500 Such a creature could give us a greater understanding of evolution. 691 00:37:26,500 --> 00:37:29,500 Or it might break out of its cage and kill us all. 692 00:37:29,500 --> 00:37:36,500 So even if the van meter monster turns out to be a legend, keep your eye on the skies for chickenosaurus. 693 00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:41,500 I'm not sure if it's a bird or a bird. 694 00:37:41,500 --> 00:37:44,500 Is that thing scared the crap out of me? 695 00:37:44,500 --> 00:37:45,500 At night, if you weren't a... 696 00:37:45,500 --> 00:37:46,500 Oh! 697 00:37:48,500 --> 00:37:50,500 Is he okay? 698 00:37:50,500 --> 00:37:54,500 Something's flapping around over here. 699 00:37:54,500 --> 00:37:55,500 F***! 700 00:37:58,500 --> 00:38:02,500 I definitely had something going berserk over on this side. 701 00:38:02,500 --> 00:38:03,500 Was it big? 702 00:38:03,500 --> 00:38:05,500 Come tell what it was. 703 00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:11,500 I'm going to climb a little further into the woods just to see if I can scare up whatever it was that was freaking out in the bushes. 704 00:38:11,500 --> 00:38:13,500 Why don't you hit that call one more time? 705 00:38:13,500 --> 00:38:14,500 Alright, let me know what you find. 706 00:38:14,500 --> 00:38:16,500 I'm going to call out some other birds. 707 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:17,500 Gotcha. 708 00:38:19,500 --> 00:38:22,500 Next stop is Sandhill Crane. 709 00:38:22,500 --> 00:38:28,500 Sandhill cranes are big, with wingspans of over seven feet. 710 00:38:36,500 --> 00:38:40,500 Jess, you getting anything on the flare? 711 00:38:40,500 --> 00:38:43,500 Nothing. 712 00:38:50,500 --> 00:38:53,500 Then look at this. 713 00:38:53,500 --> 00:38:55,500 I just found something. 714 00:38:55,500 --> 00:38:57,500 Okay, on my way. 715 00:38:59,500 --> 00:39:01,500 Check this out. 716 00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:02,500 What? 717 00:39:02,500 --> 00:39:04,500 Right here. 718 00:39:05,500 --> 00:39:07,500 That's... 719 00:39:07,500 --> 00:39:08,500 That's got to be turkey vultures. 720 00:39:08,500 --> 00:39:10,500 That is huge. 721 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:11,500 Okay, alright. 722 00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:12,500 Huge, yeah. 723 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:13,500 Yeah, look at this. 724 00:39:13,500 --> 00:39:14,500 Another bird. 725 00:39:14,500 --> 00:39:18,500 So just come here with their takeout and then take off. 726 00:39:18,500 --> 00:39:21,500 Turkey vultures don't usually fly at night. 727 00:39:21,500 --> 00:39:29,500 So even a witness who is familiar with the bird might misidentify one in the dark if they stumble across it and startle it into flight. 728 00:39:29,500 --> 00:39:34,500 So when you think of witnesses in modern times seeing things, I just can't help but think. 729 00:39:34,500 --> 00:39:36,500 Think of birds. 730 00:39:36,500 --> 00:39:43,500 When it's this quiet and still out and something flies by, I mean, you're not expecting it. 731 00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:44,500 You jump. 732 00:39:44,500 --> 00:39:48,500 And brains will see things as bigger when you're terrified. 733 00:39:51,500 --> 00:39:56,500 It's hard to put too much stock in the original news report of the van meter monster. 734 00:39:56,500 --> 00:40:01,500 A flying, screeching beast that's allegedly impervious to bullets. 735 00:40:01,500 --> 00:40:07,500 Living in a local coal mine, it's a wild tale that just doesn't really seem to fly. 736 00:40:07,500 --> 00:40:13,500 Phil and Jess did dig up what could be a terrified town's attempt to eradicate something threatening. 737 00:40:13,500 --> 00:40:16,500 This could have been the entrance right on this side. 738 00:40:16,500 --> 00:40:18,500 That's what it looks like to me. 739 00:40:18,500 --> 00:40:28,500 As for the modern day sightings of this flying horror, the cameras my team left running in the old brick factory captured several more images of what look like wings. 740 00:40:28,500 --> 00:40:30,500 We got the horns of scat up here. 741 00:40:30,500 --> 00:40:37,500 The droppings Phil found there were identified as raccoon, the hair that Jess collected, domestic cattle. 742 00:40:37,500 --> 00:40:42,500 So what animal is the most likely culprit when it comes to the van meter monster? 743 00:40:42,500 --> 00:40:51,500 While the largest bat in Iowa only has an 18 inch wingspan, its eerie shadow stretching across a wall could definitely bring a monster to mind. 744 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:56,500 That looks like it could potentially be a seven foot creature with bat wings. 745 00:40:56,500 --> 00:41:06,500 Five foot tall sand hill cranes were once rare in Iowa, but their numbers have increased in recent years, right along with new sightings of the van meter monster. 746 00:41:06,500 --> 00:41:16,500 Turkey vultures are big, black, have featherless faces, a six foot wingspan, and they'll scavenge carcasses as big as a deer. 747 00:41:16,500 --> 00:41:25,500 Put it all together on a dark quiet night, add a dash of imagination and a pinch of panic, and the result could seem monstrous. 748 00:41:25,500 --> 00:41:30,500 For more information on Expedition X, head to Discovery.com slash Expedition X.