1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:16,579 This series presents information based in part on theory and conjecture. 2 00:00:16,579 --> 00:00:21,104 The producer's purpose is to suggest some possible explanations, but not necessarily 3 00:00:21,104 --> 00:00:30,433 the only ones to the mysteries we will examine. 4 00:00:30,433 --> 00:00:34,878 Beneath a strange old oak tree, the search began. 5 00:00:34,878 --> 00:00:41,244 In 1795, three boys found a deep pit built a century before. 6 00:00:41,244 --> 00:00:44,728 They were convinced it held something of immense value. 7 00:00:44,728 --> 00:00:59,943 The clues uncovered were so tantalizing that men have been digging ever since. 8 00:00:59,943 --> 00:01:11,755 Today, two centuries later, the search continues for the buried treasure of oak island. 9 00:01:15,759 --> 00:01:24,768 One of the world's most elaborate treasure hunts is presently underway on oak island off the east coast of Canada. 10 00:01:24,768 --> 00:01:33,778 In the 1600s, the waters of Nova Scotia were a haven for pirates, eluding British and Spanish pursuit. 11 00:01:33,778 --> 00:01:41,786 Most searches have assumed the brilliant buccaneer, Captain Kidd, chose oak island to conceal a priceless treasure. 12 00:01:41,786 --> 00:01:47,792 Others have expected to find Spanish gold plundered from Mexico and South America. 13 00:01:47,792 --> 00:01:53,798 Still others believe the lost crown jewels of Marie Antoinette had been buried there. 14 00:01:53,798 --> 00:01:59,804 As early as 1720, strange lights had been seen at night on the island's coast. 15 00:01:59,804 --> 00:02:02,807 Two fishermen who went out to investigate vanished. 16 00:02:02,807 --> 00:02:08,813 So for nearly a century after, everyone kept his distance from the uninhabited island. 17 00:02:08,813 --> 00:02:12,817 The mainland farmers considered it taboo. 18 00:02:12,817 --> 00:02:21,827 Finally, in 1795, three brave farm boys set out on an adventure which in search of has recreated. 19 00:02:29,835 --> 00:02:36,842 Daniel McGinnis, the leader, all of 18, was more fascinated than frightened by the specter of danger. 20 00:02:36,842 --> 00:02:43,849 He convinced his two best friends to come out and see something peculiar he'd discovered the day before. 21 00:02:43,849 --> 00:02:51,857 On an October morning, the island looked friendly, almost inviting. 22 00:02:51,857 --> 00:02:54,860 Daniel took them to a great old oak tree. 23 00:02:54,860 --> 00:03:01,867 Over a clear depression in the ground reached a curious bear limb which had been sawed off a long time ago. 24 00:03:07,873 --> 00:03:14,881 The limb had obviously been used to hoist something very heavy. 25 00:03:18,885 --> 00:03:19,886 Let's dig. 26 00:03:20,887 --> 00:03:23,890 It must be pirate treasure. 27 00:03:23,890 --> 00:03:27,894 They planned to have it up and be home by lunch. 28 00:03:28,895 --> 00:03:36,903 But they hit flagstones set in a circular pattern made of rock not found on the island. 29 00:03:36,903 --> 00:03:41,908 This was the first of many puzzling barriers to their search. 30 00:03:43,910 --> 00:03:48,915 Ten feet down, they struck what sounded like a wooden treasure chest. 31 00:03:49,916 --> 00:03:59,927 But it wasn't instead a platform of very old logs set tight into the pit, caulked with ship's putty. 32 00:03:59,927 --> 00:04:04,932 They also noticed pickaxe marks in the hard clay walls. 33 00:04:04,932 --> 00:04:09,937 Clearly, they were re-excavating a very old shaft. 34 00:04:09,937 --> 00:04:16,944 They were careful to be home by dark. 35 00:04:24,952 --> 00:04:29,957 Days later, they got down to 20 feet and hit another log platform. 36 00:04:29,957 --> 00:04:36,964 There was no way they could have known, but this wood has since been carbon dated to 1575, 37 00:04:37,965 --> 00:04:42,970 the era of the Spanish conquest. 38 00:04:42,970 --> 00:04:48,977 Weeks later, yet another layer at 30 feet and winter was coming. 39 00:04:50,979 --> 00:04:57,986 With only picks and shovels, the boys had dug as deep as they could, but they weren't ready to give up. 40 00:04:59,988 --> 00:05:04,993 They convinced their neighbors that what they had found could make them all rich. 41 00:05:04,993 --> 00:05:12,000 In the next few years, a doctor named Simeon Lins raised enough money for a major excavation. 42 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:19,007 Every 10 feet, they struck another log platform with layers of charcoal and ship's putty, all the way down to 90 feet. 43 00:05:19,007 --> 00:05:25,013 If there were treasure, it was buried not in the pit, but in the pit. 44 00:05:25,013 --> 00:05:30,018 The only way to find it was to find it was to find it. 45 00:05:30,018 --> 00:05:39,028 Every 10 feet, they struck another log platform with layers of charcoal and ship's putty, all the way down to 90 feet. 46 00:05:39,028 --> 00:05:45,034 If there were treasure, it was buried not only deep, but ingeniously. 47 00:05:47,036 --> 00:05:52,041 It was late one day when they found the strangest clue of all. 48 00:06:09,058 --> 00:06:16,065 They sensed they were onto something important, but the letters were like none they had ever seen. 49 00:06:16,065 --> 00:06:21,070 Was it a sign they were close to the treasure or a warning? 50 00:06:22,071 --> 00:06:29,079 They worked very late that evening and finally probing at 98 feet heard the welcome sound of a large rock. 51 00:06:29,079 --> 00:06:33,083 Night forced the halt. 52 00:06:33,083 --> 00:06:40,090 Returning at daybreak, they fully anticipated being rewarded for what had become 8 years of hard labor. 53 00:06:40,090 --> 00:06:45,095 They were not afraid to go to the next level. 54 00:06:45,095 --> 00:06:49,099 They were afraid to go to the next level. 55 00:06:49,099 --> 00:06:57,107 Returning at daybreak, they fully anticipated being rewarded for what had become 8 years of hard labor. 56 00:07:07,117 --> 00:07:13,123 Their expectations were to be thwarted, however, by a diabolical trap that waited in the pit. 57 00:07:19,130 --> 00:07:21,132 Fire! 58 00:07:30,141 --> 00:07:34,145 30 feet down, Guinness had fallen into water. 59 00:07:34,145 --> 00:07:39,150 At least 60 feet of water had somehow filled the pit during the night. 60 00:07:40,151 --> 00:07:47,158 The treasure they had almost touched now seemed as far away as the moon. 61 00:07:47,158 --> 00:07:53,164 Yet a half century later, the inscription on the stone would be decoded to read, 62 00:07:53,164 --> 00:07:58,169 40 feet below, 2 million pounds are buried. 63 00:07:58,169 --> 00:08:03,174 This promise of wealth inspired the next search group. 64 00:08:03,174 --> 00:08:10,182 When pumping failed to lower the water level, they sent down test drills. 65 00:08:10,182 --> 00:08:16,188 Samples from the drill indicated two large chests encased in cement. 66 00:08:16,188 --> 00:08:24,196 The men on the surface could hear loose metal rattling around inside the chests. 67 00:08:25,197 --> 00:08:29,201 And then one small fragment came up. 68 00:08:29,201 --> 00:08:32,204 The engineer wrote in his report, 69 00:08:32,204 --> 00:08:36,208 Three gold links resembling an ancient watch chain. 70 00:08:36,208 --> 00:08:41,213 For the first time, here was evidence of fabulous wealth. 71 00:08:42,214 --> 00:08:49,221 In 1850, another search group noticed the water in the money pit rose and fell with the tides. 72 00:08:49,221 --> 00:08:57,229 Exploring at nearby Smith's Cove, they discovered stone-lined drainage channels leading toward shore. 73 00:08:57,229 --> 00:09:05,238 And even more bizarre, tons of coconut husk fiber, like a blanket under the entire beach. 74 00:09:05,238 --> 00:09:11,244 This giant man-made sponge kept ocean water flowing into the channels. 75 00:09:11,244 --> 00:09:16,249 But the nearest coconut tree was 2,000 miles away. 76 00:09:17,250 --> 00:09:24,257 Their hopes of blocking the water went out with the first tide. 77 00:09:25,258 --> 00:09:34,267 Frederick Blair, a Nova Scotia insurance salesman, formed another search party in 1893. 78 00:09:34,267 --> 00:09:39,272 Their worst suspicions were confirmed. 79 00:09:39,272 --> 00:09:45,278 They found the stone channels led all the way from the beach to the money pit. 80 00:09:45,278 --> 00:09:50,284 No wonder they could never pump it dry. 81 00:09:55,289 --> 00:10:02,296 The last charge seemed to blast through into a subterranean cavity. 82 00:10:02,296 --> 00:10:06,300 They hoped this had finally stopped the flow of water. 83 00:10:06,300 --> 00:10:14,308 To check the results, they poured concentrated dye into the money pit and kept a close watch on the shoreline. 84 00:10:14,308 --> 00:10:21,315 The dye came up, but to their amazement, on both sides, 85 00:10:21,315 --> 00:10:24,318 of the island. 86 00:10:24,318 --> 00:10:33,327 They finally realized the entire island had been engineered to continually flood the money pit. 87 00:10:35,329 --> 00:10:40,335 By the end of the 19th century, it's recorded that two workmen had died 88 00:10:40,335 --> 00:10:46,341 and the diabolically designed money pit still kept its secret. 89 00:10:47,342 --> 00:10:54,349 The next century would bring even more provocative clues and greater tragedy. 90 00:10:57,352 --> 00:11:03,358 For 300 years, Oak Island has been a focal point for greed and curiosity. 91 00:11:03,358 --> 00:11:11,366 Since Daniel McGinnis discovered the money pit, men have spent more than $2 million digging for the treasure. 92 00:11:11,366 --> 00:11:13,368 Unsuccessfully. 93 00:11:19,374 --> 00:11:27,383 Perhaps as intriguing as the treasure itself is the question, who took such elaborate means to conceal it? 94 00:11:27,383 --> 00:11:31,387 Maybe Blackbeard had Oak Island in mind when he boasted, 95 00:11:31,387 --> 00:11:36,392 I've buried my treasure where none but Satan and myself can find it. 96 00:11:37,393 --> 00:11:42,398 Before he could recover it, however, he met an untimely death. 97 00:11:45,401 --> 00:11:49,405 All that coconut fiber suggests South America. 98 00:11:49,405 --> 00:11:57,413 One theory holds that a Spanish galleon wrecked on Oak Island had to conceal a fortune in Mayan or Inca gold. 99 00:11:57,413 --> 00:12:03,419 Others believed the lost crown jewels of France were buried here. 100 00:12:03,419 --> 00:12:11,427 When Marie Antoinette was guillotined, it's known that her lady in waiting escaped across the Atlantic to Nova Scotia. 101 00:12:11,427 --> 00:12:16,432 One search party in 1909 was convinced of this theory. 102 00:12:16,432 --> 00:12:23,440 Among the diggers, a young lawyer on his summer vacation, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. 103 00:12:23,440 --> 00:12:29,446 Recent scholarship, however, has proven the jewels never left France. 104 00:12:30,447 --> 00:12:38,455 In 1937, Gilbert Headin, a New Jersey millionaire, came upon what appeared to be an authentic treasure map. 105 00:12:38,455 --> 00:12:47,464 In an obscure book called Captain Kidd and His Skeleton Island, he found a map that curiously resembled Oak Island. 106 00:12:47,464 --> 00:12:52,469 But more important, it included specific bearings and measurements. 107 00:12:53,470 --> 00:12:58,475 Amos Noss worked for Headin that year. 108 00:12:58,475 --> 00:13:04,481 He recalls how they studied the kid map and searched the underbrush south of the money pit. 109 00:13:04,481 --> 00:13:10,488 I went to pick him a shovel and I went down, boy, it was hot. 110 00:13:10,488 --> 00:13:14,492 Fly mosquitoes and things, Father. 111 00:13:14,492 --> 00:13:21,499 But anyhow, I went around, he told me it was in 50 feet or so. 112 00:13:21,499 --> 00:13:24,502 Where he thought it was. 113 00:13:24,502 --> 00:13:26,504 So I kept trying and trying. 114 00:13:26,504 --> 00:13:30,508 Finally, I stuck a rock, two or three rocks. 115 00:13:30,508 --> 00:13:32,510 I kept trying with the pick, you know. 116 00:13:32,510 --> 00:13:39,517 I tore up the sod, which was about, I don't know, well, four or five inches over the top of the stone. 117 00:13:39,517 --> 00:13:41,519 And I uncovered the thing. 118 00:13:41,519 --> 00:13:44,522 I went up one side and I knew I had something then. 119 00:13:44,522 --> 00:13:50,528 I got to the point that it was none any further, so I came back on the other side and I had the body he was looking for. 120 00:13:50,528 --> 00:13:54,532 Noss had uncovered a large triangle of stones. 121 00:13:54,532 --> 00:13:59,538 George Bates was on the survey crew that rushed to the island to check out this discovery. 122 00:13:59,538 --> 00:14:05,544 Would the stone triangle correlate with the kid map? 123 00:14:05,544 --> 00:14:10,549 They sighted from boreholes found in two large boulders. 124 00:14:10,549 --> 00:14:16,555 Then they took exact readings from the map which used the old English system of rods. 125 00:14:16,555 --> 00:14:25,564 18 west and by seven east on rock, 30 southwest, took them precisely to the stone triangle. 126 00:14:25,564 --> 00:14:29,568 Then 14 north tree. 127 00:14:29,568 --> 00:14:32,571 The triangle pulled the stone tree. 128 00:14:32,571 --> 00:14:34,573 North tree. 129 00:14:34,573 --> 00:14:39,578 The triangle pointed exactly due north towards the money pit. 130 00:14:39,578 --> 00:14:49,589 This seemed to confirm that the kid map did mean that Tresley was in the vicinity. 131 00:14:49,589 --> 00:14:52,592 Then events took a bizarre turn. 132 00:14:52,592 --> 00:14:57,597 The book's author came forward and claimed that he had fabricated the kid map. 133 00:14:57,597 --> 00:15:04,604 Was he trying to conceal his sources or was the correlation between the map and Oak Island really an incredible coincidence? 134 00:15:04,604 --> 00:15:12,612 Because if that were the case, the money pit itself could be a complete hoax. 135 00:15:12,612 --> 00:15:18,618 Montreal journalist Darcy O'Connor is considered the leading expert on the Oak Island enigma. 136 00:15:18,618 --> 00:15:22,622 I have seen the coconut fiber that has been brought up. 137 00:15:22,622 --> 00:15:29,629 I have seen reports by the Smithsonian and by independent botanists stating it's definitely coconut fiber. 138 00:15:29,629 --> 00:15:35,635 I have seen carbon dating results that Triton has gotten showing that it's several hundred years old. 139 00:15:35,635 --> 00:15:38,639 That it's not glacial wood they're finding under the ground. 140 00:15:38,639 --> 00:15:44,645 The metal they're finding is pre-1750 and it's coming deep from under the ground. 141 00:15:44,645 --> 00:15:48,649 So there's no possible way it's a natural phenomenon or a hoax. 142 00:15:48,649 --> 00:15:54,655 Someone was there at some time and I can only assume to bury something of great value. 143 00:15:54,655 --> 00:16:03,664 92 year old Mel Chapel bought Oak Island in 1950 because he's also convinced of the existence of a treasure. 144 00:16:03,664 --> 00:16:08,669 He's intrigued by what his father discovered in the money pit in 1897. 145 00:16:08,669 --> 00:16:18,679 Well, when his chisel drill that they were using encountered at around 153 feet, 146 00:16:18,679 --> 00:16:24,685 what appeared to be stone or concrete for a few inches, then underneath wood, 147 00:16:24,685 --> 00:16:31,693 and they pulled the chisel drill up and put on an auger and bore it through five inches of wood. 148 00:16:31,693 --> 00:16:34,696 The chips came up and when they pulled up the auger, 149 00:16:34,696 --> 00:16:39,701 this little fuzzy stuff was on the screw of the auger 150 00:16:39,701 --> 00:16:44,706 and when they washed it out and painted it up and straightened out, 151 00:16:44,706 --> 00:16:46,708 it turned out to be this piece of parchment. 152 00:16:48,710 --> 00:16:53,715 Mel Chapel preserved this fragment of parchment no larger than a dime. 153 00:16:53,715 --> 00:16:56,718 Clearly, there is writing on it. 154 00:16:56,718 --> 00:17:00,722 Such clues have sustained belief in a buried treasure. 155 00:17:04,726 --> 00:17:11,733 And my opinion and his opinion was that it is of immense value, whatever it is. 156 00:17:11,733 --> 00:17:18,741 In 1959, Chapel leased treasure trove rights to Robert Restall and his wife Mildred. 157 00:17:18,741 --> 00:17:23,746 They gave up their careers as circus daredevil to move to the island 158 00:17:23,746 --> 00:17:29,752 where Restall was convinced he would find the treasure and make a fortune for his family. 159 00:17:30,753 --> 00:17:34,757 He had no wealthy backers and no elaborate equipment. 160 00:17:34,757 --> 00:17:40,763 But his obsession carried him and his two boys through six years of backbreaking toil. 161 00:17:42,765 --> 00:17:47,770 Restall and his older son would work all day and talk about pirates all night. 162 00:17:49,772 --> 00:17:53,776 They became driven, mesmerized by the prospect of treasure. 163 00:17:54,777 --> 00:17:58,781 Mrs. Restall recalls their isolated life. 164 00:17:58,781 --> 00:18:02,785 Well, you had to draw your water from a pond. 165 00:18:02,785 --> 00:18:06,790 Of course, no electricity, no radio, no television. 166 00:18:06,790 --> 00:18:09,793 We had settling lamps. 167 00:18:09,793 --> 00:18:13,797 And we had a gas stove for cooking. 168 00:18:13,797 --> 00:18:15,799 And that's it. 169 00:18:15,799 --> 00:18:20,804 I was closer to my boys because of our isolation 170 00:18:20,804 --> 00:18:25,809 and I would have been living on the mainland, not mother and sons. 171 00:18:25,809 --> 00:18:28,812 We all became friends to one another. 172 00:18:33,817 --> 00:18:36,820 August 17th, 1965. 173 00:18:36,820 --> 00:18:40,824 An old pump was draining a 27-foot shaft. 174 00:18:40,824 --> 00:18:46,830 No one knows for sure, but deadly carbon monoxide may have collected in the pit. 175 00:18:46,830 --> 00:18:51,835 Robert Restall was starting down when he suddenly became dizzy. 176 00:18:53,837 --> 00:18:58,843 Bobby thought his father had suffered a heart attack and rushed down to save him. 177 00:19:01,846 --> 00:19:07,852 Two other workmen failed to realize what was wrong and also toppled in. 178 00:19:07,852 --> 00:19:09,854 Now to get up and be careful, be careful. 179 00:19:09,854 --> 00:19:13,858 The autopsy report read, death by drowning. 180 00:19:14,859 --> 00:19:20,865 Though Restall now lives alone, still within sight of Oak Island. 181 00:19:20,865 --> 00:19:27,872 The time I was up in the cabin and I know it was after lunch and I was expecting my husband to come up any time. 182 00:19:29,874 --> 00:19:38,883 And Rick came back to the cabin, passed the one that I was in and went to his own cabin, the one he shared with his brother. 183 00:19:39,884 --> 00:19:47,893 And I thought that was rather odd. Why would he do that? Why wouldn't he come in and tell me that my husband would be up soon or something? 184 00:19:47,893 --> 00:19:54,900 And I waited a few minutes and then went down and by then it was all over. 185 00:19:56,902 --> 00:20:02,908 And that's when I learned that my husband and son and two other men were dead. 186 00:20:03,909 --> 00:20:09,915 I have an idea that he thinks at least at that time he thought he was pretty close. 187 00:20:09,915 --> 00:20:14,920 What he thought and what it was, I don't know. He didn't tell me. I didn't ask. 188 00:20:19,925 --> 00:20:25,931 Three days after the Restall tragedy, a California mining conglomerate moved in. 189 00:20:26,932 --> 00:20:37,944 The death toll had reached six. Disregarding the local legend that one more must die, this company and its successors continue the search. 190 00:20:40,947 --> 00:20:47,954 After 300 years, the secret of Oak Island has eluded all the resources of modern technology. 191 00:20:48,955 --> 00:20:50,957 But treasure hunters persist. 192 00:20:52,959 --> 00:21:01,968 The present company has dug down to 230 feet and is prepared to spend three million dollars scooping out the entire end of the island if necessary. 193 00:21:03,970 --> 00:21:13,980 Whether it's one man with a pick and shovel or a giant corporation with dynamite and bulldozers, an unflagging obsession has drawn treasure hunters to Oak Island. 194 00:21:13,980 --> 00:21:21,988 Whoever conceived and executed the fiendish money pit so far has managed to outwit them all. 195 00:21:44,011 --> 00:22:00,027 Thank you.