Original subtitles

Tonight, on "The Proof Is Out There",

a worm shaped UFO in the sky.

The way this thing spins around in the sky

is unlike any aircraft I've ever heard of.

It's no fluke, but is this lake monster

the world's biggest goldfish?

You've heard of big fish in small ponds.

Well, this is it.

Strange subterranean sounds in an ancient city.

Maybe someone is digging

secret underground tunnels.

And does this mysterious inscription

point the way to one of the holiest relics in history?

The theory goes that the Shugborough Hall inscription

leads to the location of that lost treasure.

Around the globe are videos.

What are those things?

It's moving.

Photos and sounds that defy explanation.

We don't know where they come from,

who made them, or how they operate.

What are they?

Some sort of bizarre mutation.

What's exciting is nobody really knows.

Extraordinary claims need extraordinary proof.

I'm Tony Harris and as a journalist

for more than 30 years,

I've followed the facts where they take me.

Now, I'm bringing that spirit of investigation

to the world's strangest sounds and images.

We'll analyze each one with top experts.

It's a credible case, it's a credible video.

And pass a verdict on what it is.

This video was clearly faked.

The proof starts now.

Good evening and welcome to "The Proof Is Out There."

Everyone knows how much I love our fans,

so when one of them tweeted me a video of a UFO

that interrupted their shopping trip,

let's just say it really wormed its way into my heart.

Take a look.

February 2022, Colorado Springs, Colorado.

"Proof" viewer Bruce Lanni is picking up his son

to go to the hardware store.

Their outing gets put on hold when Bruce spots

a long, dark shape hovering high in the sky above them.

We looked up in the sky and all of a sudden

we saw this kind of anomalous feature

and didn't know really what it is.

Look closer. As Bruce starts filming,

his son Christian provides the color commentary.

I mean, it took us back,

because at first it was horizontal,

then it turned vertical.

And it looked between 40 and 60 feet long.

It was definitely not anything that I have ever seen.

Bruce was quick to reach out to us on Twitter

because as a fan of the show,

he believes there's something else up there.

Actually, I'm a pretty firm believer in that,

because even if you go back throughout history,

you can see two, three, 4,000 years ago

depictions of objects in the sky that can't be explained.

As author Amy Teitel points out,

almost every ancient culture has tales

of strange, worm-like, flying objects.

There are a lot of myths in different cultures

concerning worm-like beings,

although sometimes they're more serpents or dragons

that can move through the sky.

UFO investigators wonder if these legends

are how the ancients described UFOs.

In 1561, observers in Nuremberg, Germany,

described an assortment of these objects.

Orbs, crosses, rods, and malleable strips.

At the time, it was interpreted as a sign from God,

but it's been speculated the objects may have been engaged

in some kind of extraterrestrial battle.

In our modern era, when people spot sky worms

or other UAPs, they don't just pray,

they often call the cops.

In April 2022 above Lazy Mountain in Alaska,

there was a sighting of a worm-like object in the sky.

And there were enough eyewitnesses

that police were dispatched to the area

to see whether it was a UFO or a downed plane.

After finding no wreckage,

state officials blamed the phenomenon on the contrail

from a New York bound jetliner.

But this strange object

doesn't appear to have anything to do with a plane.

The way this thing spins around in the sky

is unlike any aircraft I've ever heard of.

Let's take a closer look

at that sudden rotation of the object.

It's this counterclockwise motion happening right here

that is really intriguing to us.

If we time it, that's about a 180 degree turn

in less than 10 seconds.

So what kind of estimated 40 to 60 foot craft

could make that speedy move?

Let's see what our experts think.

Aviation analyst Tim McMillan agrees,

there's something strange on Bruce's video.

It's certainly odd.

It doesn't readily resemble an aircraft, a helicopter,

or any type of object that you would typically see

traveling through the sky

and there's no distinguishable pattern to its flight path.

What McMillan doesn't see is evidence

of any of the dazzling, possibly alien tech

documented in other UFO sightings.

You don't see any extreme speeds

and then right angled turns,

you know, instantaneous acceleration,

abrupt deceleration.

We don't see any of that.

It moves very consistently with something

that is either achieving lift,

or being propelled solely on wind motion.

If the object isn't controlled by aliens in space,

is it possible it's controlled by a human holding a string?

Whatever this object is, it has a definite orientation

it wants to maintain towards the ground,

so which would suggest there's something

holding it down or a payload that's keeping it that way.

So that would certainly be consistent with a kite.

If the apparent size of Blake's object

makes the kite theory sound farfetched, consider this.

The world's largest kite

flown in the Middle Eastern nation of Qatar

stretches over 200 feet.

That's large enough to potentially lift

the kite flyer into the air.

You certainly could have a kite

that would be oddly shaped like this,

or perhaps a more conventional kite that has a long tail

that's giving us this appearance.

Video effects designer and astronomer Marc D'Antonio

agrees with many of McMillan's observations,

but he does not agree with the kite theory.

This could very well be a solar balloon.

Those are long and thin and black like we see here.

And because they're black

and they're absorbing the sun's radiation,

the air inside tends to get warm and it will start rising,

the same principle as a hot air balloon.

And so what people do with these solar balloons

is they hold them out lengthwise,

they let the sun heat it up,

and eventually when it stands up, you kind of push it

a little bit into the air and off it goes up into the sky.

Our verdict, solar balloon,

or as Blake's son Christian would put it,

"A bleeping solar balloon."

The color, shape, and way it moves seems pretty conclusive.

Now, solar balloons can be dangerous to other aircraft,

so always follow the FAA's guidelines

if you plan to release one.

The goldfish is known and beloved as a common first pet.

Though they often don't live long without proper care

and the right living conditions.

But the creature you're about to see didn't just

outlive the average goldfish, it outgrew them big time.

We're not just gonna need a bigger fishbowl here,

we're gonna need a bigger lake.

It's November of 2022 in Putteville, France.

A man from the UK is fishing at Blue Water Lakes

in the Champagne region.

Fishery manager Jason Cowler is there

when he gets a big bite.

Hey!

It was amazing, it was mind blowing.

I kept calling it the carrot, it looks like a big carrot.

One of the largest goldfish on record,

found in South Carolina, weighs in at nine pounds,

so this would be more than seven times the size.

She's probably one of the biggest ones

of her color and size out there.

It is just one of those things, freak of nature.

Yeah, it is quite exciting.

Though we think of goldfish as

small, everyday pets,

bigger versions have been bred throughout East Asia

since around the 9th or 10th century.

And field researcher Ken Gerhard

says the largest specimens became objects of wonder.

One legend in fact stated

that they were a gift from the gods

and because of this remarkable gold color,

they were often viewed as a sign

of prosperity and great wealth.

Mutant goldfish with unusual characteristics

were so prized that they weren't killed

or eaten when they were caught,

but were instead shown mercy.

Ancient Buddhist monks would introduce goldfish

into mercy ponds and this was viewed as a good deed

or an act of self purification, called fang sheng.

So while this may not be an act of mercy,

could it be an instance where a pet goldfish was released

into the wild when it outgrew its owner's expectations?

In South Florida, the non-native Burmese python

has become an invasive species ever since pet owners

began releasing them when they got too big.

In fact, in July 2023, a record 19 foot long snake,

that's as long as a giraffe is tall,

was captured in Big Cyprus National Preserve.

But yet another theory is that this giant fish

could be a product of human manipulation.

Consider this. In 2015,

the FDA approved a brand new manmade species of fish

called the AquAdvantage Salmon.

These salmon are genetically engineered

and this is done by introducing super, hyper proteins

into their genetic code.

And the AquaAdvantage Salmon are said to grow twice as fast

as standard farm fed salmon.

So it's not impossible that we could be dealing

with a similar situation here,

where this fish has been exposed

to some type of genetic manipulation.

Researchers have been able to increase the size

of various fish by transferring a growth hormone gene

from one species to another.

For example, a mud loach developed in Korea

is able to grow 35 times faster than normal.

So what's up with the carrot?

Let's turn to our experts

to filet down this overgrown fish tail.

First forensic video analyst Michael Primeau

determines if this fish story is too good to be true,

despite the digital evidence.

A high degree of sophistication would be needed

to fabricate these images to recreate

the translucence of this object in the water,

as well as the shadow.

You see the shadow of the individual that's holding it

and as the water changes position as the fish enters,

characteristically, this would be incredibly difficult

to fake, so these images are real.

Marine biologist Dr. Shea Steingass

says released goldfish can be pretty large,

because it's the size of their tank

that limits how big they can get as pets.

They'll keep growing in the wild as long

as they have the right water temperature

and enough food and space.

But Steingass still isn't sure this fish

is a goldfish at all,

because it has other traits that are uncharacteristic.

Its dorsal fins extend all the way down its back,

whereas goldfish don't really have this feature.

And you see that it has a little feature on its mouth

that looks a little bit like an antenna,

and that's called a barbel.

If this were just a large goldfish, we wouldn't actually

see that particular organ, so we can narrow down

that this is in fact a carp.

The carrot may not be a genetically engineered mutant,

but Steingass says this is a selectively bred hybrid.

This is actually a hybrid of a leather carp and a koi carp

and both of these species are bred selectively,

and in some cases, koi can sell

for over a million dollars per fish.

Once we tracked down Jason, the fishery manager,

he explained that the fish are stocked

and fed in the pond where the carrot comes from.

So she's been able to grow this large

thanks to the absence of any natural predators.

Our verdict, we're going to say this massive fish

is the product of selective breeding.

It's a hybrid carp rather than an oversized goldfish.

As for whether she has spiritual properties

as the ninth century Chinese monks believed,

we can only say that

the fishermen who caught this mega fish

had enough reverence for her to let her live another day.

The city of Thessaloniki in Greece is more than a town

full of beautiful old buildings and colorful sunsets.

The city also has secret sites, underground networks,

and more than its fair share of allegedly haunted locations.

Did any of that cause the nightly disturbances

that terrified its citizens for over a month?

It's after midnight in early December 2021

and the residents of the Meteora Polichni area

in Thessaloniki, Greece are awakened

by a strange and booming noise.

Take a listen to that sound again.

Residents have described it as deafening and otherworldly

and it can be heard from over a mile away

as it makes the ground shake and tremble.

Representatives from the Thessaloniki

Water Supply Authority quickly said

the sounds weren't emanating from any sewer system.

Journalist Erin McCarthy says

that's when the citizens began to speculate.

There are a lot of theories

as to what these sounds could be.

Some have suggested that maybe someone is digging

secret underground tunnels.

You see, 16.5 feet below street level

are the catacombs of St. John,

a vast array of underground tunnels

that many believe are only part

of a huge hidden subterranean network

that's still being extended.

Then, there's the supernatural theory.

McCarthy says that Thessaloniki

is frequently called the City Of Ghosts,

known for its many allegedly haunted locations.

Some have even wondered,

could this be a ghostly, tortured spirit?

The area actually became one of the most visited spots

for paranormal enthusiasts.

There may be no bigger draw for ghost hunters

than the legendary Longos Mansion,

also known as the Red House.

It's a huge mansion that was built in 1926

for local industrialist Ioannis Longos.

Almost immediately, really weird things

started happening at the Red House.

Part of the building was destroyed in a fire

and there were reports of paranormal activity.

Many residents have reported strange sounds

and noises from the Red House.

Rumors even spread that it was housing a crypt of vampires.

Perhaps that's the origin of these strange sounds,

or perhaps there's a simple seismological explanation.

Others have suggested that maybe it's an earthquake.

So, strange noises in an ancient Greek city.

We've got ghosts, earthquakes,

and secret tunneling as competing theories.

To find out what's really responsible for all the ruckus,

we need our experts to sound off.

First up, geologist Dr. Bob Anderson

considers the seismic theory.

Well, the most common sounds that you would get in nature

would be earthquakes or faults or something breaking,

but those kinds of sounds that you hear,

it's very short lived, very quick.

This sound is very rhythmic, it's very constant.

It doesn't actually vary very much at all,

which leads me to believe that it's some machinery

down below, whether they are digging tunnels,

or running pipe, or whether there is a power station

or something nearby.

Forensic Audio Analyst, Dr. Rob Maher,

agrees with Anderson that the noises

seem to be mechanical in nature.

When we look at the time waveform

and the spectrogram for the sound...

The time between the different sounds varies a little bit,

but they have that relatively rhythmic quality to them.

The fact that they're relatively loud and low frequency

indicates to me there's some mechanical aspect to this.

But what's making the mechanical pounding?

Troubled ghosts, secret excavators?

Maher has his own theory.

One of the sources of a rhythmic sound like this

could be a plumbing phenomenon known as a water hammer.

Anyone who might have steam radiators

is familiar with this "whump" sound that happens

due to the flow of those liquids

in the thermal system of the pipe.

When a valve of running water is quickly closed,

the stream slams into the valve

at nearly eight times the pressure,

creating a shock wave through the pipes

that makes the water hammer sound.

And the bigger the pipes, the bigger the sound.

So that type of sound is what we're hearing here,

but on a much larger scale.

He puts the theory to the test

when he runs a comparative analysis

of the Thessaloniki mystery sounds

and the sounds made

by a residential water hammer in action.

When we look at this recording of a water hammer

situation in a residence...

We can see that there is a lot of energy

in this low frequency range down around 100 hertz.

So that mechanical source of the sound is very similar.

The characteristics of the frequency range

and the repetition are both consistent

between those two types of sounds.

Our verdict, water hammer.

Incidentally, we did some more digging

and it turns out that even though representatives

from Thessaloniki Water Supply originally denied

the noise was coming from them,

the president of the Water Authority

later made an announcement that the sound

was coming from routine tuning of the water supply.

So for now, let's just call this water under the bridge.

The imagery of the creature from the "Black Lagoon"

has captivated our imaginations for almost 75 years.

But what if I told you there was a real creature

from a mud lagoon?

August 8th, 2017, north Queensland, Australia.

David White, who runs cruises

in the Daintree River Wildlife Preserve,

is hoping to capture footage of a crocodile

he had spotted earlier in the day,

but instead, he captures something much more disturbing.

A tide pool sits undisturbed,

something sticks out of the water.

Still, it could almost be a rock,

but then, slowly, it begins to descend

straight down into the pool.

It goes down, down, down,

until eventually it sinks under the surface

and out of view, leaving only a tiny bubble in its wake.

Is this a creature, a rock, or something else entirely?

Field researcher Ken Gerhard believes

we could be looking at a famed monstrosity

from the land down under.

When I think of Australia, I think of the bunyip.

Like many legendary creatures,

the bunyip has various interpretations,

but the most common one is that it is an aquatic creature,

covered in hair with a head like a dog,

very large and powerful.

And the Aboriginal people greatly fear the bunyip

because it's said to come onto the land at night,

and drag its unwilling victims back into the swamp.

Bunyip sightings were reported

in Australia newspapers throughout the 19th

and 20th centuries, dating as far back as 1851,

where it was reported

that a bunyip had killed an Aboriginal man

and had to be speared to death.

Being that the bunyip legend

is so prevalent throughout Australia,

I think we have to stop and consider the possibility

that what we could be looking at here

might be at the root of this bunyip mythology.

So the theory suggests that this is in fact

some kind of living thing.

Is it possibly a new discovery?

Australian taxonomists name an average of 1,000 new species

each year, and its estimated that two thirds

of the continent's total species remain undocumented.

Let's see what our experts can discover.

Some have guessed that we're looking at the front tip

of an Indo-Pacific crocodile.

A species prevalent in this region,

but our marine biologist is skeptical.

I can rule this out entirely as a crocodile,

because I don't see any of the body,

or head features of a crocodilian.

It's not behaving like a crocodile.

It's coming vertically up out of the water.

And we have a little bit of size reference here

when we see the bubble on the surface of the water,

which means whatever this is, it's actually pretty small.

And in addition to that, it actually has pretty smooth skin.

For those same reasons, both size and smoothness,

Steingass thinks this creature contradicts reports

of the legendary bunyip.

I would probably rule out that this is a bunyip,

especially because the bunyip is said to hunt at night

and this footage was taken during the day.

Then what is it?

Based on this video and looking at the environment,

I think this is actually a mudskipper.

The mudskipper is a fish

that can spend as much time in air as in the water.

It can grow up to 12 inches in length,

breathes through its skin,

and uses its fins like legs to walk.

But NASA geologist Bob Anderson

says that can't be, because the environment

is just too harsh for most known animals.

The environment around it, it's very carbonaceous.

There's probably a lot of sulfate,

because the landscape is white, so it's very toxic.

It's not where a reptile, an alligator,

or anything would want to live

because there's no food source for them.

So does that rule out any living organism?

Not exactly.

If you notice, there's a slight green tint

to the creature,

and so most likely that is a living organism.

That's what we call an algal mat.

An algal mat is a mat of algae

that may grow in water or on rocks in both toxic

and non-toxic environments,

which can balloon up and float to the surface while forming.

In a fish tank, you'll see algae build up

and if you have a pump in there,

you'll see that the algae literally starts to rise,

because the air bubbles get trapped underneath

to lift that mat into the air, release it,

and then the mat goes back down to the bottom.

Makes sense in theory,

but algal mats tend to look like, well, mats.

This thing has a completely different shape.

So what gives?

Our verdict, unknown organic specimen.

While our experts disagree on

what this mysterious mud creature is, they both concur

that it is in fact an organic life form of some sort.

Proving that even in the harshest of environments,

life finds a way.

The relationship between space, time, and motion

is a complex matter.

Astrophysicists say many of these concepts

can be explained with Einstein's theory of relativity,

but this next clip seems to ignore all laws of physics.

It's January 2023 in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada.

A woman and her young daughter are driving down Lakeshore Road

when the mom sees something strange on the horizon.

A video that they record from their dashboard

shows a large white building straight ahead in the distance.

But check this out.

As they drive closer, all of the trees and houses

along the roadside stay the same size,

while the big building seems to shrink

right before our eyes.

It's getting smaller.

Why was that building so big?

Look, as the car gets even closer

and then rounds the bend in front of Lake Erie,

the mill structure gets so small it nearly disappears

below the top of the guardrail.

Journalist Erin McCarthy believes the real world is real,

but she can see why phenomena like this make people wonder.

You would assume that the building would get bigger,

not smaller as we approach.

So there's definitely something very strange happening here.

The comment section on this video

is chock full of wild ideas.

Perhaps the most intriguing is that what we are seeing here

is a glitch in the matrix.

There's a group called the Church of Simulation

and they believe that the entirety of reality

is a simulation that was created by super intelligent beings

and kicked off by the Big Bang.

The theory that we are living in a simulation

has gained traction in modern times,

thanks to Swedish philosopher, Nick Bostrom.

Bostrom has proposed that we have simulated

rather than biological minds, created by future advanced,

or perhaps even alien civilizations

who have access to large enough amounts of computing power

to run many detailed simulations.

This has led some people to suggest

that the building getting smaller

as we approach rather than larger

is a glitch in the simulation.

So, could this strange, shrinking mill on Lakeshore Road

be evidence we're living in a computer simulation?

Is there something especially eerie about Lake Erie?

Let's let our experts take the wheel

and drive this one home.

We check in first with forensic video analyst

Michael Primeau, who runs some tests.

Through analysis of the metadata.

We know that this is an original camera file,

thus we're able to authenticate the structure of this recording.

Furthermore, additional testing of the specific pixels

in this region did not report any significant changes

in that center area of the image.

So since this recording is the real deal,

could this clip be showing an imperfect simulation

that we're actually living in?

The whole idea that physical reality itself

is an illusion created by a computer program

is so fantastic.

Think of what it would cost to maintain such a matrix.

Not just one person, but all of reality, all of space time.

All the universe would have to be simulated

in the memory of the matrix, not possible.

At least not possible given the current state

of our abilities, but give AI a million years

of exponential machine learning, and who knows?

Still, Kaku believes it's more likely

that what we're really seeing is not a glitch in the matrix,

but rather a glitch in our brains.

Our brain automatically assumes

the observer is stationary, is constant,

and reality stems from that fact.

But if you are moving, then you begin to realize, no,

reality as you know it is distorted.

The trees fool you.

If you remove the trees by putting your fingers like this,

then everything is back to normal again.

You begin to realize that that object in the back

is getting larger, not smaller.

And this is nothing but an optical illusion.

Kaku says it has everything to do

with your ability to see the horizon line,

which, when first approaching the mill,

is obscured by the surrounding trees.

As one drives closer to the bay,

more of the surrounding horizon is revealed,

causing one's perception to constantly readjust

and give one the feeling that the mill is shrinking.

And Primeau confirms, the proof is in the pixels.

When we highlight this area,

this pixel region of width and height on the image,

and travel using the same pixel region

to the end of the recording where the mill is more revealed,

there's less information around it from the landscape.

The box actually fits in a similar size

to what was captured originally at the beginning of the video.

So the optical illusion that the mill is shrinking

is from all of the information around the mill.

Our verdict, this is a size contrast optical illusion.

The mind is tricked about how big the building is,

because of the comparative size of the objects

that surround it as the car moves closer.

Since the days of King Arthur

and the Knights of the Round Table,

treasure hunters have been on a quest

to find the long lost Holy Grail,

but could a mysterious structure in England

hold the secrets to its hiding place?

See if you can crack this code.

2020, Staffordshire, England.

Historical researcher Andrew Baker

is visiting Shugborough Hall, a centuries old country house

with numerous neoclassical monuments,

but he's here to see just one.

Framed by a pair of columns sits an enigma carved in stone,

The Shepherd's Monument.

The monument stands by the river

surrounded by trees and by dark shrubs.

So it's eerie and mysterious.

Footage of the marble relief

shows four people gathered around a tomb that reads

"Et In Arcadia Ego."

Below the carb scene is a stone plaque

bearing only the cryptic letters O-U-O-S-V-A-V-V,

flanked by a D and an M.

Andrew says its meaning

is one of the most enduring puzzles in England.

The idea that there was something

in England that had a coded message on it

might be to do with secret societies treasurer,

who knows what?

It's as if it's been planted there for us to read today.

Historians believe the Shepherd's Monument

was commissioned by the estate's owner,

Thomas Anson, and that it was built sometime around the 1750s.

Beyond that, the details get murky.

The theory goes that Thomas Anson's brother,

Royal Navy Admiral George Anson, circumnavigated the globe

collecting treasure that was hidden away somewhere.

And that the Shugborough Hall inscription

leads to the location of that lost treasure.

Yet some believe the inscription leads to treasure

even more precious than gold.

Another theory goes that the Anson family

were members of an organization known as the Priory of Sion,

descendants of the Knight's Templar,

who were rumored to originally be charged

with protecting The Holy Grail.

The Holy Grail is said to be the cup

that was used to serve wine at the last supper,

and collected blood from Jesus during the crucifixion.

Or could the Holy Grail be something else?

According to legend, the Priory of Sion

claimed that Jesus Christ was an earthly,

not a heavenly king whose bloodline traced itself

to ancient France's Merovingian dynasty.

So some believe the Holy Grail is not actually a physical cup,

but rather the Priory's secret knowledge

that Jesus married Mary Magdalene

and had children with her.

One codebreaker has suggested the Shugborough inscription

stands for "Jesus, as deity defy,"

which has been linked to these controversial beliefs.

Many of these theories laid the groundwork

for Dan Brown's wildly popular "Da Vinci Code" franchise.

Professional scholars have dismissed

many of those claims is pseudo history,

but the idea of a secret society protecting a holy bloodline

retains a grip on popular culture.

So it's time to see if our experts

can chisel out the truth.

Archeologist Dr. Ed Barnhart begins with the theory

that George Anson collected treasures from around the world

and that the code is a way to find them.

What George Anson collected in today's money

would be millions of dollars of wealth.

But if we look at the Shugborough Hall property,

and all of these amazing monuments,

it would appear that most of George's wealth

went into the estate itself.

If Anson spent the lion's share of his fortune,

which seems to be the case,

since his family fell out of prominence,

then maybe this isn't a literal treasure map,

but rather a clue to how the Ansons hid the truth

about the Holy Grail as members of the Priory of Sion.

Catholic miracle researcher Michael O'Neill

says the main problem with that theory

is this supposed secret society didn't actually exist.

In the 1950s, a French man named Pierre Plantard

started this Priory of Sion

and he attempted to draw a connection

between that secret society and the Knights Templar.

Unfortunately, there was no such connection.

And then in 1993, we see a raid of the apartment of Plantard

where they find all these documentation

and letters between Plantard and his friends

talking about their intentions

to perpetrate this great hoax.

so ah the proof is in the puddin

So if the Priory of Sion

and its connection to the holy grail is completely made up,

then what does this inscription mean?

Barnhart thinks he's found a clue.

The inscription itself is clearly the initials,

the first letters of a longer statement.

This D and this M are typically on Roman tombs,

and it means Dis Manibus,

which means dedicated to the venerated dead.

So this may be some sort of monument

dedicated to someone who's passed away.

For us, many unanswered questions

about this inscription remain.

Our verdict is that it's a memorial dedication to someone,

though we're still not really sure who.

We may have to accept that the message

was meant to be kept private

and may stay that way forever.

If a tree falls in a forest

and there's no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?

Maybe not, but what about a hundred trees?

And what if they could have been knocked down

by a raging Bigfoot?

It's January 27th, 2018,

in Olympic National Park, Washington.

During the middle of the night,

seismic monitors pick up an event

that registers as a small earthquake.

In the morning, park rangers head out to the location

where the readings took place near Lake Quinalt.

And that's where they find this.

Toppled and snapped trees litter the landscape,

blocking the road and damaging utility lines.

Field researcher Cliff Barackman

says park rangers witnessed about 100 trees torn apart

over an area that extends nearly half a mile long.

This example of one of the snapped trees is staggering.

It is a very large tree.

This trunk is probably four or five feet

in diameter, or more.

Many of these splinters are literally the size

of two by fours.

This tree fall quickly became a local mystery.

What could have caused such awesome damage?

Of course, weather is the most obvious explanation.

Many believe if the circumstances here

point to some sort of weather pattern.

There are microcosms of unique weather patterns

that are very highly destructive.

Barackman notes that after these pictures

were released, speculation heated up on the internet

that this destruction was the work of a creature

believed to roam the area for centuries,

the Sasquatch.

Sasquatches, like all other apes,

are known to break and twist trees.

Why would a Sasquatch be breaking trees?

Apes might break things to show how big and strong they are.

And a Bigfoot might show how big

and strong he is to protect his territory.

At least, that's how one story tells it.

In 1924, gold prospectors on Mount St. Helens

allegedly encountered a group

of seven foot tall, ape-like creatures.

They say they shot at the creatures, injuring one,

but that night, they say they paid for it.

The ape men descended on the prospectors' cabin.

throwing boulders and ripping holes in the roof

until daybreak.

So perhaps these territorial Bigfoots are back in action.

But by Barackman's own admission,

nobody has ever seen a bigfoot this angry.

Something like this would be unheard of.

Now, Olympic National Park is well known

for strange and paranormal occurrences.

Some say the area is haunted by the Lady of the Lake.

The spirit of a young woman whose oddly preserved body

was found floating in the park's Lake Crescent

three years after she disappeared.

Is what we're seeing here something supernatural,

or is there a more earthly explanation?

Let's see what our experts think.

Could this damage be the work

of one of America's most elusive creatures?

People are often drawn to the bigfoot theory.

And even though anthropology and anatomy professor

Jeff Meldrum is convinced Bigfoot exists,

he's just as convinced these photos

are not proof of the creature's handiwork.

I do not think these trees were knocked down by Bigfoot.

You look at behavior of animals, they're very goal-oriented.

They don't have a surplus of calories to expend

on frivolous activities like pushing down trees,

even if they were capable of doing that.

Unless there was some motivation or some return,

I don't think attributing this

to Bigfoot activity would be reasonable at all.

Okay, so Dr. Meldrum says

we can rule out a Sasquatch,

but meteorologist Juan Hernandez says

the weather theory has its own challenges.

A microburst is typically accompanied

by heavy thunderstorms,

but radar from that day shows nothing of a kind.

The storms were not there.

We had what we call stratiform rain that was ongoing.

Microbursts also scatter broken trees

in every direction, these trees fell in one direction.

That is one of the reasons

that I believe this was not a microburst.

Of course, strong winds can knock down trees

even when there's no rain.

But Hernandez notes that the winds

were coming out of the south and the trees were knocked down

in the opposite direction, so what gives?

Now, when we compare wind damage,

it could potentially be two different sources.

It could be straight line winds or it can be tornadic winds.

When we're looking for tornado damage, a lot of the trees,

oftentimes they fall in a criss-cross pattern.

Here, we don't have that,

they're all laying down in one direction.

The answer, one of those quirks of science

we love so much on this show.

There are specific weather patterns

that oftentimes lead to something that is fairly common

in mountainous terrain, and that is rotor circulations.

A rotor circulation is a turbulent airflow pattern

that occurs near mountains or large topographic features.

As stable horizontal airflow encounters a mountain,

it is forced to ascend on the windward side

and descend on the leeward side.

The interaction between the descending air

and the updraft creates a turbulent region

known as the rotor, characterized by

rapidly changing winds and severe turbulence.

Hernandez says that's what knocked the trees down

and the force of those falling trees

was ultimately so powerful,

that's what registered on the park's seismic monitors.

The conditions were ripe

for the occurrence of a rotor circulation.

We had a stable layer around the peak,

meaning the wind would come up the mountain

and quickly descend because of that stable layer on top.

That wind was allowed to rotate in a valley

where the damage occurred.

It does check all the boxes for conditions

that would promote the development

of a rotor circulation.

Our verdict, rotor circulation.

Hernandez's analysis has us convinced

that we are looking at a weather event,

but we're still on the hunt

for that definitive evidence of Bigfoot.

So send us anything you have.

And that's our show for tonight, thank you so much for watching.

And as always, keep those cameras rolling.