All language subtitles for Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch S04 E08

Drill boy!

[narrator] Previously,
on Blind Frog Ranch

Duane's quest to access
the keyhole chamber
at the Bead Site

-turned explosive.
-[man] Watch out!

Whoa!

[narrator] When his drill head
unleashed a torrent of
mysterious underground water.

I mean, it's just strange
that we have that much flow.

[narrator]
Believing that the water
might be an aqueduct

deep below the ranch.

Water down the line.

[narrator] Duane and James
travel to Mexico City.

The ancient Aztecs,
they were masters
of managing water.

[narrator] Where their tour
of ancient ruins
revealed clues

into how the Aztecs
constructed their underground
water systems.

And surprising connections
to the ranch.

The concrete that they
were using kind of reminds you
of somewhere, huh.

Uh, almost like concrete.

Concrete?

[Duane] Damn,
that's a long way down.
How deep?

-Twenty-three meters.
-[Duane] As deep
as the energy zone, really.

There is a void right here.

Look at that [bleep].

There has been a hole
there before.

-Right here.
-Huh.

[narrator] Back in Utah,

Duane's plan
to trace the path of the water

and possibly lead them
to a new entrance into
the underground cavern system

yielded shocking results.

It looks like
it's still moving.

[narrator] As their acoustic
homing beacon

quickly swept under
and away from the ranch.

I got it.
It's moving that direction.

[narrator] After Josh and Ryan
tracked its signal
to a nearby lake.

We dunk the ROV in,
see if we can see something?

Here we go.

[narrator] They discovered
an underwater opening.

Right there. Right there.
Look at that. Look at this.

Like, no [bleep], that's it.

[narrator] That could lead
the team straight into
the Aztec keyhole chamber.

Legends of ancient treasures.

This has to be hundreds
of years back.

-[narrator]
And unexplained phenomenon.
-What the hell is that?

[narrator] Meet at
a 160-acre property
in northeast Utah,

known as Blind Frog Ranch,

Where Duane Ollinger
and his team

are digging in search
of long-lost Aztec gold.

The Aztecs
have discovered this.

[narrator] But the closer
they get...

Finally get to hold
[bleep] gold in my hand.

[narrator] ...the more
the land fights back.

-Poison gas.
-No! [bleep]

-[narrator] Now, Duane
will move heaven and earth...
-There he goes.

Fire in the hole.

[narrator] ...until he gets
to the bottom
of this mystery...

We've started this whole deal,
and we're sure as hell gonna
finish it.

[narrator] ...and solves
what's lurking below.

Holy [bleep]!
There's something in there.

-[bleep]
-Josh.

[narrator]
At Blind Frog Ranch.

-[Ryan] What kind
of clarity you got?
-The visibility is not good.

[Ryan] Let's just try to scan
the shoreline.

[Josh] There we go.
There comes some rock
right now.

There's a lot of rubble
right over here.

-[Ryan] Oh, yeah.
-And you'd expect to find that
if there was, like, a cave in.

So let's keep moving
up this direction.

[narrator] After learning
that an Aztec aqueduct
might run beneath the ranch,

the team dropped a beacon
into the waterway

-hoping it would lead them
to a new entrance...
-[beacon beeping]

...into the underground
cavern system.

Josh and Ryan
tracked the Beacon signal
to Calamity Lake,

three miles west of the ranch,

where they believe
it's come to rest.

So now, they are scanning
the shoreline
for a passageway.

[Ryan] Yeah,
it's 1000 feet from us.

Some run at the far shoreline.

[narrator] Josh and Ryan
will use an underwater drone

to search for a cave entrance
that connects the lake
to the tunnel.

Look at this.
Can you see that?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

I mean, it almost looks like
a collapsed wall of stone.

I'm not seeing any openings.

Let's keep heading
this direction.
See what we can get.

Oh, look there.
Does that not look like
an entrance to you?

Like, no [bleep]. That's it.

Well, there's only one way
to find out.

We're gonna have to get
Chad man out here.

He's gonna have to put
on his frog suit

and put his own eyes on it
and see it for sure.

[Duane] So what did
you find, fellas?

Duane, we were following
that beacon
right off the ranch for miles.

Damn.

[Ryan] Eventually,
we chased it up
over this ridge.

And we're on this ridgeline.
We come down and then boom.

There's an open body of water
right there in front of us.

That beacon led us
to this body of water.

We were getting
a really consistent signal.

I think that means
that that body water

is connected to the pond
right here
on Blind Frog Ranch.

Wow.

[narrator] Based on the signal
from the hydrophone,

it appears that the beacon
is located 1000 feet
to the east of the lake.

Possibly trapped in an opening
some 35 feet below the water.

[Josh] The beacon doesn't look
like it's going any further.

It just stopped.

It's stationary right here.

So we think that beacon
is in an opening
to the cave system

under that body of water.

And that signal was so strong.

And I'm thinking, "God, maybe
there's an entrance
right there."

[narrator] If the opening
Josh and Ryan
discovered beneath the lake

is a cave entrance
leading to the beacon,

that means that the team
might be able to follow
the underground cavern

all the way back
to the keyhole chamber.

[Josh] This is what Skinner
and I found right here, guys.

-Holy [bleep], man.
-Oh, my God.

Damn boys.
It took a while to get here.

But by God, that could be
one of the Chicomoztoc caves.

I don't feel a lot
of expression,
but by God, I'm happy.

[laughs]

Maybe we can swim all the way
back up to that keel cavern.

It's just whether
we can get in there

or not is really
what it boils down to.

Chadro, that sounds
right up your alley.

-Yeah. I think we could do it.
-Yeah.

We could definitely do it.
We'll dive it
and we'll see where it leads.

-It sounds like a plan.
-Hell, yeah.

This lake is miles
from the ranch.

So that means
the underground cavern system

is potentially a lot bigger
than we ever imagined.

The ROV Is showing us a little
like gaps and spaces in there

that they think
could be a possible cave.

We're thinking
it's right there,
right, Skinner?

Along the shoreline.

-Perfect.
-That's our guess.

This could be one
of the entrances
to Chicomoztoc.

So I'm gonna go in
and check it out.

Are you ready?

-So right here.
All along this wall...
-Yeah.

...there's rubble and voids
all through there.

-That's the area
we've got to check.
-All right.

-See, look at this.
-Wow!

Right through there.

Yeah, yeah. I see it.

-It's like, it kinda comes out
and then it drops.
-Right.

And then you get up
underneath that.
It's... it's black.

You can't see past there.

And I would think if there's
an entrance into a cave,

it's somewhere underneath
all that rubble.

Let me get your light ready
for you.

I mean, that current,
as big as this thing
should be,

-you should feel a rush
coming out of that void.
-Exactly.

-You'll feel it.
-You'll know right away.

-I'm gonna go down
and see what I can find.
-All right.

Good luck, Chad.

-You think you can chase
him with ROV.
-I'm gonna try to, yeah.

He's almost in that
bigger void that we saw.

-Right now.
-He's right in the area.

-[Josh] Yeah.
-[Ryan] I wanna see him
come up with the beacon.

-Oh, that would be nice.
-I know, right.

Oh, he's way down there.

[bleep]

-Hey.
-What do you got?

-I'm seeing all those rocks
you're seeing.
-Yeah.

[Chad] There's no opening
at all.

-No entrance.
-[Chad] No.

-There's no way
we can get in there.
-[bleep]

When you're diving,
you have limited air
and limited time under water.

And in the time
I had down there,

all I saw was some cracks
here and there
and some big boulders

that might have been blocking
whatever entrance
was there at one time.

It almost looks like it's
collapsed in certain areas,

but I can't tell if someone
purposely did it or what.

Okay. You're feeling
a current coming out?

No, I didn't feel any current.

[Ryan] Damn it.
How is that possible?

Maybe there's
another opening here.
I don't know.

-I think I just need
to keep searching the bank.
-Okay.

We struck out
with that first opening.

[bleep]

It is way too tight for Chad
to even consider to dive into.

So he's going to take another
look further up the shoreline.

Dive down a bit deeper
and try to find
a wider opening.

What do you see?

It looks like
he's clearing out debris.

-What do you see?
-I see a bunch of dirt
kicked up.

-But I can't see him.
-[bleep]

[narrator] After following
the beacon signal

from the beach side
to Calamity Lake
three miles west of the ranch,

Josh and Ryan
believe they found

where the beacon
has stopped moving,

one thousand feet east
of the lake.

Chad is searching a series
of collapsed rocks
along the shoreline.

Looking for a connecting
tunnel to the beacon.

-Hey, I found
the [bleep] cave.
-You got it.

That cave is right
underneath us.

-Whoo!
-Right here.

-[laughs]
-[bleep]. No way.

That was awesome, man.

-Freaking awesome.
-Whoo.

Chad surfaces
and he just goes,
"I got a cave."

And I'm like, 'You've got
to be freaking kidding me."

You're on the trail
of the treasure,

and when you hear
stuff like that,

it just makes everything,
all of the work
and all the pain worth it.

You can get into it,
like, swim into it.

Yeah. It's blocked up
with some, like some, uh,
trees and stuff like that.

But the mouth of the cave
is like big,
and then it gets tighter.

And it looks like you can go
a long ways in there.

-No [bleep].
-But it's so dark out there.

-This is legit
cave diving then.
-This is legit cave diving.

I mean, we're possibly
looking into one of three
entrances to chicomoztoc.

This is blowing my mind.
But it's super dangerous.

So there's a current
pushing me out.

Cold water coming out,
like definitely
temperature change.

-No way.
-[Chad] There's a couple
of different directions

you can go, so I didn't wanna
get lost and [bleep].

But I think we need
to use our heads on it

like we need to be
tethered off.

We need lights.
We need to have
some master divers with us.

And, uh, we need to map
this whole thing out
and do it slow.

So I think if we get that,
we can find the beacon

and find where
the beacon went and follow it
all the way back.

I mean, there's a good chance.

Whoo!

[Duane] Chadro,
how did your dive go?

Where we thought
the cave entrance was,

that opening
didn't lead anywhere.

-Really?
-[Chad] It was completely
blocked off.

But I went back down there
to take another look.

And started scanning
that whole area.

We can finally find
this big opening

[Duane] Now that's exciting.

There's cooler water
coming out of there
like the cave system here.

-So you can feel the flow.
-[Chad] Yeah.

I really think
this could be like an entrance

to the underground
cavern system.

This is potentially
the cave system
that we've been looking for

and talking about, something
that's an origin site
for indigenous people

that were underground.

It sounds like you guys
may have found
a spot where we can get in.

[Duane] Getting that kind
of information
is a game changer

for this whole operation.

After ten years of hard work,
we're getting close,
but not close enough.

This cave might be
our back door to the gold.

Chad's done one hell
of a good job.

You know,
very proud of that kid.

I mean, hell, don't tell him,
or he'll get the big head.

I didn't go too far
into the cave

'cause, I mean, it's nothing
like the pond here.

It's hairy. It's narrow.

So I think we need to go back
with some master divers.

We're gonna have to have
a mapping system.

I need extra oxygen.
I mean, the whole deal.

You know,
this underwater cave diving
it's some serious business.

It's dangerous as hell.

But I do trust Chad
on what he'll come back with.

Right now, I'm loading up
all my dive gear

because I'm heading to Florida
to train for a few days

with some of the best
cave divers in the world.

The underwater cave
is a lot more intense.

I mean, it looks
super sketchy,

and I'm just a regular
scuba diver.

So I called this guy, Wendell.
Nope.

He's going with me to Florida.

Wendell works with
the Utah State Police
dive team.

He's one of the best
cave drivers around here.

[narrator] Formerly part
of the Utah Department
of Public Safety's dive team

for almost 20 years,

Wendell Nope,
has conducted hundreds
of search and rescue missions.

He'll act
as Chad's safety diver,

a role that requires precise
coordination and practice.

Me and Wendell can get a feel
for how to swim together,

how to be a better team
in case [bleep] does go wrong.

I mean, it was risky
when I dove
in the pond cavern before.

But this cave entrance
is half the width
of the pond tunnel.

It's totally unexplored.

So we've got to take
this very seriously.

We can't afford
to get anyone hurt here.

And I'm excited.
So Florida, here we go.

-Chris. [laughs]
-Chad.

Nice to finally meet you.
Yes, sir. You too, man.

-How you doing?
-Yeah, good.

-Wendell.
-Nice to meet you.

The knowledge I do have
of cave diving
is just me going out there

and not really
doing it professionally.

You know, it's more like
kind of redneck cave diving.

It's not smart and no one
should do that ever.

We thought it'd be best
to go to Cave Diving Central.

So, uh, I came down to Florida
to meet Chris Brock.

[narrator] Chris Brock
is a master cave diver,

having explored dozens
of dangerous underwater caves
across the United States

and around the world.

At his dive school,
Chris has taught
several hundred students

what it takes to stay alive

while navigating
impossibly tight tunnels
in almost total darkness.

So tell me about
the cave you found.

So basically,
we think that this cave
could lead towards

-this Aztec treasure
we're trying to find.
-[Chris] Oh, wow.

And it's, uh, super tight.

There's a lot of flow,
not the best visibility.

So I definitely
want to make sure
that we do this right.

And, uh, just to make sure
that everyone's safe.

-I mean, me, plus the crew,
plus everyone.
-[Chris] Right.

-You say
it's a tight entrance.
-[Chad] Yeah.

-We call that
a restricted entrance.
-Okay.

And side mount is the tool
you would want to use
to do that,

because it gives you
complete separation
of both cylinders.

So if you were
to have a failure on one,

you have another cylinder
to get out.

Gotcha.

[narrator] Side mount diving
is a system
designed by cave explorers

that uses smaller tanks
attached to the hips
with a belt.

Unlike traditional
back mounted tanks,

this allows divers to swim
through tight passageways

with less risk
of damaging their equipment
on the rocks around them.

All of our procedures
that I'm going to teach you

are based on what fatalities
have occurred.

And then procedures
have been made
that we use in training

to prevent those sorts
of things from going on.

-There have been hundreds
of people die in caves.
-Right.

-They die because
they get hopelessly lost...
-Right.

...and after they get lost,
they run out of gas.

Run out of air and drown.

And I just want you
to understand
that it's not easy.

If you don't do it the way
I want you to do it,
you're gonna die.

What Chad is trying to do
is probably
at the highest level

of danger, there could be
for a cave diver.

Cannot do this
without proper training.

Too many people
have died because of that.

I'm not the easiest
instructor.

-You're gonna have to work
hard for me.
-Okay.

I think you can do this.

But ultimately,
you passing or failing
cave training, Chad,

is up to one person,
and that's Chad.

[narrator] In preparation
for their dive
of the virgin cave

discovered at
Blind Frog Ranch,

Chad and Wendell must train
for every eventuality.

-You ready?
-I'm ready.

[narrator]
Instructor Chris Brock
will put them through

a grueling
seven-day crash course

in a series
of submerged caves.

Piece of cake. You got this.
Nice and slow.
Nice and steady,

-Yeah.
-No worries.
You'll be just fine.

All right,
let's drop down
where it's clear.

[narrator]
Unlike scuba diving,
cave diving happens in tight,

dimly led, silt-filled spaces
where it is easy
to get disoriented.

To prevent this
from happening,

cave divers run
what is known as a guideline.

They secure it to the floor
as they descend deeper
into the cave.

The thin line of nylon
is often their only chance

of finding their way
back to the surface.

Chris starts Chad in large,
unobstructed lagoons

until he is ready
for his first real test
beneath the rocks.

Chad successfully
secures his guideline

and begins marking his path.

Now it's on to
a tight passageway
filled with jagged rock edges.

This is a training dive,
but the danger is very real
from here.

If he were to sever
an air hose,

an emergency return
to the surface

would take nearly 30 minutes
and could be fatal.

Chad makes it through
the low clearance void,

but soon realizes
he's lost the line.

Requiring Chris
to come guide him to safety.

And a long swim
back to the surface.

-Welcome back.
-Holy [bleep]!

-Y'all crazy? [bleep]
-[laughs]

-Oh, my God.
-[laughing]

Oh, my God.
Are you [bleep] kidding me?

I definitely had ideas
of what I thought
it would be like.

But this is way more intense
than I ever imagined.

This is [bleep] serious.

You remember when we
went around that corner?

-Our line was over here.
-Uh-huh.

-And you went around
the corner over here.
-Right. Right.

-[Chris] Did you lose
the line right then?
-[Chad] Yeah.

Okay, so always the biggest
key thing in cave diving,

know where that line is at.

Focus on that line.

If you lose that line,
how long do you have
to look for that line?

-I don't know. Oh.
-The rest of your life.

-The rest of your life.
-All right, gotcha.

[Chris] All right,
so let's don't lose that line.

It's not easy
because a lot of the caves
that you may dive in

have flow water moving out.

I wanted you to feel that flow

because that's going to be
probably reminiscent

of the flow
that you have in Utah.

We're about halfway done
and the intensity is high man.

Chris pushes me and pushes me
and pushes me

and it's making me
a better swimmer.

But that just adds anxiety
to this whole [bleep] thing.

Jesus Christ.

Slow down. Slow is smooth.

Smooth is fast.

Wrap it, wrap it,
wrap it, wrap it.

You want that thing on.
If it comes off, you're dead.
It's over.

The margin of error in a cave
is really zero.

You cannot do this
without proper training.

-Congratulations.
Good job, buddy.
-[laughs]

You did a cave dive.

From where you started
to where you are now

you're a completely
different diver.

From this point forward,
you, my friend,
are a cave diver.

-Congratulations, buddy.
I'm proud of you.
-[laughs]

-Thank you, man.
Appreciate it.
-Good job.

Where he started from
to where he's at now,

no one in my career I've seen
that's made that much progress
over that amount of time.

As an instructor, I know
he knows what to do now,

so I have to turn him loose
and let him go.

Thank you.
It was a long haul, man.

I'm excited right now.

But this cave,
it's still got me
a little nervous

because we have no idea
what it's like.

We know it is going
to be dark, likely, silty,
a lot of flow.

But this could be
where the Aztec treasure is.
So we gotta try it.

-Hell, yeah. All right.
-Let's go find us
some Aztec gold.

Chadro, what do you think
about the cave deal?

-I'm ready to dive in.
-I like it.

[Chad] But we just have
to be super cautious.

The cave is super tight,
and it looks like
it's pretty silted out, so...

I just want to be
pretty safe about it.

We don't even know
how far we can get
back in there. Nothing.

That redneck [bleep]
going in there with a hose

-ain't gonna work.
-Yeah.

We can't hillbilly it no more.

-No shortcuts.
-Yeah.

People get killed in there
if somebody panics.

True.

I think we can get into
this cave safely and get out.

But my dad doesn't want
to take this lightly

because there are
deaths in caves.

You know,
that's all real [bleep].

If we can avoid that
and do it as safe as possible,

I think it'd be worth it.

You know,
we've come a long way,

but we've got
a long ways to go,

and we can't make
no mistakes here.

You know, it looks like
he's got a plan
and he found the right people.

If something goes wrong,
he'll take charge.

He gonna get some air.

-I got this.
-Good enough.

-Good luck.
-Thank you.

This is the place
I was talking about.

If you go below that rock,
there's like an entrance.

[narrator] Chad has brought
Wendell to the entrance
of the underwater cave

that could be connected
to the ranch.

I really think that this
could lead all the way back
to the ranch or it has to.

It's connected, I know.

[narrator] While they attempt
to dive the unexplored
tunnel system,

Josh and Ryan will act
as safety spotters
from the boat above.

But their ability to help
will be limited.

Once Chad and Wendell
enter the cave system,

they will be entirely
on their own.

Okay, just a couple
of things real quick

-before we get in the water.
-[Chad] Yeah.

This is a virgin cave.

No one's ever explored it.

Now, in virgin caves,
there's ancient silt.

The silt has just gotten
on the wall,

-kind of like dust.
-Right.

When we go in,
some of that dust
is going to fall.

It's going to look
a little foggy.

But as long as we can
see in front of us,

-we're okay because
we're setting a line.
-Right.

If something happens,
we can find our way out.

As a public safety diver,

I've seen some scary stuff
and some very
tragic situations.

On a dive like this,
we can only rely on ourselves.

We've got two tanks each.

And if something happens
to one of these tanks,

we've got to go to the
servers immediately.

This is serious business.

Hey, guys,
how are things looking?

-[beacon beeping]
-Yeah, I'm still
picking up that beacon.

And the signal is coming
from under the shoreline.

So that beacon is underground
inside that cave.

[Chad] Josh, the plan is,
see how far we get.

See if we can find that beacon
and see if we find the tunnel

that leads them back
to the ranch.

-You know what you're doing,
but be safe.
-[Chad] Right. Right.

If you don't surface,
there's not a damn thing
we can do about it.

Okay. Let's just go.

Here they go.

Careful, men.

[narrator]
As they enter the cave,

their fins stir up
the loose silt,

reducing visibility
to almost zero.

They set a guideline
so they can find their way
back to the mouth of the cave.

But navigating
the path forward
won't be so simple.

In these murky conditions,

the only way to know
if they are headed
the right way

is to feel the flow
of the water
and then swim against it.

As they get deeper
into the cave,
the silt starts to settle.

Following the current upstream
has led them
to a near dead end.

With passages no more
than a few inches wide.

[narrator]
Exploring underwater caves

is one of the most dangerous
occupations in the world.

Despite the small number
of active cave divers,

as many as 20 people
die a year while cave diving.

To minimize risks,
cave divers employ
redundant equipment,

including a secondary
air tank.

Because kicked-up silt
can blind divers,

they use frog kicks
and modified flutter kicks

designed to minimize
the creation of vortices

that can disturb the silt
above and below them.

A special back kick technique
is taught to allow divers

to back out of narrow passages
without having to turn
their bodies around.

Cave divers plan
to use no more than
a third of one air tank

to enter into a cave system.

Reserving another third
for their return journey.

And the last third
for their safety diver

in the event
that the safety diver's tanks
are damaged.

They've been down there
a while.

They have been
down there a while.

Have you got enough air?

I hope so.

This is taking way too long.

Something's wrong.

[narrator] Two hundred feet
into the cave,

Chad's hand light has failed.

And his oxygen tanks
are leaking.

An impact with the cave wall
caused Chad's pressure gauge
to come loose.

To fix it,
he must switch regulators
to the reserve tank.

And use a wrench
to tighten the lead.

Oh, my God.

[bleep]

Are you okay?

How does it feel
to be somewhere where no one's
ever been before?

[bleep] yeah.

[laughing]

Holy [bleep]!
This is the cave.

Jesus Christ.

[laughing]

Holy [bleep]!

This isn't just like
a series of tunnels.

These are caves that people
could have lived in.

I mean, we found
a deer skull down there,

and it didn't just float
in there.

I mean, likely someone killed
and ate that deer down there.

The Chicomoztoc legend
was talking about
exactly this.

These hidden chambers
that could house
whole civilizations.

This has to lead back
to the ranch.

And that's what we're in
right now.

Oh, my God.

[bleep] wild.

[narrator] Next time on
Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch.

You think he's dangerous?

We've had some
wild [bleep] happen here.

-Is this not a bear
guarding the cave?
-Look at that.

[narrator] New discoveries...

These look like ingots
that we found last year.

[narrator]
...bring them closer
to the vast fortune.

There's something
of value here.
Some were dying over.

[bleep]

[narrator] Dark secrets
from the ancient past...

That cave,
people were in there.

This is definitely death.

[narrator]
...threaten the future
of Blind Frog Ranch,

There's some very weird stuff
going on in this ranch.

Let's just pull
a 4-foot cylinder
out of the ground.

That's pretty great.

The DNA that was there
is unknown.

-What?
-It's highly radioactive.

Shut down that ranch.

There was something above it
that perturbed
the magnetic field.

Maybe like a UOP.

Their monitoring something.

If I was going
to bury treasure,
this would be it.

There's someone in here.

[siren blaring]