Original subtitles

Narrator: they're watching you.

More than 4,000 satellites Circle the earth.

Every day, they uncover New, mysterious phenomena.

Some defy explanation.

Bam, this sticks out Like a sore thumb.

That is The strangest thing going.

Narrator: A satellite image hides a secret

At the u.S.-mexico border.

This is the war on drugs Happening right here.

Narrator: a massive object Emerges from the ocean

Off the coast of antarctica.

If this is a blue whale,

It's got to be The biggest blue whale

That has ever been documented.

Narrator: a missile heads Straight for a major u.S. City.

You have to ask, "Is it one of ours?

Or is it on of theirs?"

Narrator: baffling phenomena,

Mysteries from space.

What on earth are they?

-- captions by vitac -- Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by Discovery communications

2011 --

A satellite image Taken over western texas

Shows strange shapes In the desert.

Moran: it's all basically Straight lines, vast dessert.

And then, you see An image like this.

Narrator: It looks like the landscape

Has been warped By an unknown force.

When I look at this, I say, "What the heck is going on?"

Narrator: the satellite image Shows the rio grande,

The river that forms A natural border

Between the u.S. And mexico.

At this location, 60 miles south of el paso,

Flat fields on one side Suddenly give way to bizarre,

Wavy contours on the other.

This one area looks Completely different

From the surrounding terrain,

Which is very strange.

What's going on here?

Narrator: scientists Examine the possibility

That a giant fissure In the underlying rock

Could be responsible For the shapes.

As a geologist looking At this satellite image,

I'm really struck by these Curving features in the ground.

You can get Strange-looking patterns

From a whole range Of geologic processes.

Narrator: waves like those In the image can occur

When subterranean forces Pull layers of rock apart,

Exposing the strata.

This region is a rift zone

Between a stable area Of the earth's crust

And the colorado plateau,

Which has been gradually Moving for millions of years.

The really striking thing About this region is that,

If we look at satellite imagery

From a number of years ago,

We don't see the waves.

That suggests that the waves

In the earth have been produced,

From a geological Standpoint, instantaneously.

There's really No geologic process

That could form what we see So quickly.

Narrator: the suspicious waves Call the attention

Of security analyst Patricia driscoll,

Who investigates At ground level.

So this is what the majority Of the border looks like,

Especially In the southwest texas,

A lot of dunes, A lot of wide-open area.

We are right about here.

As you can see, The river is very straight.

Nothing on this map

Actually matches What we see out here.

Narrator: there's no Physical phenomena

To match the shape In the satellite photograph.

The only conclusion is that

There's something wrong With the image.

Could the wavy lines simply be Some kind of glitch?

The way satellite images Are processed,

They have a number Of separate photos

That all have to be stitched Together seamlessly.

Now, when satellite images Are stitched together,

Sometimes, that stitching Process doesn't go right.

So as an example Of a processing error,

I have another photo here That we can look at.

This is a photo of a bridge.

But if you look, this bridge Doesn't look quite right.

It's all squiggly.

Narrator: a glitch could be An accident.

But the sensitivity Of this specific location

Raises alarming questions.

Why would a computer glitch Just affect certain areas

Of the u.S.-mexico border?

That would be an Incredible coincidence.

In my view...

I don't believe this is Actually a computer glitch.

If we look here, you see that This data's been stretched.

And we see this curvature.

It's almost like this was Intentionally jumbled.

Narrator: that leaves One possible explanation.

Moran: you have to wonder, Is this deliberate?

Why would anyone want to obscure

What seems like an empty patch Along the mexican border?

Narrator: superficially, This area looks deserted.

But in fact, it's a highway

For the world's Most violent drug smugglers.

Could the image manipulation Be an attempt to stop them?

So this is the front line Of the mexican border.

This is the war on drugs Happening right here.

This area is vitally important To the drug cartels.

They access the transit routes Through these areas.

These kingpins, They fight over it.

They kill each other over it.

Narrator: cartels from Juarez and el porvenir are

Constantly looking for new Secret routes into the states.

But the image could also relate

To another covert activity That takes place here.

Another huge issue With the border

Is illegal immigration.

Narrator: it's estimated That in 2015,

There were over 700,000 illegal attempts

To cross the border from mexico Into the united states.

Many migrants avoid Official checkpoints,

Risking their lives Looking for routes

Where they won't run Into patrols.

At night, this is a wonderful Place to try and get across.

It's very easy, as you can see, How wide open it is

To just quickly run across And jump over that fence.

Yes, that was a foot sign

Right there that somebody Actually came through here.

Narrator: fresh evidence Of illegal immigration

Could be linked to The distortion along the border.

I know that that print happened, You know, in the last 2 days.

Narrator: traffickers could be Using satellite images

To help them choose Their routes into texas.

You can learn a lot From satellite images.

You can look at the area

And kind of gauge Where the blind spots are.

Is there something Geographic in the way

That won't let us move Our contraband through?

Narrator: the controversial Steel fence

That secures some of The border is a problem.

It isn't complete.

Along the rio grande,

There are 18 sections And several gaps.

The blurring of The satellite image

Could be an attempt By the us government

To stop people from locating These vulnerable openings.

I think distorting maps,

As far as a border is concerned,

Is really important Because why give people

A resource to help them Get across easier?

Narrator: but the Border-defense explanation

Doesn't satisfy everyone.

Carter: most of the coyotes,

The people that move people In and out

Through this border region Know their terrain.

They've known it For a long time.

So they know What areas to access.

So the mystery to me is,

If we were just Trying to distort

The geographical position Just for them,

That wouldn't make Complete sense to me.

Narrator: if there is something Just over the border

The u.S. Government Wants to hide,

It's offering no explanation.

U.S. Authorities have neither Confirmed nor denied

That this is a distorted image.

So essentially, It will remain a mystery.

Narrator: something huge Appears to be leaping out

Of the water Off the coast of antarctica.

Kourounis: I've seen A lot of weird stuff.

And this is weird.

Narrator: the image sparks A frenzy of online speculation.

Release the kraken!

Narrator: june, 2016 --

A satellite image showing A mysterious anomaly

Off the coast of antarctica

Becomes a global news story.

This image went viral.

It was all over the internet.

People were sharing it On social media.

Whatever this is, It's making one hell

Of a disturbance in the water.

Narrator: The strange object emerging From the depths is enormous.

And it appears to be alive.

The location Of the peculiar shape

Could provide a clue.

It's right next To the curiously-named

Deception island.

This photograph was taken Not far from deception island,

Which 100 years ago was One of the most profitable

Whaling stations in the world.

Moran: the whaling station Was wiped out

By a series Of volcanic eruptions.

So it's a pretty Spooky place today.

But the water Surrounding this island

Are still a major feeding ground

For a number Of species of whales.

Narrator: whatever this Mysterious thing is,

It surfaces right in the middle Of a whale migration route.

Seeing whales in this Part of the world

Is certainly A common occurrence.

There's a tremendous Amount of krill,

Which are these tiny, little Shrimp-like creatures.

And whales feed on these By the millions.

And they'll breach the surface With their mouths agape

And just swallow Thousands of krill at a time.

Narrator: a vast, open mouth Might explain the strange shape

Visible on the left side Of the feature.

But could a whale Be large enough

To cause such a disturbance?

Blue whales are massive.

To put things in perspective, They can be 100-feet long,

Weigh 300,000 pounds.

And their tongue can weigh

As much as an adult elephant.

Narrator: Blue whales are the largest

Known animals Ever to have lived,

Dwarfing even the dinosaurs.

If one surfaced here,

It could be captured By satellite.

If this is a blue whale,

It's got to be The biggest blue whale

That has ever been documented.

This thing's massive.

But the size of the shape In the image

Could be misleading.

Miller: I actually have seen Whales from an airplane

That, when they leap out Of the water together --

And they do that sometimes,

One, two, three happen At the same time --

It looks like a much larger Creature than it actually is.

Narrator: the theory That makes this image

A viral sensation Is altogether stranger.

It looks like The legendary kraken.

Release the kraken!

People are looking at this image And talking about the kraken,

Which doesn't exist, right?

But this legend must've Come from something.

Narrator: ancient myths speak Of a massive creature

That attacked passing ships With gigantic tentacles.

The greeks called it "Cetus."

The vikings called it "The kraken."

Early sailors Describe the kraken

As a giant squid-like monster

That could take down ships.

From its norse beginnings,

This story spreads Throughout western europe.

And then, it spreads Around the world,

This idea of huge sea beasts Attacking ships

And dragging them Down to the depths.

Narrator: like most legends, The myth of the kraken

May have started with sightings Of a real sea creature.

The idea of there Being sea monsters

Is actually based in reality

As much as it is in fantasy.

Krueger: sailors In the north atlantic

Had an encounter With some type of sea creature

That they simply Could not identify.

So the question remains,

Where did this mythological Sea creature come from?

Narrator: the kraken myth Could be far closer to reality

Than anyone would've imaged.

Tantalizing evidence has Recently come to light

Of aggressive, colossal squid Lurking in the depths.

Colossal squid are One of the most

Mysterious animals of the ocean.

There's only a couple specimens That have been caught.

So we know very little About this animal.

Narrator: these real-life Sea monsters have suckers

Lined with teeth On their enormous tentacles.

When stretched out,

They can be as long As five regular cars.

Throughout history, These creatures

Have terrified sailors.

Something with 50-foot Tentacle...

You can see why they would Find that quite terrifying.

Narrator: the problem With the colossal-squid theory

Is that these incredibly Rare creatures live

At depths of over 7,000 feet.

Miller: they don't tend To come to the surface.

So it'd be extremely unlikely

That that would Actually be a giant squid

Coming out of the water.

Narrator: some experts think There could be

A simpler solution.

We've got to consider The obvious.

Are we just looking At a rock in the ocean?

Narrator: this thing Looks like it's moving.

But that could just be An illusion created

By the surrounding waves.

Kourounis: this should be Pretty easy to investigate.

We know exactly the gps Coordinates of this image.

Let's zoom in on it And see what's there.

Here's where things start To take a turn for the weird.

Narrator: consultation Of online maps reveals no sign

Of the mysterious object.

Rocks in the ocean Don't just suddenly appears

For one snapshot And then disappear again.

That's just an implausible Explanation.

Kourounis: if it's not an island Or a permanent feature,

Then the camera Picked up something

That was moving through That area at that time.

But what could it possibly be?

Narrator: the apparent length Of the object

Points investigators In a different direction.

Perhaps they're looking At a submarine.

Depending upon the design,

A partially surfaced sub,

When viewed from space,

Could look like exactly What we're seeing in this image.

Well, when I look at that image,

I think that there's a very good Possibility it is a submarine.

I know it's not A surface vessel.

I'm confident It's not the kraken.

And so I have to believe

That it must be some type Of sub-surface vessel

Coming up for air.

Narrator: this patch of sea Is a former war zone,

Bitterly contested By britain and argentina.

This area is near The falkland islands.

There are Several types of vessels

In this area, really, At any given time.

The area we're talking about

Is the very center Of that conflict

Between argentina and the u.K.

It's still very, Very hotly disputed

And very important To both countries.

Narrator: the swirling water And bubbles around the object

Resemble the trail Of a surfacing submarine.

But the image is not Clear enough to be certain.

It would be pretty cool If a satellite was able

To actually catch a submarine Reaching the surface.

But we just don't have Enough information to know

If that was the case.

Narrator: for the time being, The ocean keeps its secrets.

There must be things Living in these waters

That no human being Has ever seen.

We're so ignorant when it comes

To what's going on Inside the ocean.

There's a lot That we don't know.

Narrator: a satellite spots An unidentified object

Streaking across the sky

Heading towards A major american city.

This could have huge Implications

For national security.

Narrator: it looks Like a missile.

You have to ask, "Is it one of ours?

Or is it one of theirs?"

Narrator: The quickbird-2 satellite Passes over southern utah

And photographs An unidentified object

Tearing through the sky.

It's heading directly Towards salt lake city,

Home to almost 200,000 people.

The idea of where this thing is, Not just what it is,

Makes it a very alarming image.

It really looks like A cruise missile.

Is this evidence of some sort Of secret military operation

Or some rogue Nation's activity?

What is going on here?

Narrator: a rogue missile Could do untold damage,

Driving people from their homes And causing mass panic.

And within firing range Of where the image was taken,

There are two high-security Military bases known

To conduct top-secret Weapons testing.

The basic features Of this unidentified craft

Make it look very much Like a missile.

It's got a very sleek design.

It appears to have Very stubby wings,

Which are used to steer.

It's got a very powerful engine.

It appears To be moving very fast.

Narrator: The object in the image

Bears some resemblance To known missile designs.

A tomahawk cruise missile flies

At over 500 miles per hour

And can carry a 1,000-pound Explosive warhead,

Or even a small nuke.

It's not surprising at all That this image went viral,

Especially when you think About the profile

Of what the image is.

If you look at The tomahawk missile,

The shape seems pretty correct.

Narrator: but one detail In the image

Makes the missile theory Look less likely.

Whatever this object is,

Its engines are leaving Two condensation trails.

Pappalardo: so an engine Tells you a lot

About the aircraft That it's powering.

You look at The contrails of this,

It looks like there are Two contrails,

Which means there Are two engines

That are set up Alongside of each other.

That, to me, says It's not a missile.

Narrator: as a rule, Contrails only occur

At high altitudes Where the air is very cold.

Cruise missiles are designed To fly low.

But a radical, new, Experimental missile

Designed to fly high In the stratosphere

Could offer an explanation

For what's happening In the image.

One of the contenders That it could be

Is a very, very fast,

Hypersonic vehicle called The x-51 waverider.

Narrator: once perfected, The x-51 waverider

Will be capable Of releasing a warhead

Anywhere in the world Within 1 hour.

Pappalardo: the idea That there's a test

Of one of these things Over the united states

Is not outlandish because There has been many tests

Of the waverider in the past.

Narrator: but the local military Facilities are surrounded

By thousands of square-miles Of restricted airspace.

The mystery object Is well outside those areas.

Testing always takes place On a military range.

It doesn't stray Into civilian airspace.

It shouldn't be In this airspace.

Narrator: Only a major malfunction

Or perhaps terrorists Could be responsible.

This could have Huge implications

For national security.

Narrator: unless this is A different kind

Of aircraft altogether.

Image analyst marc d'antonio Studies the options.

There's the object.

And if I go into this setting In this program

And I change a few Of the parameters...

...Now we see something that's A little bit more interesting.

We actually see A very dark line

Here and here, symmetric line.

These are wings.

It's been suggested That this might actually be one

Of the regional bombardier jets.

Well, let's take a look At that jet.

If we take a look At a side-by-side comparison...

If we look, this is the image.

And this is the bombardier.

These are a fairly Close match.

Narrator: it might be A civilian plane.

But something about it Still doesn't add up.

Porges: you have to ask, "Why are the wings so dark?

Why are they black?"

That would be extremely unusual For a commercial plane

To just have black Painted wings.

Narrator: black wings are A strange look

For a passenger airline.

But up until 2005,

One company flying out Of salt lake city

Used a highly unusual Color scheme --

The dark wings For america west express planes

Certainly stood out From the crowd.

It also meant their planes

Sometimes got mistaken For missiles.

An aerial camera flying Over utah reveals

Extraordinary rock carvings

That shock The archaeological world.

Krueger: this site could be The key to understanding

Ancient secrets.

Gough: they look like Ancient cave paintings.

But how come nobody has Seen these symbols before?

Narrator: march, 2014 --

The san juan river Near bluff, utah.

A hiker flies a drone High over the canyons.

What it sees gives An extraordinary new insight

Into a high-tech world

Of archaeological Exploration from the air.

The drone spots a series Of strange figures

Etched into the ancient rock,

Which may never have been seen Before by modern man.

You can only really see These things from the air.

Narrator: the strange figures Are barely visible

From ground level.

Several have no arms And no legs.

But some also have horns And what appear to be antennae.

The question is, Who or what made it and when?

Narrator: one suggestion is that The carvings might be the work

Of one of the first Prehistoric tribes

To settle in utah.

They look like ancient Cave paintings.

But how come nobody has seen These symbols before?

Narrator: their concealed Position does not explain

How the carvings Could remain undiscovered

For thousands of years.

Could they simply be An elaborate hoax?

Perhaps the simplest explanation

As to why these images Have never been seen before

Is that they weren't there.

Unfortunately, It is not uncommon

To come across carvings That have been falsified.

Narrator: one of the world's Most famous fakes

Is britain's cerne abbas giant,

A pagan fertility god Originally thought

To have been made Thousands of years ago.

The cerne abbas giant Was actually believed by many

To be a hoax created some time In the 17th century.

The cerne abbas giant was So convincing

That it took over 300 years For it to raise suspicions.

Narrator: but the location Of the bluff figures

Makes it hard To believe they're fake

And designed to draw attention.

Most hoaxes, most things Like crop circles,

You're gonna put someplace Where people can see them.

This is a really remote And hard-to-get-to site.

Why would a hoaxer put it there?

Narrator: the key To unlocking the secrets

Of the figure's creation Is their age.

To help her work out How old they are,

Local archaeologist Sally cole hikes

About 20 miles north of bluff

To compare them With another set of carvings.

This panel of Petroglyphs behind me

Is one of the most spectacular

On the san juan river

And in this country.

Narrator: scientists believe These shapes were created

By a mysterious, ancient tribe Known only as the basketmakers.

The basketmaker culture begins About 1000 b.C.

And lasts till about 500 a.D.

Watkins: we call them Basketmakers

Because they're more Closely associated

With the Prepottery-producing people

Who lived in The american southwest.

They are perceived to be

One of the first populations Of the area

That ultimately gave rise To the contemporary pueblos.

Narrator: there are Striking similarities

Between these figures And the ones found near bluff.

This sparked speculations The mysterious creators

Could be one and the same.

The definitive thing is The broad-shouldered figures.

The figures can be Trapezoidal in shape.

They can be Triangular in shape.

But traditionally, The arms hang out.

It is easy to see How there could be a link

Between the basketmakers

And the petroglyphs On this bluff.

Narrator: if the link Is correct,

The bluff figures Could've been made

By the very first settlers In the region.

But there's One particular creature

Carved into the bluff rock

That stops that theory In its tracks...

The horse.

There were no horses here Until the spanish

Brought them over in the 1500s.

Cole: we have horses All along here.

We have other motifs That go with horses.

Narrator: whoever carved these Figures must've done it

After the spanish arrived In north america.

The mysterious creators cannot Be the basketmaker people.

So who were they?

You're able to see A two-legged being.

But it's not really human.

Some people will say, "Well, I look at this rock art.

And I see something that seems Like an ancient astronaut."

And maybe that's really what The ancients were depicting,

Visitors from space.

Narrator: what some would view As an ancient astronaut

Could've been an attempt To depict the beings

They believed lived in the sky.

The whole idea Of extraterrestrials

Is a modern idea.

But the idea of the heavens Being populated by gods

Has been around Since the dawn of humanity.

Narrator: almost Every culture on earth

Has visualized Sky deities in some form.

And the tribes Of the american southwest

Are no exception.

We know that several American civilizations

Tried to communicate With beings in the sky.

Narrator: while not ancient, The bluff carvings

Could be an attempt To preserve stories

Of events handed down Through generations.

Krueger: it appears That the bluff figures

Could've been a copy or homage

To the older Basketmaker figures.

Cole: you have to be really Careful in archaeology

Because anybody Could copy a style.

Narrator: to modern observers,

The meaning of The mysterious symbols

Remains unclear.

But without aerial imaging, They could've remained

Undiscovered For generations to come.

Only future discoveries And more advanced

Analysis techniques Can give us the answers.

Narrator: satellites over china Identify what could be evidence

Of a catastrophic space Program disaster.

These could be something Like scorch marks

From some sort Of secret mission.

There's a large amount Of potential material

Or damage spread Over a large area.

Narrator: China, october 5, 2014.

Nasa's landsat 8 orbits above

One of the most Extreme deserts on earth.

Its multi-spectral Camera captures

An image of something strange.

We're looking down on a very Remote part of the world.

Narrator: a series of Irregular-shaped dark patches

Marks the landscape.

There's sand for hundreds And hundreds of miles

And yet, there are These dark patches.

I've never really seen Anything like this before.

This is weird.

Narrator: the picture shows The vast sand dunes

Of china's forbidding Badain jaran desert.

This is a region barely Touched by humans.

But mankind can sometimes Leave its mark.

Just 130 miles away From this site,

There's a complex of buildings

That could provide A clue to the shapes.

Orwoll: on the edge Of the desert is

The jiquan missile test center,

Which china's been Utilizing for many years.

Fletcher: this is where china Launched its first satellite

And its first manned Space mission.

Narrator: could the Tar-colored marks

Be the result Of a serious rocket malfunction?

Some china space activities Are heavily publicized.

But a lot of it Is kept under wrap.

So it's not crazy to ask whether

These could be something Like scorch marks

From some sort Of secret mission.

Orwoll: there is always The possibility

That it could be From rocket debris

From a failed launch.

If what we're seeing is actually Debris from rocket testing,

From missile testing, That could be quite significant.

There's a large amount Of potential material

Or damage spread Over a large area.

That would be Potentially concerning.

Narrator: detailed examination Of the image reveals

That the pattern of dark marks

Doesn't match up With the fallout

Of a typical large Projectile explosion.

Orwoll: if there were to be A disaster during a rocket test,

The debris trail really depends On the direction

That the rocket's flying, Speed, et cetera.

But in general, it kind of Fans out from a central point.

We don't see that in this image.

We see these object, These dark spots,

Spread out all over In a randomized pattern

In all directions,

Not emanating, really, From a single point

Like you'd see if it'd come From a rocket explosion.

You would think That an explosion of that size

Would be noticed Or make news in some way.

So I'm not so sure About this idea.

Narrator: there seems to be No human activity

That can account For the presence

Of the dark spots in the image.

You have to ask, "Is there some Natural source for these spots?"

Narrator: there is a Little-known, poorly-understood

Natural phenomenon Believed to blacken

The surface of rocks In the hottest,

Most arid regions Of our planet.

Lorenz: in some desert areas Of the earth,

We find rocks covered In a mysterious dark material.

We call it desert varnish.

Brand: Exactly how desert varnish forms On the surface of rocks

Isn't terribly clear.

It's still actually Quite debated by geologists.

It's clear that it's a coating.

It's not something that's Weathered away from the rock.

Narrator: the source Of desert varnish

Has been a mystery For over 100 years.

Some speculate that It's caused by a lifeform

Previously unknown to science.

Its found at only a few of The driest locations on earth.

But more recently,

An astonishingly similar Mysterious black substance

Was found somewhere Nobody expected --

Mars.

Certain minerals Will precipitate

On the surface of the rock.

And that precipitation

Is typically aided By microbial action.

Brand: if you look at desert Varnish under a microscope,

You'll see that it's made up Of very fine layers

Of clay, iron, manganese And microorganisms.

Narrator: If desert varnish is caused By a strange new lifeform,

Scientists have yet To identify it.

And the terrain visible In the image

Is unlike any of The other locations

Where the black coating Has formed on earth.

Desert varnish doesn't Quite add up here.

Desert varnish is not something

That forms on loose, Unconsolidated sand.

Desert varnish usually forms

On individual rocks Or cliff faces.

Lester: these dunes are Kind of alive.

They're moving as The wind pushes them around.

If it's not desert varnish, Then what else could they be?

Narrator: ralph lorenz Is one of the few scientists

To have braved badain jaran's Harsh terrain

And investigated the phenomenon At ground level.

What he discovers Is quite extraordinary.

Lorenz: it's hard work.

These are some of The tallest dunes on earth.

And what's amazing is, When you climb up to the top,

You look out and you see lakes.

It's just absurd. You're in this desert area.

And yet, there are Beautiful lakes in between.

It's a spectacular place.

Lakes in the middle Of the desert?

How is that even possible?

It's just kind of A strange location

To see this many lake spread Out in that area.

They're not fed by rivers On the surface.

They're not fed By rainfall locally.

Narrator: any body of water In such a hot environment

Should completely evaporate.

This desert gets maybe 2 to 3 inches

Of precipitation per year.

And in a desert like this,

You can probably evaporate

Maybe 40 to 50 times As much water in a year.

And so it's not the place Water should hang out.

Narrator: the very existence Of the lakes

Is not the only mystery.

Something very strange About these lakes

Is that some are salty,

Some are fresh.

And that's sort of puzzling.

Narrator: But the presence of salt

Could be a clue to the source For all this water.

It means water's coming From somewhere else.

And the only place for it To come from is underground.

Narrator: research into this Weird landscape is ongoing.

But for now, The mysterious desert lakes

Still pose questions.

A satellite photographs A potentially lethal runway.

Pappalardo: when I look At a runway

And I see markings That are out of place,

It just immediately says, "Something's not right here."

Is this just paint Or actual physical objects?

Narrator: 25 miles northeast Of atlanta, georgia,

A satellite passing over A small local airport detects

Something alarming.

There's something in the middle Of an aircraft runway

That is really unusual.

Whenever you see Anything on a runway

That isn't an airplane,

It's usually a problem.

Narrator: whatever these Unconventional markings are,

They could cause Potentially deadly confusion

For an incoming pilot.

When I look at a runway And I see markings

That are out of place,

It just immediately says, "Something's not right here."

So at a glance, this just looks Like a totally normal runway.

But then, there are these Sort of slanted white lines.

Narrator: What are they doing there?

Regular runway markings Are part of a system

That helps insure the safety

Of almost 700 million passengers

Who fly in the u.S. Every year.

Pappalardo: the markings And paintings on runways are

Incredibly useful to a pilot.

They tell the pilot Exactly the plane's

Wheel should touch down.

Narrator: At the start of the runway Is the threshold zone,

Which contains a number Of thick, long lines

Used to indicate The width of the runway.

Beyond that is The touchdown zone,

A series of parallel lines To indicate exactly

Where planes should touch down

Depending on their size And the weather conditions.

It's a language All pilots understand.

When you look at these Lines painted on this runway,

The first thing that you notice

Is that they're not Parallel to the runway.

They're not perpendicular To the runway.

Narrator: airplane landings are The single most dangerous part

Of any flight.

49% of all fatal plane crashes Occur during this period.

So it's vital the markings Are positioned correctly.

One thing you'll notice About the markings on runways is

That they're very horizontal.

Anything that's off-skew Is really gonna confuse a pilot.

Narrator: curiously, this isn't The only runway in georgia

Where these kinds Of shapes appear.

Just 220 miles away at Savannah international airport,

Two almost identical Runway marks can be found.

You can see similar objects.

And we know what they are. They're gravestones.

Narrator: the reason these Gravestones are located here

Is that they predate the runway.

Fletcher: a lot of prime real Estate is tied up in cemeteries.

But federal law Prohibits moving graves

Without the permission Of the next of kin.

Savannah airport is The resting place

Of richard and catherine dotson,

Who died in the late 1800s.

When the land owners Built an air field

Over the burial site,

Instead of negotiating With family descendants

To move the gravestones,

They simply incorporated Them into the runway.

Gravestones In the middle of a runway?

That's very far From resting in peace.

Narrator: could the savannah Markings give us a clue

About what's happening At mathis airport?

Careful study of a High-resolution satellite image

Confirms that these shapes are, Indeed, also gravestones.

But a more recent Satellite photograph

Shows that they've disappeared.

These markings on the runway Are suddenly gone, vanished.

What's happened?

Narrator: if the law states That gravestones

Shouldn't be moved, Why have they suddenly vanished?

And where are they now?

Jimmy and martha mcconnell

Of forsyth county Historical society

Begin their own investigation.

They start by searching Local records.

When I first heard About the gravestones missing,

I was concerned.

We didn't know where they were.

They had just vanished.

Martha: they were gone.

Possibly, they had been Taken to a landfill

Or buried somewhere.

Narrator: they find out That the gravestones

Belonged to an old family

Who were among the area's First settlers, the anglins.

Descendants of the anglin family

Provided us with a picture Of this house

That belonged to the anglins.

And you can see on this picture

On the bottom Where the runway is

And where the houses were.

Narrator: Descendants of the anglin family Still live in the area.

No one had consulted them.

The news their ancestors graves'

Have been desecrated Comes as a shock.

It's this emotion come all over.

It's like my heart Dropped out of my body,

Made me feel awful.

Narrator: the historians dig Deeper into the mystery

And uncover a troubling reason For the disappearance.

We became aware that The owner of the airport

Had a contract with developers To sell the property

And that it was gonna be A residential area.

Narrator: If the deal goes ahead, The current owner stands

To make a cool $1.4 million.

Martha and jimmy study The planning documents.

What they find Is a series of lies

Designed to inflate The property's value.

In the document itself, And I quote on page 19,

It says, "Cemeteries:

There are no cemeteries,

Graves or burial grounds

Or historical artifacts

Within the property to the best Of the seller's knowledge."

Narrator: jimmy and martha have Stumbled across evidence

Of a huge million-dollar scam.

The owner of mathis airport

Has no told the developer About the gravestones

Or the cemetery located Actually in the runway itself.

By releasing that information To the developer,

It could possibly have Made his deal go south.

Narrator: With the documents as proof, Jimmy and martha contact

The forsyth county Police department.

The owner of the airport Is charged,

And the gravestones Are eventually found

In a nearby garage.

I'm happy to have them back,

Even though they're Broken up and all.

It's a piece of history From the 1800s.

Narrator: the detective work

Of the forsyth Historical society

Saved a piece of local history From destruction.

And the evidence can still Be seen from space.